Prisoner of Russia: Alexander Pushkin and the Political Uses of Nationalism

As the central figure in Russian literature, Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) has been claimed by nearly every political faction in Russian cultural politics over the past two centuries. This semi-biographical narrative concentrates on Pushkin's attempts to leave Russia after his graduation from the Lyceum, through his period of exile, until his death in a duel in 1837. Druzhnikov (Russian literature, UC-Davis) criticizes the tendency in Russia and the West to define Russian cultural figures in terms of absolute essences and ideologies, and argues that writers' ambivalences help explain the complexity of Russian culture. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)