Woe from Wit

A golden classic of Russian literature performed by Kamіl Larіn, a resident of “Kvartet I.” Recommended for listening by schoolchildren and adults of all genders and faiths.

The play takes place in Russia, in the 1820s. In the house of the old Moscow gentleman Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov—who runs an official post, is a convinced serf-owner, and an ardent opponent of enlightenment—his former protégé, Alexander Andreevich Chatsky, unexpectedly returns. He has been in love with Famusov’s daughter, Sofia, for a long time and can’t wait for their meeting.

Three years before the events described in the comedy, Chatsky—who wished to fulfill his duty to the Fatherland and serve it honestly—parted with Sofia “shedding tears,” and went first to St. Petersburg, and then to study abroad. Returning from restless Europe, gripped by revolutionary movement and national liberation struggle, Chatsky is full of thoughts about personal freedom, equality, and fraternity. He is very intelligent, and despite being still young, already has plenty of life experience and understands perfectly what is happening in the country. He sees that in Moscow not much has changed—“new houses, but old prejudices”; the same flourishing serfdom, hypocrisy, ignorance, and false patriotism. The war with Napoleon has ended, and it is still fresh in the heroes’ memory, but the postwar euphoria has faded. Everything has returned to “square one.” Chatsky realizes that there is no place for him in this society— the only thing that keeps him there is his love for Sofia. But even here he faces disappointment. He learns that the place in his beloved’s heart has been taken by Famusov’s secretary Molchalin—clever, hypocritical, flattering, and two-faced—whose idea of happiness is tied only to a successful career, social position, wealth, and a fortunate marriage.