March 2, 1837
Arrested in St. Petersburg Mikhail LermontovHe was accused of creating and distributing "unacceptable poems" to death. Alexander Pushkin.
The poet is dead! - a slave of honor - Pal, slandered by rumor, With lead in my chest and a thirst for revenge, Bowed proud head! ..
The 22-year-old hussar wrote the first part of the poem when Pushkin was still alive, but his fatal wound was already being discussed throughout St. Petersburg.
The work of a little-known poet was instantly picked up by the public and resounded in the most elite drawing rooms; the text was copied into albums and memorized.
The poet's soul could not bear it The shame of petty grievances, He rebelled against the opinions of the world. Alone, as before... and killed!
When it became clear that Pushkin's killer would get off with just exile abroad, Lermontov wrote the second part, blaming high-ranking scoundrels for the poet's death.
You, a greedy crowd standing near the throne, Executioners of Freedom, Genius and Glory! You hide under the shadow of the law, The court and the truth are before you - keep silent!..
The Emperor Nicholas I He is so shocked by Lermontov's contempt for high society that he demands that he be examined for sanity: "I ordered the senior medical officer of the Guards Corps to visit this gentleman and make sure that he is not insane; and then we will deal with him according to the law."
Chief of the Gendarme Corps, Count Benckendorff regards the first part as ordinary "impudence", but the second part falls under the signs of "shameless freethinking" and borders on a crime.
A case of "inappropriate poetry" was immediately opened, Lermontov's home was searched, and he was placed under house arrest. Some time later, he was sent to the Caucasus, without a demotion in rank.
Lermontov left St. Petersburg as a renowned poet. At his new post, he would meet many members of the intellectual elite, including the Decembrists, and gather invaluable material for his work.
But there is also God's judgment, confidants of debauchery! There is a terrible judgment: it awaits; He is not accessible to the ringing of gold
