Grigory Pushkin

Grigory, a younger son of Alexander and Natalie Pushkins‘, was born on 14 05 1835 in St Petersburg. He frequented a gymnasium in St. Petersburg; in the year 1849, he entered the Page school. In 1853, he successfully completed his studies: was awarded with the rank of a cornet and appointed to the privileged cavalrymen’s regiment of the Life Guards. In the year 1860, Grigory becomes an adjutant of an independent corps under a leadership of General N. Plautinov. Before long, he was promoted to a captain. Later worked at a disposal of the Ministry of Interior, was a palace assessor.

In the year 1865, Grigory Pushkin was transferred to the reserve. After a year, he departed from Saint Petersburg to inherited Michailovskoje, where he lived for almost 30 years. Living in inherited Michailovskoje, Grigory was taking care of his father‘s large inheritance: collection of the poet‘s manuscripts and editions, furniture, some A. Pushkin‘s personal things – four billiard balls the father used to play with (he found them at his neighbour‘s place), a Turkish sward that had been presented to the poet by I. Pashkevich in memory of an Arzrum campaign of the year 1829, an armchair. A special care was devoted to the room of A. Pushkin‘s nanny. He was collecting all publications about the poet.

At that time, he also started protecting his father‘s manuscripts: was striving to prevent publishing, presenting or selling without his brother‘s or his own permission the manuscripts that were in possession of other people.

Grigory Pushkin himself has created an invaluable museum exhibits: when in 1895 strong wind broke the Trigorsk pine-tree (glorified by the poet), he ordered to make small planks of its trunk, to which he attached copper plates with engraved lines of the poem „ I visited again...“. He was presenting his friends with them; one such plank had been brought to Markuchiai.

In 1869, Grigory handed over books of his father‘s library to the Rumiancev museum in Moscow, in order to ensure their better safety. The Turkish sward was presented to the Lyceum, the poet‘s portray, painted by the artist I. Vasiljev – to neighbours from Trigorsk, the writer‘s armchair – to the House of A.Pushkin. The foreboding not deceived him – after Grigory and Varvara Pushkins‘ departure to Markuchiai the Michailovskoje estate was 3 times on fire, and in then year 1894 was completely destroyed by Germans, only ruins left.

In the year 1883, Grigory Pushkin married Varvara Melnikova-Moshkova. The couple married on 24 October, 1883 in Vilnius. After the wedding, the newly wedded couple settled down in Mishailovskoje. This marriage was an only one in G.Pushkin‘s life.

In the year 1899, A. Pushkin‘s 100-th birthday anniversary approaching, he sold the inherited Michailovskoje estate to the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Russia, aiming to preserve Michailovskoje as a national monument to the poet.

In the same 1899,  Grigory and Varvara Pushkins moved from Michailovskoje (that was not their property already)  to Markuchiai. The central house of Markuchiai village, in former times a summer cottage, Pushkins accommodated for living also in winter-time: installed stove heating, upholstered the walls and ceiling. They decorated the interior with personal A. Pushkin’s things that they had brought with themselves. 

When living in Markuchiai, Grigory was a member of the Court House of Vilnius, together with his wife he actively participated in public life: was organising charity parties, supported and was a guardian to poor pupils of the Pushkin‘s gymnasium, was a member of a jubilee committee for commemorating the 100-th A. Pushkin‘s birthday anniversary in Vilnius. He was devoting his free time to literature and hunting (there are a large Grigory Pushkin‘s library and some hunting accessories stored in the museum).

In the year 1903, Pushkins started building a family chapel in the park of Markuchiai estate. However, Grigory did not live to see the end of the started works. He died on 15 August,1905  and was buried in the small family cemetery in Markuchiai.

Grigory, the younger son of A. Pushkin, had no children.