Alexander Pushkin was Russia`s first true literary genius, a writer of compelling poetry and sparkling prose that revealed his national culture with elegance and understated humour. His gift for portraying the Russian people is shown in the Tales of Belkin, his first prose masterpiece, which is a series of interlinked stories narrated by a good-hearted Russian squire. Also in this volume, works such as the novel-fragment Roslavlev and Egyptian Nights, the tale of an Italian balladeer seeking an audience in St Petersburg, demonstrate the wide range of Pushkin`s fiction. A Journey to Arzrum, the final piece in this collection, offers an autobiographical account of Pushkin`s experiences in the 1 829 war between Russia and Turkey, and remains one of the greatest of all pieces of journalistic adventure writing. Ronald Wilks`s translation expresses the simplicity and humour inherent in Pushkin`s tales, while John Bayley`s introduction considers Pushkin`s life, his unique genius