Talk:Alexander Pushkin

Pushkin as a "Black Russian"
It is sometimes claimed (mainly by Afrocentrists) that Pushkin was black. This claim is false. While Pushkin's great-grandfather Abram Gannibal was black, all other ancestral lines of the poet consisted of whites, and thus Pushkin was no more than 1/8 black. US Afrocentrists by the one-drop rule might still claim Pushkin as "colored", but that is an issue of US, not Russian sociology, and doesn't change the numbers of one African great-grandparent vs. seven Eurasian ones.

Sir, were not his parents first or second cousins(both descended Gannibal)? If so, then I would think that would one-quarter African(a quadroon)? --Anglius 21:18, 18 December 2005 (UTC)


 * For the record, the legal terms octoroon and quadroon are considered fairly inappropriate as a description due to their history of determining whether or not a person's civil rights were as legitimate as others (in marriage, voting rights, etc). Even mullato is considered inappropriate in English-speaking countries for the implication that the "half-breed" is a mule.  It's just as easy to use "1/8th", "1/4", "an eighth" or "a quarter".  Anyway, it'd be interesting to see something on how Russian society viewed a person's race then. Bobak 18:13, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, my dear Bobak, but those words were used in Western countries at that time(apparently not in Russia, though.)--Anglius 19:49, 11 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Pushkin identified HIMSELF as a Negro, therefore, he made the personal choice to do so.
 * What is the source of this information, please? Ahasuerus 21:11, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

It isn't maninly claimed by Afrocentrics, many scholars claim it... in fact, it is taken to be common knowledge that Pushkin was, indeed, part black, and referred to himself as such on many occasions. He once said (concerning enslaved Africans in America): "I feel very deeply for my Negro brothers." He also made many reference to being of African descent in his novel "The Blackmoor of Peter the Great" and was known to be very proud of his Abyssinian (Ethiopian) great-grandfather.

where does it say that he identified as a "negro"? was that word even in use in russia during that time period? he was part black, and we all know, but let's not ignore the other ⅞ of his heritage. Colorfulharp233 01:07, 4 July 2006 (UTC)
 * During XVII-XIX c. a word "arap", which is an outdated version of "arab" were is use for black people. "Arap" is translated as "moor" or "blackmoor". Netrat_msk (talk) 17:58, 5 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Russian DOESN'T have another word. Period. It's "negr" and it is, in the words of a famous film character, "the way we were taught in geography class". It's not a slur. [in any case, negro essentially means black (the colour) in several languages anyway, although the Russian word for the colour is 'chernyj', which actually IS a (modern) ethnic slur, but generally used to describe people of Caucausian decent (the Caucasus is inhabited by Turkic tribes that appear thoroughly Middle Eastern, not European, America!)] 128.195.186.193 23:45, 28 August 2007 (UTC)Adieu

As a longtime member of a Pushkin book club, I was surprised to read of Pushkin's ancestor being Eritrean.I think, it would be most enlightening if the contributor shares his reference.Most of the authorities I am aware of refer to an Abyssinian or just African. Eritrea had yet to come into existence-for another few hundred years. ironinmohscale September8, 2006.

The correct translation of the book was "The Moor of Peter the Great." Which is basically like saying "arab". He was part African but whether he was "black" is questionable. His mother doesn't look very black, that's for sure. Ernham 01:30, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
 * In his poem "My Family Tree" Pushin clearly states that Gannibal was black. Netrat_msk (talk) 18:02, 5 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Mavr = moor, but arap (with a p!) does not equal arab, but, rather, is yet another old Russian way of describing a member of the black race. Also to note, Moors weren't Arabs, just Muslims, and did actually have a significant fraction of their population of "Ethiopian" (semite) appearance, as well as other ethnic groups. Thus, they were memorable to Europeans, who, in their majority, had not encountered other races, and Moor came to stand for black, despite black Moors being but one of several racial/ethnic groups among Moors. 128.195.186.193 23:52, 28 August 2007 (UTC)Adieu

The research (1996) of Dieudonné Gnammankou suggests that Abram Gannibal may actually have been from what is now the Sultanate of Logone-Birni in Cameroon south of Lake Chad. References: (1) Abraham Hanibal - l’aïeul noir de Pouchkine by Dieudonné Gnammankou, paperback, Paris 1996. (2) Жизнь Ганнибала – прадеда Пушкина [The Life of Hannibal, Pushkin's Great Grandfather] by Наталья Константиновна Телетова [Natalja Konstantinovna Teletova], hardback, St. Petersburg 2004. Nile60 00:45, 26 January 2007.

Ethiopians are mediterranean race not black. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.51.63.59 (talk) 16:35, 4 August 2017 (UTC)

Well that last comment is pretty stupid. What does that even mean, exactly? There's a scientifically defined Mediterranean race and Ethiopians are all descended from it? Black is also scientifically defined to exclude this? Very convenient. Also, no.

There needs to be more info on his African ancestry
Call it Black, African, Negro (the word Pushkin used and the one used in civil discourse at the time) whatever, this is woefully missing right now! A lot of English-speaking people coming to read this article are going to be looking for this information. I'm Russian and I am surprised there is not more detail on it. It was certainly part of his life--not only had Pushkin declared his identification with Africans on multiple occasions in life and in poetry, and started to write a bio of his ancestor, but it was obviously something that DID matter in his life. Regardless of the fact that he was 7/8 white, his 1/8 African ancestry set him apart. In the USA, one would be considered black and a slave up until 1/32 African blood, and people with 1/8 African blood were certainly regarded as Black and sold as slaves--while the situation in Russia was different, Russia was not so different as to make Pushkin's ancestry absolutely no issue. Besides, it is an interesting part of his past that should be represented.


 * Not really. It is an interesting and important fact, and it did set him apart, but the people coming to read this article should understand that other things set him apart much more. Pushkin's ancestry was certainly no issue in the sense that you imply. Consider this, for example: as almost any noble Russian of family of that day, the Pushkins owned serfs, in other word, slaves. This did not set him apart, of course, but perhaps it will help you see this issue in a different light. 69.181.152.140 (talk) 05:48, 18 September 2010 (UTC)


 * I agree. It's one fact about Puskhin. What the US would have made of it is neither here nor there. Span (talk) 19:27, 19 October 2010 (UTC)


 * It is such a little part of him in racial terms, he was clearly white, all the racial makeup on his fathers side were Russian, and his mother were only 25% "black" on her fathers side, so what is the fuzz about? The racial makeup, if we want to use such terms, is 100% white on the father side, and 75% white on the mother side, almost 100% white, if it is importent what colour people are?   — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.52.73.72 (talk) 21:45, 25 September 2012 (UTC)


 * I cannot believe you are discussing about the real state of mind of Puskin regarding his African ancestor. Can't you see how his talking about this "origin" was merely a fascination that made a Romantic impression on his half-Byronian soul? Saying he has a tiny part of African blood in himself is just like saying Prince Philip is relative to Puskin! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.4.156.132 (talk) 10:02, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

You don't need to have black skin in order to be african (culturally from the countries on the south of the subsaharian desert). So yes, the african identity of Pushkin great grand father was part of him but it had nothing to do with his skin color (Pushkin is white). For example, if a little white kid is adopted by an Kenyan family in Kenya, he will be Kenyan and African but not black. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:A03F:6B8E:EE00:E0B9:A851:F39F:15D4 (talk) 20:00, 2 December 2020 (UTC)

Gratuitous commentary
The argumentative note about A S Pushkin's "racial" background is gratuitous and racist. His African great-grandfather was clearly important to Pushkin himself (he started to write a historical novel about the man), so claiming that others' attention to the same subject is somehow unwarranted is specious.

Yes, thank you. I agree.

Certainly, "ownership" of Pushkin belongs to Russia and Russian literature. (Make of that what you will.)

Influenced Henry James?
What is up with the random "Influenced" tag that says he influenced "Dostoevsky, Henry James"?!?! Why Henry James and not L. Ron Hubbard or Peter Parker? Oh year, and he was influenced BY Gogol, who was 18 when Pushkin died! What a joke. ..
 * Perhaps you should redo your math. Gogol was 28 when Pushkin died. Er rab ee 04:57, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Oh, and another thing: the influence on Henry James is well documented:  (as of the time of writing note 7) Er rab ee 09:21, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I've got to agree with the absurdity of Gogol's influence on Pushkin, though. Gogol's idolization of Pushkin is fairly well documented, but Pushkin was already well established in both verse and prose by the time Gogol started publishing anything. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.187.0.164 (talk) 22:51, 15 May 2007 (UTC).

Murdered?
I would not really considered him to have murdered, for he was slain in a duel. --Anglius 21:03, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

List of famous duels
The List of famous duels featured the following entry:


 * 1823: Mysterious duel of Aleksandr Pushkin with the poet Kondraty Ryleyev, who was also a leader of the Decembrists

I've changed this to reflect what this article says. Could someone with more knowledge of Pushkin confirm that this was the correct thing to do (and perhaps expand the entry I made at List of famous duels)? Cheers, violet/riga (t) 19:13, 20 December 2005 (UTC)


 * No it was not the fatal duel with d'Anthes occured in 1837 and is already mentioned in the list of duels. I am not sure if the duel of 1823 Pushkin-Ryleev realy took place or if it is an urban legend, but it certainly a different duel abakharev 21:45, 20 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Thanks for that, but if you're not sure it's correct then perhaps it would be more appropriate to remove it from that article. violet/riga (t) 00:40, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

Totally destroyed?
The comments related to Nabokov's translation of Onegin in the current (19 December 2005) article, in my opinion, do not exemplify proper encyclopedic style. Does anyone else think a more objective revision of the following passage is needed?

"Onegin is a work of such complexity that, while only about a hundred pages long, it required translator Vladimir Nabokov four full volumes of material to fully render its meaning in English. Unfortunately, in so doing Nabokov, like all translators of Pushkin into English to date, totally destroyed the fundamental readability of Pushkin in Russian which makes him so popular, and Pushkin's verse remains largely unknown to English readers."


 * I have a "general" comment in this vein. When I took Russian in college our teacher said that Pushkin is considered equivalent to Shakespeare in talent. She also said that his mastery of the language is so great that, unfortunately, no one has been able to do it justice in any translation into any other language. This was a professor of literature (Mary Emery of Hofstra University) who was fluent in Russian, Serbo-Croation (Yugoslavian), French, German, English and Italian and had two Ph.D's and three Master's Degrees in various fields. Given her comment, It sounds like the above description is accurate.
 * RickReinckens 21:26, 6 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Well, Nabokov was fluent in Russian (he was born there, after all), English and French, and is widely acclaimed to be one of the finest writers of the 20th century, so I'm not sure why your professor should be taken as a greater authority than he is. I think the term "totally destroyed" is really loaded here; Nabokov's intent wasn't to make a poetical translation, but a literal one; he aimed to translate the meaning of each word of the Russian original as closely as possible into English, without preserving the rhyme. It's obviously not what one would experience upon reading it in Russian, but that wasn't his intent, and indeed he himself more or less admitted it was impossible to do. (See his famous "Reply To My Critics" in the book Strong Opinions.) So I wouldn't say that his translation is one of "destruction", which definitely would seem to have a negative connotation in this context, but rather a literal translation that didn't concern itself with the poem's poetry. The reference to "four full volumes" is also a bit misleading or perhaps misinformed; the actual translation only took up a small portion of the first volume; the rest was commentary. Frailgesture 05:59, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Foot Fetish?
Fyodor Dostoevsky in his novel, "The Brothers Karamazov", repeatedly alleges that Pushkin had a foot fetish. For an example of these allegations, see Book 11, Chapter 2 of "The Brothers Karamazov."


 * Chapter 1 of Pushkin's own E. Onegin seems to make that clear too. --Fm361 (talk) 08:56, 30 May 2019 (UTC)

Poland in his works
Do you think his works about Poland should be described here to make a full image or made into subarticle ? --Molobo 08:26, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

External link
Hi, I would like to add an external link to the World of Biography entry Probably the most famous portal of biography  to this article. Does anybody have any objections? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Jameswatt (talk • contribs) 14 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Note: This user has added similar requests to link to biographies hosted on the same site to about 50 different articles. Although I believe that these requests were made in good faith, adding the links to all of the articles would be spamming. In addition, the biographies tend to be not very insightful and/or minimally informative, and the webpages contain Google AdSense links.
 * A fuller explanation of my own opinion on these links can be found here, if anyone wishes to read it.
 * Hbackman 23:21, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

Delisted as Good Article
This article has been delisted as Good Article, because not all major topics are covered. For instance, Pushkin has had a considerable influence on other writers and poets, like Mikhail Lermontov. Pushkin still exerts a considerable influence on Russians, and was voted number 2 of most influential Russians after Peter the Great, but before Lenin. Furthermore, both the biography and the literary legacy are very limited for a person on whom several books of more than 300 pages each could be written. Errabee 12:51, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Ridiculousness
This is silly. Pushkin is one of the most influential historical figures in the world. Can someone who is an expert on Pushkin please provide an article on the man and his works? I know the interested reader would appreciate an unbiased article of that nature.

So called Afrocentrism, or any form of racism for that matter, has no place in the Wikipedia. What I read in the Pushkin article, in its current form, seems a lot like "Pushkin is this writer-dude. And he was part black.  And his great-grandkids are English nobility.  So they are part black.  In your face rich white English people!" Imagine if you were a student in highschool again, giving a presentation on Pushkin, the revolutionary poet and 2nd most important figure in Russia, and you go on a tangent about British nobles. I would guarantee you'd get a very bad grade. His progeny is irrelevant.

And for those readers of this commentary who are obsessed with proving British nobles have African ancestors, you are already covered. Anthropoligists and Archaeologists determined a long time ago that Africa is the cradle of human existence. There... We're all "part-black." So, take a rest from your racist banter and do something productive with your lives.Verdad 14:53, 20 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Not everyone in Africa is black, mate, and no proof on the skin colour of our early hominid ancestors exists. They might as well have been neon green for all we know! As to Pushkin, it apparently mattered to him. Like another famous writer named Alexandre (Dumas), his fraction of black blood, albeit small, apparently affected him. Also, it is interesting trivia, since Russia never had racial slavery and the sole fraction of black blood in him made him quite 'exotic' for the place and day. 128.195.186.193 23:33, 28 August 2007 (UTC)Adieu

reference
I think some of the facts from T.J.Binyon's biographical work on Pushkin can be added to this page.

It does present the other side of Pushkin, the more controversial one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.114.222.241 (talk) 05:13, August 28, 2007 (UTC)

Why is everyone so obsessed with this man being 1/8 black? How does that make him any more special than anyone else? Yes, he is 1/8 black, but he is 7/8 white and if he were to live today and he didn't speak much about his heritage, people see him as a white man and rightly so. I mean he looks white, his heritage is almost completely European and he was culturally Russian, the ethnicity of a white people, so it is silly for anyone, afrocentrist or not to think of him as black. Furthermore, it really doesn't matter what he was because what he doesn't interfere with the fact that he was a great guy at what he did. At the end of day, it all comes down to what you do as a person, not with what you are. -Mimi —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.254.69.211 (talk) 21:07, 15 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Africans have so little accomplishments or contributions to civilization of their own (virtually none), that they grasp at any argument for historical significance, even spurious ones like Pushkin being 7/8 white, 1/8 black making him "African". 50.52.7.154 (talk) 14:05, 19 March 2023 (UTC)

Missing work "chill winds still blow" (1828)
Will someone please look into this. There is no information on the web about Pushkin's poem, "chill winds still blow" but it surely exists and is not included on Pushkin's Wiki-page. Dostoevsky makes reference. 68.250.151.77 00:12, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Natalia (Daughter)
I've removed some text about his yougest daughter.

Natalia was a daughter of Russian novelist Alexander Pushkin and his wife Natalya Goncharova, and therefore, through her father, is a descendant of Peter the Great's African protégé, Abram Petrovich Gannibal as well as the Cossac leader Prince Petro Doroshenko. Er...yes, this has already been established in the article. Why repeat it here? Natalia was created Countess of Merenberg as she was not allowed to use her husband's titles and rank. I've simplfied this down to saying that the marriage was morganatic, with a link to the relevant article. That, and the Count of Merenberg article discuss the issue further. Moreover, Pushkin's most notable descendants are Prince Phillip husband and Consort to Queen Elizabeth II, and The Marquess of Milford Haven, presently the richest man in England. I think the poster has become confused, this is not factually correct. Prince Phillip does not descend from Pushkin. His cousin, George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven married a descendant of Pushkin, so that branch of the Mountbatten family that can claim descent, but not Prince Philip. As for the Marquess of Milford Haven being the richest man in England, in what parallel universe is that? The Milford Havens are not exactly short of money, but they hardly rank alongside Britain's billionaires. Indisciplined (talk) 13:08, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Aleksandr vs. Alexander
Is there a reason why this page is "Alexander Pushkin" and not "Aleksandr Pushkin"? Best, Vincent Valentine 01:01, 20 May 2008 (UTC)
 * When saying or writing their names in the English language, Russian people usually use Alexander (English equivalent) to the Russian name Александр and not letter-by-letter trasliteration Aleksandr. Same is true for French (Alexandre) and other languages. This is also applied, to lesser or greater extend, to many other names of European origin, especially those containing ks consonant cluster (Alexey, not Aleksey; Maxim not Maksim; etc). Of course, there are names where both transciption and translation are often used, such as Евгений (Evgeniy or Evgeny vs. Eugene). Such names usually significanty diverge with their English counterparts, which is not the case in Александр. It is important to say that practice of first name translation (as opposed to transliteration) was even more widespread in 19th century. (Pushkin probably wrote his name in Latin script as Alexandre due to French influence.)89.179.247.65 (talk) 09:40, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Minor poems
Please do not include `minor' poems (i.e., To A.P. Kern) under poems in list of works. There is a definitive consensus as to what constitutes Pushkin major poems, the principle is used in all standard editions of Pushkin's works in Russian and other languages, reference works, etc. If you want to add popular or important minor poems (stikhotvoreniya) - note, minor reflects the size not the notability - please consider creatin separate entry in the list of works (noptable shorter poems?), or, incorporating it into the body of article. But, I beleve, extreme caution should be excercised; there are hundreds of short poems by Pushkin and including only a few into a list of notables might be very POV. Ideally, the separate list of all shorter poems should be created (see Ru wiki). Henry Merrivale (talk) 23:57, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

Kenneth Pushkin
I have removed the mention of Kenneth Pushkin from the paragraph dealing with Pushkin's family that was added by RossF18. The information about him is verifiable and correct but it does not belong in this article based on WP:UNDUE considerations. Pushkin had hundreds of direct descendants including hundreds of living ones. There are many much closer ones such as his actual grandchildren and great grandchildren that are not discussed in the article. Including info about an extremely distant relative who is not even a direct descendant is not appropriate here. Nsk92 (talk) 02:34, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Anti-Semitism
Increased attention has also been given to Pushkin's apparent anti-Semitism, as well as that of other nineteenth-century Russian writers, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Nikolai Gogol.

To start with, the claim that "increasing attention has been given to his anti-Semitism" is absolutely not substantiated by the sources, all of which mention Pushkin in passing and, far from giving "increased attention" to his supposed anti-Semitism, are devoted to entirely different issues: one is a journalistic article in the Washington Post about modern Russian politics (certainly not a reliable scholarly contribution about 19th century literature), one is about Russian jokes, one about meter, one about 20th century literature, one about "recent literature", and two are apparently Pushkin's original texts which the editor has no right to interpret per WP:NOR). So even if the sources labelled Pushkin an anti-Semite, no "increasing attention" can be attested. But in fact, even that is not true, with the exception of one source. The Washington Post article actually only states that politician Makashov stated that the word "zhid" (yid) occurs in Pushkin's works and makes no conclusions regarding the veracity of that claim, the connotations of the word at the time, let alone its meaning or not meaning that Pushkin was an anti-Semite. The Russian jokes source only argues that the word "zhid", which also occurs in Pushkin's works, currently has a negative meaning and has had it since somewhere in the mid-19th century - but Pushkin was shot in 1837 and didn't even live to the middle of that century. The author does not say that Pushkin was an anti-Semite. The Meter source only mentions that in one poem, Pushkin "portrays a group of distinctly non-Russian characters who are ruled by emotion" and who "reflect crude Russian stereotypes of the other: the loose woman (a Greek), the evil lover (an Armenian), the greedy gossip (a Jew), and, last but certainly not least, the brutal hero (presumably a Moldavian)". The poem is mentioned as an example of Pushkin's Romantic exoticism, and not as proof that Pushkin was a rabid Hellenophobe, Armenophobe, Judaeophobe and Moldavophobe. Finally, the Recent literature source states that Pushkin's "The Miserly Knight" was "more subtle and light-hearted, but hardly flattering". On the basis of this "lack of flattering", the author implies that Pushkin was not stopped by the prevailing liberal fashion from espousing "views that were overtly anti-Semitic". Still, I don't think this marginal mention, based on one character in one short poem, is sufficient to merit inclusion in Wikipedia, all the more so as the author Pereira is apparently primarily a specialist in the Russian Revolution and Russian Communism (or should I say in propaganda against the Russian Revolution and Russian Communism) and not in 19th century literature.--91.148.159.4 (talk) 16:09, 16 January 2009 (UTC)


 * All the sources point to specific instances of Puskhin's anti-semitism in prose so sources about meter, etc. are valid given that Pushkin wrote poems. If you have a problem with sources, you should discuss first, then delete. Deleting and then discussion isn't proper, given that the sentence was sited. The "increased attention" is due to the fact that much of anit-semitism of giants in Russian literature has been ignored for a long time, thus the more recent increased attention as Russia has been opening up a bit. No one says that Pushkin was a "rabid Hellenophobe, etc." But to not mention that he does speak of Jews badly in his poems is glossing over clear anti-Semitism. Yes, most writers and poets of his time were also anti-Semitic, but that's why that sentence also mentions a few of them to make sure that one doesn't think that Pushkin was an odd man out. It was partly within the culture to think of Jews badly, but that's doesn't mean that there should be no mentione what's so ever of Pushkin being an anti-Semite - not a "rabid" one as User talk:91.148.159.4 hyperbolically says, but one nonetheless. If you disagree with the validity of the sources, that's fine. But that's your own personal opinion. Each source you sight as inadiquate, and by you, I mean User talk:91.148.159.4, is in fact valid per Wikipedia guidelines and valid to support one sentence out of the entire article mentioning that Pushkin does have more than a few anti-Semitic poems. The sources all support the one sentence, so although each source by itself might not be sufficient to merit inclusion of the point, all sources together point to the fact that yes, there has been increased notice of Pushkin's anti-Semitism. As a side note, the word "zhid" always had negative conotation, and while the source mentions that the word is still currently used, that does not mean that in Pushkin's time, "zhid" was a term of indearment - yes, it was a common way to refer to Jews, but that's only because it was common to be anti-Semitic at that time in Russia. "Zhid", if you're familiar with the term at all, is equivalent to calling someone a dog or equivalent to the "N" word for African-Americans. To say that the use of the word was not offensive just because it was used in Pushkin's time is misleading - it was a pejuritive term. To say that Pushkin is not anti-Semitic just because he used "zhid" in his poems is similar to say that American slave holders where not racists when they called their slaves the "N" word or later all of the freed African-American. The point is that just like any white person using the term can be suspected of being racist, Pushkin's use of "zhid" can also be used to say that he was an anti-Semite. But, then other sources discuss actual content of the poems and it wasn't like he just talked about how great Jews where while using "zhid" - he talked badly of the Jews and used "zhid" - so together, yes, there is a growing attention to him being anti-Semitic in poems. That's why there are 5 or 6 sources there. You put them together. It has been said that the word "zhid," a slang term for Jew, wasn't considered derogatory in the Russian language of the last century, when Dostoyevski, Pushkin and Gogol wrote, but one can say neither was the the "N" word - why? because the majority was using the word and only in the last century did the minority was able to express what the words truly meant. But even if one takes the line that "zhid" was just a common way to refer to Jews - in a society that was anti-Semitic, something that makes the word itself suspect - you really have to put the word together with the content of the poems, which often accompanied words such as "dirty" or "theif", etc. --RossF18 (talk) 14:53, 5 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Sorry, but I showed clearly that only one of your six sources really calls Pushkin an Anti-Semite (as for "zhid" - it does not unambiguously prove anti-Semitism, so using it as a source to prove anti-Semitism is OR.). Arguably, this is still a marginal position. The presence of one source doesn't prove "increased attention". If you want to assert that there has been increased attention to it, provide a source that speaks of "increased attention". Assuming for a moment that he was indeed anti-Semitic like many others at the time, the claim that his anti-Semitism has attracted any attention, is somehow especially noteworthy and deserves mention here still needs to be sourced. And no, there's no Wiki rule saying that I'm obliged to wait and discuss before deleting fake sourcing for fringe claims. --91.148.159.4 (talk) 23:53, 31 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Ross, to see Pushkin as an anti-Semite is ridiculous, as is your argument about the terms "zhid" and the "N" word. The latter, by the way, simply means the color black in Spanish, as I'm sure you are aware, so that's why it wasn't considered derogatory. However, "zhid", although commonly used, might have been somewhat derogatory even then, by today's standards. The official documents used the word "evrej", i.e. Hebrew, I think since the time of Catherine the Great. Again, based on that, or on those bizarre "sources", you can't talk about Pushkin's anti-Semitism. Choose your battles. 69.181.152.140 (talk) 06:10, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Ancentry
Currently, the bio section says: Pushkin's father Sergei Lvovich Pushkin (1767–1848) descended from a distinguished family of the Russian nobility which traced its ancestry back to the 12th century.[8][9] Pushkin's mother Nadezhda (Nadja) Ossipovna Hannibal (1775–1836) descended through her paternal grandmother from German and Scandinavian nobility.[10][11] She was the daughter of Ossip Abramovich Gannibal (1744–1807) and his wife Maria Aleksejevna Pushkina. Maria Aleksejevna Pushkina's paternal grandfather, i.e., Pushkin's great-grandfather, was Abram Petrovich Gannibal, a page raised by Peter the Great who was born in Lagon, Eritrea or Ethiopia.[8][9][10][12][13]

So, we have

Sergei Pushkin Pushkin --- Ossip Gannibal Nadja Hannibal --- Maria Pushkina whose grandfather was Abram Gannibal.

Now, two things pop out, if Pushkin's grandmother was Maria and Abram was Maria's grandfater, then, Abram is neither Pushkin's grandfather nor his great-grandfather (that would be Maria's father). Instead, Abram Gannibal is Pushkin's great-great-grandfather. This should really be changed, both in the lead (which currently says grandfather) and in the bio section.

Second thing, Pushkin's father was a Pushkin, but his grandmather from the mother's side was also a Pushkina (female form of Pushkin), meaning that her father was also a Pushkin. So, both his father and grandmother had the same last name meaning that Pushkin's parents were either cousins once removed or second cousins, but some relation.

This is all assuming that what is there in the bio section is correct and hasn't been written down wrong from the sources. If the sources where authorative internet sources, that's one thing, but currently, we need someone who originally posted this portion of the article to verify if first, Pushkin was Abram's great-great-grandfather or a closer discendant and whether there is a Pushkin on both sides of Pushkin's family, which wouldn't be surprising, but a verification would be welcome. --RossF18 (talk) 01:53, 15 November 2009 (UTC)


 * All right, checking the one internet site provided (source #8), yes, Abram was Pushkin's great-grandfather (just one great, not two) and he was from Ossip Gannibal's side of the family, quite obviously, otherwise it wouldn't make much sense. As far as the relationship between Maria Pushkina and Sergei Pushkin, still not sure if there is any or if there is, what it is.--RossF18 (talk) 02:06, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

Abrahm
Was Abham Gannibal a captured slave who later became a slave or a captured general who was sparred and given a post in court? It just doesn't make much sense to give a random slave all this education and a place in court. If Abrham was a general, well, sparring his life for something besides continued slavery (as Russia had a long history of serfs) would make much more sense.--RossF18 (talk) 01:53, 15 November 2009 (UTC)


 * According to biography on the site he was capture by the Ottomans when he was a young boy, so I don't think he was a general. He was probably a child slave and given the education he was in Russia because he was of noble family: "the children of the noble families were taken to the ruler of all the Muslims, the Turkish sultan, as hostages", to be killed or sold into slavery if their fathers misbehaved. Gannibal was probably spared from being sold off or killed by the Russian ambassador who took him away from Constantinople. (Angar432 (talk) 03:14, 23 April 2010 (UTC))

Hoax or Not?
Pushkin's Secret Journal is listed under the heading: "Hoaxes and other attributed works." While it is presented with some skepticism, there seems to be no definitive stance on its authenticity. And, as it is the only item under the heading, the title is less than informative. Personally, I have no opinion on the journal's validity, but it seems either the text or the heading should be modified to more closely fit the other. In short, say it is a hoax, or don't put it under the grouping of hoaxes (population:1). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.60.215.135 (talk) 14:17, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

New WikiProject: Russian literature
Hello,

See WikiProject Council/Proposals/Russian literature. Yann (talk) 03:46, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Polufḩaemut Nabokovainǘ
Marasiḿat! Em sofaez zake hetsḩ salefḩ statý mazuk polufḩaemut Nabokovianǘ. Zalekźamo, polufḩaemut zanezak ya, tarasmaida Nabokov zükzük Kafḩkazayazainǘ ek ya. Harabama, zofḩae polufḩaemut zükzükainǘ Kafḩazayainǘ zanezyo yadara? Mölottöda kalafama fḩamakala uzǘzume ereğeḿet. Marasiḿat! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Goluksopad (talk • contribs) 04:35, 27 October 2011 (UTC)

Question
Is it true, as the article claims, that Pushkin had already fought 29 duels before being killed by Anthes. It is hard to believe he could have done that without ever being severely wounded, killing somebody, or being punished. I have read contradictory accounts on this point from seemingly scholarly sources. According to one, he had fought six duels, and another gives the number as four. Yet another stated that the duel with Anthes is the only one in his life that can be authenticated. At the least, more documentation is needed here. 74.101.150.155 (talk) 18:54, 27 October 2012 (UTC)

Why is Pushkin Unknown?
Why is Pushkin, who is supposed to be the greatest writer ever, relatively unknown in the West, compared to Tolstoy and others ? 96.228.244.95 (talk) 14:08, 20 May 2014 (UTC)

"Greatest" is a little subjective. How is he greater than Homer, Molière, Shakespeare, Dante, Plato? .. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:A03F:5018:7100:C96C:AB6E:4591:44C4 (talk) 21:14, 28 August 2019 (UTC)


 * Russophobia and propaganda. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.120.123.86 (talk) 11:18, 30 September 2014 (UTC)

He is mostly known as a great poet and, sadly, hardly anybody reads poetry these days. Russian writers known for their great novels/stories are still popular in the west.145.129.237.245 (talk) 18:06, 13 February 2017 (UTC)

Abraham Ganibal was from Ethiopia/Eritrea
The long held knowledge about Pushkin's grandfather was that he was from the region of today's Ethiopia/Eritrea. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Eldad8 (talk • contribs) 09:15, 27 April 2016 (UTC)
 * No. Pushkin had a grandfather called Ossip Abramovich Gannibal who was from Russia. His father (Pushkin's great-grandfather), Abram Petrovich Gannibal, was from Africa. The myth that he was from Ethiopia/Eritrea is no longer widely believed, as modern research shows he was from a region in today's Cameroon.145.129.237.245 (talk) 17:56, 13 February 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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another Aleksandr Pushkin,
Not to be confused with the 21st-century director of photography Aleksandr Pushkin (e.g., A Lost Sister.37.99.32.63 (talk) 15:08, 25 June 2020 (UTC)

Is Pushkin translatable into English?
I have been told by Russian speakers that Pushkin does not translate at all well into English (that all the beauty is lost). I'm not a Russian speaker so I have to take their word of it. Max Eastman makes a similar point in https://newrepublic.com/article/99159/pushkin-and-his-english-translators — Preceding unsigned comment added by Seki1949 (talk • contribs) 22:44, 20 July 2020 (UTC)
 * The argument in that article is not that Pushkin is difficult to translate, but that those translators have done an unreasonably bad job - whether making straightforward mistakes, using archaic and overflowery vocabulary, or erasing what Pushkin wrote in excessive pursuit of a rhyme. So it's not really about Pushkin's translatability. So I don't think it would work as a source for this article. By the by, as a non-native Russian reader, I suspect there is a real challenge simply because Pushkin's command of rhyme and metre in Russian are clearly key to his appeal (even for non-natives, the beauty of his verse is striking), although he is far more than that as a poet. But we'd need a proper source that says this is a specific problem for Pushkin's verse over any other.OsFish (talk) 09:24, 21 July 2020 (UTC)

Three-cornered duel?
'Pushkin was fatally wounded in a duel with his wife's alleged lover and her sister's husband Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès, also known as Dantes-Gekkern, a French officer serving with the Chevalier Guard Regiment.'

Was the alleged lover also Pushkin's brother-in-law? Why not say so? As this sentence presently reads, there were three parties to the duel: 1. Pushkin 2. His wife's alleged lover and 3. Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès.

In which case, it cannot have been a duel (= two parties).

Just replace the word 'and' with a comma. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.253.229.55 (talk) 05:46, 20 June 2022 (UTC)

Gogol not “russian” writer
Gogol is a Ukrainian author, not russian. This needs to be amended. 82.131.108.106 (talk) 06:35, 12 November 2022 (UTC)

Works categories
There is no consistency between the template and the "Works" paragraph of the article as to the categorization of the works. 2A02:1810:2423:3700:20FB:6618:3A27:1768 (talk) 21:17, 24 March 2024 (UTC)

Contentious topic
Should we impose contentious topic restriction for this article, after making several reverts per Requests for arbitration/Eastern Europe and General sanctions/Russo-Ukrainian War. 45.171.146.183 (talk) 10:20, 25 June 2024 (UTC)