author
Aleksandr Sergeyevich Griboyedov
1795–1829
Best known for the sparkling satire Woe from Wit, this gifted writer also led a remarkably dramatic life as a diplomat, musician, and man of letters. His sharp comedy of manners has remained a classic of Russian literature for nearly two centuries.
1 Audiobook
Verstand schafft Leiden: Schauspiel in vier Akten
by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Griboyedov
About the author
Born in Moscow in 1795, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Griboyedov studied at Moscow University and went on to build an unusually wide-ranging career. He is remembered not only as a playwright and poet, but also as a diplomat and composer, with a reputation for exceptional intelligence and learning from an early age.
His lasting fame rests above all on Woe from Wit (also translated as Wit Works Woe), a verse comedy written in the 1820s that brilliantly satirizes Moscow society. The play became one of the landmark works of Russian literature, admired for its wit, memorable lines, and sharp view of social ambition and hypocrisy.
Griboyedov’s life ended violently in 1829, when he was killed in Tehran while serving as Russia’s ambassador to Persia. That dramatic ending helped fix his place in cultural memory, but it is the energy and intelligence of his writing that continue to keep him alive for readers and theatergoers.