Mossovet Theater

(full name, Mossovet Academic Theater), a theater founded in 1923 in Moscow. It was first named the Moscow City Soviet Trade-union Theater and was called the Moscow Oblast Soviet Trade-union Theater from 1930 to 1938, when it received its present name. Persons instrumental in the theater’s founding and development included E. O. Liubimov-Lanskoi (director from 1925 to 1940), V. V. Vanin, I. N. Berse-nev, N. D. Mordvinov, O. N. Abdulov, P. I. Geraga, B. Iu. Ole-nin, S. G. Birman, S. V. Giatsintova, I. S. Anisimova-Vul’f, and A. L. Shaps. From the beginning, the theater presented new works by Soviet dramatists, including Bill’-Belotserkovskii’s The Gale (1925), Cement (1926; based on Gladkov’s novel of the same name), The Uprising and Chapaev (1927 and 1930; based on Furmanov’s novels of the same name), Kirshon’s The Rails Are Humming (1928), Ianovskii’s Fury (1929), and Afinogenov’s Salute, Spain! (1936).

In 1940 the People’s Artist of the USSR Iu. A. Zavadskii became the theater’s director. The company has included a number of his students, including V. P. Maretskaia, R. Ia. Pliatt, and N. D. Mordvinov. Among the theater’s most outstanding presentations have been Goldoni’s Mine Hostess (1940), Afinogenov’s Mashen’ka (1941), Kochetkov and Lipskerov’s Nadezhda Durova (1941), Simonov’s The Russian People (1942), Kornei-chuk’s The Front (1942), Leonov’s Invasion (1943), Shakespeare’s Othello (1944), Svetlov’s The Brandenburg Gate (1946), and Sofronov’s In a Certain City (1947). Other important presentations have been Lermontov’s Masquerade (1952,1963), Virta’s Vast Distances (1957), Nikolaeva and Radzinskii’s Battle En Route (1959), Shtok’s Leningrad Prospect (1962), Pavlova’s Conscience (1963), They Fought for Their Homeland (1966, 1975; based on Sholokhov’s novel of the same name), and St. Petersburg Dreams (1969; based on Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment).

In 1975 the Mossovet Theater’s company included the People’s Artists of the USSR V. P. Maretskaia, F. G. Ranevskaia, and R. Ia. Platt, as well as the People’s Artists of the RSFSR T. S. Oganezova, V. V. Soshal’skaia, S. S. Tseits, S. S. Godzi, G. S. Zhzhenov, K. K. Mikhailov, G. A. Slabiniak, and L. V. Sha-poshnikova. Other members of the company include the Honored Artists of the RSFSR N. I. Drobysheva, V. I. Talyzina, G. L. Bortnikov, A. A. Konsovskii, L. V. Markov, N. I. Parfe-nov, M. B. Pogorzhel’skii, and I. S. Savvina. In 1964 the theater was given the title of Academic Theater. It was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1949) and the Order of Lenin (1973).