Bad habits of Arina Rodionovna and other facts about Pushkin's nanny that were not included in the textbooks

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Arina Rodionovna Yakovleva (1758-1828) - the nanny of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin - was born in the village of Lampovo, Koporsky district, St. Petersburg province, in a family of serfs. Her mother, Lukerya Kirillova, and father, Rodion Yakovlev, had seven children. The real name of the nanny was Irina or Irinya, and at home they called her Arina.

When Arina Rodionovna was a child, her family belonged to Lieutenant of the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment Count Fyodor Alekseevich Apraksin. In 1759, the Suidu estate and the surrounding villages with people were bought from Apraksin by great-grandfather A.S. Pushkin - A.P. Hannibal. So Arina Rodionovna became a serf of the Hannibals. Arina in 1781 married the peasant Fyodor Matveev (1756-1801), and she was allowed to move to her husband in the village of Kobrino, which belonged to the Hannibals, not far from Gatchina. They lived in poverty, there was not even cattle on the farm. Arina and Fedor had 4 children: Maria, Nadezhda, Egor and Stefan. At 43, Arina Rodionovna was widowed and never remarried.

On Wikipedia, I read that Arina Rodionovna was the nanny of Pushkin's mother Nadezhda Osipovna. It was possible locally. As a child, Nadezhda Osipovna often lived in the village of Kobrino. However, it does not grow very well over time. Nadezhda Osipovna was born in 1775, and Arina Rodionovna came to live in Kobrino with her husband in 1781, when the girl was already six years old. And then she herself began to give birth and feed four children. It is possible, though, that she performed some duties of a nanny. It is more likely that Arina Rodionovna became a nanny in 1792, when she was taken by Pushkin's grandmother Maria Alekseevna Gannibal as a nanny to his nephew Alexei, son of brother Mikhail. In 1795, Maria Alekseevna gave Arina Rodionovna a separate hut in Kobrin for her impeccable service. In 1797, the poet's sister Olga was born, after which Arina Rodionovna was taken into the Pushkin family, replacing her relative or namesake Ulyana Yakovleva in this post. First, Arina Rodionovna was Olga's nurse and nanny, then the nanny of Alexander Pushkin and his brother Lev.

Sergei Lvovich Pushkin retired shortly after the birth of his daughter and moved with his family to Moscow, where his mother, brother and other relatives lived. Arina, as Olga Sergeevna's nurse and nurse, left with them. In 1799, the Pushkins had a son, Alexander. Soon Maria Alekseevna Hannibal also decided to move to Moscow. In 1800 she sold Kobrino with people, and in 1804 she bought Zakharovo near Moscow.

Arina with her family and the house in which they lived, Maria Alekseevna excluded from the sale. In 1801, her husband Fyodor died of drunkenness. After the death of her husband, Arina Rodionovna's four children remained in Kobrino, and she herself was under Maria Alekseevna, first among the numerous domestics in Moscow, and after the sale of Kobrino - in Zakharovo. Then Arina, among the household members, moves to Mikhailovskoye.

After Olga, Arina nursed Alexander and Lev, but she was only a nurse for Olga.

She was a nanny for little Sasha until she was 7 years old, and then an “uncle” and a tutor were assigned to him. Pushkin had Nikita Kozlov, a faithful and devoted "uncle" who accompanied the poet to the grave.

However, in the biographies of Pushkin, the nanny overshadows Kozlov. Veresaev was the first to notice this:

“How strange! The man, apparently, was ardently devoted to Pushkin, loved him, cared for him, perhaps no less than the nanny Arina Rodionovna, accompanied him throughout his independent life, but is not mentioned anywhere: neither in Pushkin's letters, nor in the letters of his relatives. Not a word about him - neither good nor bad.

But it was Nikita Kozlov who brought the wounded poet into the house in his arms, he, together with Alexander Turgenev, lowered the coffin with Pushkin's body into the grave.

Pushkin became especially close to his nanny during his exile in Mikhailovsky in 1824-1826.

At that time, Pushkin listened with pleasure to her fairy tales, from her words he wrote down folk songs. In his work, he used the plots and motives of what he heard. According to the poet, Arina Rodionovna was the “original” of Dubrovsky’s nanny, Tatyana’s nanny from Eugene Onegin. It is generally accepted that she is also the prototype of Xenia's mother in "Boris Godunov", the female images of the novel "Peter the Great's Moor", the princess's mother ("Mermaid").

In November 1824, Pushkin wrote to his brother: “Do you know my classes? before dinner I write notes, I have dinner late; after dinner I ride, in the evening I listen to fairy tales - and thereby reward the shortcomings of my accursed upbringing. What a charm these fairy tales are! Each is a poem! It is known that Pushkin wrote down seven fairy tales, ten songs and several folk expressions from the nurse's words, although, of course, he heard more from her. Proverbs, sayings, sayings did not leave her tongue. The nanny knew a lot of fairy tales and conveyed them in a special way. It was from her that Pushkin first heard about the hut on chicken legs, and the tale of the dead princess and the seven heroes.

We don't know what this woman looked like. Pushkin himself created a poetic, romantic myth about the nanny, the poet's idea was continued by his friends.

Here is how Pushkin wrote about the nurse:

Confidante of magical old times,

Friend of fictions playful and sad,

I knew you in the days of my spring,

In the days of joys and initial dreams.

I was waiting for you; in the evening silence

You were a cheerful old woman,

And she sat above me in a shushun,

In big glasses and with a frisky rattle.

You, rocking the cradle of a child,

Captivated my young ears with melodies

And between the sheets she left a flute,

Which she herself charmed.

Infancy passed like a light dream.

You loved the careless boy,

Among the important Muses, he only remembered you,

And you quietly visited him;

But was that your image, your dress?

How cute you are, how quickly you have changed!

With what fire the smile revived!

What fire flashed a welcoming look!

The cover, swirling like a naughty wave,

Slightly overshadowed your half-air camp;

All in curls, entwined with a wreath,

The charms head was fragrant;

Chest white under yellow pearls

Blushed and trembled quietly ...

We hardly know what she really was. Contemporaries wrote that she was talkative, talkative.

In his memoirs, the poet N. Yazykov noted her unexpected mobility, despite her fullness, -

"... she was an affectionate, caring troublemaker, an inexhaustible storyteller, and sometimes a cheerful drinking companion."

There are almost no descriptions of her appearance, except for a quote from the memoirs of Maria Osipova: “an extremely respectable old woman - with a full face, all gray-haired, passionately loving her pet ...”. Part of the phrase that follows is cut out in a number of publications: "... but with one sin - she loved to drink."

Winter evening

The storm covers the sky with mist,

Whirlwinds of snow twisting;

Like a beast, she will howl

It will cry like a child

That on a dilapidated roof

Suddenly the straw will rustle,

Like a belated traveler

There will be a knock on our window.

Our ramshackle shack

And sad and dark.

What are you, my old lady,

Silent at the window?

Or howling storms

You, my friend, are tired

Or slumber under the buzz

Your spindle?

Let's drink, good friend

My poor youth

Let's drink from grief; where is the mug?

The heart will be happy.

Sing me a song like a titmouse

She lived quietly across the sea;

Sing me a song like a maiden

She followed the water in the morning.

The storm covers the sky with mist,

Whirlwinds of snow twisting;

Like a beast, she will howl

It will cry like a child.

Let's drink, good friend

My poor youth

Let's drink from grief; where is the mug?

The heart will be happy.

He dedicated the poem "Nanny" to her.

Friend of my harsh days,

My decrepit dove!

Alone in the wilderness of pine forests

You've been waiting for me for a long, long time.

You are under the window of my room

Grieving like clockwork

And the spokes are slowing down every minute

In your wrinkled hands.

Looking through the forgotten gates

To the black distant path:

Longing, forebodings, worries

They squeeze your chest all the time.

It's amazing to you.............

Pushkin A.S. 1826

“You know that I don’t show sensitivity, but the meeting of my servants, boors and my nanny - by God, tickles the heart more pleasantly than fame, the pleasure of pride, absent-mindedness, etc. My nanny is hilarious. Imagine that at the age of 70 she had memorized a new prayer about TENDERING THE HEART OF THE LORD AND TAKING THE SPIRIT OF HIS FEROYNESS, a prayer probably composed during the reign of Tsar Ivan. Now her priests are tearing up a prayer service and preventing me from doing business.

The last time Pushkin saw the nanny at Mikhailovskoye was on September 14, 1827, nine months before her death.

In January 1828, Pushkin's sister, against the will of her parents, married Nikolai Ivanovich Pavlishchev. Relations with relatives became cold. Only in March did they agree to give her a few yards. Olga Sergeevna at this time decided to take her already very old nurse and nurse, Arina Rodionovna, to her. The nanny arrived at the Pavlishchevs, apparently, at the beginning of March 1828, still on a winter journey. In Kobrin, she saw her son Yegor, granddaughter Katerina and other relatives for the last time.

Arina Rodionovna died after a short illness at the age of 70 on July 29, 1828 in St. Petersburg, in the house of Olga Pavlishcheva (Pushkina).

“In Mikhailovsky, I found everything in the old way, except that my nanny is not there, and that near the familiar old pine trees, during my absence, a young pine family rose, which annoyed me to look at, how sometimes it annoys me to see young cavalry guards at balls where I no longer dance.”

Again I visited

The corner of the earth where I spent

Exiles two years invisible.

Ten years have passed since then - and many

Changed my life...

Here is a disgraced house,

Where I lived with my poor nanny.

Already the old woman is gone - already behind the wall

I do not hear her heavy steps,

Nor her painstaking watch...

In 1974, in the house of Arina Rodionovna in the village of Kobrino, the museum "House of A. S. Pushkin's nanny" was opened.

Monuments were erected to Arina Rodionovna in Boldino, in Pskov, in the Kaluga region, in the village of Voskresenskoye (Gatchinsky district of the Leningrad region).

Poet N.M. Yazykoa dedicated the following lines to Pushkin's nurse:

To the nanny A.S. Pushkin

Svet Rodionovna, will I forget you?

In those days, loving rural freedom,

I left for her both glory and science,

And the Germans, and this city of professors and boredom, -

You, the blessed mistress of that canopy,

Where is Pushkin, not smitten by a harsh fate,

Despising people, rumors, their caresses, their betrayals

He served as a priest at the altar of Kamena, -

Always greetings of kindness

You met me, you greeted me,

When through a long row of fields, under the heat of summer,

I went to visit the exiled poet,

And I was accompanied by your old friend,

Areev sciences young pet.

How sweet is your holy hospitality

Self-will spoiled our taste and thirst;

With what cordiality - the beauty of ancient years -

You got us a fancy dinner!

She herself served us vodka and brashna,

And honeycombs, and fruits, and wine set

On the sweet crampedness of an old table!

You occupied us - kind and cheerful -

About the old bar with an intricate story:

We marveled at their venerable pranks,

We believed you - and laughter did not interrupt

Your artless judgments and praises;

The language was fluent,

And light hours flew carefree!

N.M. languages. 1827.

On the death of the nanny A.S. Pushkin

I will find that humble cross,

Under which, between other people's coffins,

Your ashes lay down, exhausted

Works and the burden of years.

You won't die in memories

About my bright youth

And in instructive legends

About the life of the poets of our days ...

Over there - thin wallpaper

Somewhere a covered wall

The floor is unrepaired, two windows

And a glass door between them;

sofa under the image in the corner,

Yes, a couple of chairs; the table is decorated

Wealth of wines and rural brews,

And you, who came to the table!

We feasted. Not shy

You are our share - and sometimes

Moved to its spring

A heated dream; ..

You tell us: in the days of old,

Isn't it true, not for this

Your boyars are young

Did you like to spend the night? ..

And we ... Like childhood is playful,

How our youth is free

How full of age is smart

And like wine is eloquent,

You were talking to me

Captured my imagination...

And here's a tribute to you

Fresh flowers for your coffin!

I will find that humble cross,

Under which, between other people's coffins,

Your ashes lay down exhausted

Works and the burden of years.

Before him with a sad head

bow; I remember a lot

And with a touching dream

My soul will melt!

In the Russian Empire of the 18th century, serfs and courtyards did not have surnames. Usually, at birth, church books indicated the name received at baptism, the names of parents and owners. In April, on the 10th of the Julian calendar (21 according to the Gregorian) of 1758, near the village of Suyda, Koporsky district, the daughter of Irinya (Irina) was born to the serf Lukerya Kirilova. One of the seven children of Lukerya from Rodion Yakovlev, also a serf. Thus begins the story of the life path of the future "confidante of ancient times."

At home, the girl's name was Arina (colloquial form on behalf of Irina), she received her father's surname - Rodionova, and closer to old age she became Rodionovna. However, Pushkin never called her by name, for him she forever remained a “nanny”, and sometimes was affectionately called “mummy”.

The village in which Arina was born then belonged to Count Apraksin F.A., and in 1759 the villages in the Koporsky district, together with the people, were bought out by A.P. Hanibal, Pushkin's great-grandfather. The life of serfs was never distinguished, of course, by wealth or the convenience of life; poverty and deprivation flourished in large families.

At 23, Arina married the serf Fyodor Matveev and received permission to move to live with him in the village of Kobrino, Sofia district. Here are the data of the sources in the question of how Arina got into the yard servants. According to some biographers, the girl was taken to the master's house by Maria Alekseevna, Pushkin's grandmother, as the nanny of Alexei's nephew. There is evidence that she was also the nanny of Nadezhda Osipovna, Pushkin's mother. According to another version, Arina Rodionovna became a breadwinner and nanny already in the Pushkins' house, when the eldest daughter Olga, Alexander Sergeevich, was born.

Since then, the nanny, until the end of her days, was attached to the house, nursed both Olga and Alexander, and the youngest, Lev. Even when the Pushkins, moving to Moscow, sold the land, the nanny and her family (and she had four children) were detached from the “sales”, and for their faithful service the house in Kobrino was given to them for personal use.

The poet became especially close to his nanny during his exile in 1824-1826 in the village of Mikhailovskoye. She alone shared it, entertained in the evenings with fairy tales, proverbs, jokes. Alexander Sergeevich wrote that it was her tales that he later processed in his works. This period became very fruitful in the work of Pushkin. Alone, deprived of the joys of secular life, he devoted his days to poetry, and spent his evenings in the company of Arina Rodionovna.

In March 1828, Arina Rodionovna, along with other serfs, was taken to the house of Olga Sergeevna Pavlishcheva (nee Pushkina), Alexander's elder sister, which became her last refuge. The nurse died in June 1928 after a short illness at the age of 70. Pushkin was not present at the funeral of the “friend of the harsh days”, and since no identification marks were left on the grave of the serfs, her grave was lost.

MOSCOW, April 21 - RIA Novosti, Anna Kocharova. On this day, 260 years ago, according to the new style (April 10, according to the old one), Arina Rodionovna Yakovleva, Pushkin's nanny, was born.

The life of this serf peasant woman was closely connected with the famous family. About the plots of which works she suggested to Pushkin and why she remained in the history of Russian literature - in the material of RIA Novosti.

It seems that in the life of this woman there was no one but the great Russian poet. From childhood, from the school curriculum, we know poems addressed to her. Since childhood, we read about how she carefully looked after her ward.

Small in stature, the same as Pushkin. Lively, sharp-tongued, full of face - this is what is known about how Arina (or, according to some sources, Irina) Rodionovna looked. Contemporaries of the poet, describing her, noted the main thing: she devotedly loved her Alexander Sergeevich.

One portrait of Arina Rodionovna by an unknown master has survived, says Natalya Klyushina, head of the museum "A. S. Pushkin's Nanny's House". But it seems that we all know from childhood what she looked like. Indeed, for readers, she has long become such a nationwide nanny and grandmother, Igor Shaimardanov, an artist from St. Petersburg, the author of a series of paintings on Pushkin's themes, is sure. His works, as well as other artifacts related to the life of a nanny, are presented at the exhibition "DR Arina R" in the St. Petersburg exhibition hall "Smolny".

© Provided by GBUK LO "Museum Agency"

© Provided by GBUK LO "Museum Agency"

Much is known today about the biography of Pushkin's nanny, her life has long been the sphere of scientific interests of Pushkinists. “A girl, at about ten years of age, she lost her father,” says Natalya Klyushina. “From an early age she lived in poverty and labor, she knew how to spin, weave, embroider, weave lace.”

Pretty young, she got married and gave birth to four children - sons Yegor and Stefan, daughters Nadezhda and Maria. Researchers write that she could draw the attention of the masters to herself with her sharp conversation and glibness. But her husband, Fyodor Matveev, was also respected by his fellow villagers. Rare christenings and marriages took place without an invitation and his participation as a guarantor.

The Pushkins, apparently, treated the caring nanny in a special way. She nursed an entire generation of this family.

“She was offered freedom, but she refused,” says Natalya Klyushina. “Arina Rodionovna saw that Nadezhda Osipovna (mother of Alexander Sergeevich. - Approx. ed. ) going to become a mother, and considered it necessary to remain in this family. In addition, the peasants assigned to the court, unlike those who worked on the land, occupied a special position in the master's families: this is clothing, food, and respect.

The nanny was given a separate house in Kobrino. But later, having moved after her family to Moscow, she agreed that her children could follow her. Two daughters and the youngest son left. The elder stayed in Kobrino. For many years, until the middle of the twentieth century, the descendants of Arina Rodionovna lived there.

“This lively old woman knew many fairy tales, ditties, sayings, sayings,” continues Natalya Klyushina. “She was illiterate, she could not read. But she was distinguished by folk wisdom, well-aimed expressions, sharp words. Pushkin wrote down seven plots of fairy tales from the words of Arina Rodionovna. Three have come down to us in poetic processing: these are "The Tale of Tsar Saltan", "The Tale of the Priest and his Worker Balda" and "The Tale of the Dead Princess".

“Pushkin loved his nanny very much, dedicated many poems to her, “Nanny”, “Winter Evening”, “Gorodok,” recalls the head of the museum “A. S. Pushkin’s Nanny’s House.” mother, nor father. Arina Rodionovna knew how to listen and advise. She gave all her love, cordiality and kindness to Pushkin."

The name of this woman is known today to any schoolchild. There is hardly a person who does not answer, what was the name of Pushkin's nanny Alexander Sergeevich. But what do most of our compatriots know about her origin and biography? It so happened that for us her life has always been in the shadow of the biography and work of her famous pupil. This, of course, is not surprising. Do not realize Pushkin as

successful and recognized poet, we would hardly even know who Arina Rodionovna was. However, Alexander Sergeevich himself did not tire of repeating and emphasizing its important role in his development and already in adulthood. The nanny of A. S. Pushkin, no doubt, deserves recognition to her share.

The origin and early years of Arina Rodionovna

She was born in April 1758 in one of the small villages of the St. Petersburg province. Her parents were the surname of Arina Rodionovna, Pushkin's nanny, Yakovleva. In the family, besides her, there were six children. In the first year of her life, the future nanny of A. S. Pushkin was considered a serf, belonging to Count No in 1759, the surrounding lands, together with the villages and the peasants inhabiting them, were bought from Apraksin by Abram Petrovich Gannibal, the great-grandfather of the famous Russian poet. In 1781, Arina marries and moves to the village of Kobrino to her husband. With the move, she becomes the serf of Osip Hannibal, the poet's grandfather. Around this time, she was taken to serve in the landowner's house,

for work on First, she was a nanny to Nadezhda Osipovna, Pushkin's mother, And over time, for her children - Alexander, Olga and Leo - she became a nanny. In 1972, the grandmother of the future poet Maria Alexandrovna took her in as a nanny for her nephew Alexei. Three years later, Arina Rodionovna receives a hut in Kobrino as a gift from a landowner's family for her impeccable service.

Nanny of A. S. Pushkin

In 1879, Olga Pushkina (the poet's elder sister) was born, and in 1799 the future Russian classic himself. On the shoulders of Arina Rodionovna, of course, lies a new responsibility for the upbringing of these children. It is interesting that in 1807 the Hannibal family sells the land they once bought, which included the village of Kobrino. However, by that time, the nanny was already attached not to the land, but to the owners, so the sale did not apply to her. She moves with her family to the Pskov province, to the village of Mikhailovskoye. The subsequent period is perhaps the brightest page of her

life.

The image of this woman often appeared in the poetry of Alexander Pushkin. His poems give her a very complete description. The sister of the classic Olga recalled Arina Rodionovna as a real representative of Russian nannies, with a reverent and tender attitude towards children. At the same time, the nanny of A. S. Pushkin was attached to her pupils not only during their childhood, but throughout their lives. So, during the period of Mikhailovskaya exile of Alexander Sergeevich (1824-26), in which the poet was imprisoned for two years for free-thinking, a woman was constantly near him, brightening up the loneliness of the poet. Here, in Mikhailovsky, Pushkin saw her for the last time in September 1827. Nine months later, Arina Rodionovna died at the age of 70 years old. Then she was buried in St. Petersburg at the Smolensk cemetery.

Around the image of the legendary Arina Rodionovna - the nanny of the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin - there were many different rumors and legends. Despite the fact that the famous pupil himself always spoke of this respected woman with sincere love and gratitude, some Pushkinists and the poet's contemporaries noted surprising and even contradictory moments in the biography and character of the nanny, whose name became a household name.

Izhorka or Chukhonka?

Arina Rodionovna (1758-1828) was a peasant serf. She was born in the village of Lampovo, Petersburg province, not far from the village of Suyda. Her parents Lukerya Kirillova and Rodion Yakovlev raised seven children. The real name of the girl was Irina (or Irinya), but in the family she was always called Arina, and so it happened.

Despite the fact that in the 18th century almost all the serfs of the St. Petersburg province were officially considered Russians, the majority of the inhabitants of those places, in fact, were representatives of assimilated Finno-Ugric nationalities. The environs of Suida were inhabited mainly by Izhors - the descendants of one of the tribes of the people, who bore the name "Chud". In addition to them, Chukhons also lived on these lands.

Historians and Pushkin scholars do not have exact information to which of these Finno-Ugric nationalities, completely mixed with Russians and not preserved, Arina Rodionovna belonged. But some of the tales she told to her famous pupil have a distinct northern flavor. Even the image of an oak standing near Lukomorye clearly echoes the Scandinavian legends about the Yggdrasil tree, which connects different levels of the universe.

From a family of Old Believers?

Some historians note that families of Old Believers have long lived in the vicinity of the village of Suyda in the St. Petersburg province. Many of these people hid their religious views so as not to be persecuted by the official church.

In addition to the fact that Arina Rodionovna was born in the places of the traditional settlement of the Old Believers, her origin from this environment is also indicated by the information contained in the letter of A.S. Pushkin to his friend P.A. Vyazemsky on November 9, 1826. So, the great poet writes: “My nanny is hilarious. Imagine that at the age of 70 she memorized a new prayer "For the tenderness of the heart of the lord and the taming of the spirit of his ferocity", probably composed during the reign of Tsar Ivan. Now her priests are tearing up a prayer service ... "

The simple fact that Arina Rodionovna knew by heart or learned from somewhere a rare ancient prayer that existed even before the split of the Orthodox Church may indicate her close communication or kinship with the Old Believers. After all, only they so reverently preserved religious texts, many of which were lost by the official church.

Serf without a surname

Arina Rodionovna did not have a last name, like many serfs. Although her parent is recorded in church registers as Yakovlev, and her husband as Matveev, these were not names, but patronymics. In those days, Peter, the son of Ivan, was called Peter Ivanov, and the grandson of the same Ivan did not inherit the surname of his grandfather, but was called after his father - Petrov.

However, Irina, the daughter of a peasant, Rodion Yakovlev, is indicated in the birth record. There is also information about the wedding of Irinya Rodionova and Fyodor Matveev in the church book of the village of Suyda. These facts confused many researchers who mistakenly called Pushkin's nanny Yakovleva as a girl, and Matveeva as a wife.

mother of four children

Some people believe that Arina Rodionovna did not have her own family, and therefore she was strongly attached to her pupil. However, this was not the case. In 1781, a 22-year-old peasant woman got married and moved to the village of Kobrino, Sofia district, where her husband Fyodor Matveev (1756-1801), who was two years older than his young wife, lived.

Four children were born in this marriage. The eldest son of the legendary nanny was called Yegor Fedorov. In the revision tale for 1816, he is listed as the head of the family, since he was the eldest man in the house of the widowed mother.

And the husband of Arina Rodionovna died at the age of 44. Some sources claim that from drunkenness.

Drinker

All posts by A.S. Pushkin about his nanny are imbued with special warmth and gratitude. But some people who knew this woman pointed out that Arina Rodionovna liked to knock over a glass or two from time to time.

So, the poet Nikolai Mikhailovich Yazykov wrote in his memoirs: "... she was an affectionate, caring troublemaker, an inexhaustible storyteller, and sometimes a cheerful drinking companion." This man, who knew his friend's nanny well, noted that despite her fullness, she was always a mobile and energetic woman.

Quite frankly, a neighbor of the great poet on the estate in the village of Mikhailovskoye also spoke about Arina Rodionovna. The noblewoman Maria Ivanovna Osipova left the following entry in her memoirs: "... an extremely respectable old woman, all gray-haired, but with one sin - she loved to drink."

Perhaps in the poem "Winter Evening" A.S. Pushkin, it is far from accidental that the following lines appeared:

Let's drink, good friend

My poor youth

Let's drink from grief; where is the mug?

The heart will be happy.

Although there is no other information that this respected woman ever drank or (God forbid!) introduced her famous pupil to alcohol, does not exist.

Folk storyteller

It is unlikely that any of the Pushkinists would deny that Arina Rodionovna had a noticeable influence on the work of the great poet. Some historians call her a real folk storyteller - an inexhaustible storehouse of ancient legends, legends and myths.

Becoming an adult, A.S. Pushkin realized what an invaluable national and cultural asset fairy tales were, which his dear nanny knew by heart. In 1824-1826, while in exile, the great poet took advantage of the moment to once again listen and write down the magical stories about Tsar Saltan, about the golden cockerel, about the Lukomorye, about the dead princess and the seven heroes, as well as many others. The author breathed new life into these tales, bringing them his literary gift and poetic look.

At the beginning of November 1824 A.S. Pushkin wrote to his younger brother Lev Sergeevich from the village of Mikhailovsky that he was engaged in writing until lunch, then he rides, and in the evening he listens to fairy tales, thereby making up for the shortcomings of his education. Probably, the poet meant that at the beginning of the 19th century, the nobles did not study oral folk art at all.

“What a charm these fairy tales are! Each is a poem! exclaimed the poet in a letter to his brother.

As the Pushkinists established, according to their nanny A.S. Pushkin also wrote down ten folk songs and several expressions that seemed very interesting to him.