Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin is often called "the father of Russian literature". He was the first great poet to write in Russian rather than other European languages. His work influenced many later 19th century Russian-language writers.

Pushkin is notoriously difficult to translate into English. The translator here states "I have translated Pushkin literally word for word, line for line. My object was to make Pushkin himself, without a prompter, speak directly to English readers." - Summary by Alan Mapstone