Eugene Onegin(1823-1831)

Tired of city life and love affairs, a young nobleman by the name of Eugene Onegin leaves for the countryside. But, his estate near Moscow is beset by passions far more intense than those of high-society St. Petersburg. Tatyana Larina, a local landowner's daughter, falls head over heels in love with Onegin. Her sister, Olga, meanwhile, is courted by Vladimir Lensky, Eugene's friend. An unexpected conflict between the friends leads them to a duel, in which Lensky dies…

Pushkin worked on ‘Eugene Onegin’ for over seven years. Like many of the poet's works, the novel served as the basis for several musical works. Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote an opera based on its lines and Sergei Prokofiev later set the words to music.

‘Eugene Onegin’ has been translated into nearly 100 languages. Several movies based on the novel have also been made in Russia, the U.S. and Canada.

Translated by Charles Johnston, 1977