Griboyedov's work summary. Griboyedov - short biography

Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov, whose biography will be presented in this article, was very gifted and He mastered four professions: playwright, musician, poet and diplomat. He is best known for his legendary play in verse, “Woe from Wit.” He is a descendant of an ancient noble family.

Childhood and studies

The boy's mother was involved in his education. She was a swaggering and proud representative of the upper class, but at the same time she had more than enough intelligence and practicality. Nastasya Fedorovna understood perfectly well that a high position in society and career advancement can be achieved not only by connections and origin, but also by a person’s level of education. Therefore, in the Griboedov family it was a priority. Mom hired the best French tutors for Alexander, and sometimes invited professors for lessons. Even in my childhood, contained in this article) I read more books than an ordinary person can handle in a lifetime.

In 1803, the boy was sent to the Noble boarding school, and three years later he entered Moscow University. Before 1812, Alexander graduated from the verbal and legal departments. The outbreak of war did not allow him to complete his studies at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics.

Even at the university, everyone around him recognized the future playwright as the most educated person. He knew all the world classics perfectly, read and communicated fluently in several languages, composed music and played the piano masterfully.

Military service

Griboyedov's biography, a brief summary of which is known to all fans of his work, was marked in 1812 by an important event. To defend the Fatherland, Alexander voluntarily enlisted in the hussar regiment. But while its formation was taking place, Napoleon’s army was thrown far from Moscow. And soon she returned to Europe altogether.

Despite this, Alexander Sergeevich still decided to remain in the army. His regiment was transferred to the most remote regions of Belarus. These years almost disappeared from the writer’s life. He will regret them in the future. On the other hand, many of his colleagues became the prototypes of the heroes of the comedy “Woe from Wit.” In 1815, the writer realizes that he can no longer exist in the army environment and plans to end his service.

Life in St. Petersburg

Griboedov's biography, a brief summary of which was known to the playwright's contemporaries, changed dramatically with his move to St. Petersburg in 1816. Here he became close to the leading people of that time and imbued with their ideas. Alexander Sergeevich then found many new friends, who in the future became organizers of secret communities. In secular salons, the writer shone with his cynicism and cold wit. He was drawn to the theatrical stage. During that period, he wrote and translated a lot for the comedy theater. Also, thanks to the necessary acquaintances, Griboedov was able to get a job. The writer’s measured life was disrupted by his participation in a duel, which ended in the death of his opponent. His mother’s connections allowed him to go on a diplomatic mission away from the capital.

Service in the Caucasus and Persia

In 1819, Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov, whose biography is full of interesting events, arrived for service in Tehran. There he received many new impressions, met with local princes, courtiers, wandering poets and ordinary people. The service was uncomplicated, and Griboyedov had enough time for self-education and literary creativity. He read a lot and honed his knowledge of Arabic and Persian. Also, to the playwright’s delight, his comedy “Woe from Wit” was written here easily and fruitfully.

At that time, the author committed a simply heroic act - he took Russian prisoners out of the country. Griboyedov’s courage was noted by General Ermolov, who decided that such a person should not vegetate in Persia. Thanks to his efforts, Alexander Sergeevich was transferred to the Caucasus (Tiflis). Here the writer completely completed and edited two acts of the work “Woe from Wit”.

Return to St. Petersburg and arrest

In 1823, Griboyedov’s creative biography, a brief summary of which is well known to high school students, was marked by the completion of the main work of his life - the play “Woe from Wit.” But in his attempts to publish it and stage it, he encountered categorical opposition. With great difficulty, the writer agreed with the almanac “Russian Waist” to print several excerpts. The book was also distributed by the Decembrists, who considered it their own “printed manifesto.”

In "Woe from Wit" classicism and innovation, extensive character development and strict adherence to the canons of comedy construction are intertwined. A significant decoration of the work is the use of aphoristic and precise language. Many lines of the essay quickly became quotable.

Twist of fate

Who knows how Griboyedov’s biography, a brief summary of which was described above, would have developed if not for his trip to the Caucasus in 1825. Most likely, the writer would have resigned and plunged headlong into literary activity. But Alexander Sergeevich’s mother took an oath from him to continue his career as a diplomat.

During the Russian-Persian War, the playwright participated in several battles, but he achieved much greater success as a diplomat. Griboyedov “bargained” a very profitable peace treaty for Russia and came to St. Petersburg with documents. Alexander Sergeevich hoped to stay at home and finish the works “Georgian Night”, “1812” and “Rodomist and Zenobia”. But the king decided otherwise, and the writer had to return to Persia.

Tragic ending

In mid-1828, Griboyedov left St. Petersburg with great reluctance. He delayed his departure with all his might, as if he felt his death approaching. If not for this trip, the biography could have continued to the delight of the writer’s fans.

The last ray of happiness in the life of Alexander Sergeevich was his ardent love for Nina, the daughter of his friend A. G. Chavchavadze. Passing through Tiflis, he married her, and then headed to Tehran to prepare everything for his wife’s arrival.

As for further events, there are several versions of how Griboyedov died. Biography, death - all this interests admirers of Alexander Sergeevich’s talent. We will list the three most common versions:

1. Griboyedov was killed by Muslim fanatics while trying to remove Armenian women from the Shah's harem. The entire Russian mission was destroyed.
2. The mission staff, along with the writer, showed disrespect for Persian laws and the Shah. And the rumor about an attempt to remove women from the harem became the last straw that overflowed the Shah’s patience. Therefore, he ordered the murder of the insolent strangers.
3. The Russian mission was attacked by religious fanatics incited by British diplomats.

This ends the short biography of Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov, who died on January 30, 1829. In conclusion, here are a few facts about the playwright.

The life of a wonderful man

• Griboyedov knew Turkish, Persian, French, Arabic, Latin, English, Greek, Italian and German perfectly well.
• The writer was a member of a large Masonic lodge in St. Petersburg.
• While in the Caucasus, Alexander Sergeevich used his position and connections to make life easier for the Decembrists. He was even able to smuggle several people out of Siberia.

(1790 or 1795-1829)

Elena Lavrenova

Biography

Russian writer, poet, playwright, diplomat. Alexander Griboyedov was born on January 15 (according to the old style - January 4) 1795 (some sources indicate 1790) in Moscow, into an old noble family. “The noble family of the Griboedovs is of gentry origin. Jan Grzybowski moved to Russia in the first quarter of the 17th century. His son, Fyodor Ivanovich, was a clerk under Tsars Alexei Mikhailovich and Fyodor Alekseevich and was the first to write to Griboedov.” (“Russian Biographical Dictionary”) He spent his childhood in the Moscow house of Alexander’s loving, but wayward and unyielding mother, Nastasya Fedorovna (1768-1839) (Novinsky Boulevard, 17). Alexander and his sister Maria (1792-1856; married to M.S. Durnovo) received a serious education at home: educated foreigners Petrosilius and Ion were tutors, and university professors were invited for private lessons. In 1803, Alexander was assigned to the Moscow Noble University Boarding School. In 1806, Alexander Griboedov entered the literature department of Moscow University, from which he graduated in 1808 with the title of candidate of literature; continued his studies at the ethical and political department; In 1810 he graduated from law, and then entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. From the moment he studied at the university and throughout his life, Alexander Sergeevich retained his love for history and economic sciences. Upon completion of his studies, Griboedov surpassed all his peers in literature and society: he spoke French, English, German, Italian, Greek, Latin, and later mastered Arabic, Persian and Turkish. In 1812, before Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Alexander Sergeevich was preparing for the exam for his doctorate.

In 1812, despite his family’s dissatisfaction, Griboyedov signed up as a volunteer cornet in the Moscow hussar regiment, recruited by Count Saltykov, but while it was being organized, Napoleon managed to leave Moscow, and then Russia. The war ended, but Alexander decided to prefer the unattractive cavalry service in the remote corners of Belarus to the career of an official. He spent three years first in the Irkutsk Hussar Regiment, then at the headquarters of the cavalry reserves. In Brest-Litovsk, where cornet Griboyedov was seconded to the headquarters of the reserves and served as an adjutant to the humane and educated cavalry general A.S. Kologrivov, his taste for books and creativity reawakened in him: in 1814 he sent his first articles (“About cavalry reserves” and “Description of the holiday in honor of Kologrivov”). Having visited St. Petersburg in 1815 and prepared his transition to the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, Griboyedov retired in March 1816.

In 1817, Alexander Griboedov was enrolled in the College of Foreign Affairs, where he soon began to be in good standing. His first plays were published and staged in St. Petersburg, he met A.S. Pushkin, V.K. Kuchelbecker, P.Ya. Chaadaev. Griboyedov's official position almost spoiled his participation as a second in the duel between Sheremetev and Zavadovsky, which outraged everyone with the bitterness of the opponents: according to some assumptions, after this duel a duel between the seconds should have taken place. At the insistence of his mother, in order to allow the gossip to subside and soften the anger of his superiors, Alexander Griboedov had to temporarily leave St. Petersburg and, against his will, he was provided with the position of secretary of the embassy in Persia. On March 4, 1819, Griboedov entered Tehran, but a significant part of the service took place in Tabriz. The duties were simple, which made it possible to intensively study Persian and Arabic. Periodically, Griboedov had to travel to Tiflis on business errands; once he took out of Persia and returned to their homeland a group of Russian prisoners unjustly detained by the Persian authorities. This enterprise brought Griboedov to the attention of the commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, Alexei Petrovich Ermolov (1777-1861), who recognized in him rare talents and an original mind. Ermolov achieved the appointment of Alexander Griboedov as secretary for foreign affairs under the commander-in-chief in the Caucasus, and from February 1822 he began serving in Tiflis. Here work continued on the play “Woe from Wit,” which had begun even before his appointment to Persia.

After 5 years of stay in Iran and the Caucasus, at the end of March 1823, having received a vacation (first short, and then extended and generally covering almost two years), Griboyedov arrived in Moscow, and in 1824 - in St. Petersburg. The comedy, completed in the summer of 1824, was banned by tsarist censorship and on December 15, 1825, only fragments were published in F.V. Bulgarin’s almanac “Russian Waist”. In order to promote their ideas, the Decembrists began to distribute “Woe from Wit” in tens of thousands of lists (in January 1825, the list of “Woe from Wit” was brought to Pushkin in Mikhailovskoye). Despite Griboyedov’s skeptical attitude towards the military conspiracy of the future Decembrists and doubts about the timeliness of the coup, among his friends during this period were K.F. Ryleev, A.A. Bestuzhev, V.K. Kuchelbecker, A.I. Odoevsky. In May 1825, Griboyedov again left St. Petersburg for the Caucasus, where he learned that on December 14 the Decembrist uprising was defeated.

In connection with the opening of the case about the Decembrists, in January 1826, Alexander Griboedov was arrested in the Grozny fortress; Ermolov managed to warn Griboedov about the arrival of the courier with the order to immediately take him to the investigative commission, and all incriminating papers were destroyed. On February 11, he was delivered to St. Petersburg and put in the guardhouse of the General Staff; Among the reasons was that during interrogations 4 Decembrists, including S.P. Trubetskoy and E.P. Obolensky, named Griboyedov among the members of the secret society and in the papers of many of those arrested they found lists of “Woe from Wit”. He was under investigation until June 2, 1826, but because... 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, Griboyedov was under secret surveillance for some time. In September 1826, Griboedov continued his diplomatic activities, returning to Tbilisi. Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich (1782-1856), married to Alexander Griboedov's cousin Elizaveta Alekseevna (1795-1856), was appointed commander-in-chief in the Caucasus. Griboedov returned to the Caucasus reluctantly and seriously thought about retirement, but his mother’s requests forced him to continue serving.

At the height of the Russian-Iranian war, Griboedov is entrusted with managing relations with Turkey and Iran. In March 1828 he arrived in St. Petersburg, delivering the Turkmanchay Peace Treaty, which was beneficial for Russia, which brought it significant territory and a large indemnity. Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov took a direct part in the negotiations with Abbas Mirza and the signing of the agreement. The concessions were made by the Persians against their will and Griboedov, rightly proud of his success, did not hide his fears of revenge and the imminent resumption of the war.

In April 1828, Griboedov, who enjoyed a reputation as a specialist in Persian affairs, was appointed plenipotentiary resident minister (ambassador) to Iran. Despite the reluctance to go to Persia, it was impossible to refuse the appointment due to the categorically stated desire of the emperor. During his years of service in the East, Griboyedov took a closer look at the Eastern way of life and way of thinking, and the prospect of a long life that opened up to him in one of the centers of stagnation, arbitrariness and fanaticism did not arouse in him any particular desire to begin fulfilling new duties; he treated the appointment as a political exile.

On the way to his destination, Griboyedov spent several months in Georgia. In August 1828, while in Tiflis, he married the daughter of his friend, the Georgian poet and Major General Alexander Garsevanovich Chavchavadze (1786-1846), Princess Nina Chavchavadze (1812-1857), whom he knew as a girl. Despite the fever that did not leave him even during the marriage ceremony, Alexander Sergeevich, perhaps, experienced happy love for the first time, experiencing, in his words, such a “novel that leaves far behind the most bizarre stories of fiction writers famous for their imagination.” The young wife has just turned sixteen. After recovery, he took his wife to Tabriz and went without her to Tehran to prepare everything there for her arrival. On December 9, 1828 they saw each other for the last time. One of his last letters to Nina (December 24, 1828, Kazbin) speaks about the tenderness with which he treated his little “Murilyev shepherdess,” as he called Nina: “My priceless friend, I feel sorry for you, I’m sadder without you than I could be.” . Now I truly feel what it means to love. Previously, I parted with my legs, to which I was also tightly attached, but a day, two, a week - and the melancholy disappeared, now the further away from you, the worse. Let’s endure a few more, my angel, and let’s pray to God that we will never be separated after that.”

Arriving in Tehran, Griboedov sometimes acted in a defiant manner, did not yield in any way to the obstinacy of the Persians, persistently demanding payment of indemnity, violated the etiquette of the Shah's court, showing the Shah himself the least possible respect. All this was done contrary to personal inclinations, and English diplomats took advantage of these mistakes to incite hatred of the ambassador in court spheres. But a more formidable hatred of the Russians, supported by clergy, was kindled among the masses: on market days the ignorant crowd was told that the Russians should be exterminated as enemies of the people's religion. The instigator of the uprising was the Tehran mujshehid (highest cleric) Mesih, and his main accomplices were the ulema. According to the official version, the purpose of the conspiracy was to cause some damage to the Russian mission, and not to massacre. When on the fateful day of February 11 (according to the old style - January 30) 1829, about 100 thousand people gathered (according to the testimony of the Persian dignitaries themselves), and a mass of fanatics rushed to the embassy house, the leaders of the conspiracy lost power over them. Realizing the danger he was exposed to, the day before his death, Griboedov sent a note to the palace, declaring in it that “in view of the inability of the Persian authorities to protect the honor and the very lives of the representatives of Russia, he asks his government to recall him from Tehran.” But it was already too late. The next day there was an almost complete massacre of the Russians (only embassy adviser Maltsov managed to escape); The murder of Griboedov was especially brutal: his disfigured and mutilated body was found in a pile of corpses. Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov was buried in accordance with his wishes on Mount David in Tiflis - near the Monastery of St. David. On the gravestone are the words of Nina Griboedova: “Your mind and deeds are immortal in Russian memory, but why did my love survive you?”

Among the works are plays, poems, journalism, letters: “Letter from Brest Litovsk to the publisher” (1814; letter to the publisher of “Bulletin of Europe”), “On cavalry reserves” (1814, article), “Description of the holiday in honor of Kologrivov” ( 1814, article), “The Young Spouses” (1815, comedy; reworking of Creuset de Lesser’s play “The Family Secret” 1807), “One’s Own Family, or the Married Bride” (1817, comedy; co-authored with A.A. Shakhovsky and N. I. Khmelnitsky: Five phenomena of the second act belong to Griboyedov), “Student” (1817, comedy; co-authored with P.A. Katenin), “Feigned Infidelity” (1818, play; co-authored with A. Gendre), “Test of Interlude "(1819, play), "Woe from Wit" (1822-1824, comedy; the origin of the idea - in 1816, the first production - November 27, 1831 in Moscow, the first publication, cut by censorship - in 1833, full publication - in 1862), “1812” (drama; excerpts published in 1859), “Georgian Night” (1827-1828, tragedy; publication - 1859), “Special cases of the St. Petersburg flood” (article), “Country trip” (article). Musical works: two waltzes for piano are known.

(Compiler of a short biography of A.S. Griboyedov - Elena Lavrenova)

Bibliography

A.S. Griboedov "Works". M. "Fiction", 1988

“Russian Biographical Dictionary” rulex.ru (article by Prof. A.N. Veselovsky “Griboyedov”)

Encyclopedic resource rubricon.com (Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Encyclopedic Directory "St. Petersburg", Encyclopedia "Moscow", Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary)

Project “Russia Congratulates!”

The Renaissance man is a title of human greatness and at the same time a curse of oblivion. Leonardo da Vinci himself indicated the profession of “musician,” but his ancestors did not preserve his melodies for us. Something similar happens to all great people: while admiring one talent, descendants, as a rule, miss other, no lesser talents of the poor genius. The same story happened to one of our compatriots. He spoke flawless French, German, Italian, English, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Persian and Turkish, actively helped the Decembrists, was a member of the St. Petersburg Masonic Lodge, played the piano, organ and flute, and was the ambassador of the Russian Empire to Persia. And they know him exclusively as the author of the play “Woe from Wit.” Yes, we are talking about Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov - a Russian man of the Renaissance.

Born on January 15, 1795, the son of a nobleman received a good education at home, which became a strong base for the further development of a playwright, composer and diplomat. The most important thing - the credo of life - was passed on to him by his well-behaved father.

At the age of 8, Griboedov was sent to a Moscow boarding school, and three years later he went to Moscow University. He managed to complete his studies at the Faculty of Literature and Law, but he was not destined to complete the program of the third Faculty of Physics and Mathematics: the war with Napoleon began.

Brought up in the noble tradition, Griboyedov immediately entered the hussar regiment with the rank of cornet. However, for better or for worse, by the time the regiment was sent to the front, the war with the French was already over, and young Alexander and his fellow soldiers were transferred to the outback of Belarus. The nobleman quickly became bored with his good fun and morals, and Griboyedov will remember these years rather with regret, although the characters of many of his hussar friends will be clearly depicted in the famous “Woe from Wit.”

History of success

In 1815, the playwright returned to St. Petersburg, acquired useful contacts, broke into the intellectual elite of the northern capital, and entered the service of the College of Foreign Affairs. The dramatic outcome of a duel typical of noble circles, where Griboedov was present as a second, served as the reason for sending the young diplomat to Persia - a kind of political exile.

The brilliant mind, talents of Alexander Sergeevich, numerous acquaintances and the heroic rescue of Russian prisoners made Griboedov a real hero of our time. Appreciating his merits, General Ermolov petitioned for the diplomat to be transferred to Tiflis.

Creative path

The year 1824 is marked by a return to St. Petersburg: the playwright at that time finished the comedy of his life and hoped to present it. The publication was largely facilitated by the Decembrists, who considered the play a kind of manifesto of the movement: the combination of literary innovations with classical canons, the comedy of new characters truly became a breakthrough word of the time.

A year later, on the way to the Caucasus, this help almost played a cruel joke on Griboyedov. Alexander Sergeevich was arrested on suspicion of preparing the Decembrist uprising, which the writer, naturally, denied, and therefore escaped punishment. Griboyedov is allowed to continue his journey to his destination.

Here his service was as brilliant as his completed diplomatic mission in Persia.

Tragic death

Griboedov actually received a promotion and the status of ambassador, but he was still returned to Tehran: only such a talented diplomat could cope with the most complex political agreements.

Griboyedov's new appointment became a fatal epilogue in his life: on the way from Tabriz to Tehran, where he was preparing for the upcoming wedding with Nina Chavchavadze, the Russian diplomatic mission was attacked by angry Muslim fanatics. There are many versions of the reasons for what happened, be it Griboedov’s own disrespectful attitude towards the traditions of Persia and the ceremony of marrying an Armenian woman, or a conspiracy of the British carried out by the hands of the Persians, the result remains the same: the most talented Russian playwright and dedicated diplomat died on a foreign land, not having time to reunite with the woman he loved , but leaving the immortal “Woe from Wit” as a souvenir for posterity.

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Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov

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 an early age he 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 (literature department). Having become a candidate of literary sciences in 1808, Griboyedov 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, and was very gifted musically.

With the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Griboedov joined the ranks of volunteers, but he did not have to participate directly in military operations. In 1815, with the rank of cornet, Griboyedov served in a cavalry regiment that was in reserve. The first literary experiments date back to this time - the comedy “The 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. Griboyedov retired and came to live in St. Petersburg. While working at the College of Foreign Affairs, he continues his studies in a new field of writing, makes translations, and joins theatrical and literary circles. It was in this city that fate gave him the acquaintance of A. Pushkin. In 1817, A. Griboyedov tried his hand at drama, writing the comedies “My Family” and “Student”.

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

In the winter of 1822, Tiflis became Griboyedov’s new place of service, and the new boss was General A.P. Ermolov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Tehran, commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, under whom Griboedov was secretary for diplomatic affairs. 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, Griboyedov left the Caucasus on vacation to his homeland. In 1824, in St. Petersburg, the last point was put in the work, the path to fame of which turned out to be thorny. The comedy could not be published due to censorship and was sold in handwritten copies. Only small fragments “slipped” into print: in 1825 they were included in the issue of the almanac “Russian Waist”. Griboedov's brainchild 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 service in Tiflis. In January 1826, in connection with the Decembrist case, he was arrested, kept in a fortress, and then taken to St. Petersburg: the writer’s name came up several times during interrogations, and handwritten copies of his comedy were found during searches. Nevertheless, due to lack of evidence, the investigation had to release Griboedov, 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 services, the talented diplomat was awarded a new position - the plenipotentiary minister (ambassador) of Russia in Persia. Alexander Sergeevich saw his appointment as a “political exile”; plans for the implementation of numerous creative ideas collapsed. With a heavy heart, in June 1828, Griboedov left St. Petersburg.

Getting to his place of duty, he lived for several months in Tiflis, where in August his wedding took place with 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 crowd, and one of its victims was A.S. Griboyedov, who was disfigured to such an extent that he was later identified only by a characteristic scar on his hand. The body was taken to Tiflis, where its last resting place was the grotto at the Church of St. David.

Biography from Wikipedia

Origin and early years

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

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

According to relatives, as a child Alexander was very focused and unusually developed. There is information that he was the great-nephew of Alexander Radishchev (the playwright himself carefully hid this). At the age of 6, he was fluent in three foreign languages, and in his youth already six, in particular, fluent English, French, German and Italian. He understood Latin and Ancient Greek very well.

In 1803 he was sent to the Moscow University Noble Boarding School; Three years later, Griboedov entered the literature department of Moscow University. In 1808 (at the age of 13) he graduated from the literary department of the university with the degree of candidate of literary sciences, but did not leave his studies, but entered the ethical-political (legal) department of the Faculty of Philosophy. In 1810 he received his PhD and remained at the university to study mathematics and natural sciences.

War

On September 8, 1812, cornet Griboyedov fell ill and remained 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 Russian territory, he joined the Moscow Hussar Regiment (a volunteer irregular unit) of Count Pyotr Ivanovich Saltykov, who received permission to form it. Arriving at his duty station, he found himself in 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 was in this squad for only 4 months, and now I haven’t been able to get on the right path for 4 years.”. Begichev responded to this like this:

But they had barely begun to form when the enemy entered Moscow. This regiment received orders 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 Hussars. S. N. Begichev

Until 1815, Griboedov served in the rank of cornet under the command of cavalry general A. S. Kologrivov. Griboedov's first literary experiments - “Letter from Brest-Litovsk to the publisher”, feature article "About cavalry reserves" and comedy "Young Spouses"(translation of the French comedy “Le secret”) - dates back to 1814. In the article "About 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 Kologrivov was awarded the “Order of St. Vladimir Equal to the Apostles, 1st degree” in 1814 and the holiday of June 22 (July 4) in Brest-Litovsk , in the cavalry reserves, on this occasion.

In the capital

In 1815, Griboedov came to St. Petersburg, where he met the publisher of the magazine “Son of the Fatherland” N.I. Grech and the famous playwright N.I. Khmelnitsky.

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

At the same time, Griboyedov’s name appears on the list of active members of the Masonic lodge “United Friends”. At the beginning of 1817, Griboyedov became one of the founders of the Masonic lodge "Du Bien".

In the summer he entered the diplomatic service, taking the position of provincial secretary (from the winter - translator) of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. This period of the writer’s life also includes his acquaintances 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”), and the comedies “Student” (together with P. A. Katenin), “Feigned Infidelity” (together with A. A. Gendre), “Own Family, or the Married Bride” (co-authored with A. A. Shakhovsky and N. I. Khmelnitsky).

Duel

In 1817, the famous “quadruple duel” between Zavadovsky-Sheremetev and Griboedov-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 he brought her to his place (naturally, to Zavadovsky’s house), where she lived for two days. 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 Ulan regiment A.I. Yakubovich, he challenged Zavadovsky to a duel. Griboyedov became Zavadovsky’s second, and Yakubovich became Sheremetev’s; 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 Griboyedov postponed their fight. It took place the following year, 1818, in Georgia. Yakubovich was transferred to Tiflis for service, and Griboedov also happened to be passing through there, heading on a diplomatic mission to Persia.

Griboedov was wounded in the left hand. It was from this wound that it was subsequently possible to identify the disfigured corpse of Griboyedov, killed by religious fanatics during the destruction of the Russian embassy in Tehran.

In the east

In 1818, Griboyedov, having refused the position of an official of the Russian mission in the United States, was appointed to the post of secretary under the Tsar's charge d'affaires in Persia, Simon Mazarovich. Before leaving for Tehran, he completed work on “Sideshow Trials.” He went to his duty station at the end of August, two months later (with short stops in Novgorod, Moscow, Tula and Voronezh) he arrived in Mozdok, and on the way to Tiflis he compiled a detailed diary describing his travels.

At the beginning of 1819, Griboyedov completed work on the ironic “Letter to the Publisher from Tiflis on January 21” and, probably, the poem “Forgive me, Fatherland!”, and then went on his first business trip to the Shah’s court. On the way to the appointed place through Tabriz (January - March), I continued to write travel notes that I started last year. In August he returned back, where he began to advocate for 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 the following 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, Griboedov again went to Persia, adding new entries to his travel diary. Here, burdened with official chores, he spent more than a year and a half. His stay in Persia was incredibly burdensome for the writer-diplomat, and in the fall of the following year, 1821, due to health reasons (due to a broken arm), he finally managed to transfer closer to his homeland - to Georgia. There he became close to Kuchelbecker, who had arrived here for service, and began work on the draft manuscripts of the first edition of “Woe from Wit.”

Since February 1822, Griboyedov was secretary for diplomatic affairs under General A.P. Ermolov, 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, Griboyedov 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) 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 “Youth of the Prophetic”, vaudeville “Who is the brother, who is the sister, or Deception after deception” (in cooperation with P. A. Vyazemsky) and the first edition of the famous waltz “e-moll”. It is customary to attribute the appearance of the first entries of his “Desiderata” - a journal of notes on controversial issues of Russian history, geography and literature - to the same period of Griboyedov’s life.

The following year, 1824, dates back to the writer’s epigrams on M.A. Dmitriev and A.I. Pisarev (“And they compose - they lie! And they translate - they lie!..”, “How magazine brawls spread!..”), the narrative fragment “Character my uncle,” the essay “Special Cases of the St. Petersburg Flood” and the poem “Teleshova.” At the end of the same year (December 15), Griboyedov became a full member of the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature.

On South

At the end of May 1825, due to the urgent need to return to his place of duty, 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 Griboedov 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. Bulgarin, he compiled notes to “Extraordinary Adventures and Travels...” of D.I. Tsikulin, published in the April issues of the magazine “Northern” archive" for 1825. On the way to Georgia, he visited Kiev, 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 Crimea, visiting the estate of his old friend A.P. Zavadovsky. Griboedov 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 of travel notes, published only three decades after the author’s death. According to the opinion established in science, it was under the influence of the southern trip that he wrote the scene “Dialogue of Polovtsian Husbands.”

Arrest

Upon returning to the Caucasus, Griboyedov, inspired by participation in the expedition of General A. A. Velyaminov, wrote the famous poem “Predators on Chegem.” In January 1826, he was arrested in the Grozny fortress on suspicion of belonging to the Decembrists; Griboedov was brought to St. Petersburg, but the investigation could not find evidence of Griboedov’s membership in 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, Griboyedov was under secret surveillance for some time.

Return to duty

In September 1826 he returned to service in Tiflis and continued his diplomatic activities; took part in the conclusion of the Turkmanchay Peace Treaty (1828), 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 only lived for a few weeks.

Death in Persia

Foreign embassies were not located in the capital, but in Tabriz, at the court of Prince Abbas Mirza, but soon after arriving in Persia, the mission went to present itself to Feth Ali Shah in Tehran. During this visit, Griboyedov died: on January 30, 1829 (6 Sha'ban 1244 AH), a crowd of thousands of 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, 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 mark on his left hand, received in the famous duel with Yakubovich.

Griboedov'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 “Travel to Arzrum” that he met a cart with the body of Griboyedov at a mountain pass in Armenia, later called Pushkinsky.

The Persian Shah sent his grandson to St. Petersburg to resolve the diplomatic scandal. To compensate for the blood shed, he brought rich gifts to Nicholas I, including the Shah diamond. This magnificent diamond, framed with many rubies and emeralds, once adorned the throne of the Great Mughals. Now it shines in the collection of the Diamond Fund of the Moscow Kremlin.

At 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

In terms of literary position, Griboedov belongs (according to the classification of Yu. N. Tynyanov) to the so-called “younger archaists”: his closest literary allies are P. A. Katenin and V. K. Kuchelbecker; however, he was also valued by the “Arzamas people,” for example, Pushkin and Vyazemsky, and among his friends were such different people as P. Ya. Chaadaev and F. V. Bulgarin.

Even during his years of study at Moscow University (1805), Griboyedov wrote poems (only mentions have reached us), created a parody of V. A. Ozerov’s work “Dmitry Donskoy” - “Dmitry Dryanskoy”. In 1814, two of his correspondences were published in the “Bulletin of Europe”: “On cavalry reserves” and “Letter to the editor.” In 1815, he published the comedy “Young Spouses” - a parody of the French comedies that made up the Russian comedy repertoire at that time. The author uses the very popular genre of “secular comedy” - works with a small number of characters and an emphasis on wit. In line with his polemics 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 is polemical in nature, directed against the “younger Karamzinists,” parodying their works, a type of artist of sentimentalism. The main point of criticism is the lack of realism.

Techniques of parody: introducing texts into everyday context, exaggerated use of periphrasticism (all concepts in comedy are given descriptively, nothing is named directly). At the center of the work is a bearer of classicist consciousness (Benevolsky). All knowledge about life is gleaned from books, all events are perceived through the experience of reading. Saying “I saw it, I know it” means “I read it.” The hero strives to act out book stories; life seems uninteresting to him. Griboyedov will later repeat the lack of a real sense of reality in “Woe from Wit” - this is a trait of Chatsky.

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

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

Although world fame came to Griboyedov thanks to only one book, he should not be considered a “literary one-liner” who exhausted his creative powers while working 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 the writer’s 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 (the final edition - an authorized list left in St. Petersburg with Bulgarin - 1828). In Russia it is included in the 9th grade school curriculum (in Soviet times - in 8th grade).

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

“Never has any people been so scourged, never has any country been dragged so much in the mud, never has so much rude abuse been thrown into the public’s face, and yet never has more complete success been achieved” (P. Chaadaev. “Apology of a Madman” ).

“His “Woe from Wit” was published without distortions or abbreviations in 1862. When Griboyedov himself, who died at the hands of fanatics in Iran, had not been in this world for more than 30 years. Written more than ever at the right time - on the eve of the Decembrist uprising - the play became a vivid poetic pamphlet denouncing the reigning regime. For the first time, poetry burst into politics so boldly and openly. And politics gave in,” she wrote in the essay “Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov. Woe from Wit" (in the author's column "100 books that shocked the world" in the magazine "Youth") Elena Sazanovich. - The play in handwritten form was circulated throughout the country. Griboyedov once again sarcastically called “Woe from Wit” a comedy. Is it a joke?! About 40 thousand copies, copied by hand. A stunning success. It was a blatant slap at high society. And high society did not laugh at comedy. It was wiped off. And Griboyedov was not forgiven..."

Musical works

The few musical works written by Griboyedov had excellent harmony, harmony and conciseness. He is the author of several piano pieces, among which the most famous are two waltzes for piano. Some works, including the piano sonata - Griboedov's most serious musical work, 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 contemporaries, Griboedov was a wonderful 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 the Transcaucasus, the project envisaged the creation of an autonomous management company with extensive administrative, economic and diplomatic powers to manage the Transcaucasus. The project, as contrary to 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, the monument to A. S. Griboedov (sculptor V. V. Lishev, 1959) is located on Zagorodny Prospekt on Pionerskaya Square (opposite the Theater of Young Spectators)
• In the center of Yerevan there is a monument to A. S. Griboyedov (author - Hovhannes Bejanyan, 1974), and in 1995 an Armenian postage stamp dedicated to A. S. Griboedov 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. Griboedov 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. Griboedov was erected (on Sovetskaya Street, opposite clinic No. 3).
• In Tbilisi, the monument to A. S. Griboedov is located on the Kura embankment (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. Griboedov “Khmelita”.
• In Crimea, in the Red Cave (Kizil-Koba), a gallery was named in honor of the stay of A. S. Griboyedov.

Streets

Streets named after 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,
• Irpen,
• Bila Tserkva,
• Chernivtsi;

in Armenia- Yerevan, Vanadzor, Gyumri, Sevan;

as well as in the cities of Balti (Moldova), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Batumi and Tbilisi (Georgia), Ashgabat (Turkmenistan),

Theaters

• Smolensk Drama Theater named after. A. S. Griboedova.
• In Tbilisi there is a theater named after A. S. Griboedov, a monument (author - M. K. Merabishvili).
• A bust of A. S. Griboyedov is installed on the facade of the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater.

Libraries

• Library of National Literatures named after A. S. Griboedov.
• Central Library named after A. S. Griboedov of the Centralized Library System #2 of the Central Administrative District of Moscow. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the library, a memorial museum was opened in it. The A. S. Griboedov Prize is awarded.

Cinema

• 1969 - The Death of Vazir-Mukhtar, a Soviet television play staged in Leningrad in 1969, but banned from showing. In the role of A. S. Griboyedov - Vladimir Recepter.
• 1995 - Griboyedov's Waltz, a feature historical and biographical film by Tamara Pavlyuchenko. Filmed for the 200th anniversary of the birth of A. S. Griboyedov and tells about the last months of his life. In the role of A. S. Griboyedov - Alexander Feklistov.
• 2010 - Death of Vazir-Mukhtar. The Love and Life of Griboyedov is a 2010 Russian television series based on the novel of the same name by Yuri Tynyanov about the last year of his life. In the role of A. S. Griboyedov - Mikhail Eliseev.
• 2014 - “Duel. Pushkin - Lermontov" is a Russian film in the style of an alternative world. In the role of the surviving old Griboyedov - Vyacheslav Nevinny Jr.

Other

• Yuri Tynyanov dedicated the novel “The Death of Vazir-Mukhtar” (1928) to the last years of A. S. Griboedov’s life.
• On April 22, 2014, in St. Petersburg, the Grand Lodge of Russia created the lodge “A. S. Griboyedov" (No. 45 in the VLR register).
• Secondary school named after A. S. Griboyedov (Stepanakert).
• Secondary school No. 203 named after A. S. Griboedov in St. Petersburg.
• "Griboyedov Readings"
• GBOU Moscow gymnasium No. 1529 named after A. S. Griboyedov.
• In Moscow there is a higher educational institution - the Institute of International Law and Economics named after. A. S. Griboyedova (Moscow).
• Griboyedov Canal (until 1923 Ekaterininsky Canal) is a canal in St. Petersburg.
• In 1995, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation issued a coin (2 rubles, 500 silver) from the series “Outstanding Personalities of Russia” with a portrait of A. S. Griboedov on the reverse - for the 200th anniversary of his birth.
• Medal "A. S. Griboyedov 1795-1829.” was established by the Moscow city organization of the Union of Writers of the Russian Federation and is awarded to writers and writers, prominent philanthropists and well-known publishers for their selfless activities for the benefit of Russian culture and literature.

Addresses in St. Petersburg

• 11.1816 - 08.1818 - apartment building of I. Valkh - embankment of the Catherine Canal, 104;
• 01.06. - 07.1824 - hotel "Demut" - embankment of the Moika River, 40;
• 08. - 11.1824 - apartment of A.I. Odoevsky in the Pogodin apartment building - Torgovaya Street, 5;
• 11.1824 - 01.1825 - P. N. Chebyshev’s apartment in the Usov apartment building - Nikolaevskaya embankment, 13;
• 01. - 09.1825 - apartment of A.I. Odoevsky in the Bulatov apartment building - St. Isaac's Square, 7;

Alexander Griboedov was born into a wealthy family in Moscow. The exact year of Griboyedov’s birth has not yet been revealed. There are two versions - 1790 or 1795. But the date is known - January 4/15.

The boy was inquisitive and received a fairly good education at home. Then he studied at the Moscow Noble Boarding School and entered the university. According to unconfirmed documentary information, Griboyedov graduated from three faculties: mathematics, law and literature.

There is only one exact document - in 1806 he entered the Faculty of Literature, and in 1808 he graduated from it. He was a very smart and gifted person. Alexander spoke several languages: English, German, French, Italian, Latin and Greek, Arabic and Persian. He played the piano well.

When it began, Alexander voluntarily joined the army as a cornet. The Moscow provincial regiment, in which he was enrolled, did not participate in the battles. The regiment was in reserve in the Kazan province.

Here he managed to do everything, both court women and play mischief. He loved to make jokes, but did not tolerate any ridicule or insults towards himself. After retiring in 1816, he left for St. Petersburg and entered the service of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, he began to seriously study literature.

His early work is associated with drama. He wrote his works in collaboration with Katenin (“Student”), Khmelnitsky and Shakhovsky (“Own Family”). Having remade the plot of the Frenchman Creuset de Lesser, Griboedov wrote the comedy “The Young Spouses”.

He also wrote articles in which he criticized Zhukovsky, Karamzin and Batyushkov. He managed to take part in an unpleasant story that ended in a duel and resulted in the death of Sheremetev. For this disgrace, Yakubovich was sent into exile in the Caucasus, and Griboyedov was offered the choice of a secretary position in the USA or in Persia. Alexander Sergeevich chose Persia. On the way to his place of service, Griboyedov fought a duel with Yakubovich in Tiflis and was wounded in the arm.

After three years in Persia, he transferred to diplomatic service in the Caucasus. It was here that the idea to write “Woe from Wit” was born. He spent his vacation in St. Petersburg, the village of the Begichevs in 1824, where work on the text was completed. Society perceived his comedy differently. Someone liked it, and the students wanted to stage the play in a “narrow circle,” but they were forbidden. And someone recognized themselves in comedy. The work was not even allowed to be published.

In 1826, after Griboyedov was arrested, he was suspected of conspiracy. But, having found no evidence, they released him. He received another rank and salary and was sent to the Caucasus. Two years later, a new appointment - envoy to Persia. On the way to his place of service through Tiflis, Alexander Sergeevich fell in love with Princess Nina Chavchavadze and married her (1828). But the young people did not live together for long, leaving his pregnant wife at the border in Tabriz, he left for Tehran.

A month later, a terrible tragedy unfolded in Persia. On January 30, 1829, a local angry mob attacked and began a pogrom. Only one person survived; the rest all died, including Griboyedov. Nina buried her husband in Tiflis.