In 1837 the poet was exiled to the Caucasus for his poem on Pushkin's death in which he put all the blame for it on the ruling circles of Russia under Nicolas I. In 1841 Lermontov was sent into exile to the Caucasus for the second time. As a result of intrigues by the officers he was provoked into a personal quarrel with an old schoolfellow, which led to the duel. On July 15, 1841 the poet was killed.

Lermontov began writing when he was very young. One of his first writings to be published was his tale verse Hadji Abrek. But Lermontov became famous for his poem on the death of Pushkin. Whether Lermontov chose to write poetry, prose or drama the stamp of his genius was always to be found on it. Lermontov's poems "The Demon", "Mtsyri" and the "Lay of the Merchant Kalashnikov", his innumerable lyrics, his novel "A Hero of Our Time" and his play "Masquerade" are masterpieces of Russian literature. Lermontov's poems are the profession of faith of an independent and free man.