“One’s Own” and “the Other” in Griboedov’s Woe from Wit

This lecture explores Aleksandr Griboedov's comedy Woe from Wit (Горе от ума, 1824), one of the foundational texts of modern Russian theatre. After introducing Griboedov’s life and the historical and cultural context in which the play was written, I will examine its plot, principal characters, and dramatic structure. Particular attention will be devoted to the opposition between своё (“one’s own”) and чужое (“the other” or “the alien”), Yuri Lotman’s conceptual pair that illuminates the ideological tensions at the heart of the comedy. Through the conflicting perspectives embodied by the characters of Chatsky, Famusov and the Moscow society surrounding them, Woe from Wit stages a complex negotiation between tradition and innovation, familiarity and estrangement, social belonging and exclusion. By analysing these dynamics, the lecture will show how Griboedov’s comedy not only mirrors the cultural debates of early nineteenth-century Russia but also offers a broader reflection on identity, values, and the boundaries between the familiar and the foreign. The lecture will be delivered in Russian.