The International Pushkin Foundation was established in the Kingdom of Belgium in 1999 by Alexander Alexandrovich Pushkin, a direct descendant of the illustrious poet, and his wife Maria Alexandrovna Pushkin-Dournovo. The foundation is based in Brussels. Alexander Alexandrovich is the last male descendant of the «sun of Russian poetry» who, according to heraldic laws, has the right to bear the surname Pushkin.
Born in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, in 1942 into a noble family of old lineage, Alexander received an education based on the tales of his famous great-great-grandfather and, from an early age, was aware of the name he bore with pride. His grandfather, Nicholas Alexandrovich Pushkin (grandson of the writer) had emigrated from Russia after the revolution and settled in Belgium in 1923.
The family were Orthodox Christians and had an opposing opinion to communism. Nicholas Alexandrovich and his son Alexander systematically refused any invitation to visit the USSR. Only when Russia opted for a different political system did Alexander Alexandrovich and Maria Alexandrovna go there in 1994.
The spouses were struck to note the spell of the poet and " that the path of popular fervor towards him was never brushed away." Indeed, Pushkin’s name had remained linked to poetry, prose, the cultural context, and even the secrets of everyday life.
In 1999, Maria and Alexander, together with some of their closest friends, founded the A. S. Pushkin International Foundation in the Kingdom of Belgium.
It is a charitable foundation whose purpose is to promote the work of Alexander Sergeevich in Europe and support projects concerning early childhood (sociocultural or related to children’s health) both in Belgium and in Russia.
And this is what the Foundation successfully does. The funds collected at various events organized by the Foundation are devoted entirely to charitable works.
Realised projects: 2000-single-use drugs and syringes
The Foundation provided the script to Monique Dorsel, who directed the play «A night in St. Petersburg with Pushkin»
- A night in St. Petersburg with Pushkin performed at the Poème Theatre, then in St. Petersburg at the Pushkin Museum and finally at the Belgian Embassy in Moscow.
The Foundation also supports young talents. She awarded prizes to the winners of musical- and poetic competitions in Belgium and Russia (in 2019 at the Grand Piano competition of Denis Matsouev).
From January 23 to 27, 2017, the coat of arms collection of the Pushkin Foundation was exhibited at the exhibition «Apanage of Russia. Pages of spiritual history and tradition." in the framework of the annual Christmas educational readings in the State Duma of Russia.
«To be proud of the glory of one’s ancestors is not only appropriate but mandatory. Not respecting it is shamefully pusillanimous." The poet’s verses resonate like the cultural testament of Alexander Sergeevich and are surprisingly current today.
The peculiarity of Russia is, first of all, its culture. Without traditions of the past there can be no culture today. The work and life of A. S. Pushkin are important elements of the Russian cultural code. How Russia takes care of the return of monuments of culture that 100 years ago took the path of migration cannot but cause admiration.
The Foundation organized trips across Russia, in collaboration with RTA East-West.
In 2019, the International Pushkin Foundation celebrated its twenty years of existence and the 220th anniversary
of the birth of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.