Pushkin died after a duel in early 1837; that October Russia's first train ran from Saint Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo, the town where he had gone to school.

1837

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The event

• Russia's first public railway1837 · Saint Petersburg — Tsarskoye Selo — Pavlovsk. On 30 October 1837 the first train ran from Saint Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo in 35 minutes. The line carried almost no freight: its Pavlovsk terminus was built as a concert 'vauxhall' after London's pleasure gardens, which is why Russians still call a railway station a 'vokzal'.

19th century

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