Pushkin and French

Alexander Pushkin is widely credited as the creator of modern Russian language. And rightfully so: everything produced after Pushkin is easily readable today. Everything written before his age, can be read only with some effort1. He did literally set a standard that everyone else followed, and that would be chosen as the model for the later state enforced standard curriculum.His whole upbringing, whole education, was in French. 90% of his training as an author was reading, and emulating the French writers.Let me quote a very good book of memoirs, and testimonies on Pushkin’s life2:In childhood, Pushkin would sneak into his father’s library to read the comedies of Molière. Under the impression of his readings, he started writing similar comedies, and also in French. Together with his sister Olga, they built a scene in their nursery, to play these comedies. He was the playwright and the actor, while she represented the audience. One of these comedies was called ‘Escamoteur’ (The…