Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) is considered Russia's greatest and most influential writer (against some very serious competition), But few people realize Pushkin is of African descent, like the British writer Lord Byron.
Pushkin's great-grandfather, Major-General Abram Gannibal, was born in Ethiopia, kidnapped by Ottomans into slavery, and because Black slaves were considered prestigious he was given as a gift to Czar Peter the Great.
Recently there is some disagreement about which sub-Saharan African country he was from. But it's worth noting that Ethiopia is the only African nation that was never enslaved, just as Ireland is the only European nation to have been entirely enslaved, proving slavery is not about race so much as it is a matter of geography, war and culture.
Much to his credit, the Czar recognized Gannibal's great intelligence and many talents could be put to use, so he provided Gannibal with the finest military education, and he rose to become one of the Czar's greatest generals as the head military engineer and weapons inventor.
The idea of talented slaves rising to become esteemed military generals was not unheard of in Czarist Russia or in Ancient Rome. Both Sparticus and Cleon had been slaves, and Roman Emperor SEPTIMUS SEVERUS, was half Black and born in Africa. Roman Emperor PROBUS (which means moral integrity) was also African. And Roman Emperor Publius Helvius PERTINAX was the son of a freed slave.
Pushkin, who was born into nobility, recorded the incredible events of his great-grandfather's life in "The Moor of Peter the Great."
What Makes Pushkin Great?
Before Pushkin, French was the language of the Russian aristocracy and all of Russia's literature was actually in French. But as one with a foreign perspective, Pushkin was far better able to recognize the richness and versatility of the Russian language, making it the perfect language for literature.
His beautiful love poetry opened Russian eyes to the many merits of their own language, even though heretofore it had been considered the language of the peasantry and therefore was severely undervalued.
After Pushkin, Russian writers finally embraced Russian and began to write in their own country's language, giving birth to Russian literature and the great writers that followed, like Chekhov, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy.
Other than his popular love poems, Pushkin is best known for "Eugene Onegin," a novel in verse turned into a dreamy ballet by Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky that is performed the world over to this day (after a period of not being performed much), including in the US. Just this year it has now been turned into an opera!
Excerpt of Pushkin's poetry: https://max.mmlc.northwestern.edu/mdenner/Demo/texts/autumn_pushkin.htm
