Alexander Griboyedov

34 Years Old

Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (1795–1829) was a Russian diplomat, playwright, poet, and composer. He is recognized as homo unius libri, whose fame rests on the verse comedy 'Woe from Wit' or 'The Woes of Wit', a satire on Russian aristocratic society that quickly became an event of Russian culture, spreading among the reading public in handwritten copies. As predicted by his contemporary Alexander Pushkin, many lines from 'Woe from Wit' became proverbs and sayings ("Legend is recent, but I can hardly believe it", "Happiness takes no account of time"). He was murdered in 1829 along with all staff of the Russian embassy in Qajar Persia, where he served as Russian ambassador, by an angry mob.