A.Pushkin and Lithuania

A. Pushkin has visited neither in Vilnius nor Lithuania. However, the poet is bound with Lithuania with biographical and literary ties. The youngest poet‘s son Grigory with his wife Varvara got married in 1883 in Vilnius and in 1899 – 1905 they lived in Markuchiai. They are also buried there. It is believed that in Vilnius Piatnicka church, the tsar Peter I baptised the poet‘s grand-grandfather Ibrahim Hanibal.

The exposition acquaints visitors with the history of translating A. Pushkin‘s works into the Lithuanian language and the translators who did them, as well as with the performances based on the motives of A. Pushkin’s works in the theatres of Lithuania.
      

Translations and translators of A. Pushkin‘s works
  
The first A.Pushkin‘s work, translated into Lithuanian, was the poem „A drowned man“, translated by Petras Arminas-Trupinelis, published in 1885 in a Lithuanian calendar of “Aušra” (the Dawn) society. Later, S. Dagilis translated fragments from “Evgeny Onegin”, P. Vaichaitis - “The Covetous Knight” and the unfinished lyrical drama “The Mermaid”. In 1902, in Suvalkai A. Pushkin’s „The Tale of the Fisherman and the fish“ was published, and in 1913 - the first critical work – the article of M. Gustaitis “Pushkin and the Crimea‘s sonnets“ – was published.

There are translators‘ manuscripts, photos, the published books in Lithuanian and artists‘ created illustrations exhibited in showcases.
 

The exposition is telling about performances of A. Pushkin‘s works at Lithuanian theatres from 1923 y, when a premiere of P.Chaikovsky‘s opera “Evgeny Onegin”, later time and again staged on boards of various Lithuanian theatres, took place at the State Theatre in Kaunas.

There are a lot of photos, playbills and posters of performances, sketches of costumes created by the artists M.Dobuzhinskis, N.Zelinskis, M.Percov on exhibition.

The history of staging A. Pushkin‘s works at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre is widely presented (in the year 198, opera “Boris Godunov” was staged, in 1934 and 2002 - “The Queen of Spades”, in 1963 - “Mozart and Salier”, in 1948 - “The Mermaid”, in 1951 - “Mazepa”, in 1950 - the ballet “ The Fountain of Bakchisarai ”).
 

A. Pushkin‘s 200-th birthday anniversary in the year 1999 was widely commemorated in Lithuania: a great jubilee celebration took place at the Lithuanian Drama Theatre, the work “A.Pushkin and Lithuania” by R.Sideravichius, a senior lecturer of the Vilnius University, and many other jubilee editions, were published, a jubilee medal was created. The events commemorating this significant date were taking place in theatres, concert halls and cultural institutions of Lithuania.

The Literary museum of A.Pushkin‘s was partially repaired in the jubilee year: the building was repainted, its roof was put into order, modern security signalisation and heating systems were introduced, a mosaic parquet panelling floor, made following the old design, was laid in the show-rooms, the show-rooms were equipped with radio. The museum‘s exposition was refreshed, G. and V. Pushkins‘ family cemetery and the chapel of St. Varvara were put into order, a booklet about the museum was issued. On 6-th June, a great festival dedicated to the poet‘s memory was organised at the Markuchiai Park, the President of Lithuania V. Adamkus, heads of Vilnius Municipality, ambassadors of foreign countries and many other guests visited the Museum.