Pushkin and Pushchin

Directed by Marina Goldovskaya

Poushkin's and Pouschin's friendship began when they were students in the Tsarskoye Selo Lycee, whose alumni during the era of Alexander I and Nicholas I included government officials, royalists, rebels, romanticists, "Decembrists,"and poets. After the Decembrist revolt of 1825, Pouschin was exiled to Siberia. Poushkin, on the other hand, was allowed to return from exile and became a supporter of the Tsar. But the two friends remained spiritually close. Writing from across thousands of miles, Poushkin reached out to Pouschin and his other former classmates. "May God help you, my friends /In times of storm and grief /In far off lands, in empty seas /And in the somber caverns of the earth." The historian Nathan Eidelman brilliantly describes the lives and friendship of these remarkable men. The film also includes recitals of Poushkin's poetry by the famous dramatic actress, Alla Demidova.