Aleksandr Griboyedov-1/15/1795-2/11/1829 Moscow-born diplomat, playwright and composer. He is best known for the brilliant verse comedy “Woe from Wit,” which is still very timely and one of the most frequently staged plays in Russia; it is a satire exposing Russian aristocratic society with its hypocrisy and mercantilism. His family was wealthy and he was home-schooled, but received a very profound education. In 1803 he studied at the University Boarding School, which he left for the Moscow University in 1806, graduating in 1812 at the age of fifteen with a master’s degree. One of the most well-educated people of his time, he had a strong command of French, English, German, Italian, Greek and Latin, and later he added Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. He served in the cavalry during the Napoleonic War in 1812 and in 1816 he resigned and entered the civil service in the foreign office in St. Petersburg. He commenced writing early and, in 1816, he introduced on stage the comedy in verse “The Young Spouses” (1815), followed by “One’s Own Family Or Married Bride” (1817). In 1818 he was appointed secretary of the Russian legislation in Persia. One of the reasons for the transfer, which could be interpreted as an exile, was his participation in a duel. He served in Persia for 3 years and in 1822; he was transferred to Georgia as a secretary of foreign affairs. In St. Petersburg he went on trial for an alleged participation in the Decembrist Uprising (1825) but was exonerated. Following this he returned to Georgia and fought during the Russo-Persian War. Due to his genius command of multiple languages he was renowned in diplomatic circles; Commander Muravyov-Karsky called him a person “worth twenty thousand.” Griboyedov departed for Persia again but stopped in Georgia en route where he married Nina, the 16-year-old daughter of his friend, Prince Chavchavadze. She accompanied him to Persia. Anti-Russian sentiment in Persia was rampant and, soon after Griboyedovs arrival in Tehran, a crowd of religious fanatics stormed the Russian embassy. The incident began when two enslaved Armenian girls managed to escape from a harem of a Persian Shah. They sought refuge at the Russian embassy. As agreed in the Treaty of Turkmenchay, Armenians living in Persia were permitted to return to Eastern Armenia. However, the Shah demanded that Griboyedov return the fugitives. Griboyedov refused, as he knew what sort of fate awaited them. His decision caused unrest throughout the city and several thousand Persians besieged the Russian compound demanding the return of the Armenian girls. At the last moment, Griboyedov reluctantly decided to give them up when the mob broke into the compound. The Cossack detachment assigned to protect the embassy was too small in number but held off the mob for over an hour until finally taking refuge in Griboyedovs office. There, he and the rest of the Cossacks held out even further until the mob broke through and slaughtered them all. The bodies were so desecrated he was only identified because of a scar he had received on his hand from a duel. 16 year-old Nina, now a widow, on hearing of his death, gave premature birth to a child, who died a few hours later. She lived another 30 years after her husbands death, rejecting all suitors and winning universal admiration by her fidelity to his memory. The inscription on Griboyedov’s tombstone says, “Your wit and your feat are immortal in the Russian memory, but why did my love outlive you?” He is buried in the Monastery of Saint David in Tiflis. taken from russiapedia.RT (editing only) with my thanks *On a personal note I was introduced to Alexander Griboyedov yesterday; he also told me that Griboyedov turned down a post in the United States first and brought the first piano to Persia and played for his delighted foreign hosts.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 11:47:35 +0000
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