ABSTRACT

Lev Pushkin memorized Alexander Pushkin’s poem Tsigany (The Gypsies)and recited it at social gatherings. He eagerly answered many of the listeners’ questions, often saying more than he ought have. Lev, having received a notebook full of poems for speedy publication and payment, took more than four months to submit a copy to the censorship. He recited these poems at social gatherings, eagerly inscribing them into the albums of his lady-friends. Meanwhile, he squandered the money which had ostensibly been collected for Pushkin, some of it earmarked for payment of the poet’s old debts. Most of the people willing to help were still in the dark regarding the facts, not realizing that they were being used as pawns in a game between Pushkin and the higher authorities. The poet’s letters were full of evasions and circumlocutions.