The book discusses problems that cause serious disagreement among specialists. In its first part we are talking about the synthetic nature of Pushkin’s romanticism, about the relationship between pre-romantic and actually romantic principles in Pushkin’s work, about the romantic coloring of his realistic works. The second section critically examines three persistent myths about the poet: the myth of Pushkin as a “pure artist”, far from current social problems; about Pushkin as a true Christian and a convinced monarchist; about Pushkin as an unconditional like-minded person of the Decembrists. They are contrasted with an analysis of a number of the most important works of Pushkin in his mature years, their secret, hidden meanings are revealed, which usually elude the attention of readers and critics. Finally, the third section consists of articles from the two-volume Onegin Encyclopedia (1999; 2004), devoted to the main characters and the most important features of the construction of the novel in verse. The book is addressed not only to literary scholars, but also to a wide range of readers of Russian classics.