Pushkin's Influence

Pushkin played a vital role in Russian society and continues to possess an important stronghold over today’s Russian community. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Art has been named in honor of Alexander Pushkin and is currently located in Moscow. This museum holds a limited number of Pushkin’s original works, but the museum has sculptures, art from ancient civilizations, prints, drawings, and a picture gallery. (Noll) During Pushkin’s life, he influenced many of Russia’s great writers. He was a friend, a colleague, and most importantly an inspiration. Anton Delvig was a lazy poet who attended school with Pushkin and became one of his best friends. [Upper, left-hand corner is a sketch is Delvig] The two shared many of the same beliefs which they contributed to the rest of the Russian writing community through their journal articles and poems. Ivan Turgenev was largely influenced by Pushkin and even delivered a eulogy at his funeral. (Merriman) Here is part of his speech:

“Art, if one employs this term in the broad sense that includes poetry within its realm, is an art of creation laden with ideals, located at the very core of the life of a people, defining the spiritual and moral shape of that life. … “In a period of a people’s life that bears the designation ‘transitional,’ the task of a thinking individual, of a sincere citizen of his country, is to go forward, despite the dirt and difficulty of the path, to go forward without losing from view even for a moment those fundamental ideals on which the entire existence of the society to which he belongs is built.” (Merriman)

Here, Turgenev shows his appreciation for Pushkin and his lifelong struggles. Turgenev mentions that despite all of the “dirt and difficulty” that imposed itself on Pushkin’s life, he always moved onward without losing sight of what was most relevant and truly important in life. Pushkin's influence over his peers and the country of Russia in the past is obvious. Important writers such as Turgenev and even Dostoyevesky were able to easily recognize Pushkin's fantastic talent throughout his lifetime. They were also aware of Pushkin's potential to influence Russia and even the world far into the future. These brilliant writers were correct.

The many works of Pushkin are still being studied, debated, and enjoyed in countries throughout the world. His Little Tragedies became the first "Russian dialogue opera" and helped the country enter into the realm of global theater. Although his plays were not easy to perform, many directors made brave attempts. The Stone Guest was the first Pushkin tragedy performed as an opera. Dargomyzhsky, the opera's composer, wanted to retain the play's authenticity and therefore used a "word-for-word" technique in the performance. Complaints consisted mainly of beliefs that through the acting's preciseness in following the script, Dargomyzhsky actually detracted from Pushkin's characters like Don Juan and Laura, who were more improvisational. Many followed the attempts of Dargomyzhsky and many have continued to fail. [Dargomyzhsky's portrait is to the right of this page]

Through the videos introduced throughout this blog, what becomes most apparent is the variety of presentations and forms used to perform Pushkin's plays. We see a professional stage setting, a horde of students, and even a movie production reenacting each of these four tragedies. Each video shows a unique understanding of what Pushkin intended and each seem to fail. Looking past the differentiated attempts to act out these tragedies, what is also apparent is Pushkin's influence in today's society. Scholars continue to study Pushkin and yearn to discover how he stimulated and motivated his fellow Russians and continue to play a pivotal role in the world today.