Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich

Russian Russian poet and novelist Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov is an outstanding Russian poet and novelist of the 19th century, whose work, imbued with motifs of loneliness and inner struggle, became an important milestone of Russian romanticism.

Biography

He was born on October 3 (15), 1814 in Moscow.

He spent his childhood in the Tarkhany estate (now the village of Lermontovo, Penza region) under the care of his grandmother Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva, she played a huge role in his life and upbringing.

He studied at Moscow University, then graduated from the School of Guards sub‑ensigns and Cavalry junkers; served in the Life Guards Hussar regiment.

The first exile to the Caucasus followed in 1837 after the poem "The Death of a Poet", written on the death of A. S. Pushkin; it brought Lermontov wide fame and at the same time brought him into disfavor with the authorities.

He was involved in secular conflicts and duels; he died in a duel with N. S. Martynov on July 15 (27), 1841 at the foot of Mount Mashuk near Pyatigorsk.

The most important works

"The Hero of Our Time" (1840) is the first psychological novel in Russian literature; it vividly reveals the image of the "superfluous man".

Poems: "Mtsyri" (a story about the pursuit of freedom), "The Demon" (a romantic interpretation of the eternal conflict of good and evil).

Poems: "Sail", "Borodino", "Clouds", "Cliff", "I go out alone on the road ..." and others.

The drama "Masquerade" is an acute social and psychological play.

Artistic features and significance

Lermontov is one of the main representatives of Russian Romanticism, and in his later work his realistic features are enhanced. His poetry is characterized by motifs of loneliness, inner struggle, the search for an ideal, and the opposition of personality and society. His lyrics had a great influence on subsequent Russian poets.

In addition to literature, Lermontov was engaged in painting: his watercolors and drawings, including Caucasian landscapes, have been preserved.

Memorable places

The Tarkhany State Lermontov Museum‑Reserve (Penza Region) is the main place of memory of the poet, where he spent his childhood; manuscripts, personal belongings are collected here, and the atmosphere of the estate is recreated.

The Lermontov House Museum in Moscow (on Malaya Molchanovka) is where the poet lived in 1829-1832 during his studies.

The Lermontov House Museum in Taman is dedicated to the poet's stay in the south and his impressions, reflected in the chapter "Taman" of the novel "Hero of Our Time".

There are also museums and expositions dedicated to Lermontov in Pyatigorsk and other cities of the Caucasian Mineral Waters.