Mikhail Iurevich Lermontov

Raised largely by his grandmother after his mother died in childhood, he grew up between Moscow and the Caucasus, a landscape that left a strong mark on his imagination. He studied in Moscow and later in Saint Petersburg, served as an army officer, and wrote poetry, drama, prose, and even painted.

He became famous very young, especially after a poem mourning Alexander Pushkin helped turn him into a major literary figure. His best-known prose work, A Hero of Our Time, helped shape the psychological novel, while poems such as The Demon and Mtsyri show his gift for intensity, melancholy, and rebellious energy.

His life was brief and turbulent, marked by exile to the Caucasus and repeated clashes with society. He died in a duel in 1841, still only in his twenties, but his work secured him a lasting place as one of the essential writers of nineteenth-century Russia.