Washington Journal., 1942-05-15
SIDE G H OF HISTORY
Pushkin's Duels
Pushkin's Duels
Banished to the Caucasus
By EDWIN EMERSON

Banished to the Caucasus
Because of his sharp epigrams and known
relations with political malcontents Pushkin
was banished by, Gar Nicholas |. to the eau
casus, there to remain under charge of Gen
eral Inzov, a kind old nobleman. AT Kishinev
in Bessarabia, where Pushkin spent more than
two and a half years, he cut a wide swath as
a roysterer. Quarreling with two officers over
a game of billiards he challenged both to fight
him with swords. His friend Piprandi man
aged to patch up the affair on the ground OF
its triaing Importance. Shortly afterward
Pushkin wanted to call out another army
officer, Captain D%ruganov, because the latter
had declined to bout at rapiers with him.
This affair ended in a friendly rapier bout.
A few months later Pushkin was put in
arrest by his best friend in Kishinev, General
Inzov, for slapping the face of a Moldavian
merchant whose handsome wife had rebutfed
Pushkin's ardor during an evening party.
The Jealous husband wanted Pushkin's blood,
but General Inzov induced the Moldavian with
his wife to leave Kishinev, while Pushkin still
was confined at the generals headquarters.
Pushkin spent the fortnight of his arrest ly-
ing on his bed and shooting with wax bullets
from a duelling pistol at flies on the ceiling.
He Embarrassed His Protector
Scarcely out of arrest, Pushkin drew upon
himself a duel with Baron ZubOv, one OF Gen
eral Inzov's aides. During a game OF cards,
i'll which Pushkin lost steadily, he minated
that Zubov must bave cheated. A pistol duel
resulted. While Zubov, who had the first shot,
was taking aim, Pushkin nonchalantly nibbled
cherries. Zubov missed his shot. care you
satisfied, asked Pushkin pleasantly, dang
ling another cherry before his mouth. eyes,
so let us shake hands,, said Zubov. "Quite
superfuous'', answered Pushkin, as he threw
down his pistol and left the field. At a recon-
citation dinner, that was arranged by the
seconds, Pushkin embraced Zubov and Zubov
called the poet a brave man.
Because of this affair General Inzov sent
Pushkin away from Kishinev for several
weeks. The poet again improved his enforced
idleness by much target practice with a duel
ling pistol. At that time he also acquired his
famous heavy cane Of ~iron-Wood, wherewith
he liked to chop off thistleheads and to thrust
at treetrunks to keep his sword-arm in prac-
tice. In those days, it will be remembered,
sword duels were not fought with such light
blades as nowadays.
Shortly after Pushkin's recall to Kishinev
he got into another scrape at an officers ball.
He had given offense to a newly arrived heu-
tenant by counter-manding the young officers
request to the orchestra leader for a quadrille.
Lie LllSlCldllS, dld VI 4 uohhlA ? HulNn
temper, played the mazurka demanded by the
poet. The disappointed lieutenant, not hav-
ing met the poet, complained to his colonel.
Thereupon the colonel demanded an apology
from Pushkin. The poet refused. A pistol
duel with the colonel was the consequence.
Because Of the intense cold the pistols of
both men missed fire. So the duel was post
poned to a warmer day. Before it came, com
mon friends brought about a reconciliation.
Under Imperial Disfavor
Pushkin, having fallen under the Cars dis
favor anew because of a privately distributed
blasphemous poem on the Holy Virgin and
Arch-Angel Gabriel, was recalled in disgrace
and rusticated on his fathers estate Mikhai-
lovskoe under police surveillance. There he
wrote the superb canto OF his epic poem
Eugene Onegin, containing the famous de-
s~cription Of his hero's wanton pistol duel.
In the poem the duel is preceded by the
heroine's foreboding nightmare of a tragic
quarrel between Eugene and her betrothed,
the poet Lenski, who on the following day
feels driven to challenge Eugene, his best
friend, because of Eugene's cynical conduct
toward Tatyana, the heroine. Eugene accepts
the challenge very casually and adds insult to
injury by bringing to the encounter a French
valet as his second. On the approach to the
barrier Eugene fires first and shoots Lenski
through the heart. Thereafter Eugene's
dreams are haunted by the bloody spectre OF
his victim.
The motif of Eugene Onegin's fatal duel, it