GRIBOYEDOV, ALEXANDER SERGEYEVICH Russian dramatic author, was born on Jan. 4, 1795 at Moscow, where he studied at the university from 1806 to 1812. He then obtained a commission in a hussar regiment, but resigned it in 1816. Next year he entered the civil service, and in 1818 was appointed secretary of the Russian legation in Persia, whence he was transferred to Georgia. He had commenced writing early, and had produced on the stage at St. Petersburg (Lenin grad) in 1816 a comedy in verse, translated from the French, called The Young Spouses, which was followed by other pieces of the same kind. But neither these nor the essays and verses which he wrote would have been long remembered but for the immense success gained by his comedy in verse, Gore ot uma, or The Mischief of Being Clever (Eng. trans. by B. Pares, 1925). A satire upon Russian society, or, as a high official styled it, "A pasquinade on Moscow," its plot is slight, its merits consisting in its accurate representation of certain social and official types— such as Famousov, the lover of old abuses, the hater of reforms; his secretary, Molchanin, servile fawner upon all in office; the aristocratic young liberal and Anglomaniac, Repetilov; con trasted with whom is the hero of the piece, Tchatsky, the ironical satirist, just returned from the west of Europe, who exposes and ridicules the weaknesses of the rest, his words echoing that outcry of the young generation of 182o which reached its climax in the military insurrection of 1825, and was then sternly silenced by Nicholas. Griboyedov wrote this play during his stay at Tiflis (where he had come, on leave, in 1821) as diplomatic secretary to General Ermolov. Gore ot uma is undoubtedly one of the great comedies of European literature. He spent the summer of 1823 in Russia, completed his play and took it to St. Petersburg. There it was rejected by the censorship. Many copies were made and privately circulated, and Griboyedov read it to literary circles in St. Petersburg and Moscow, but the first edition was only printed in 1833, four years after his death. Only once did he see it on the stage, when it was acted by the officers of the garrison at Erivan. He returned to Georgia to General Ermolov's headquarters, in 1825, and after the revolt of Dec. 14 was arrested as a notorious liberal and sent to St. Petersburg, where he succeeded in excul pating himself. He returned to serve with his relative Count Paskievitch-Erivansky during a campaign against Persia, negoti ated the peace of Turkmanchai (Feb. 20, 1828) and took the treaty to St. Petersburg. He considered devoting himself to literature and commenced a romantic drama, A Georgian Night. But he was suddenly sent to Persia as minister-plenipotentiary to supervise the execution of the treaty. Soon after his arrival at Tehran the Russian embassy was stormed on account of the refuge given there to Russian subjects from Persian harems.
Griboyedov was killed during this attack (Feb. II, 1829).