The Moscow Pushkin Drama Theatre is a theatre company in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russian Federation created in 1950 on the base of

Alexander Tairov Alexander Yakovlevich Tairov (; ; 6 July 1885 – 5 September 1950) was a leading innovator and theatre director in Russia before and during the Soviet era. Biography Childhood Aleksandr Tairov was born Aleksandr Yakovlevich Korenblit on July 6, ...

's Chamber Theatre, which was founded in 1914 and shut down in 1949 for ideological reasons. The theatre is based in the Russian capital's centre, at

Tverskoy Boulevard Tverskoy Boulevard () is one of the main thoroughfares in central Moscow. It is a part of the Boulevard Ring and begins at the end of the Nikitsky Boulevard, at the crossing with Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. The boulevard ends at the Pushkin Squ ...

, 23.

Background

The history of the Pushkin Drama Theatre goes back to 1914 when still relatively unknown

was looking for a site for his new theatre. As the actress Alisa Koonen suggested a large house on Tverskoy, Tairov initially found it unsuitable before coming up with the idea of reconstruction, which was soon implemented into a project by the architect N.Morozov. The Chamber Theatre opened on December 12, 1914, with the production of traditional Sanskrit play ''

Shakuntala Shakuntala () is a heroine in ancient Indian literature, best known for her portrayal in the ancient Sanskrit play '' Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (The Recognition of Shakuntala), written by the classical poet Kalidasa in the 4th or 5th century AD ...

''. Problems emerged when the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

authorities expressed disapproval of the theatre's closeness to the Ioann Bogoslov Cathedral; the conflict proved to be lasting one, but did get resolved. In the 1930s the building was reconstructed (according to architects

Konstantin Melnikov Konstantin Stepanovich Melnikov (Russian: Константин Степанович Мельников; – November 28, 1974) was a Russian architect and painter. His architectural work, compressed into a single decade (1923–33), placed ...

and the Stenberg brothers) although not as radically as Tairov wanted. The facade was simplified and became very modest looking. In 1949 the Chamber Theatre was closed, for "aestheticism and formalism", according to the official statement, as a result of the

Zhdanov doctrine The Zhdanov Doctrine (also called Zhdanovism or Zhdanovshchina; ) was a Soviet cultural doctrine developed by Central Committee secretary Andrei Zhdanov in 1946. The main principle of the Zhdanov Doctrine was often summarized by the phrase "The ...

being put into practice.

History

In 1950, based on the former Kamerny Theatre, the Pushkin Drama Theatre emerged with a Soviet actor

Vasili Vanin Vasili Vasilyevich Vanin (; 13 January 1898 – 12 May 1951) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, theatre director and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1949). Biography Vasili Vanin was born on 13 January 1898 in Tambov, in the fa ...

at the helm. Vanin, the Stalin Prize three times laureate, declared his allegiance to the Russian classics and contemporary Soviet drama and started out by staging "From a Spark",

Shalva Dadiani Shalva Dadiani ( ka, შალვა დადიანი; May 21, 1874 – March 15, 1959) was a Georgian novelist, playwright, and actor. Born in Zestaponi, western Georgia (then Kutais Governorate of Russian Empire), into the family of a writ ...

's 1937 play about the youth of

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. It was followed by ''Stolen Happiness'' (Ukradennoye stchastye), by

Ivan Franko Ivan Yakovych Franko (, ; 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, translator, economist, political activist, doctor of philosophy, ethnographer, and the author of the first d ...

. Highly popular was Vanin's version of '' Krechinsky's Wedding'' by

Aleksandr Sukhovo-Kobylin Aleksandr Vasilyevich Sukhovo-Kobylin () (, Moscow – , Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France) was a Russian philosopher and playwright, chiefly known for his satirical plays criticizing Russian imperial bureaucracy. His sister Evgenia Tur was a popular nove ...

in which he played Rasplyuev. This role happened to be Vanin's last: in 1952 he died. He was succeeded by Boris Babochkin (1952-1953); in this period was the most popular production ''Shadows'' after

Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin ( rus, Михаи́л Евгра́фович Салтыко́в-Щедри́н, p=mʲɪxɐˈil jɪvˈɡrafəvʲɪtɕ səltɨˈkof ɕːɪˈdrʲin; – ), born Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov and known during ...

's play directed by

Aleksei Dikiy Aleksei Dikiy () (24 February 1889 – 1 October 1955) was a Soviet actor and director who worked at Moscow Art Theatre and later worked with Habima Jewish theatre in Tel Aviv. He was arrested and imprisoned in Gulag under the dictatorship of J ...

. Then came Iosif Tumanov (1953-1960); his best remembered production was Anton Checkov's ''

Ivanov Ivanov, Ivanoff or Ivanow (masculine, , Sometimes the stress is on Ива́нов in Bulgarian if it is a middle name, or in Russian as a rare variant of pronunciation), or Ivanova (feminine, , ) is one of the most common surnames in Russia and Bu ...

'', starring Boris Ivanov. In 1960 Boris Ravenskikh arrived, formulating his directorial credo as "trying to wake up a poet in every man." Comedy and romanticism became the order of the day: his bright, emotional productions used music to the full effect and is now seen as a reflection of the social optimism brought about by the Sixties Thaw. Among the Pushkin Theatre other leaders were Boris Tolmazov (1971-1978), Alexey Govorukho (1978-1983), Boris Morozov (1983-1987), Yuri Yeryomin (1987-2000) and Roman Kozak (2001-2010). Its current head is Yevgeny Pisarev.

Troupe

Past

* Marina Kuznetsova (1948– ) *

(1950–1951) *

Mikhail Nazvanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Nazvanov (; 12 April 1918 – 13 July 1964) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. He was awarded Honored Artist of the RSFSR in 1949. Biography Mikhail Nazvanov was born in Moscow in the wealthy family of a large t ...

(1950–1957) *

(1952–1955) *

Boris Babochkin Boris Andreyevich Babochkin (18 January 190417 July 1975) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor and director. Boris Babochkin was one of the first internationally recognized stars of the Soviet-Russian cinema. He rose to fame with the ...

(1952–1953) *

Faina Ranevskaya Faina Georgiyevna Ranevskaya (, born Faina Girschevna Feldman, — 19 July 1984) was a Soviet actress. She is recognized as one of the greatest Soviet actresses in both tragedy and comedy. She was also famous for her aphorisms. She acted in play ...

(1955–1963) *

Zinaida Kiriyenko Zinaida Mikhailovna Kiriyenko (; 9 July 1933 – 12 February 2022) was a Russian actress and singer. She was Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1965), People's Artist of the RSFSR (1977) and was known for her roles in the films ''And Quiet Flows the ...

(1958–1959) *

Vladimir Vysotsky Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky (25 January 193825 July 1980) was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor who had an immense and enduring effect on Soviet culture. He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which ...

(1960–1962) *Leonid Markov (1960–1965) *Vladimir Rautbart (1960–1963) *Evgeny Shutov (1960–1963) *Yuri Gorobets (196онЗ1–1971) *Lev Barashkov (1961–1966) *Alexey Loktev (1962–1972) *Vladimir Safronov (1962–1972) *Afanasy Kochetkov (1962–1979) *Valentin Abramov (1963–1976) *

Oleg Borisov Oleg Ivanovich Borisov (8 November 192928 April 1994, born Albert Ivanovich Borisov) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1978). Biography Childhood and youth Oleg Borisov was born Albert Ivanovich Boriso ...

(1963–1964) *

Valery Nosik Valery Benediktovich Nosik (; 9 October 1940 — 4 January 1995) was a Soviet Russian film and stage actor, the People's Artist of Russia (1994) who appeared in more than 100 films, as well as in numerous stage productions at the Moscow Pushkin ...

(1965–1972) *

Alexander Porokhovshchikov Aleksandr Shalvovich Porokhovshchikov (, 31 January 1939, Moscow – 15 April 2012, Moscow) was a Russians, Russian film and theatre actor and film director, People's Artist of Russia (1994). He died of diabetes and other illness at age 73 in ...

(1981–2012) * Georgy Burkov (1984–1987) * Roman Kozak (2001–2010) *

Nikolai Fomenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Fomenko (, born 30 April 1962) is a Russian musician, comic actor, professional motor racer, former president of Marussia Motors and former engineering director of Marussia F1. Biography Born in Leningrad on April 30, ...

(2006–2010)

Present

Vera Alentova Vera Valentinovna Alentova (; born 21 February 1942) is a Soviet and Russian actress famous for her leading role in ''Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears''. Biography Vera Alentova was born on 21 February 1942 in the town of Kotlas in the Arkhangels ...

(1965)

References

{{authority control Theatres in Moscow Theatre companies in Russia 1950 establishments in Russia Performing groups established in 1950 Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow