A new signature of Russian poet Alexander Pushkin found in the Russian Central Archive casts doubts on the accepted details of the poet’s heavily-documented life, Russia Today reports. The discovery was made by Svetlana Boyko, a senior researcher at the State Literature Museum.
While searching the archive’s travel documents, Boyko found four notes that could shed new light on the poet’s travels throughout Russia between 1830 and 1836.
Such travel documents, issued by local authorities, gave a traveler the right to use horses provided by post offices across the country; the number of horses available depended on the rank and title of the traveler.
One of the notes discovered by Boyko says that Pushkin, holding the rank of collegiate assessor, paid 3 rubles 16 kopeks for 2 horses to go to Kazan. The note, signed by the poet, is dated July 27, 1830.
According to previous detailed studies of Pushkin’s life, the poet spent July 1830 in St. Petersburg. Pushkin went to Kazan only in 1833, aiming to study the history of Pugachev’s revolt.
Although the authenticity of the signature is still being checked by handwriting specialists, the controversial discovery has already provoked wide dispute among scholars.
