''Enemies'' (russian: Враги, translit=Vragi) is a 1906 Russian-language play by

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

. It was published in 1906 in the collection ''

Znaniye Znanie (russian: Зна́ние, ; en, Knowledge) was a publishing company based in St. Petersburg, Russia founded by Konstantin Pyatnitsky and other members of the Committee for Literacy. It operated from 1898 to 1913. History Znanie initially ...

'' (Knowledge, book 14), in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, at a time when Gorky was actively involved with the Russian revolutionary underground, which served as the impetus for the play.Commentaries to Враги
1956 Collected Works by A.M. Gorky, in 30 vols. Vol. 6 // На базе Собрания сочинений в 30-ти томах. ГИХЛ, 1949-1956. ТОМ 6 It is a recognized as an early work of

socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

Plot

The action takes place in 1905 at the factory of the landowners Bardiny and Skrobotov. Skrobotov is dissatisfied with the liberal policy of his partner Bardiny and complains that the workers are given too much voice – "They don't dare squeak at me!" says Skrobotov, sincerely believing that the working class should not be allowed entertainment, education, or voting rights. The factory has a social democratic worker's organization, and its activists demand the removal of a cruel manager, Dichkov. Skrobotov categorically refuses, believing that even if Dichkov deserves removal in this case, doing so in response to worker demands would be a fatal step. Discussions between the workers lead nowhere, the situation spirals out of control, Skrobotov summons the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, and blood is shed. One of the enraged workers mortally wounds Skrobotov, who before he dies identifies the worker as a communist. A murder investigation ensues, the militia arresting masses of workers. But the workers do not break, and display iron calm, coolness and courage. A worker, Akimov, comes to Bardiny and confesses to the murder. But other workers come, and stand behind Akimov. Skrobotov's widow Cleopatra advises Akimov to flee into exile, to which Akimov responds:

Productions and adaptions

''Enemies'' was produced at the

Moscow Art Theater The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

beginning October 10, 1935, directed by

Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (russian: Владимир Иванович Немирович-Данченко; , Ozurgeti – 25 April 1943, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer an ...

and

Mikhail Nikolayevich Kedrov Mikhail Nikolayevich Kedrov (; 2 January 1894 – 22 March 1972), was a Soviet stage director, actor and pedagogue who managed the Moscow Art Theatre between 1946 and 1955. He is considered one of Konstantin Stanislavski's most brilliant disciple ...

. Ann Pennington directed a multi-national production of 'Enemies' in association with

Internationalist Theatre Internationalist Theatre is a London theatre company founded by South African Greek actress Angelique Rockas in September 1980. The company was originally named New Internationalist Theatre, with an intention to pursue an internationalist approac ...

, in London, in the March of 1985. One critic saw a parallel between the workers' uprising in Enemies and the Miners' Strike that had been running in the UK since 1984, saying, " it is about the miners strike "

UK miners' strike (1984–85) The miners' strike of 1984–1985 was a major industrial action within the British coal industry in an attempt to prevent colliery closures. It was led by Arthur Scargill of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) against the National Coal Boar ...

. Gorky`s "pseudo-populism" is done away with in this production by the actors speaking "without distinctive accents and consequently without populist sentiment". Designed by Paul Brown , the cast included Madlena Nedeva, Nick Ellsworth,

Angelique Rockas Angelique Rockas is an actress, producer and activist. Rockas founded the theatre company Internationalist Theatre in the UK with her patron Athol Fugard. The theatre featured multi-racial casts in classical plays. Early life Rockas was born a ...

and Marilyn Flynn A production was mounted at the

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

Academic Drama Theater, beginning May 20, 2014, directed by Georgy Zurabovich Tskhvirava. ''Enemies'' was adapted into an English-language

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

, broadcast under the auspices of ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is pr ...

'' on January 23, 1974.

Ellis Rabb Ellis W. Rabb (June 20, 1930 – January 11, 1998) was an American actor and director who in 1959 formed the Association of Producing Artists, a theatre company that brought new works and noteworthy revivals to Broadway and to regional theatres. ...

wrote the adaption and shared directing credit with

Kirk Browning Kirk Browning (March 28, 1921 – February 10, 2008) was an American television director and producer who had hundreds of productions to his credit, including 185 broadcasts of ''Live from Lincoln Center''. Born in New York City, Browning dropp ...

, and also appeared as an actor, as did

Frances Sternhagen Frances Hussey Sternhagen (born January 13, 1930) is an American actress; she has appeared on- and off-Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.Joy, Car"Frances Sternhagen in Talks to Join Company of Broadway Magnolias" Broadway.com, Nov ...

Peter Donat Peter Donat (born Pierre Collingwood Donat; January 20, 1928 – September 10, 2018) was a Canadian-American actor. Early life Pierre Collingwood Donat was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Marie (née Bardet) and Philip Ernst ...

Kate Reid Daphne Katherine Reid (4 November 1930 – 27 March 1993) was an English-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She played more than one thousand roles, most notably onstage in '' Death of a Salesman'', in the 1980 film ''Atlantic C ...

, and

Josef Sommer Maximilian Josef Sommer (born June 26, 1934) is a retired German-American stage, television, and film actor. Early life He was born in Greifswald, Germany, and raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemens Sommer, a professor of Art ...

Plot

Productions and adaptions

References

Further reading