The Literary Museum of the Pushkin House displays the lyceum seal of Ivan Malinovsky, the eldest son of the first headmaster of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum Vasily Fyodorovich Malinovsky. The seal was donated to the Pushkin House in December 1934 by the grandson of the lyceum student Pyotr Malinovsky.

This is a carnelian seal with three oval faces. On one of them, in the center, there is an image of two hands holding each other and an inscription: “The fate of eternal separation may have brought us together!” This is a line from Anton Delvig’s “Farewell Song”, which he composed for the graduation day of the first lyceum class that occurred on June 9, 1817. The lyceum’s headmaster Vasily Malinovsky died suddenly in 1814. Alexander Pushkin walked behind the coffin of the deceased, arm in arm with Ivan Malinovsky. Over Vasily Malinovsky’s grave, the students swore eternal friendship.

When Alexander Pushkin was on his deathbed in his last apartment on the Moika, he complained,

In the poem “Feasting Students” Pushkin called Malinovsky a “sincere friend.” Their contemporaries noted that the characters of the two lyceum students were quite similar.

The headmaster, Yegor Antonovich Engelhardt, compiling characteristics for the students, described Malinovsky as follows, “… [he is distinguished by] kindness of heart, sincerity and fervor, leading him into mistakes. He loves freedom and gaiety, but he often indulges in them without caution.” Malinovsky was nicknamed the Cossack for his short temper and pugnacity. Together with Pushkin and Pushchin, he took part in the famous gogol-mogol incident, which became a part of lyceum history. The students prepared this drink, with one of its key ingredients being rum. Obviously, alcohol was prohibited on the territory of the institution, but Ivan Pushchin solemnly declared, “I’ll get the rum!” He kept his promise, and a week later came to Alexander Pushkin’s bedroom at night with a bottle.