Not only Woe from Wit. The Presidential Library to mark Alexander Griboyedov’s birthday

January 15, 2022 marks the 227th anniversary of the birth of diplomat, poet, playwright, translator and composer Alexander Griboyedov.

The Presidential Library’s portal features the electronic collection of books, magazines, archival documents and visual materials that give the broadest idea of ​​Griboyedov and provide a look at the classic of Russian literature from a different perspective.

Alexander Griboyedov is known to everyone as the author of the comedy Woe from Wit. Meanwhile, the scale of this personality is much wider and more voluminous than the textbook idea of ​​him. After all, Alexander Sergeyevich was a poet, playwright and composer only at his leisure. His whole life, not counting the years of study, was associated with diplomatic activity and the desire to bring as much benefit to the state as possible.

A part of the section Biography, state activity in the collection of the Presidential Library is devoted to Griboyedov as a diplomat. Particularly noteworthy are digital copies of the publications of the journals Russkaya Starina of 1874 and 1876, which provide a detailed description of the activities of Alexander Griboyedov in Persia and his participation in the conclusion of the Treaty of Turkmenchay.

Not only life, but also Griboyedov’s death is associated with diplomatic work during the defeat of the Russian embassy in Tehran by religious fanatics in 1829. This tragic event is dedicated to the work of one of the first biographers of Griboyedov, orientalist Adolphe Berger, published in 1872 in the journal Russkaya Starina and based on official documents: notes, dispatches and reports of the highest government officials of Russia, Persia and England. Another view of the death of the Russian ambassador is presented in the notes of the historian and journalist Mikhail Alaverdyants Griboyedov’s Death according to Armenian sources (1901). These two documents provide ground for researchers, they will be of interest to those who like to independently compare and contrast historical events.

Some materials of the Presidential Library’s collection are devoted to Griboyedov and the Decembrists. Thus, the book of the literary historian Pavel Shchegolev Alexander Griboyedov and the Decembrists (1905) illustrates official documents on the case of the writer’s involvement in the famous conspiracy. Among them is a letter from Griboyedov himself to Nicholas I, in which he resolutely denies his guilt and asks for a meeting “face to face” with his accusers “in order to convict them of lies and slander”.

The electronic collection includes, of course, the works of art of the writer and poet. Among them is the rare edition of Woe from Wit of 1861, as well as the complete works of 1889, about which the journal Vestnik Evropy (Herald of Europe) (1890) wrote: “The latest Griboyedov’s edition is, without a doubt, his best and most complete edition. It tries to give a correct and complete text and provides a very detailed commentary on Griboyedov's writings. When learning about the literary heritage of Griboyedov, it is impossible to confine oneself to poetry and dramaturgy - Travel Notes. Caucasus – Persia (1932) present him as an interesting travel writer.

A separate part of the collection is dedicated to the memory of the poet. This section includes visual materials depicting the tomb of Alexander Griboyedov, monuments to him, as well as an article about his centenary.