| Lermontov, Mikhail Yuryevich (1814-41), Russian poet and novelist, whose eloquent works combine lyric romanticism with a passionate espousal of liberty. He was born in Moscow and educated at Moscow State University and a military school in Saint Petersburg. He became an officer of the guards, but his real interest was poetry. In 1837 he first gained recognition when he addressed to the czar an impassioned elegy called "On the Death of a Poet" as a protest against the death of the Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin. In the poem Lermontov charged that the czar was suppressing freedom and art. As a result, Lermontov was exiled to the Caucasus. After his return in 1838, he published a collection of poems and wrote his famous autobiographical novel, A Hero of Our Time (1840; trans. 1886). Among his other well-known works are the narrative poems The Demon (1829-41; trans. 1930) and The Circassian Boy (1840; trans. 1875). His writings were severely censored during his lifetime because of his passionate advocacy of freedom and his antireligious attitudes, but they did much to arouse interest in the folklore of the Russian people. In 1841 Lermontov was killed in a duel in the Caucasus. Source: Microsoft Encarta 97 |