A. (Aleksandr) Sukhovo-Kobylin

Born in Moscow in 1817, Aleksandr Sukhovo-Kobylin was a Russian playwright and philosopher from an aristocratic family. He is chiefly remembered for his biting satirical drama, especially the trilogy that includes Krechinsky's Wedding, The Case, and The Death of Tarelkin.

A notorious murder investigation shaped much of his life and reputation. After the 1850 killing of Louise Simon-Dimanche, a French milliner with whom he was closely connected, he became a suspect and spent years entangled in the case before being formally cleared. That long encounter with the courts and officialdom is often linked to the ferocious mockery of bureaucracy in his plays.

He died in 1903 in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France. Though not as widely read as some of his Russian contemporaries, he remains an important and distinctive voice in Russian drama, admired for grotesque humor, theatrical daring, and his sharp view of power and corruption.