Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (Russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов; 15 October 1814 – 27 July 1841) was a celebrated Russian Romantic writer, poet, and painter, often hailed as "the poet of the Caucasus". Following the death of Alexander Pushkin in 1837, Lermontov emerged as the most significant Russian poet of his time, and he is recognized as a pivotal figure in Russian Romanticism. His legacy endures in modern literature, not only through his evocative poetry but also his prose, which established the tradition of the Russian psychological novel.

Lermontov's life was marked by a tragic irony; he perished in a duel just like Alexander Pushkin, his predecessor and a giant of Russian poetry. This coincidence is made even more poignant by the fact that both poets, in their major works, depicted fatal duel outcomes where the protagonists emerged victorious.