''Scenes from the Past'' (or ''Pictures of the Past''; russian: Картины прошедшего, translit=Kartiny proshedshego, first published in English as ''The Trilogy of Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin''), is a trilogy of satirical plays by

Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin Aleksandr Vasilyevich Sukhovo-Kobylin (russian: Александр Васильевич Сухово-Кобылин) (, Moscow - , Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France), was a Russian philosopher and playwright, chiefly known for his satirical plays criticizi ...

, written from 1854 to 1869. The first play, ''

Krechinsky's Wedding ''Krechinsky's Wedding'' (russian: Свадьба Кречинского) is a three-act comedy written by Aleksandr Sukhovo-Kobylin in 1854, based on a rumor in Moscow society about a card sharp who received a large sum of money from a usurer ...

'' (russian: Свадьба Кречинского) was written in

1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The Teut ...

during Sukhovo-Kobylin's imprisonment, premiered in

1855 Events January–March * January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city. * January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru. * January 23 ** The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens ...

and published in ''

Sovremennik ''Sovremennik'' ( rus, «Современник», p=səvrʲɪˈmʲenʲːɪk, a=Ru-современник.ogg, "The Contemporary") was a Russian literary, social and political magazine, published in Saint Petersburg in 1836–1866. It came out f ...

'' magazine in

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voyag ...

. The second play, ''The Trial'' (russian: Дело) was written in

1858 Events January–March * January – **Benito Juárez (1806–1872) becomes Liberal President of Mexico. At the same time, conservatives install Félix María Zuloaga (1813–1898) as president. **William I of Prussia becomes regent f ...

an premiered only in

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...

, as hadn't passed the censorship. The last play of the trilogy, ''Tarelkin's Death'' (russian: Смерть Тарелкина) was written in

1869 Events January–March * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 – E ...

and premiered only in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

Background

1850 Events January–June * April ** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome. ** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad "Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States. * April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a cit ...

Sukhovo-Kobylin gets arrested as a suspect in the murder of his French mistress Louise-Simone Dimanche. Five of his

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

s have testified his culpability during police interrogations. As it was established later, their testimonies were false and extorted by torture. To get himself distracted from dark thoughts, Sukhovo-Kobylin writes a comedy ''Krechinsky's Wedding''. In 1855 the play stages in '' Maly theatre'' and becomes one of the most performed plays of Russia. As Sukhovo-Kobylin wrote himself, he only managed to achieve acquittal by means of giving enormous bribes to court officials and by using all of his contacts in the Russian elite. In 1858 he completes the second play in the trilogy, ''The Trial'' (or ''The Case''), based on his imprisonment experience. The play was banned for staging by censorship until 1881, although it was published as a print with other parts of the trilogy in

Mikhail Katkov Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov (russian: Михаи́л Ники́форович Катко́в; 13 February 1818 – 1 August 1887) was a conservative Russian journalist influential during the reign of tsar Alexander III. He was a proponent of Rus ...

. The final and the most grotesque play in the trilogy, ''Tarelkin's Death'' he writes in 1869. It was approved by censorship to stage only in 1900 with various edits. Russian literary critic Varvara Babitskaya compares it to

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

's absurdist works.

Main characters

*''Pyotr Konstantinovich Muromsky'', a prosperous landowner *''Lidochka'', Muromsky's daughter *''Anna Antonovna Atuyeva'', Lidochka's aunt *''Vladimir Dmitriyevich Nelkin'', a landowner, Muromsky's neighbour *''Ivan Antonovich Rasplyuyev'' *''Tishka'', Muromsky's doorman *''Maxim Kusmich Varravin'', Active State Councillor *''Candide Kastorovich Tarelkin'',

Collegiate Councillor Collegiate Councillor (Russian: колле́жский сове́тник, kollezhskii sovetnik) was a civil rank of 6th class in the Russian Empire, according to the Table of Ranks introduced by Peter the Great in 1722. It was equal to those of C ...

*''Chibisov, Ibisov and Omega'', clerks *''Ivan Sidorovich Razuvayev'' *''Ivan Andreyevich Zhivets'' *''Kasyan Kasyanovich Shilo'', clerk

Plot

Krechinsky's Wedding

The Case

Tarelkin's Death

References

Bibliography

* Lotman L. M. "Sukhovo-Kobylin". In ''Istoriia russkoi literatury v 10 tomakh'', 8:487–509. Moscow, Leningrad: Izdatel'stvo AN SSSR, 1956. * Sokolinskii, E. K., ed. ''A. V. Sukhovo-Kobylin: bibliograficheskii ukazatel' literatury o zhizni i tvorchestve pisatelia, postanovkakh trilogii''. St. Petersburg: Giperion, 2001. . * Starosel'skaia N. D. ''Sukhovo-Kobylin''. Moscow: Molodaia gvardiia, 2003. . * Tunimanov V. "Krechinskii i Raspliuev". In ''Sukhovo-Kobylin A. V.: Svad'ba Krechinskogo'', 86–95. Leningrad: Detskaia literatura, 1983. Russian plays Satirical plays Russian plays adapted into films Bureaucracy in fiction Plays set in the Russian Empire 1855 plays 1858 plays 1869 plays 1881 plays 1900 plays Works originally published in Sovremennik Plays adapted into operas {{1860s-play-stub