[3][4] Pushkin's statue is said to be the first monument commemorating a Russian literary figure in the United States.

[2] James W. Symington, then the Chairman of the American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation, first proposed that a statue of Alexander Pushkin be erected in Washington.

[2][5] Ground was broken on June 6, 1999, the 200th anniversary of Pushkin's birth.

[5] The statue was completed over the forthcoming year and dedicated on September 20, 2000, as a gift from the Government of Moscow to the city of Washington.

[6][7] The figure of the author is posed in front of a tall column on which stands the winged horse Pegasus, which represents "poetry and creative inspiration".