Griboyedov Alexander Sergeevich - biography. Alexander Griboedov: an interesting short biography Massacre in the Russian embassy

Alexander Griboyedov is a Russian playwright, poet and diplomat. He died tragically in Persia in 1829. How did you go last days his life? What caused the death of the writer? Finally, where is the grave of Griboyedov?

life and creation

Griboyedov was the son of a retired major. The biography of the famous Russian playwright still keeps many mysteries and secrets. Even the exact date of the birth of the Russian classic is unknown.

Griboedov's father, oddly enough, was a man of little education. The upbringing of the future writer was carried out by his mother - a famous pianist and noble lady. Thanks to this woman, Alexander received a good education at home.

At the age of six he owned foreign languages. In his youth, he not only spoke English, French, German and Italian fluently, but also read the works of ancient Greek authors. After graduation Patriotic War In 1812, Griboyedov entered the diplomatic service, which he successfully combined with literary work.

The choice of a military career was a rather strange decision for a brilliantly educated young man. After 1812, Griboyedov's life changed a lot. However, he did not manage to take part in hostilities.

In 1817, Griboedov entered the service in the army. At the same time, he was fond of theater and literature, which brought him closer to many famous people at that time. It was then that Griboyedov met Pushkin. He entered the Masonic service, communicated with Chaadaev, Pestel, Benckendorff. True, this period of the writer's life was somewhat overshadowed by the gossip and intrigues of secular society. Also shook it

Duel

In 1817, an event occurred, thanks to which today it is known where Griboyedov's grave is located. It was a duel between a writer-diplomat and cornet Yakubovich. Griboyedov, as you know, survived, but was wounded, which left a mark on his arm. This scar helped in 1829 to identify the body of a Russian diplomat. By the way, the duel took place in the very city where Griboyedov's grave is located.

Travels

In 1818 Griboyedov was sent to Persia. He went to the place of service in August. On the way to Tehran, he made stops in Moscow, Novgorod, Tula, Voronezh. All this time he kept travel notes. Alexander Griboedov spent only five years in Tehran. In 1823 he returned to his homeland, where he completed Woe from Wit. Soon after that, he left for the Caucasus, where he intensively studied Arabic, Georgian, Turkish and Persian.

For some time Griboyedov also lived in the Crimea. There he visited the estate of his old friend Zavadsky, traveled a lot in the mountains and again kept detailed travel notes. On suspicion of belonging to the Decembrists, the writer and diplomat was arrested in 1826. He was brought to St. Petersburg, but the investigation found no evidence. Griboyedov denied any involvement in the conspiracy. He was released five months after his arrest.

Last years

In September 1826, Griboyedov finally returned to the service. He continued his diplomatic activity in Tiflis. Here Griboyedov managed to conclude an agreement beneficial for Russia and deliver its text to the capital. After that, he was appointed Minister Resident in Iran. A year before his death, Griboyedov married Nina Chavchavadze, a representative of a Georgian noble family.

Massacre at the Russian embassy

The aforementioned agreement, which Griboyedov managed to conclude, was called the Turkmanchaysky. The Russian diplomat arrived in Persia in order to achieve the implementation of the main points of this agreement. Namely, the payment of indemnity. The entire population had to pay for the defeat in the war, which aroused discontent in Persian society.

1829 crowd local residents attacked the Russian embassy. Historians later described this day in different ways. The only eyewitness to the tragedy was Ivan Maltsev, the secretary of the embassy, ​​who managed to hide during the massacre. However, he was in a different room, not where Alexander Griboyedov was killed. Therefore, he could tell about what happened only on the basis of what he heard. All the defenders died. There are no direct witnesses.

The body of Alexander Griboyedov was taken to Tiflis. Here he was buried. In the summer of 1829, Pushkin visited Griboyedov's grave.

It was not easy to hush up the diplomatic scandal. In order to improve relations with Russia, he presented generous gifts to Nicholas I, among them was a diamond weighing 88.7 carats, which is now kept in the collection of the Kremlin Museum. But no rich gifts, of course, could compensate for the deaths of several dozen people, among whom was one of the greatest classics of Russian literature.

On the grave of Griboyedov there is an inscription that ends like this: "Why did my love survive you." These words belong to the widow of the writer.

Grave of Griboyedov in Tbilisi

The city in which the Russian writer is buried, as you know, was previously called Tiflis. The grave of Griboedov, the photo of which can be seen in this article, is located on Mount Mtatsminda. Many famous artists, writers, scientists are buried here. The Pantheon was created on the territory belonging to the Church of St. David. The necropolis on Mount Mtatsminda was officially opened in 1929, that is, one hundred years after Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov was killed.

This cemetery is one of the attractions of the Georgian capital. It is located in quite picturesque places, as you can see by looking at the photo below.

Griboedov's grave in Tbilisi became the first famous burial place on Mount Mtatsminda. Many gravestones are made by famous Georgian sculptors. In the last century, a pantheon was installed on which a catastrophe occurred in 1990. Twenty people died.

Alexander Sergeevich Griboidov

Russian diplomat, poet, playwright, pianist and composer, nobleman, state councilor

Alexander Griboyedov

short biography

- a famous Russian writer, poet, playwright, brilliant diplomat, state councilor, author of the legendary play in verse "Woe from Wit", was a descendant of an old noble family. Born in Moscow on January 15 (January 4, O.S.), 1795, from early years showed himself to be an extremely developed, and versatile, child. Wealthy parents tried to give him an excellent home education, and in 1803 Alexander became a pupil of the Moscow University noble boarding school. At the age of eleven, he was already a student at Moscow University (verbal department). Having become a candidate of verbal sciences in 1808, Griboedov graduated from two more departments - moral-political and physical-mathematical. Alexander Sergeevich became one of the most educated people among his contemporaries, knew about a dozen foreign languages, was very gifted musically.

With the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Griboyedov joined the ranks of volunteers, but he did not have to participate directly in hostilities. With the rank of cornet, Griboedov in 1815 served in a cavalry regiment that was in reserve. The first literary experiments date back to this time - the comedy "Young Spouses", which was a translation of a French play, the article "On Cavalry Reserves", "Letter from Brest-Litovsk to the Publisher".

At the beginning of 1816, A. Griboedov retired and came to live in St. Petersburg. Working in the College of Foreign Affairs, he continues his studies in a new field of writing for himself, makes translations, joins theatrical and literary circles. It was in this city that fate gave him an acquaintance with A. Pushkin. In 1817, A. Griboyedov tried his hand at dramaturgy, writing the comedies "Own Family" and "Student".

In 1818, Griboyedov was appointed to the post of secretary of the tsar's attorney, who headed the Russian mission in Tehran, and this radically changed his further biography. The expulsion to a foreign land of Alexander Sergeevich was regarded as a punishment for the fact that he acted as a second in a scandalous duel with fatal. Staying in Iranian Tabriz (Tavriz) was really painful for the beginning writer.

In the winter of 1822, Tiflis became Griboyedov’s new place of service, and General A.P. Yermolov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Tehran, commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, under whom Griboedov was secretary for diplomatic affairs, became the new boss. It was in Georgia that he wrote the first and second acts of the comedy Woe from Wit. The third and fourth acts were already composed in Russia: in the spring of 1823, Griboedov left the Caucasus on leave for his homeland. In 1824, in St. Petersburg, the last point was put in the work, whose path to fame turned out to be thorny. The comedy could not be published due to the prohibition of censorship and diverged in handwritten lists. Only small fragments "slip" into the press: in 1825 they were included in the issue of the Russian Thalia almanac. The brainchild of Griboyedov was highly appreciated by A. S. Pushkin.

Griboyedov planned to take a trip to Europe, but in May 1825 he had to urgently return to his service in Tiflis. In January 1826, in connection with the case of the Decembrists, he was arrested, kept in a fortress, and then taken to St. Petersburg: the writer's name came up several times during interrogations, and during searches, handwritten copies of his comedy were found. Nevertheless, due to lack of evidence, the investigation had to release Griboyedov, and in September 1826 he returned to his official duties.

In 1828, the Turkmanchay peace treaty was signed, which corresponded to the interests of Russia. He played a certain role in the biography of the writer: Griboyedov took part in its conclusion and delivered the text of the agreement to St. Petersburg. For his merits, the talented diplomat was granted a new position - the plenipotentiary minister (ambassador) of Russia in Persia. In his appointment, Alexander Sergeevich saw a "political exile", plans for the implementation of numerous creative ideas collapsed. With a heavy heart in June 1828, Griboyedov left St. Petersburg.

Getting to the place of service, for several months he lived in Tiflis, where in August he was married to 16-year-old Nina Chavchavadze. He left for Persia with his young wife. There were forces in the country and beyond its borders that were not satisfied with the growing influence of Russia, which cultivated hostility towards its representatives in the minds of the local population. On January 30, 1829, the Russian embassy in Tehran was brutally attacked by a brutal mob, and A.S. became one of its victims. Griboyedov, who was mutilated to such an extent that they were later identified only by a characteristic scar on his arm. The body was taken to Tiflis, where the grotto at the church of St. David became its last refuge.

Biography from Wikipedia

Origin and early years

Griboyedov was born in Moscow, in a wealthy well-born family. His ancestor, Jan Grzybowski (Polish Jan Grzybowski), moved from Poland to Russia at the beginning of the 17th century. The surname Griboedov is nothing more than a kind of translation of the surname Grzhibovsky. Under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Fyodor Akimovich Griboyedov was a discharge clerk and one of the five drafters of the Council Code of 1649.

• Father - Sergei Ivanovich Griboedov (1761-1814), retired second major;
• Mother - Anastasia Fedorovna (1768-1839), nee also Griboyedova - from the Smolensk branch of this family, and her family was richer and considered more noble;
• Sister - Maria Sergeevna Griboyedova (Durnovo);
• Brother - Pavel (died in infancy);
• Wife - Nina Alexandrovna Chavchavadze (Georgian ნინო ჭავჭავაძე)(November 4, 1812 - June 28, 1857).

According to relatives, in childhood Alexander was very concentrated and unusually developed. There is evidence that he was the great-nephew of Alexander Radishchev (this was carefully concealed by the playwright himself). At the age of 6 he was fluent in three foreign languages, in his youth already six, in particular in perfection English, French, German and Italian. He understood Latin and Greek very well.

In 1803 he was sent to the Moscow University Noble Boarding School; three years later, Griboedov entered the verbal department of Moscow University. In 1808 (at the age of 13) he graduated from the verbal department of the university with a Ph.D. in verbal sciences, but did not leave his studies, but entered the ethical-political (legal) department of the Faculty of Philosophy. In 1810 he received his Ph.D. in law and remained at the university to study mathematics and the natural sciences.

War

On September 8, 1812, cornet Griboedov fell ill and stayed in Vladimir, and, presumably, until November 1, 1812, due to illness, did not appear at the regiment's location. In the summer, during the Patriotic War of 1812, when the enemy appeared on the territory of Russia, he joined the Moscow Hussar Regiment (volunteer irregular unit) of Count Pyotr Ivanovich Saltykov, who received permission to form it. Arriving at the place of service, he got into the company "young cornets from the best noble families"- Prince Golitsyn, Count Efimovsky, Count Tolstoy, Alyabyev, Sheremetev, Lansky, the Shatilov brothers. Griboyedov was related to some of them. Subsequently, he wrote in a letter to S. N. Begichev: “I spent only 4 months in this squad, and now for the 4th year I can’t get on the true path”. Begichev answered this as follows:

But as soon as they began to form, the enemy entered Moscow. This regiment was ordered to go to Kazan, and after the expulsion of the enemies, at the end of the same year, it was ordered to follow to Brest-Litovsk, join the defeated Irkutsk dragoon regiment and take the name of the Irkutsk hussar. S. N. Begichev

Until 1815, Griboyedov served in the rank of cornet under the command of General of the Cavalry A. S. Kologrivov. Griboedov's first literary experiments - "Letter from Brest-Litovsk to the publisher", feature article "On Cavalry Reserves" and comedy "Young Spouses"(translation of the French comedy "Le secre") - refer to 1814. In the article "On Cavalry Reserves" Griboyedov acted as a historical publicist.

The enthusiastically lyrical "Letter from Brest-Litovsk to the publisher", published in the "Bulletin of Europe", was written by him after awarding Kologrivov in 1814 with the "Order of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir of the 1st degree" and the holiday of June 22 (July 4) in Brest-Litovsk , in the cavalry reserves, on this occasion.

In the capital

In 1815, Griboedov arrived in St. Petersburg, where he met N. I. Grech, the publisher of the Son of the Fatherland magazine, and N. I. Khmelnitsky, the famous playwright.

In the spring of 1816, the aspiring writer left military service, and already in the summer he published an article “On the analysis of a free translation of the Burger ballad “Lenora”” - a review of N. I. Gnedich’s critical remarks about P. A. Katenin’s ballad “Olga”.

At the same time, Griboyedov's name appears in the lists of full members of the United Friends Masonic lodge. In early 1817, Griboyedov became one of the founders of the Du Bien Masonic lodge.

In the summer he entered the diplomatic service, taking the post of provincial secretary (from winter - translator) of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. This period of the life of the writer also includes his acquaintance with A. S. Pushkin and V. K. Kuchelbecker, work on the poem "Lubochny Theater" (a response to M. N. Zagoskin's criticism of "Young Spouses"), comedies "Student" (together with P. A. Katenin), “Feigned infidelity” (together with A. A. Gendre), “Own family, or a married bride” (in collaboration with A. A. Shakhovsky and N. I. Khmelnitsky).

Duel

In 1817, the famous “quadruple duel” between Zavadovsky-Sheremetev and Griboyedov-Yakubovich took place in St. Petersburg.

Griboyedov lived with Zavadovsky and, being a friend of the famous dancer of the St. Petersburg ballet Avdotya Istomina, after the performance brought her to his place (naturally, to Zavadovsky's house), where she lived for two days. The cavalry guard Sheremetev, Istomina's lover, was in a quarrel with her and was away, but when he returned, incited by the cornet of the Life Lancers regiment AI Yakubovich, he challenged Zavadovsky to a duel. Griboedov became Zavadovsky's second, and Yakubovich became Sheremetev's second; both also promised to fight.

Zavadovsky and Sheremetev were the first to reach the barrier. Zavadovsky, an excellent shooter, mortally wounded Sheremetev in the stomach. Since Sheremetev had to be immediately taken to the city, Yakubovich and Griboedov postponed their duel. It took place the following year, 1818, in Georgia. Yakubovich was transferred to Tiflis for service, and Griboyedov also happened to be passing through there, heading on a diplomatic mission to Persia.

Griboedov was wounded in the left hand. It was by this wound that the disfigured corpse of Griboyedov, who was killed by religious fanatics during the destruction of the Russian embassy in Tehran, was subsequently identified.

in the east

In 1818, Griboedov, refusing the position of an official of the Russian mission in the United States, was appointed to the post of secretary under the tsar's chargé d'affaires in Persia, Simon Mazarovich. Before leaving for Tehran, he completed work on Intermedia Samples. He left for his duty station at the end of August, two months later (with short stops in Novgorod, Moscow, Tula and Voronezh) he arrived in Mozdok, on the way to Tiflis he compiled a detailed diary describing his journeys.

At the beginning of 1819, Griboedov completed work on the ironic "Letter to the publisher from Tiflis on January 21" and, probably, the poem "Forgive me, Fatherland!" At the same time he went on his first business trip to the shah's court. On the way to the appointed place through Tabriz (January - March), he continued to write travel notes that he started last year. In August, he returned back, where he began to fuss about the fate of Russian soldiers who were in Iranian captivity. In September, at the head of a detachment of prisoners and fugitives, he set out from Tabriz to Tiflis, where he arrived already in next month. Some events of this journey are described on the pages of Griboyedov's diaries (for July and August/September), as well as in the narrative fragments "Vagin's Story" and "Ananur Quarantine".

In January 1820, Griboyedov again went to Persia, adding new entries to his travel diaries. Here, burdened with official chores, he spent more than a year and a half. Staying in Persia was incredibly burdensome for the writer-diplomat, and in the fall of the following year, 1821, for health reasons (due to a broken arm), he finally managed to transfer closer to his homeland - to Georgia. There he became close with Küchelbecker, who had arrived here for the service, and began work on draft manuscripts of the first edition of Woe from Wit.

From February 1822, Griboyedov was secretary for the diplomatic unit under General A.P. Yermolov, who commanded the Russian troops in Tiflis. The author's work on the drama "1812" is often dated to the same year (apparently, timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Russia's victory in the war with Napoleonic France).

At the beginning of 1823, Griboedov left the service for a while and returned to his homeland, for more than two years he lived in Moscow, in the village. Dmitrovsky (Lakotsy) of the Tula province, in St. Petersburg. Here the author continued the work begun in the Caucasus with the text “Woe from Wit”, by the end of the year he wrote the poem “David”, a dramatic scene in verse “The Youth of the Prophet”, a vaudeville “Who is brother, who is sister, or Deception after deception” (in cooperation with P. A. Vyazemsky) and the first edition of the famous e-moll waltz. It is customary to attribute the appearance of the first recordings of his Desiderata, a journal of notes on debatable issues of Russian history, geography and literature, to the same period of Griboedov's life.

The following year, 1824, dates the writers' epigrams to M. A. Dmitriev and A. I. Pisarev (“They compose - they lie! And they translate - they lie! ..”, “How the magazine fights spread! ..”), the narrative fragment “Character my uncle”, essay “Special cases of the St. Petersburg flood” and the poem “Teleshova”. At the end of the same year (December 15), Griboedov became a full member of the Free Society of Russian Literature Lovers.

On South

At the end of May 1825, due to the urgent need to return to his duty station, the writer abandoned his intention to visit Europe and left for the Caucasus. Subsequently, he will learn Arabic, Turkish, Georgian and Persian. The first teacher who taught Griboyedov the Persian language was Mirza Jafar Topchibashev. On the eve of this trip, he completed work on a free translation of the “Prologue in the Theater” from the tragedy “Faust”, at the request of F.V. archive" for 1825. On the way to Georgia, he visited Kyiv, where he met prominent figures of the revolutionary underground (M. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, A. Z. Muravyov, S. I. Muravyov-Apostol and S. P. Trubetskoy), lived for some time in the Crimea, visiting the estate of his old friend A.P. Zavadovsky. Griboyedov traveled through the mountains of the peninsula, developed a plan for the majestic tragedy of the Baptism of the ancient Russians and kept a detailed diary travel notes, published only three decades after the death of the author. According to the opinion established in science, it was under the influence of the southern trip that he wrote the scene “Dialogue of the Polovtsian husbands”.

Arrest

Upon his return to the Caucasus, Griboyedov, inspired by the participation in the expedition of General A. A. Velyaminov, wrote the famous poem "Predators on Chegem". In January 1826 he was arrested in the fortress of Groznaya on suspicion of belonging to the Decembrists; Griboyedov was brought to St. Petersburg, but the investigation could not find evidence of Griboyedov's belonging to a secret society. With the exception of A. F. Brigen, E. P. Obolensky, N. N. Orzhitsky and S. P. Trubetskoy, none of the suspects testified to the detriment of Griboyedov. He was under investigation until June 2, 1826, but since it was not possible to prove his participation in the conspiracy, and he himself categorically denied his involvement in the conspiracy, he was released from arrest with a “cleansing certificate”. Despite this, for some time Griboedov was placed under tacit supervision.

Return to service

In September 1826 he returned to the service in Tiflis and continued his diplomatic activities; took part in the conclusion of the Turkmanchay peace treaty (1828), which was beneficial for Russia, and delivered its text to St. Petersburg. Appointed as Resident Minister (Ambassador) to Iran; on the way to his destination, he again spent several months in Tiflis and married there on August 22 (September 3), 1828, Princess Nina Chavchavadze, with whom he happened to live only a few weeks.

Death in Persia

Foreign embassies were located not in the capital, but in Tabriz, at the court of Prince Abbas-Mirza, but soon after arriving in Persia, the mission went to introduce itself to Feth Ali Shah in Tehran. During this visit, Griboyedov died: January 30, 1829 (6 Shaaban 1244 AH) a crowd of thousands religious fanatics killed everyone in the embassy, ​​except for the secretary Ivan Sergeevich Maltsov.

The circumstances of the defeat of the Russian mission are described in different ways, but Maltsov was an eyewitness to the events, and he does not mention the death of Griboyedov, he only writes that 15 people defended themselves at the door of the envoy's room. Returning to Russia, he wrote that 37 people in the embassy were killed (all except him alone) and 19 Tehran residents. He himself hid in another room and, in fact, could only describe what he heard. All the defenders died, and there were no direct witnesses left.

Riza-Kuli writes that Griboyedov was killed with 37 comrades, and 80 people from the crowd were killed. His body was so mutilated that he was identified only by a trace on his left hand, obtained in the famous duel with Yakubovich.

Griboyedov's body was taken to Tiflis and buried on Mount Mtatsminda in a grotto at the Church of St. David. In the summer of 1829, Alexander Pushkin visited the grave. Pushkin also wrote in Journey to Arzrum that he met a cart with the body of Griboyedov on a mountain pass in Armenia, later called Pushkin.

The Shah of Persia sent his grandson to Petersburg to settle the diplomatic scandal. In compensation for the spilled blood, he brought rich gifts to Nicholas I, among them was the Shah diamond. Once this magnificent diamond, framed by many rubies and emeralds, adorned the throne of the Great Mughals. Now it shines in the collection of the Moscow Kremlin Diamond Fund.

On the grave of Alexander Griboyedov, his widow, Nina Chavchavadze, erected a monument with the inscription: “Your mind and deeds are immortal in Russian memory, but why did my love survive you!”.

Creation

According to his literary position, Griboedov belongs (according to Yu. N. Tynyanov's classification) to the so-called "junior archaists": his closest literary allies are P. A. Katenin and V. K. Kyuchelbeker; however, he was also appreciated by the "Arzamas", for example, Pushkin and Vyazemsky, and among his friends - such different people, as P. Ya. Chaadaev and F. V. Bulgarin.

Even during the years of study at Moscow University (1805), Griboedov wrote poems (only mentions have come down to us), creates a parody of the work of V. A. Ozerov "Dmitry Donskoy" - "Dmitry Dryanskoy". In 1814, two of his correspondence were published in Vestnik Evropy: On Cavalry Reserves and Letter to the Editor. In 1815, he published the comedy The Young Spouses, a parody of French comedies that made up the Russian comedy repertoire at that time. The author uses a very popular genre of "secular comedy" - works with a small number of characters and a setting for wit. In line with the controversy with Zhukovsky and Gnedich about the Russian ballad, Griboedov wrote an article "On the Analysis of the Free Translation of Lenora" (1816).

In 1817, Griboyedov's comedy "Student" was published. According to contemporaries, Katenin took a small part in it, but rather his role in creating the comedy was limited to editing. The work has a polemical character, directed against the "younger Karamzinists", parodying their works, a type of artist of sentimentalism. The main point of criticism is the lack of realism.

Parodying techniques: introducing texts into everyday contexts, exaggerated use of periphrasticity (all concepts in comedy are given descriptively, nothing is named directly). In the center of the work is the bearer of the classic consciousness (Benevolsky). All knowledge about life is gleaned by him from books, all events are perceived through the experience of reading. Saying "I saw it, I know it" means "I read it". The hero seeks to act out book stories, life seems uninteresting to him. The deprivation of a real sense of reality later Griboedov will repeat in "Woe from Wit" - this is a feature of Chatsky.

In 1817, Griboyedov took part in the writing of "Feigned Infidelity" together with A. A. Gendre. The comedy is an adaptation of the French comedy by Nicolas Barthes. The character Roslavlev, the predecessor of Chatsky, appears in it. This is a strange young man who is in conflict with society, uttering critical monologues. In the same year, the comedy "Own Family, or a Married Bride" was released. Co-authors: A. A. Shakhovskoy, Griboyedov, N. I. Khmelnitsky.

What was written before “Woe from Wit” is still very immature or created in collaboration with more experienced writers at that time (Katenin, Shakhovskoy, Zhandre, Vyazemsky); conceived after "Woe from Wit" - either not written at all (the tragedy about Prince Vladimir the Great), or not brought further than rough sketches (the tragedy about the princes Vladimir Monomakh and Fyodor Ryazansky), or written, but due to a number of circumstances it is not known modern science. Of Griboyedov's later experiments, the most notable are the dramatic scenes "1812", "Georgian Night", "Rodamist and Zenobia". special attention the author's artistic and documentary works (essays, diaries, epistolary) also deserve it.

Although world fame came to Griboyedov thanks to only one book, he should not be considered a “literary one-thinker” who exhausted his creative forces in his work on “Woe from Wit”. A reconstructive analysis of the playwright's artistic intentions allows us to see in him the talent of the creator of a truly high tragedy worthy of William Shakespeare, and literary prose testifies to the productive development of Griboyedov as an original author of literary "travels".

"Woe from Wit"

The comedy in verse "Woe from Wit" was conceived in St. Petersburg around 1816 and completed in Tiflis in 1824 (final edition - an authorized list left in St. Petersburg with Bulgarin - 1828). In Russia, it is included in the school curriculum of the 9th grade (in the days of the USSR - in the 8th grade).

The comedy "Woe from Wit" is the pinnacle of Russian dramaturgy and poetry. The bright aphoristic style contributed to the fact that she was all "dispersed into quotes."

“Never a single nation has been so scourged, never a single country has been dragged so in the mud, never so much rude abuse has been thrown into the face of the public, and, however, more complete success has never been achieved” (P. Chaadaev. “Apology of a madman” ).

“His Woe from Wit was published in 1862 without distortion or abridgement. When Griboedov himself, who died at the hands of fanatics in Iran, had been away from this world for more than 30 years. Written as never before on time - on the eve of the Decembrist uprising - the play became a vivid poetic pamphlet denouncing the reigning regime. For the first time, poetry broke into politics so boldly and frankly. And politics gave in, - wrote in the essay “Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov. Woe from Wit" (in the author's column "100 books that shook the world" in the magazine "Youth") Elena Sazanovich. - The play in handwritten form went all over the country. Griboyedov once again quipped, calling "Woe from Wit" a comedy. Is it a joke?! About 40,000 handwritten copies. A stunning success. It was an outright spit on high society. And high society did not laugh at the comedy. Wiped off. And Griboyedov was not forgiven ... ".

Musical works

The few musical works written by Griboyedov possessed excellent harmony, harmony and conciseness. He is the author of several piano pieces, among which two waltzes for piano are the most famous. Some works, including the piano sonata, Griboyedov's most serious piece of music, have not reached us. Waltz in E minor of his composition is considered the first Russian waltz that has survived to this day. According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, Griboedov was a remarkable pianist, his playing was distinguished by genuine artistry.

Other

In 1828, Griboyedov completed work on the "Project for the establishment of the Russian Transcaucasian Company". In order to develop trade and industry in Transcaucasia, the project was supposed to create an autonomous management company with extensive administrative, economic and diplomatic powers to govern the Transcaucasus. The project, as contradicting his personal power in Transcaucasia, was rejected by I.F. Paskevich.

An extensive section of Griboyedov's creative heritage consists of his letters.

Memory

Monuments

• In St. Petersburg, a monument to A. S. Griboyedov (sculptor V. V. Lishev, 1959) is located on Zagorodny Prospekt on Pioneer Square (opposite the Theater of the Young Spectator)
• In the center of Yerevan there is a monument to A.S. Griboedov (author - Hovhannes Bejanyan, 1974), and in 1995 a postage stamp of Armenia dedicated to A.S. Griboyedov was issued.
• In Alushta, a monument to A.S. Griboyedov was erected in 2002, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the city.
• In Moscow, the monument to A. S. Griboyedov is located on Chistoprudny Boulevard.
• In Veliky Novgorod, A. S. Griboyedov is immortalized in the monument "Millennium of Russia", in the group of sculptures "Writers and Artists".
• In Volgograd, at the expense of the Armenian community of the city, a bust of A. S. Griboyedov was erected (on Sovetskaya Street, opposite polyclinic No. 3).
• In Tbilisi, the monument to A. S. Griboedov is located on the embankment of the Kura (sculptor M. Merabishvili, architect G. Melkadze, 1961).
• In Tehran, near the Russian embassy, ​​there is a monument to A.S. Griboyedov (sculptor V.A. Beklemishev, 1912).

Museums and galleries

• State Historical, Cultural and Natural Museum-Reserve of A. S. Griboyedov "Khmelita".
• In the Crimea, in the Red Cave (Kizil-Koba), a gallery was named in honor of the stay of A. S. Griboyedov.

Streets

Streets to them. Griboyedov is in many cities of Russia and neighboring countries:

• Almetyevsk,
• Petrozavodsk,
• Perm,
• Chelyabinsk,
• Krasnoyarsk,
• Kaliningrad
• Surgut,
• Simferopol,
• Sevastopol,
• Bryansk,
• Yekaterinburg,
• Novokuznetsk,
• Novorossiysk,
• Novosibirsk,
• Ryazan,
• Dzerzhinsk (Nizhny Novgorod region),
• Irkutsk,
• Makhachkala,
• Gelendzhik,
• Kovrov,
• Tver
• Tyumen,
• Kirov,
• Essentuki;

in Belarus- Brest, Vitebsk, Minsk;

in Ukraine -

• Khmelnitsky,
• Vinnitsa,
• Kharkov,
• Kherson,
• Irpin,
• white church,
• Chernivtsi;

in Armenia- Yerevan, Vanadzor, Gyumri, Sevan;

Russian playwright, diplomat and composer Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov was born on January 15 (4 according to the old style) 1795 (according to other sources - 1790) in Moscow. He belonged to a noble family, received a serious home education.

In 1803, Alexander Griboyedov entered the Moscow University noble boarding school, in 1806 - at Moscow University. In 1808, having graduated from the verbal department with the title of candidate, he continued to study at the ethical and political department.

He spoke French, English, German, Italian, Greek, Latin, and later mastered Arabic, Persian, and Turkish.

With the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Griboyedov left his academic studies and joined the Moscow hussar regiment as a cornet.

At the beginning of 1816, having retired, he settled in St. Petersburg and entered the service of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs.

Leading a secular lifestyle, he moved in the theatrical and literary circles of St. Petersburg. He wrote the comedies "Young Spouses" (1815), "His Family, or a Married Bride" (1817) in collaboration with playwrights Alexander Shakhovsky and Nikolai Khmelnitsky, "Student" (1817) together with the poet and playwright Pavel Katenin.

In 1818, Griboyedov was appointed secretary of the Russian mission to Persia (now Iran). Not the last role in this kind of exile was played by his participation as a second in the duel of the chamber junker Alexander Zavadsky with officer Vasily Sheremetev, which ended in the death of the latter.

Since 1822, Griboyedov in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia) served as secretary for diplomatic affairs under the commander of Russian troops in the Caucasus, General Alexei Yermolov.

In Tiflis, the first and second acts of Griboedov's famous comedy "Woe from Wit" were written. The third and fourth acts were written in the spring and summer of 1823 on vacation in Moscow and on the estate of his close friend retired colonel Stepan Begichev near Tula. By the autumn of 1824, the comedy was completed, and Griboedov went to St. Petersburg, intending to use his connections in the capital to obtain permission for its publication and theatrical production. Only excerpts published in 1825 by Faddey Bulgarin in the anthology "Russian Thalia" could be passed through censorship. Griboedov's creation was distributed among the reading public in handwritten lists and became an event in Russian culture.

Griboedov also composed pieces of music, among which two waltzes for piano are popular. He played the piano, organ and flute.

In the autumn of 1825 Griboyedov returned to the Caucasus. At the beginning of 1826, he was arrested and taken to St. Petersburg to investigate alleged connections with the Decembrists, the instigators of the uprising in the capital on December 14, 1825. Many of the conspirators were close friends of Griboedov, but in the end he was acquitted and released.

Upon his return to the Caucasus in the autumn of 1826, he took part in several battles of the Russian-Persian war that had begun (1826-1828). Having brought to St. Petersburg the documents of the Turkmenchay peace treaty with Persia in March 1828, Griboedov was awarded and was appointed minister plenipotentiary (ambassador) to Persia.

On his way to Persia, he stopped for a while in Tiflis, where in August 1828 he married 16-year-old Nina Chavchavadze, the daughter of the Georgian poet, Prince Alexander Chavchavadze.

In Persia, among other things, the Russian minister was involved in sending captive subjects of Russia home. The appeal to him for help by two Armenian women who fell into the harem of a noble Persian was the reason for the reprisal against the diplomat.

Reactionary circles in Tehran, dissatisfied with the peace with Russia, set the fanatical crowd on the Russian mission.

On February 11 (January 30, old style), 1829, during the defeat of the Russian mission in Tehran, Alexander Griboyedov was killed.

Together with Russian ambassador all the staff of the embassy were killed, except for the secretary Ivan Maltsev, and the Cossacks of the embassy convoy - a total of 37 people.

The ashes of Griboyedov were in Tiflis and interred on Mount Mtatsminda in a grotto at the Church of St. David. The tombstone crowns a monument in the form of a weeping widow with the inscription: "Your mind and deeds are immortal in Russian memory, but why did my love survive you?"

Griboyedov's son, baptized Alexander, died before he lived a day. Nina Griboedova never married again and never took off her mourning clothes, for which she was called the Black Rose of Tiflis. In 1857, she died of cholera after refusing to leave her sick relatives. She was buried next to her only husband.

Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov is a famous Russian diplomat, but he is known to the reader, first of all, as the greatest writer and playwright, the author of the immortal comedy Woe from Wit.

Griboyedov was born on January 4, 1795 (according to other sources, 1794) in Moscow. His father was a guards officer who dreamed of getting his son a decent education and career. Sasha studied at first at home, then entered in 1802 (according to other sources 1803) at the Noble Boarding School at Moscow University.

Studying at the University

For getting higher education young Alexander Griboyedov in 1806 entered the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow University, the best at that time educational institution Russia. He graduates from the legal and verbal departments of the university, continues his education by attending lectures for students of the physics and mathematics department.

The young man stands out among his comrades with versatile talents and a desire to gain knowledge from certain branches of the humanities and exact sciences. He is fluent in foreign languages, not only required knowledge, French and German, but also Italian and English. In addition, he has extraordinary musical abilities.

Griboedov's first steps in literature

In 1812, a patriotic young man volunteered for the army, he served in the Moscow Hussars, in the reserve cavalry troops. In 1814, his first opuses appeared in the popular magazine Vestnik Evropy, small letters-notes reporting on the everyday life of cavalrymen who were in reserve.

As a playwright, he appears in 1815, presenting to the public the comedy The Young Spouses, a revised play French writer. Griboyedov's creation receives its stage embodiment and, at the same time, well-deserved criticism of the famous writer M.N. Zagoskin. But the young writer does not accept caustic remarks about the play, on the contrary, he answers criticism with a bright pamphlet called "Lubochny Theater".

Circle of friends

Alexander Griboedov is a member of the St. Petersburg literary society, gets acquainted with the writers Grech and Kuchelbeker. A little later, he will meet with the genius of Russian poetry, Alexander Pushkin.

The circle of acquaintances is expanding, close cooperation with A. Shakhovsky, N. Khmelnitsky, P. Katenin begins. In co-authorship with the latter, in 1817, the comedy "Student" was written, in which poets, followers of the enthusiastic N. Karamzin and the sentimental V. Zhukovsky, are ridiculed. In terms of literary views, Griboedov was closer to Krylov and Kuchelbecker, Derzhavin and Katenin, Shishkov and his company, the so-called "archaists".

Career and creativity

Griboyedov retired in 1816 and chose to live in St. Petersburg, known for its cultural traditions. A year later, he was enrolled in the College of Foreign Affairs, thus starting his career as a diplomat. Soon he was appointed secretary of the Russian diplomatic mission in Persia. However, this position is not a career take-off, but rather a punishment and exile, since the future diplomat allowed himself to participate in a duel, albeit as a second.

Tabriz meets a diplomat and writer in a dank February 1819, probably the first meeting with the place of future service contributed to the writing of the poem "The Traveler" (another name is "The Wanderer"), especially the part that tells about the sale of a captive Georgian boy in the Tabriz market.

Since 1822, Griboyedov has been in Tiflis in the diplomatic service at the headquarters of General Yermolov, who is the head of Georgia. In 1823 - 25 years. Alexander Sergeevich is on a long vacation, part of which he spends on the estate of his friend Begichev near Tula. It was here in the summer of 1823 that the third and fourth parts of the comedy "Woe from Wit" were born (the first two, according to the assumption of creativity researchers, were written back in Tiflis). And in the autumn of the same year, in collaboration with P. Vyazemsky, Griboyedov wrote "Vaudeville", A. Verstovsky composes music for it.
At the end of 1825, the vacation ends, and Griboyedov has to return to Tiflis. But comes to the fore literary activity Unfortunately, most of his works have not yet been identified or are known in fragments.

The great ideas of the writer are evidenced by the plan of the drama called "1812", a preserved fragment of the tragedy "Georgian Night", based on local ancient legends, another tragic work telling about historical events that took place in Armenia and Georgia.
In the first half of 1826, Griboyedov was under investigation related to the performance of the Decembrists on Senate Square. Compromising information about him has not been revealed, in September of this year he returns to the Caucasus.

The tragic finale of Griboedov's biography

A year later, an important diplomatic mission falls on Griboyedov - maintaining relations with Persia and Turkey. In August 1828, Griboedov in Tiflis married Nadya Chavchavadze, who is distinguished by her refinement of manners, human qualities, and, moreover, is unusually beautiful.
A young wife, expecting her first child, accompanies her husband to Tabriz, and then, a few months later, returns to Tiflis. In Tehran in those days it was restless, and Griboyedov feared for the life of his mother and unborn baby.

The diplomat takes an active part in the political, economic, public life of the Caucasus region, contributes to the opening of the "Tiflis Vedomosti", a "working house" for women serving sentences. With his participation, the Turkmanchy peace treaty with Persia was signed, and soon he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to this country.

But he considers this position as another exile, and not at all a royal favor. Together with the embassy, ​​he leaves for Tehran, where the tragic events took place. Embassy staff, including Alexander Griboedov, were brutally murdered by Persian fanatics, behind whom stood Shah Fet-Ali and his subordinates, who did not want to allow Russian influence to grow in the East.

On January 4, 1795, the life of Alexander Griboedov, the great diplomat, writer and playwright, ended tragically. But his works have retained their relevance, they are more modern than ever, and any reader today can be convinced of this.

Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov
In the history of literature there are "authors of one work." A classic example of such a writer is Griboyedov. The talent of this man was truly phenomenal. His knowledge was vast and versatile, he learned many languages, was a good officer, a capable musician, an outstanding diplomat with the makings of a major politician. But for all that, few people would remember him if it were not for the comedy Woe from Wit, which put Griboyedov on a par with the greatest Russian writers.
The stepson of sanity
There are many mysteries and gaps in Griboyedov's biography, especially in childhood and adolescence. Neither his year of birth is reliably known (although the day is precisely known - January 4th), nor the year of admission to the university noble boarding school. The widely circulated version, according to which Griboedov graduated from three faculties of Moscow University and only because of the war of 1812, did not receive a doctoral degree, is not confirmed by documents. One thing is for sure: in 1806 he entered the Faculty of Literature, and in 1808 he graduated from it. If Griboyedov was indeed born in 1795, as most biographers believe, he was then 13 years old. In the early years of the 21st century, this is rare, but it happened.
More reliable information about the life of Griboedov since 1812. During the invasion of Napoleon, Alexander Sergeevich signed up, like so many Moscow nobles, as an officer in the militia. But he never got to participate in the battles: the regiment stood in the rear. After the war, the future writer served as an adjutant in Belarus.
Griboyedov spent his youth stormily. He called himself and his fellow soldiers, the Begichev brothers, "stepchildren of common sense" - their pranks were so unbridled. There is a known case when Griboyedov somehow sat down at the organ during a service in a Catholic church. At first, he played sacred music for a long time and with inspiration, and then suddenly switched to Russian dance music.
Griboedov also hung out in St. Petersburg, where he moved in 1816 (he spent a year in retirement, and then became an official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). But he had already begun to seriously engage in literature.
From Belarus, Griboyedov brought a comedy (translated from French) "Young Spouses". It was installed in the capital not without success. Then Griboyedov participated as a co-author in several more plays. The stage became his real passion. He became friends with the director of the St. Petersburg theater, the playwright Shakhovsky, and especially with the talented poet and theater connoisseur Pavel Katenin.
Together with Katenin, Griboyedov wrote the best of his early works- comedy in prose "Student" (1817). During the life of Griboedov, she did not get either on stage or in print. Perhaps the attacks on literary opponents (Zhukovsky, Batyushkov, Karamzin), whose poems are parodied in the play, seemed indecent to the censors. In addition, in the main character - the fool Benevolsky - it was not difficult to recognize the features of these writers.
No less than the author's fame was attracted by the backstage life of the theater, an indispensable accessory of which were novels with actresses. One of these stories ended tragically.
Griboedov's two friends, the boobies Sheremetev and Zavadovsky, competed over the ballerina Istomina. Alexander Yakubovich, a well-known duelist in the city (future Decembrist), fanned a quarrel, and accused Griboyedov of ignoble behavior. Sheremetev was supposed to shoot with Zavadovsky, Yakubovich - with Griboyedov. Both duels were supposed to take place on the same day. But while they were assisting the mortally wounded Sheremetev, time was running out. The next day, Yakubovich was arrested as an instigator and exiled to the Caucasus.
Griboedov was not punished for the duel, but public opinion found him guilty of Sheremetev's death. The authorities decided to remove from St. Petersburg an official "involved in history." Griboyedov was offered the post of secretary of the Russian mission either in the United States of America or in Persia. He chose the latter, and that sealed his fate.
Writer - diplomat
On the way to Persia, Griboyedov stayed in Tiflis for almost a year. A postponed duel with Yakubovich took place there. Griboyedov was wounded in the arm - for him, as a musician, this was very sensitive.
Griboyedov served in Persia for three years, then moved on as a "diplomatic official" to the staff of General A.P. Yermolov. Service with this outstanding man gave him a lot. Griboedov spent 1823-1824 on vacation in Moscow, in the village of the Begichevs, in St. Petersburg. His new work - the comedy "Woe from Wit" - made a splash. It was conceived back in Persia, begun in Tiflis, and completed in the village of the Begichevs.
The author read the play in many literary salons. But he failed to print or stage Woe from Wit. The comedy was hardly missed because of the political urgency. There are not so many doubtful places in Woe from Wit in this respect; they would not be difficult to remove or soften. But the play had a smack of scandal: many Muscovites recognized themselves in her characters (as a rule, erroneously). The scandal was what the censors wanted to prevent. The authorities even banned a performance that the students of the theater school wanted to present in a narrow circle. In the almanac "Russian Waist for 1825" only the second half of the first act and the entire third act were printed. Full text circulated in thousands of handwritten copies.
In January 1826, after the Decembrist uprising, Griboyedov was arrested on suspicion of being involved in a conspiracy. A few months later, he was not only released, but also received another rank, as well as an allowance in the amount of an annual salary. There really was no serious evidence against him, and even now there is no documentary evidence that the writer somehow participated in the activities secret societies. On the contrary, he is credited with a disparaging characterization of the conspiracy: "One hundred ensigns want to turn Russia over!" But, perhaps, Griboyedov owes such a complete justification to the intercession of a relative, General I.F. Paskevich, a favorite of Nicholas I.
In June of the same year, Griboyedov was appointed envoy plenipotentiary to Persia. On the way, in Tiflis, he passionately fell in love with Princess Nina Chavchavadze, the daughter of his old friend, the Georgian poet Alexander Chavchavadze, and married her. Marital happiness was immeasurable, but soon ended. A month after the wedding, the young couple left for Persia. Nina stopped in the border Tabriz, and Griboyedov moved on - to the capital of Persia, Tehran.
Just a month later, tragedy struck. On January 30, 1829, the embassy was destroyed, and all who were in it were killed. Only one person was saved.
Griboyedov was buried in his beloved Tiflis, in the monastery of St. David on Mount Mtatsminda. On the grave, the widow erected a monument to him with the inscription: "Your mind and deeds are immortal in Russian memory, but why did my love survive you?"