Could Pushkin Have Repaid His Debts?

Мог ли Пушкин вернуть долги?

Belykh, Andrei (Белых, Андрей) ()
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Belykh, Andrei (Белых, Андрей): Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, 2019, vol. 3, 176-191

Abstract: The article states the necessity of creating an economic chronicle of Alexander Pushkin’s life. His economic life includes four aspects: publishing activity, estate management, playing cards, and life in the city. It is mentioned that the existing literature lacks accurate data on Pushkin’s incomes and expenses. The article studies a notorious episode concerning Pushkin’s loan received from the Moscow Savings Treasury. It is shown that there are certain questions connected with distribution of the money received and with Pushkin’s deposit in the Moscow Savings Treasury. Besides, the article analyses Pushkin’s loans from the State Treasury. The role of Egor Kankrin, Minister of Finance, in providing to Pushkin his credit conditions, and the attitude of Emperor Nicholas I towards the poet are emphasized. They resulted in the lending conditions being extremely soft: the loans were long-term and interest-free. However, Pushkin still needed money and had to borrow large sums from private persons. After his death, debts to the State Treasury and to private persons amounted to 138,988 rubles 33 kopeks. The author raises the question: did Pushkin have a real opportunity to repay his debts? Data from a Pushkin Trust report concerning incomes collected from the posthumous edition are analyzed. The article provides calculations confirming that Pushkin’s financial bankruptcy was far from being inevitable. Had he survived after the duel with d’Anthès, Pushkin would have been exiled to his village. He would have continued his literary work and, according to the optimistic estimate, could have repaid his debts within approximately four years.

Keywords: Alexander Pushkin; debts; Treasury; Egor Kankrin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A12 G21 Z11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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