Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a 19th century Russian author who is considered to be the country's greatest poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. Pushkin was born in Moscow in 1799. Many historians believe Pushkin descended, on his mother’s side, from an Ethiopian named General Ibrahim Petrovich Hannibal. This lineage has been tough to confirm.Pushkin pioneered Russian vernacular at a time when most Russian intellectuals wrote in French. He wrote about 130 poems between 1814 and 1817, which got him into trouble for being outspoken in their political views. In 1830 Pushkin wrote his most famous narrative poem called Eugene Onegin. Many of Pushkin's works influenced other artists, including the opera "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky. Pushkin wrote the play, by the same name, in 1831. The film Amadeus is based on Pushkin's play Mozart and Salieri. Alexander Pushkin died in 1837 due to injuries sustained in a duel.
