The poet Mikhail Lermontov was killed on July 15, 1841 in a duel with Nikolai Martynov, at the foot of mount Mashuk in Pyatigorsk. He was 27 years old. He was buried on July 17, 1841 at the Pyatigorsk cemetery. Later, Lermontov`s grandmother decided to bury her grandson in the Lermontov family crypt in the Tarkhany family estate.
Lermontov rested at the Pyatigorsk cemetery for 250 days. Elizabeth Arsenieva asked the Emperor with a request about reburial of the body of the poet in Tarkhany estate, and received permission to do so. After that, Lermontov`s ashes were transported home in a lead-tarred coffin.
Next to the crypt is located the Church of the Archangel Michael. It was built a year before the poet`s death. In it, the coffin with the ashes of Mikhail Lermontov stood for two days before burial, while close people said goodbye to him.
On April 23, 1842, Mikhail Lermontov was buried in the Lermontov-Arsenyev family crypt next to the grave of his mother and grandfather. 4 years later, Elizabeth Arsenieva herself was buried here.
