Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin was the most distinguished Russian playwright of the eighteenth century, whose fame rests mainly upon his comedy Nedorosl' (The Minor, 1783). According to tradition, after reading the work, Catherine the Great's favorite Grigorii Potemkin told the author, "Denis, either die or stop writing! This one play alone has immortalized your name." After more than two centuries the comedy continues to be staged. Fonvizin's talent, which was primarily in satire, also expressed itself in prose genres and journalism. His lively, expressive style paved the way in many respects for Aleksandr Pushkin, who always referred to Fonvizin with great respect and warmth. In Evgenii Onegin (Eugene Onegin, 1833) Pushkin praised Fonvizin as a master of satire.

Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin was born in Moscow on 3 April 1744 or 1745. The confusion in year results from the inscription on the writer's grave-stone in the Nevsky Monastery in Saint Petersburg: "born 3 April 1745, died 1 December...