February 27, 2020

#TBT Russian Literature is Born


#TBT Russian Literature is Born
Eugene Onegin as imagined by Alexander Pushkin, 1830.

195 years ago today Russian literature was born. More specifically, Alexander Pushkin's Yevgeny Onegin began to be published. The epic novel in verse was published over the next seven years, and was not published in a single, full publication until 1833.

Comprised of 5,446 lines of iambic tetrameter, in an unusual form that has come to be known as the "Onegin stanza" or the "Pushkin sonnet," the poem has a very natural tone and diction the demonstrated Pushkin's humor and virtuosity, cemented his place as the greatest Russian poet who ever was or ever will be.

As a cornerstone of Russian literature, the poem has been translated into multiple languages and inspired countless derivative works, films, music and ballet.

You Might Also Like

My Pushkin, Our Pushkin
  • June 01, 1999

My Pushkin, Our Pushkin

There are many Pushkins. But only Russia can truly claim him as its own. For Pushkin made Russian literature what it is. Included in this piece are amazing photos from films based on Pushkin's works, plus excerpts, in Russian and English, from his most famous works.
Pushkin's Death
  • January 01, 2007

Pushkin's Death

Looking at the place of Pushkin in the Russian psyche, on the anniversary of the poet's tragic death.
The Poet's Fate
  • June 01, 1999

The Poet's Fate

Alexander Pushkin's work was inextricably bound up with his personal life and with his tragic death, foretold in his masterpiece, Yevgeny Onegin.
Pushkin's Estates
  • June 01, 1999

Pushkin's Estates

Pskov region's three estates associated with Pushkin were more than a quiet place for the poet to create; they also offered material for his muse.
The Translator
  • November 01, 2017

The Translator

Galina Sergeyevna Usova is a poet and translator of English prose and poetry. For the last few years, she has been standing outside St. Petersburg’s Polytechnic Institute metro station selling her books.
Pushkin is a Meme
  • May 01, 2019

Pushkin is a Meme

In which an artist tries to get out of a job illustrating a brochure and ends up getting sucked into a Pushkin meme vortex.
Pushkin Was Here (Perhaps)
  • May 01, 2019

Pushkin Was Here (Perhaps)

“Pushkin is our everything,” Russians like to say. And sometimes it seems like he was everywhere.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955