Denis Fonvizin
Writing
April 14, 1745
Died at age 47
December 12, 1792
Date of Death
Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]
Biography
Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin (1745 - 1792) was an author and playwright of the Russian Enlightenment, best known as one of the founders of literary comedy in Russia. His reputation rests almost entirely on his two comedies, "The Brigadier-General" and "The Minor", considered the most popular Russian plays before Aleksander Griboyedov's "Woe from Wit". They are both written in prose and adhere to the conventions of classical comedy. Fonvizin's principal model was not Molière, but Dano-Norwegian playwright Ludvig Holberg, some of whose plays he has translated.