The Minor

The most famous plays of Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin – "The Minor" and "The Brigade Commander" – satirize the ignorance and moral decay of the nobility.

Madam Prostagova wishes only the best for her son: upon learning about the inheritance from a distant relative Sofia, she wants to marry Mitrofan to her. However, Sofia is in love with another. And only her uncle, Starodum, can decide who is worthy of his niece's hand and heart: the minor Mitrofan, Prostagova's brother Skotinin, or the young officer Milon.

"The Minor" was published in 1781 and was met with hostility from the nobility. Fonvizin depicted representatives of different social strata, highlighting the problems of education during the Catherine era. Even A. S. Pushkin wrote: "‘The Minor’... the only monument of folk satire".

The collection also includes the comedy "The Brigade Commander".