Boris Godunov

Boris Godunov is a historical drama written by Alexander Pushkin in 1825 and first published in 1831.

Set during Russia’s Time of Troubles, it traces the rise of a capable statesman to the throne amid rumors of a murdered heir and the emergence of a pretender. Through court chambers, monasteries, and public squares, the play unfolds as a tapestry of political intrigue, rumor, and restless crowds shaping the fate of a nation.

At its center stands a ruler tormented by questions of legitimacy and conscience, while a runaway monk claims the lost prince’s identity and gathers foreign backing. Pushkin contrasts the calculations of the powerful with the volatile voice of the people, showing how ambition, fear, and belief can overturn any claim to order.

Written in verse and inspired by the sweep of Shakespearean chronicle plays, it blends intimate scenes with public spectacle to explore power’s moral cost. The result is a lean, probing tragedy that helped define modern Russian drama and continues to resonate for its unsparing look at authority, guilt, and historical memory.

"VOROTINSKY.
To keep the city's peace, that is the task
Entrusted to us twain, but you forsooth
Have little need to watch; Moscow is empty;
The people to the Monastery have flocked
After the patriarch. What thinkest thou?
How will this trouble end?
SHUISKY.
How will it end?
That is not hard to tell. A little more
The multitude will groan and wail, Boris
Pucker awhile his forehead, like a toper
Eyeing a glass of wine, and in the end
Will humbly of his graciousness consent
To take the crown; and then—and then will rule us
Just as before."

This edition of the book Boris Godunov uses the English translation by Alfred Hayes.