Bestuzhev Alexander

Alexander Bestuzhev (literary pseudonym Marlinsky) (b. November 3, 1797, St. Petersburg – d. June 19, 1837, Adler) was a Russian writer. The tsarist government exiled him to Siberia for participating in the Decembrist uprising, and in 1829, he was assigned to the Caucasus as an ordinary soldier. In 1829–1830, he lived in Tbilisi with his exiled brothers. Decembrists often secretly gathered in their apartment, which was the reason for Bestuzhev being exiled to Derbent in 1830, and in 1834, he was transferred to Akhaltsikhe. He was often sent on campaigns against the mountaineers, creating harsh living conditions for him. He was deeply affected by the news of Pushkin's death, he learned about it in Tbilisi in 1837.

In his numerous stories, essays and letters, Bestuzhev demonstrated a good knowledge of the history, ethnography and folklore of the Caucasus. He enthusiastically described the Darial Gorge (Ammalat-bek, 1832), the Alazani Valley (The Road to Quba, 1836), the scenes of the battles near Akhaltsikhe (the unfinished novel Vadimov), and spoke lovingly of Tbilisi. Bestuzhev’s Caucasian works were particularly popular in the 1930s. G. Eristavi translated the stories Ammalat-bek and Mulla-Nur into Georgian (1852, magazine “Tsiskari”, No. 1–8, the same stories were translated and published in 1967, 1977 by E. Ubilava and N. Mikava). L. Isarlishvili translated Night on a Ship (1853, magazine “Tsiskari”, No. 3).

Literary work: რუსი მწერლები საქართველოს შესახებ, ტ. 1, თბ., 1949.

Literature: Шадури В., Декабристская литература и грузинская общественность, Тб., 1958.

V. Shaduri