House of General Verzilin in Pyatigorsk

The house of General Verzilin in Pyatigorsk is part of the Mikhail Lermontov literary Museum. Great Russian poet arrived in Pyatigorsk on the spa in 1841, and rented a small home of major Ciliev. House of Verzelin was in the neighborhood, and Lermontov visited it almost every day. In the living-room of this house, his quarrel with Martynov took place.

General Verzilin was serving in Warsaw at that time, but his daughters lived in the Pyatigorsk house: Agrafena, who was already engaged to V.Dikov and Nadezhda. His adopted daughter Emilia Klingenberg also lived here.

According to the memoirs of Lermontov`s friends, "society on the waters" lived joyfully, and Lermontov was the soul of this society. Appearing in the house Verzilin, he began courting Emily. Her mother didn`t mind. Emily herself initially took interest in Lermontov`s courtship, but then made her choice in favor of Nikolai Martynov. He rented a room in a wing of the house Verzilin and also every day visited their home. The situation was complicated by the fact that Martynov himself liked Nadezhda Verzilina better, and he courted her.

Lermontov began to tease Emilia and openly mock Martynov. He wrote epigrams and laughed at his Circassian dagger, which Martynov always wore on his belt. Lermontov even came up with a nickname for Martynov: «Monsieur Poignard» (Monsieur Dagger). Martynov asked to stop the ridicule, but the artist ignored him.

In the Verzilins ` house, based on a drawing by Mihai Zichy, the living room where their quarrel took place on July 13, 1841 was recreated with the smallest accuracy. Martynov stood near the piano and talked with Nadezhda Verzilina. Prince Trubetskoy played the piano. Lermontov, in a conversation with Emilia, mocked Martynov, calling him "a mountaineer with a dagger", while the word "Poignard" sounded after the last chord on the piano in silence. After that, Martynov once again loudly demanded to stop these jokes in front of the ladies.

After leaving the house, Martynov told Lermontov that if he did not stop laughing at him, he would make him do it. Lermontov asked: "Well, will you challenge me to a duel for this?" Martynov answered «Yes», and at that moment they agreed on a place and time.

The duel took place on July 15, 1841 at 7 PM at the foot of mount Mashuk. Lermontov was killed. There were four seconds: Prince A.Vasilchikov, Prince S. Trubetskoy, cornet M. Glebov and a friend of the poet A. Stolypin-Mongo, whom he met at the Serednikovo Estate. A lot of contradictory memories were written about this duel. According to one of them, Lermontov fired into the air. Lermontov didn`t even have time to shoot at the others. The poet was only 27 years old.