In the novel The Master and Margarita, the poet Ryukhin addresses his monologue to this bronze Pushkin. The monument is the work of A. Opekushin and was erected at the top of Tverskoy Boulevard in 1880. In the 1950s, it was moved to its current location on Pushkinskaya Square.

Until 1937, the square was known as Strastnaya Square. The Strastnoy Monastery, established in 1654, was located here. When the centenary of Alexander Pushkin’s death was being commemorated across the country in 1937, the monastery was demolished and the square was renamed Pushkinskaya Square. Practically all spheres of Soviet culture were involved in the commemorations. Pieces were written, films made and plays and opera performances of Pushkin’s works and about the man himself were put on. Mikhail Bulgakov too wrote a biographical play about Pushkin with a co-author, Vikentiy Veresaev, in the middle of the 1930s. Although many theatres showed an interest in staging it, the play was never performed in Bulgakov’s day. Many researchers see autobiographical motifs in the drama about Pushkin. Bulgakov saw parallels with his own fate in the tragic confrontation between the poet and the authorities.