Pushkin Preserve

a state literary memorial museum founded in connection with A. S. Pushkin’s sojourns in the village of Mikhailovskoe (now in Pskov Oblast).

The Pushkin Preserve was established by a decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR in 1922. Initially it included Mikhailovskoe, the family estate of the Gannibal-Pushkins; Trigorskoe, the estate of the poet’s friends the Osi-pov-Vul’fs; and Pushkin’s grave in the Sviatogorsk Monastery. In 1936 the following areas were added: the entire Sviatogorsk Monastery, including all its grounds; Petrovskoe, the estate of the poet’s great-uncle, P. A. Gannibal; and Savkino, including the sites of the ancient fortified settlements of Savkina Gorka and Voronich. The preserve’s total area is about 700 hectares.

Pushkin visited Mikhailovskoe in 1817, 1819, and 1835, and from 1824 to 1826 he was in exile there. More than 100 works were written in Mikhailovskoe, including Boris Godunov, the conclusion of The Gypsies, Count Nulin, and the third through sixth chapters of Eugene Onegin. The house-museums of the Pushkin Preserve contain the personal effects of the poet and his relatives and friends, as well as documentary and literary materials. The Pushkin Preserve regularly observes memorial days and conducts readings and conferences. Since 1967, the All-Union Poetry Festival has been held there on Pushkin’s birthday.