ABSTRACT
In the years 1827 and 1828, the two friend’s intention to go abroad had been a serious one. Quite possibly, Sergey Sobolevsky delayed his own departure for over a year because of the bureaucratic hassles which barred Alexander Pushkin from obtaining the necessary permission. After Sobolevsky’s departure, all correspondence between the two had ceased, as if by arrangement. Sobolevsky took pains, though, to find out the latest developments in Pushkin’s life from mutual acquaintances. Sobolevsky’s library was left in the safe-keeping of Ivan Kireyevsky, who informed the owner of which volumes Pushkin had continued to borrow. Sobolevsky wrote this nonsense to obfuscate certain important details in a letter bound to be opened in by the censors. Kireyevsky, publisher of the journal the European, was probably aware of Pushkin and Sobolevsky’s plans. Pushkin, knowing full well that his chances of obtaining a foreign passport were minuscule, decided to undertake an unauthorized voyage to the south.
