Belykh A. A. Pushkin as a landlord // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №3. P. 80-102.

EDN: HLQTYC

Annotation

A. S. Pushkin wrote that “the spirit of literature” to some extent “depends on the financial status of writers”, which also applied to him. From an economic point of view, he played five roles: a civil servant, a writer and publisher, a card player, a landlord, and a family man. This article presents Pushkin as a landlord, although his upbringing and education did not prepare him for estate management; however, at that time, it was typical for most noblemen. The author identifies three periods in Pushkin’s activity as a landlord: 1830–1831 — landlord, 1834–1835 — manager, 1836 — heir. In 1830, Pushkin’s father gave him 200 peasants in the village Kistenevo, which was one of the factors of Pushkin’s marriage. Having pledged these peasants in the Safe Treasury for a loan of 40 thousand roubles, Pushkin was able to give a loan of 11 thousand roubles to Gonchrova’s mother, which was used as a dowry and, in addition, as a means of covering family expenses. In 1834, Pushkin realized that his family estate Boldino was in critical financial straits and decided to take over the estate management. He took another loan for the peasants already pledged by his father and changed the estate manager. However, Pushkin was not particularly successful, and in 1835 he refused to manage the Boldino estate. In 1836, his mother, the owner of Mikhailovskoye, died. Pushkin was one of the heirs and wanted to buy out the whole estate; however, financial and other circumstances did not allow him to do it. The article presents Pushkin’s income as a landlord — about 24 thousand roubles (before his landlord’s income was considered insignificant), i.e., 7.7% of his total income. Thus, Pushkin’s attempt to manage estate was a mistake, and the author shares Pushkin’s opinion that “the writer’s place is in his office”. 

Keywords

Pushkin, landlord, serfdom, Boldino, Mikhailovskoye, estate management.

About the author

Andrei A. Belykh, DSc (Economics), Deputy Head of the Centre of Applied History, Institute of Social Sciences, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Prosp. Vernadskogo, 82, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
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