No Russian poet achieved such a triumph in serving his Fatherland as A. S. Griboyedov, who played a decisive role in the events of the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828 and the signing of the Treaty of Turkmenchay. And the poet’s death—while performing a dangerous role in Tehran as plenipotentiary minister-plenipotentiary—can truly be called a military feat. Meanwhile, Griboyedov’s biography is full of embarrassing gaps and unresolved mysteries, which become especially striking in the last year of the life of the writer-diplomat. That year encompassed both his participation in the war with Persia and diplomatic battles around the signing of the fateful treaty, his triumphant return to St. Petersburg and a brief stay at the peak of fame among friends—including A. S. Pushkin—his new appointment to a dangerous post, and the legendary love of the poet for his young wife Nina Chavchavadze, as well as the most complex diplomatic mission of the poet in Tabriz and Tehran, which ended tragically.
In a “documentary novel” about the poet, diplomat, and soldier, the book offers a detailed historical investigation into his last, most important year. To accomplish such a task, the author had to not only study all documents known to date, but also travel the roads of the great writer—visiting Iran four times—as well as to be in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and many other places where Griboyedov left traces of his work and anxieties.