“Chaadaev (Petr Yakovlevich) is a famous Russian writer. The exact year of his birth is unknown. Longinov says that Ch. was born on May 27, 1793, Zhikharev considers the year of his birth to be 1796, Sverbeev vaguely refers it to “the first years of the last decade of the 18th century.” On his mother's side, Ch. was the nephew of the Shcherbatov princes and the grandson of a famous Russian historian. In the hands of this relative, Ch. received an initial education, remarkable for that time, which he completed by listening to lectures at Moscow University. Enlisted as a cadet in the Semenovsky regiment, he took part in the War of 1812 and subsequent military operations. Then serving in the Life Hussar Regiment, Ch. became close friends with the young Pushkin, who was then studying at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. According to Longinov, “Ch. contributed to the development of Pushkin, more than all kinds of professors with their lectures.” The nature of conversations between friends can be judged from Pushkin’s poems “Peter Yakovlevich Ch.” "To the portrait of Ch." and others. It fell to Chaadaev to save Pushkin from the threat of exile to Siberia or imprisonment in the Solovetsky Monastery. Having learned about the danger, Ch., who was then the adjutant of the commander of the Guards Corps, Prince. Vasilchikov, achieved a meeting with Karamzin at an inopportune hour and convinced him to stand up for Pushkin...”