Boris Godunov [Variant Title: A Dramatic Tale, The Comedy of the Distress of the Muscovite State, of Tsar Boris, and of Grishka Otrepyev] is a drama by Aleksandr Pushkin, written in 1825, published in 1831, but not approved for performance by the censor until 1866. Its subject is the Russian ruler, Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar from 1598 to 1605. The drama consists of 25 scenes and is written predominantly in blank verse. Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.