For Alexander Pushkin, lockdown was liberating
The poet’s spell in isolation because of cholera in 1830 was the most productive period in his life
BY THE END of the summer of 1830 Alexander Pushkin was in a state of anguish and spleen. The news of cholera spreading from Asia into Russia was the least of his worries. His engagement was on the brink of breaking down, his finances were under strain and his ambivalent relationship with the tsar was becoming untenable.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Rapture on the battleground”
Culture
June 6th 2020- For Alexander Pushkin, lockdown was liberating
- Are humans innately good? Rutger Bregman thinks so
- The first big art show of the covid era is a vision of the future
- For Hayao Miyazaki, flight is a metaphor for freedom
- Jane Eyre, like many people, is at her best alone
- The family unit has shaped people’s experience of covid-19
From the June 6th 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show is out of touch with the times
In it she positions herself as an elite Martha Stewart
This year’s Oscars were notably apolitical
Hollywood has ditched resistance in favour of toeing the line
AI unleashes a weird new genre of political communication
Donald Trump’s Gaza video offers a taste of what is to come
Why are live albums back in fashion?
Hitmakers including Niall Horan, Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran have released them
Caviar is the internet’s favourite indulgence
Russian tsars loved it. Now TikTok does, too
Finding meaning in people’s first words—and their last
Why there is less significance than society would have you believe