Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, the Russian poet and author was born in Moscow in 1799. He was exiled for his liberal views on serfdom and autocracy, but this exile allowed him the freedom and the time to write some of his greatest works. He died in 1837 when he was fatally wounded in a dual.Charles Johnston was a translator and poet. He died in 1986. Michael Basker teaches Russian at Bristol University. John Bayley has published many books including studies of Tolstoy and Pushkin.