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Two centuries of Russian classics

Philological journal
A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the
 Russian Academy of Sciences

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    Karimi-Motahhar, J., Salimi, S., and M. Yahyapour. “Reception of the Western World in Russian and Persian Literature of the 19th–20th Centuries: Woe from Wit by A. S. Griboyedov and Jafar Khan Came from Europe by H. Moghadam.” Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 7, no. 2, 2025, pp. 102–117. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2025-7-2-102-117

  • Keywords: Russian literature, Persian literature, Westernization, A. S. Griboedov, Hasan Moghadam, comedy, Woe from Wit, Jafar khan Returned from Europe.
  • Author: Janolah Karimi-Motahhar
  • Information about the author:

    Janolah Karimi-Motahhar, PhD of Philology, Professor, University of Tehran, Engelab Sq., 16 Azar Street, 1417935840 Tehran, Iran.

    ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6072-5797

    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  • Author 2: Soroush Salimi
  • Information about the author 2:

    Soroush Salimi, University of Tehran, Engelab Sq., 16 Azar Street, 1417935840 Tehran, Iran.

    ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4538-5501

    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  • Author 3: Marzieh Yahyapour
  • Information about the author 3:

    Marzieh Yahyapour, PhD of Philology, Professor, Leading Research Fellow, University of Tehran, University of Tehran, Engelab Sq., 16 Azar Street, 1417935840 Tehran, Iran.

    ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8195-6909

    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  • Received: January 20, 2025
  • Approved after reviewing: April 03, 2025
  • Published: June 25, 2025
  • Issue: 2025 Volume 7 No. 2
  • Department: Russian Literature of the 18th–19th Centuries
  • Pages: 102-117
  • DOI: Visit Website
  • EDN:

    https://elibrary.ru/CJPQRT

  • UDK: 821.161.1.09"19/20"
  • Publication Type: Research Article

Abstract: In order to analyze the peculiarities of Western European influence on the culture of Russia and Iran in the 19th–20th centuries, the article compares the comedies Woe from Wit by A. S. Griboyedov and Jafar Khan Came from Europe by Hasan Moghadam. The pathos of exalting the original Russian culture permeates Griboyedov’s comedy. Thanks to the intercultural ties between Iran and Russia, the Iranian literary community was influenced by Russian drama. In addition, at the beginning of the 20th century, when the play Jafar Khan Came from Europe was written, the social situation in Iran resembled that of the early 19th century in Russia. Like Griboyedov, Moghadam welcomed the socio-political liberation in his country and objected to its cultural Westernization. The article reveals contactological and typological similarities between the works of Russian and Iranian playwrights of the 19th and 20th centuries.

 

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