ABSTRACT
A lot has been written about Alexander Pushkin’s life in Odessa, but little is known. Some thirty years ago the Odessa Pushkinist S. Borovoy calculated that 236 works on Pushkin’s life in Odessa had been published. This number will soon be doubled, but only crumbs of new information have ever come to light. The ancient Greeks called the Black Sea the Euxinus, meaning “hospitable,” and a settlement on the site of Odessa had existed since before the birth of Christ. Having captured these territories at the end of the eighteenth century, the Russians undertook to build a port. The customs cordon separated Odessa from Russia, making it just like a free city. This border was guarded by Cossacks. Serfs, deserting soldiers, tramps, and convicts all escaped to Odessa, becoming “free citizens” and gradually turning into a native population for the New Russia.
