Born in Moscow in 1814, Lermontov often wrote about his passionate love of his hometown. But while monuments to the poet sprang up across the country before the Revolution, Moscow had to wait until Soviet times to get one.

The decision to build it was taken in 1941, but the plan was put on hold by World War II. Then, it was no longer the war but the look of the future monument that was causing delay. Several nationwide competitions for the best design were held, and dozens of ideas were rejected.

When, after much debate, sculptor Isaak Brodsky was chosen for the job, his group of architects was given only a month to complete the project. Not surprisingly, they failed to meet the deadline and when the monument was unveiled in 1965, it was almost a year behind schedule.

Still, Lermontov’s fans were pleased with the result. Surrounded by characters from the poet’s works, the monument is reputed to be one of the capital’s most romantic.

The place chosen for it, a square now named after the poet, Lermontovskaya, is not accidental. The house where Lermontov was born used to stand here. It was torn down in 1949, and replaced by one of Stalin’s skyscrapers.

Luckily, the poet’s Moscow legacy has not been entirely lost. Tucked away in a small side street, close to the bustling New Arbat, is a small wooden mansion where Lermontov spent his teenage years at the start of his literary career.

Poet's house (RIA Novosti / Minkevich)

The house was built shortly after the war with Napoleon in 1812. It was home to the young poet during his time as a student at Moscow University. Fluent in French and German, Lermontov played several musical instruments and proved to be a gifted painter. In that house he wrote more than 200 poems and left plenty of his other works there.

The mansion has many of Lermontov’s sketches and watercolors, with the museum’s most treasured possession being the poet’s self-portrait with the mountains of the Caucasus as a backdrop.

Lermontov went to the Caucasus several times. He was in fact exiled there twice, first in 1837 for an inflammatory poem denouncing the court aristocracy and the second time for taking part in a duel.

It was in the Caucasus that he began his novel “A Hero of Our Time,” which earned him recognition as one of the founding fathers of Russian prose. The partially autobiographical story consists of five tightly-knitted tales revolving around a single character, a disenchanted, bored and doomed young nobleman. Finally, it is in the Caucasus that Lermontov died, near the town of Pyatigorsk, shot in a duel in 1841, age 26.

Lermontov’s life is viewed as one of the most dramatic in the history of Russian literature. Visiting his Moscow house is like taking a trip back to the 19th century to discover more about the poet’s life in the city that he was very fond of.

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