As you know, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was a Freemason. But the history of his Freemasonry is extremely complex and confusing. There is even a version that it was the “brothers in the order” who had a hand in the death of the great poet.
The Three Virtues and Ovid
During the time of Pushkin, many prominent and educated people were in Masonic lodges. The father and brother of the future poet were no exception. The young Alexander himself in 1811 became interested in the ideas of Martinism. He entered the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum on the recommendation of the freemason A. I. Turgenev. The founders of the lyceum were also M. M. Speransky and A. K. Razumovsky. Masons were the director of the Lyceum V. F. Malinovsky and many professors. They called themselves "children of the widow."
After graduating from the Lyceum, many of its pupils followed the same path. Anton Delvig and Wilhelm Kuchelbecker joined the elite St. Petersburg lodge of "Chosen Michael", Nikita Muravyov and Ilya Dolgorukov - in the lodge of the Three Virtues. In September 1818 Pushkin also applied for admission to the Three Virtues. But he was then refused.
According to the poet's diary, his initiation into Masons took place in the Ovid lodge in Chisinau on May 4, 1821. The lodge master, Major General P. S. Pushkin, Pushkin even dedicated a poem:
… And soon, soon the abuse will cease
Among the slave people
Promotional video:
You will take a hammer in hand
And you will cry: freedom!
I praise you, oh faithful brother, O venerable temporary worker!
Oh Chisinau, oh dark city, Rejoice, you enlightened one!
Meanwhile, the Ovid lodge did not have a fully-fledged status: it was considered temporary. According to the rules, the official status of a Masonic lodge can only be awarded by a higher lodge. In this situation, it was the Great Governing Lodge "Astrea", which, in turn, was subordinate to the "Great Provincial Lodge", which was already ruled by foreign "masters".
However, in the case of Ovid, the official “installation” never happened. It ceased to exist in November 1821, and on August 1, 1822, Emperor Alexander I banned Masonic lodges and any secret societies in Russia. Former members of "Ovid" were harassed by the authorities.
Pushkin and Masonic symbolism
Despite the fact that formally Pushkin probably could not be considered a Freemason, he continued to consider himself to be one. So, he wore a long fingernail on his little finger, which served as one of the distinctive signs of Masons, and talisman rings with Masonic symbols.
The poet also used Masonic symbolism in poetry. For example, in the "Message to Siberia" he writes about "freedom that will greet us joyfully at the entrance" and about "brothers who will give us the sword." All these are symbols that the members of the brotherhood understand. The poem “The Prophet” contains elements of the Masonic initiation ceremony: the eyes “open” and “become all-seeing”, instead of the “sinful tongue”, the “sting of a wise snake” is put into the hero's mouth, instead of the heart, “a burning coal” is put into the chest, and the Prophet rises to life at the call of God.
A victim of Masonic intrigue?
But not everything in the relationship between Pushkin and the Freemasons developed so smoothly. The candidate of historical sciences V. A. Pigalev writes: "The" masters "of the lodges and the grandmasters taught:" If a writer writes in his book thoughts and reasoning that are absolutely correct, but not suitable for our teaching or too premature, then this author should either be bribed or dishonored."
In all likelihood, over time, Pushkin had disagreements with his Decembrist friends, many of whom were Masons. As you know, he sympathized with them, but never took part in the 1825 uprising. The "brothers" did not like that Pushkin exposes their "sacraments" in his work. “Alexander Sergeevich did not meet the strict criteria of Freemasonry with his character, way of thinking, creativity,” Pigalev believes. - For the "brothers" it became clear that the poet was getting out of their control, ceased to honor the order's interests and rituals, which seemed more and more ridiculous to him, "and it hurts not in Russian", he was losing the initial craving for Freemasonry, dictated earlier curiosity and Chisinau boredom”.
It was impossible to bribe the poet, but meanwhile he became a very inconvenient figure for the Freemasons. And then the Frenchman Georges Dantes appeared on the stage, strangely "adopted" by the Dutch envoy to Russia, Baron Louis Heckern.
On November 4, 1836, Pushkin and all his friends received an anonymous libel, indicating an alleged close relationship between his wife and Dantes. The letter apparently intentionally used terminology close to the Masonic: “Cavaliers of the first degree, Commanders and Knights of the Most Serene Order of the Cuckolds, gathered in a great Chapter under the chairmanship of the highly esteemed Grand Master of the Order of His Excellency D. L. Naryshkin, unanimously elected Mr. Alexander Pushkin as Deputy Grand Master of the Order of the Cuckolds and historiographer of the Order …"
Pushkin challenged Dantes to a duel. But the fight was postponed due to the fact that Dantes asked for the hand of his sister-in-law Ekaterina Goncharova. In January 1837, a new "batch" of anonymous letters was circulated, this time doing their dirty deed.
The funeral of Pushkin was also disposed of by the Masons - Counts Stroganov and Nesselrode. At the poet's funeral, Prince P. A. Vyazemsky put a white Masonic glove in the coffin …
During the restoration of the tombstone of Pushkin's grave in 1953, a strange find was made - a casket with two human skulls and bones. It is believed that Count Grigory Stroganov put all this in the poet's grave for ritual purposes in 1841 during the installation of the tombstone.
After the death of Pushkin, Dantes, exiled from France, returned to Paris, and quickly made his career, becoming a senator, a shareholder of many banks and railway companies. Perhaps it was a payment from the "brothers-Masons" for the "service" that he rendered them?