The apartment building at 12 Moika Embankment was constructed in 1727. This is one of the oldest brick buildings in St. Petersburg. Its history is connected with many famous people: in the 18-th century, the favorite of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Duke Biron, lived here. In the first third of the 19 th century, this building belonged to Countess Alexandra Volkonskaya. The Pushkins were her tenants: their apartment was on the second floor and consisted of 11 rooms. For the poet's big family it was rather small.

The last apartment of the greatest Russian poet, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, is one of the most frequented memorial places of the city and one of the most popular museums in Russia. The poet lived here during the last 4 months of his life, from October 12, 1836. It was here that he died after mortal would he had had at a duel on January 29, 1837. Pushkin's apartment was opened as a museum in 1925.

In 1987, all the building was given to the museum. Those who visit this museum can see the objects Pushkin could see during the last days and hours of his life. With the help of the drawings made by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky soon after Pushkin's death, the interiors of the apartment were reconstructed: the hall, the pantry, the dining-room, the living-room, the bedroom, the nursery and the study. There is authentic furniture and other objects of that epoch. In each room, there are also items previously belonging to the poet's family.

Of special interest is the study. Here is the poet's library consisting of about 4,000 books in 14 languages, Pushkin's desk, his favorite armchair ("like that of Voltaire") and a small desk adjoining the sofa. There are Pushkin's personal belongings: an ink-pot with a figurine of an African boy, canes and a portrait of Vasily Zhukovsky with the inscription: "To the pupil who is the winner from the teacher who is the loser". There are portraits on the walls: the portraits of the poet's children, his wife, Natalia Nikolayevna, and the last portrait of Pushkin painted in his lifetime. Among the relics kept in the museum is Pushkin's vest he was wearing at his duel against Dantes, the poet's death mask and a medallion with a lock of his hair.

In 1999, to commemorate the 200-th anniversary of the birth of Pushkin, the rooms of the 2 rd and 3 rd floors of the building were renovated to house the display of new exhibits entitled "Alexander Pushkin: Life and Works". These are the best museum exhibits dating back to 18 th century and the first half of the 19-th century: numerous works of painting (including lifetime portraits of Pushkin, his contemporaries and his ancestors), fragments of the interiors of the first third of the 19-th century. These exhibits show Pushkin as the key figure of "the Golden Age of Russian Culture", the historical epoch when St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia.

Assembly.M Tour Company