A shootout over love claimed the life of the great poet Pushkin.

The poet Pushkin participated in numerous duels, and in his last one, he lost his life to the man rumored to be his wife's lover.

Alexander Pushkin was born in 1799 in Moscow into a family of noble lineage. He was a renowned poet, writer, and playwright, celebrated as a great poet or the sun of Russian poetry.

Throughout his life, he participated in numerous duels. Although illegal, these duels were common in his time.

The philosopher Mikhail Seleznyov once wrote in his biography of Pushkin that the great Russian poet participated in 26 duels. However, historians have only been able to verify five such duels. In most cases, Pushkin and his opponent made peace or missed their shots and then canceled the duel. However, the 1836 duel ended tragically.

The drawing depicts the final duel of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Photo: Russia Beyond

The origins of Pushkin's final duel stemmed from rumors that his wife, Natalia Goncharova, was having an affair. In November 1836, an anonymous article circulated claiming that Pushkin had been "cuckolded." Pushkin believed the French officer Georges d'Anthès was the man his wife was secretly having an affair with.

Pushkin met Natalia in 1828 when she was 16 years old. She was one of the most famous beauties in Russia. After much hesitation, Natalia accepted Pushkin's marriage proposal in April 1830, and they married in 1831.

Georges d'Anthès, born in 1812, was a cavalry officer under King Charles X of France. He was discharged when the monarch was overthrown. After the French government allowed d'Anthès to serve in foreign armies without losing his citizenship, he went to Russia, joining the cavalry guard protecting the Empress. d'Anthès's family ties to the Russian royal family and his handsome appearance helped him gain access to the upper class of St. Petersburg, then the capital of the Russian Empire.

Georges d'Anthès, rumored to be the lover of Pushkin's wife. Photo: Russia Beyond.

To protect his honor from rumors, Pushkin challenged d'Anthès to a duel to the death. However, d'Anthès soon proposed to Ekaterina Goncharova, Pushkin's wife's sister. Since they became relatives, the poet had to withdraw his challenge.

But rumors resurfaced after the wedding. The French officer was said to have married Ekaterina to cover up his relationship with Natalia. This time, Pushkin thought they came from Baron Jacob van Heeckeren, the Dutch ambassador to Russia and d'Anthès' foster father.

He wrote Heeckeren a letter filled with harsh criticism. This letter angered the ambassador and his adopted son. Heeckeren declared that the original challenge remained valid.

The duel took place in Chernaya Rechka, a suburb of St. Petersburg, and had very harsh terms. In other European countries, participants in hand-to-hand combat typically shoot from a distance of 25-30 paces, but in this case, the distance was only 10 paces. The person who fired first had to stand still until it was their opponent's turn to return fire.

D'Anthès fired first and severely wounded Pushkin in the abdomen. Pushkin fell to the ground but managed to fire at his opponent, his shot grazing D'Anthès's right hand. The poet died two days after the duel.

Duels were forbidden in Russia, so they always took place in secret. The punishment for participating was severe, even death. On his deathbed, Pushkin tried to get Tsar Nicholas I to pardon his accomplice in the duel, Konstantin Danzas, through the Tsar's doctor. Danzas was imprisoned for two months.

The Tsar made efforts to care for Pushkin's family after his death. He paid off all of Pushkin's debts, ordered a one-time allowance of 10,000 rubles for the family, provided financial support to his widow Natalia and her daughters, and appointed the poet's son as his attendant.

Tsar Nicholas I stripped d'Anthès of his rank and expelled him from Russia. D'Anthès left with his wife and four children. The officer reportedly said that his departure from Russia paved the way for a "brilliant political career" upon his return to France.

Some argue that Natalia was responsible for her husband's death, as she was unable or unwilling to put an end to rumors of an affair with d'Anthès. The poet Anna Akhmatova called her "an accomplice of Heeckeren and his adopted son in fueling the duel."

Portrait of Natalia Goncharova, wife of the great Russian poet Pushkin. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

After World War II, two letters from D'Anthès dating back to 1836 were published in Paris. In them, he describes his infatuation with a girl he described as "a masterpiece of St. Petersburg," writing that she felt the same way about him and that her husband was "fiercely jealous." However, the letters also state that she was not yet ready to "break her commitment" to her husband.

These letters remain controversial to this day. Some researchers believe d'Anthès did not write about Natalia, while others feel he was merely trying to quell rumors of a homosexual relationship between himself and Baron Jacob van Heeckeren.

Vu Hoang (According to Russia Beyond )

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