serviceyears branch native_name_lang death_date allegiance native_name birth_date placeofburial rank image article_title name
1817 - 1856 russian imperial army rus february 3 , 1870 russian empire Константи́н Ка́рлович Данза́с 1801 alexander nevsky lavra major general Константин Данзас.jpg konstantin danzas
 konstantin karlovich danzas
konstantin danzas

konstantin karlovich danzas -lrb- -rrb- -lrb- 1801 -- february 3 , 1870 -rrb- was a russian major general , a friend of alexander pushkin , and his second in a duel with d'anthès .
danzas was born to a noble courland family in 1801 .
he started his education in moscow , but at the request of influential family friend , countess sofia stroganova , he was accepted to tsarskoye selo lyceum .
students gave him nickname `` bear '' .
while in the school , danzas befriended pushkin .
upon graduation in 1817 , danzas started his military career .
throughout the service danzas was frequently commended for his outstanding bravery .
among his awards were a golden sword for valor -lrb- 1828 -rrb- and a brilliant ring - a very rare decoration for an army officer .
danzas took part in many military campaigns , and in 1828 he was wounded in the left shoulder .
he did n't fully recover from this wound , and for the long time was using a sling to support his left hand .
on january 27 , 1837 pushkin asked danzas to be his second in duel with d'anthès .
duels were against the law , but being a man of honor , danzas could not refuse pushkin .
pushkin was mortally wounded in the duel , and died a few days later .
lying on his death bed , pushkin said to zhukovsky and vyazemsky , `` beg for danzas .
he is my soul brother . ''
danzas was arrested for his role as second in the duel , and confined to the peter and paul fortress .
initially he was sentenced to death by hanging , but later the sentence was reduced to two months of imprisonment .
after release , danzas continued his army service .
he asked to be transferred to the caucasus , and took position of a commander of the tengin regiment , where mikhail lermontov served .
danzas left the army in 1856 , in the rank of major general .
he continued to live in solitude , without a family .
over time , he came to blame himself more for pushkin 's death , and this affected his mood .
danzas carefully maintained his own small collection of valuable items related to pushkin , including pushkin 's death mask , rare letters and a turquoise ring that pushkin himself gave him .
danzas died on february 3 , 1870 , alone , and was buried at state expense in the catholic cemetery .
in 1936 his remains were moved to the tikhvin cemetery of the alexander nevsky lavra .
