The eunuch asked: “So what are we to do?” and turned very pale.
Avetis Kuzinian continued to walk with the lantern and to look around. Then he approached the eunuch. He was an old merchant from Tiflis who knew a thing or two about goods and how to trade them.
“Has the shah ordered you to find Griboed?” he asked the eunuch in Armenian.
And the name “Griboed” was sounded for the first time ever.
“So it’s not about the man,” continued the old Avetis Kuzinian. “It’s about the name.”
The eunuch was not getting it yet.
“Does it matter,” said the old man, “does it really matter who is going to lie over here and who is going to lie over there? It is the name that has to lie over there, so take from here what most suits the name. This one-handed one,” he pointed with his finger, “is in a better condition and was not beaten as much as the rest of them. It’s impossible to tell the color of his hair. Take him and add the hand with the diamond ring, and you’ll have your Griboed.”
They took the one-handed one and added the hand. The sum total was Griboed.
They put Griboed into a simple box made of wooden planks. He was taken to the Armenian church, a burial service was read, and he lay there for a week. Then they found a tahtrevan, filled two sacks with straw and fixed the box between the two sacks because one should not load a horse, an ass or an ox only with a dead weight.
And the tahtrevan set off, driven by the old Avetis Kuzinian and a few other Armenians.
The vazir-mukhtar was different now: Count Simonich, an old, half-blind, retired general, was brought out of retirement and appointed vazir-mukhtar.
Various people had dreams about Griboedov. Nino saw him as he was when he had sat with her on the windowsill of the Akhverdovs’ house.
In his Schlüsselburg fortress cell, the friend of his youth, Wilhelm Küchelbecker, had dreams about him—he did not know about his death. They did not speak, and Griboedov was happy.
In Petersburg, having found an old letter from him, Katya suddenly fell deep into thought.
Griboed was traveling to Tiflis, slowly and patiently, on a bullock cart between two sacks of straw.
3
The oxen ascended the mountain road at a majestic pace. The Gergery Fortress, bare as a mountain, was behind them, on a lofty bank. A bridge that looked like Pan’s pipes was ahead; the rapid stream ran playfully beneath. Griboed, between two sacks of straw, was approaching the bridge.
A horseman wearing a cap and black sheepskin cloak had just crossed the bridge. He was going fast down the shelving road. Having reached the tahtrevan, he nodded in passing to the travelers and asked them quickly in Russian:
“Where are you from?”
Avetis Kuzinian nodded at him and answered halfheartedly:
“From Tehran.”
Having almost passed them by, the man glanced at the sacks and the box with a traveler’s eye and asked:
“What are you carrying?”
Avetis nodded at him impassively:
“Griboed.”
The horse continued to bear its rider quickly down the mountainside, and suddenly it pranced and came to a halt. The man pulled on the reins.
He was peering into the tahtrevan. The oxen shook their tails, and he could see only the front sack and the two Armenians sitting at the back.
Pushkin took off his cap.
There was no death. There was a simple coffin made of rough wooden planks, which he had mistaken for a box of fruit. The oxen were moving out of sight, steadily and slowly.
He went off, restraining his horse.
One could sense the border between scorched Georgia and fresh Armenia. It was growing cooler.
The purple udders ahead were the hills; the road was the empty line of a manuscript draft.
The river was rattling behind.
“Certain dark clouds overshadowed his life.”
Overhead, the round and tangible clouds were gathering, growing thicker.
“Overwhelming circumstances. Did he leave any papers?”
The rain started to drizzle, and in the distance, the sheet-lightning lit up the green expanse in a broken line. He turned around. The oxen down below looked like flies. It was getting dark. The road was poor, and his horse was worn out.
“He had nothing more left to do. His death was instant and glorious. He had made his mark: he left us Woe from Wit.”
His horse wandered and stumbled. Pushkin said: “What a nag,” fastened the leather straps to his cloak, and put his hood up to cover his cap. The rain poured down … “Instantaneous and magnificent … Let’s surrender ourselves to providence.” The cloak won’t get drenched. Some coffin! A packing case.”
The clouded meadows were in bloom. Eastern lushness was proverbial.
A pile of rocks, which looked like a hovel, came into view.
Women in brightly colored rags sat on the long stone—the flat roof of an underground saklya, a pit dwelling. A little boy with a toy saber in his hand danced in the rain.
Pushkin said: “Tea, please,” climbed off the horse, and found shelter under the stone overhang.
They brought him some cheese and milk.
Pushkin threw them some money. The rain stopped as suddenly as it had started. He rode off and glanced back.
The boy was trampling the water in the puddle; the women were staring at the departing traveler …
Prosperity and Christianity could civilize them, he thought, the samovar and the Gospels could do them a lot of good.
And suddenly he remembered Griboedov.
Griboedov touched him with his refined hand and said:
“I know the whole thing. You don’t know these people. As soon as the shah dies, the knives will be out.”
And he looked at him.
He seemed in good spirits. He was both embittered and in good spirits.
He had known, but still he had slipped up. But if he had known … why …
Why had he gone there?
Power … destiny … regeneration …
Something cold went past his face.
“We as a nation lack curiosity … An extraordinary man …
Perhaps a Descartes who hadn’t written a thing? Or a Napoleon without a single soldier?”
Then he remembered:
“What are you carrying?”
“Griboed.”
THE END
GLOSSARY OF FOREIGN WORDS
abbas: a Persian silver coin, one-fiftieth of a toman.
abdar: the supervisor of the drinking arrangements for the shah.
anderun: living quarters in a Persian home.
amanate: a hostage.
arkhaluk: a short kaftan.
Ashur: the tenth day of the month of Moharram, the day of mourning in Shia Islam to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
bahaderan: a grenadier corps composed exclusively of Christian refugees from the Russian empire.
balakhane: a balcony over the only gate to the caravanserai, with rooms for noble visitors; a gallery on top of the house; an upper chamber.
batman: a unit of weight equaling ten Russian pounds (160 kilograms).
bek: a bey, the ruler of a principality in the Ottoman Empire.
bzanid: hit me!
caravanserai: a roadside inn where travelers (known as caravaners) could rest and recover from their journey.
chador: a large piece of cloth that is wrapped around the head and upper body, leaving only the face exposed.
chapar: a messenger who delivers state edicts to the provinces and reports in the opposite direction.
chekmen: a piece of male clothing, something in between a robe and a caftan, with little hooks on the left side and loops on the right; popular with Turkic peoples.
chervonets (pl. chervontsy): a coin of high-grade gold or platinum.
chikhir: unfermented red Georgian wine.
dastkhat: an order, decree.
divan: a collection of poems.
divankhane: a small stone pavilion used as court premises; a reception room.
emin: one who can be trusted; a director, boss, chief.
emir: a commander, general, leader.
exarch: an Orthodox Christian bishop lower in rank than a patriarch and having a jurisdiction wider than the metropolitan of a diocese.
evvel: a senior.
ezgil: medlar fruit.
fatwa: a ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized authority.
ferrash: a personal guard of a high-ranking official.
firman: the order of a sultan or sheikh.
gazavat: an armed struggle of jihad (holy war).
gazyr: a cartridge belt or bandolier attached to the chest of clothing.
ghulam-pishkhedmet: a junior courtier looking after the personal needs of a shah.
girah: a payment, salary.
hakim-bashi: a doctor.
hokkebaz: a jungler, conjurer.
iuz-bashi: a military leader in charge of military detachments in Persia and Turkey.
kabole: a marriage agreement drawn up by a mullah, stipulating the reward that a wife would receive on her husband’s death or a divorce.
kadii: a supreme ecclesiastical judge.
kafechi: a coffee-maker.
kafir: an infidel, a person of any other faith except Islam.
kava: coffee.
kebabchi: a trader in roast meat.
keshikhane: a little tent for the shah’s bodyguards.
kharaj: a land tax paid only by non-Muslims.
khazneh: the treasury.
khoja: a scholar, intellectual.
kulidja: a short, padded coat.
kuror: two million rubles in silver money.
kvas: a traditional Russian non-alcoholic drink made from rye bread.
limu: a yellowish-green, sweet lime.
lot: a thief whose left hand has been chopped off.
majlis-shirini: literally, “sweet-eating assembly”; the first day of wedding celebrations or a marriage feast.
malik-ut-tujjar: an elected elder in the merchant class, literally “king of traders.”
masghati: a soft and transparent confection made with rose water, starch and sugar.
mashal: a torch.
mekhmendar: an official responsible for looking after and accompanying foreign ambassadors and noble travelers.
mirza: a title denoting the rank of a royal prince, high nobleman, distinguished military commander, or scholar.
Muharram: the first month of the Muslim lunar calendar; on Ashur, the tenth day, the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, is marked.
muhessili: an official, a taxman.
naib: a deputy or representative of an authority.
naib-serheng: a lieutenant-colonel.
nazyr: a manager, steward.
padishah: literally “master king,” a superlative sovereign title of Persian origin.
pahlavan: a wrestler.
pashalyk: a primary administrative division of the Ottoman Empire, each governed by a pasha.
pishkhedmet: an officer who manages a shah’s household, a valet.
rechbars: serfs working for a khan or a bek; would give half or two-thirds of their harvest to their master.
Rejjeb: the eighth month of the lunar calendar used in Muslim countries.
sadrasam: a grand vizier, prime minister.
sarbaz: soldiers conscripted into the infantry.
sardar: the commander-in-chief of the Persian army.
sartip: a colonel.
satrap: governors of provinces.
sayyid: an honorific title denoting people accepted as descendants of the prophet Muhammad; “master.”
serheng: Colonel.
shalwar: a pair of light, loose trousers, usually with a tight fit around the ankles, worn by women from South Asia.
sharia: Islamic religious law.
sherbetdar: a maker of frozen fruit and dairy desserts.
sunduktar: a treasurer.
tahtrevan: a palanquin or moving throne, carried by people or animals.
tashahhus: ceremonial etiquette.
tebrizi: seedless grapes.
toman: at the time four silver rubles.
tufendar: armor carrier.
veliagd: heir to the throne.
vizier: high-ranking advisor or minister.
zulfa: long hair for men.
GLOSSARY OF NAMES
Abbas Mirza (1789–1833), Qajar Crown Prince of Persia, a military commander during the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828.
Aberdeen, George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (1784–1860), in 1828 foreign secretary to the Duke of Wellington.
Abu’l-Qasim-Khan (d. 1835), Abbas Mirza’s envoy to Tiflis for the negotiations with the Russian minister plenipotentiary concerning the extradition of the Russian deserters.
Adelung, Friedrich (Fyodor Pavlovich) (1768–1843), a Prussian linguist, director of the St. Petersburg Institute of the Oriental Languages.
Adelung, Karl Fyodorovich (1803–1829), a medical doctor and diplomat, the second secretary of the Russian mission to Persia.
Agha Mohamad Shah (1742–1797), the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran who ruled from 1794 to 1797.
Akhverdov, Fyodor Isaevich (1774–1820), the general in charge of the artillery in the Caucasian Corps; the father of Darya (Dashenka) and four other children from his first marriage, including Sofya (Sonechka) and Georgy (Egorushka) Akhverdov.
Akhverdova, Praskovya Nikolaevna (1786–1851), Alexander Griboedov’s friend; the mother of Darya (Dashenka) and stepmother of the four Akhverdov children; also brought up the Chavchavadze children: Nino, Ekaterina (Katenka), David, and Sofya (Sonechka).
Alaiar-Khan, Fat’h-Ali-shah’s son-in-law and First Minister.
Alexander I Pavlovich (1777–1825), succeeded his father, Emperor Paul I, and reigned from 1801 to 1825 during the Napoleonic wars and Napoleon’s invasion and retreat from Russia; increasingly reactionary in his later years.
Alexei Mikhailovich (1629–1676), the tsar during some of Russia’s most eventful decades, which included wars with Poland and Sweden, a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church, and the major Cossack revolt of Stenka Razin.
Arakcheyev, Alexei Andreyevich, Count (1769–1834), a Russian general and brutal martinet who exercised considerable power in the last decade of Alexander I’s reign.
Babcock, Alpheus (1785–1842), American maker of pianos and other musical instruments, based in Boston and Philadelphia in the early nineteenth century.
Baratynsky, Evgeny Abramovich (1800–1844), one of the finest Russian elegiac poets.
Báthory, Stephen (1533–1586), ruler of Transylvania in the 1570s, then one of the most successful kings of Poland; led a victorious military campaign against Russian invasions.
Batyushkov, Konstantin Nikolaevich (1787–1855), a major early nineteenth-century poet and translator; went insane in 1821.
Bebutov, Vasily Osipovich (1791–1858), a Russian general, a member of the Georgian-Armenian noble family of Bebutashvili/Bebutov; fought in Persia and the Caucasus.
Begichev, Stepan Nikitich (1785–1859), a colonel, the closest friend of Alexander Griboedov.
Beklemishev, Pyotr Nikiforovich (1770–1852), an equerry of the Court.
Beloselsky-Belozersky, Esper Alexandrovich (1802–1846), a Guards officer; was investigated on a charge of Decembrist leanings and acquitted.
Benckendorff, Alexander Khristoforovich (1783–1844), one of the most reactionary statesmen of Nicholas’s reign. From 1826, the chief of the gendarmes and the head of the secret police.
Berstel, Alexander Karlovich (1788–1830), a colonel, a member of the Society of United Slavs; after the Decembrist uprising imprisoned and sent as a private to the Caucasus.
Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Mikhail Pavlovich (1801–1826), a Russian officer, one of the organizers of the Decembrist uprising; the youngest
of the five hanged Decembrists.
Blücher, Gebhard Leberecht, Count, von (1742–1819), a Prussian field marshal during the Napoleonic wars.
Boieldieu, Francois-Adrien (1775–1834), a French composer; wrote operas, music for vaudevilles, and the Guards marches.
Borshchov, Semyon, Samson Makintsev’s second in command.
Bulgarin, Faddei Venediktovich (1789–1859), a writer, journalist, and publisher of the newspaper The Northern Bee and Son of the Fatherland (together with Nikolai Gretsch). From 1826, an agent of the secret police.
Bulgarina, Elena Ivanovna (Lenchen, Lenochka) (née Helena Ide) (1808–1889), from 1825, the wife of Faddei Bulgarin.
Burgess, Charles Henry (1806–1854), the son of a prominent London banker, a young British entrepreneur in Persia.
Burtsov, Ivan Grigoryevich (1794–1829), a colonel and a Decembrist; after spending two years in prison, he was transferred to the Caucasus, where he became one of the de facto military leaders of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829.
Buturlin, Nikolai Alexandrovich (1801–1867), aide-de-camp to the minister of war, Count Chernyshev.
Cancrin, Georg von (Kankrin, Egor Frantsevich) (1774–1845), Russian aristocrat of German descent; Russian finance minister.
Castellas (d. October 1828), a French businessman engaged in silk manufacturing in Georgia.
Catherine II (1729–1796), empress of Russia from 1762; her reign was a period of stability, territorial expansion, and cultural and intellectual advancement, earning her the sobriquet “Catherine the Great.”
Cavos, Catterino (1775–1840). an Italian composer who settled in Russia and played an important role in the history of Russian opera.
Chaadaev, Pyotr Yakovlevich (1794–1856), a hussar and philosopher; the author of the eight Philosophical Letters written in French in 1826–1831.
Chakhrukhadze, a Georgian poet of the end of the twelfth century; the author of Tamariani, a collection of poems extolling Tsarina Tamara.
Charles XII, Carolus Rex of Sweden (1682–1718); his victory over a Russian army at the Battle of Narva (1700) compelled Peter the Great to seek peace with Sweden. Charles’s subsequent march on Moscow ended in defeat at the Battle of Poltava in 1709.
Charmoy, François Bernard (1793–1869), a French Orientalist scholar who lived and worked in St. Petersburg.
The Death of Vazir-Mukhtar Page 54