Ivan Pushchin

From 1811 to 1817, he studied at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum,[1] then served in the Life Guards Horse Artillery [ru] until 1822; rising to the rank of Podporuchik (Lieutenant).

Shortly after leaving the Lyceum, he had joined a secret youth society, the Sacred Artel [ru]; a precursor to the Decembrists.

In 1823, after he came into conflict with Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich[further explanation needed], he was dismissed from the military and took a position with the Saint Petersburg Court's criminal division.

The next day, another old friend from the Lyceum, the future statesman Alexander Gorchakov, risked his career to offer him assistance in obtaining a passport for London.

In 1857, he married Natalya Fonvizina [ru], the widow of a fellow Decembrist, Mikhail Fonvizin, who had died not far from where Pushchin was staying, in Bronnitsky Uyezd.