Dubrovsky

In The Tales of Ivan Belkin (1830), Dubrovsky (1833) and The Captain’s Daughter (1836), Pushkin laid the foundation of Russian realistic prose, and established its democratic tendencies. Dubrovsky gives a sweeping picture of the life and habits of the landed gentry in Russia in the first quarter of the 19th century. The tragedy of the Dubrovsky family, ruined by the rich landowner Troyekurov, is unfolded against a background of peasant risings, called forth by the oppressive rule of the serfholders, and the cruelty and tyranny of the landlords and corrupt officials of the time.