The Death of Vazir Mukhtar by Yury Tynyanov Translated by Anna Kurkina Rush & Christopher Rush

 That the existence of Alexander Griboedov has been complicated, he was a writer but also a diplomat and lost in a horrible way his existence, it is known. Author of Woe from Wit, please see also that review I wrote time ago, Griboedov has been the inspiration of this complex book The Death of Vazir Mukhtar

by Yury Tynyanov Translated by Anna Kurkina Rush& Christopher Rush. 

Written more than a century ago, Russia had lived many important changes in the while. The tzar Romanov and his entire family were brutally murdered and a new political party, the communist one started to take place. At the same time the author of this book lived these political changes as if they wouldn't never have touched him immersed as he was in past history: in his existence Tynyanov alienated himself from the current events of his poor country researching and letting live again the society that existed once and that, terribly, oh, so terribly, fascinated him.

Tynyanov was a Jewish student who, once arrived at St Peterburg fell in love for history and biography. Tynyanov was in particular in love wit some characters of the past ending up to writing three novels where portrayed the biographies of the people he estimated the most.

One of them was Griboedov.     In this book the latest events that would have brought the diplomat in Asia where he was brutally killed.

But...Who was Griboedov? A fascinating mind, let's start to say this.

He was, yes a diplomat, but he was also born for writing and what he left behind were important sunny writings: being poor, although of noble origins, he had to work for a living.He fought in the imperial armed forces againt Napoleon. After the war became a translator, knowing many languages, for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The diplomatic career would have reached him pretty soon being a beautiful mind. Big traveller, there are many writings, from letters to journals kept by him but not yet put in order, where he wrote his impressions of places, people, food, new lands that he visited.

You will read a remarkable reconstruction of the events and the person of Griboedov  simply because in his modernism what did Tynyanov was inventing the genre of biography never tried before in this shape.

Tynyanov's research didn't want to fictionalize the existence of Griboedov, but wanted ro reconstruct essentials and real facts occurred to the unlucky diplomat.

It is a wonderful book this one and will keep you a very good company during this summer-time transporting you in exotic places, but also letting you show old manners, old-fashioned existences, being also a good portrait of the Russia of two centuries ago.

Highly recommended.

I thank Columbia University Press for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori