Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Moscow Government – Moscow Government –
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Moscow is the city that gave the world the concept of psychological theater. From the first public performances to the modern-day "Theater Boulevard" festival, this tradition has continued to evolve, not only through revolutions and upheavals, but also in the era of electronic services, film platforms, and entertainment overload. "Moscow Culture" tells the story of the emergence and development of Moscow theaters.
The Comedy Temple on Red Square
How did Moscow theater begin? With farcical performances at large fairs and marketplaces. In 1702, by order of Peter the Great, the "Comedy Temple"—the first state-run public theater—was built on Red Square, along the Kremlin wall between the Spassky and Nikolsky Gates. It was entrusted to the German troupe of Johann Christian Kunst, who served as director, designer, and actor.
"The yarki (as the first tickets were called) cost 10, six, five, and three kopecks—a bit pricey for the common people. Peter the Great ordered the city gates to be locked in the Kremlin, Kitai-gorod, and Bely Gorod until the end of the performances to prevent audiences from leaving early. The repertoire included melodramas, Molière comedies, and buffooneries—it was unusual and delighted Muscovites," says Irina Karpacheva, head of the "History of Moscow" department. Museum of Moscow.
The president of the Duke of Holstein's Privy Council, Count Henning-Friedrich Bassevich, described the Moscow innovation in detail: "In Moscow, there existed a theater attended only by the common people and generally by people of low rank. The drama was usually divided into 12 acts, which were further subdivided into the same number of scenes, and during intermissions, they presented buffoonish interludes, in which they did not skimp on slaps and blows with sticks. Such a play could last for an entire week, since no more than a third or a quarter of it was performed per day." Essentially, these were the first serials, and such visits were difficult for working Muscovites.
At the end of 1703, Kunst suddenly fell ill and died, and the troupe requested to return home to Germany. They were replaced by Russian students, but things didn't work out. In 1706, the theater closed, and the building was dismantled. However, theatrical life didn't cease—performances continued at the Preobrazhenskoye Theatre.
Estate Theatres: Home Stages of Aristocrats
In the second half of the 18th century, aristocrats became seriously interested in theater. The home theaters of influential families became a lifeline for many serf actors, musicians, and artists. The owners hired the best teachers for their troupes, sent talented young peasants to study abroad, and competed with each other in the elegance and professionalism of their productions.
The Sheremetev Theatre was considered the best of the 23 serf theatres operating in Moscow at the end of the 18th century—the counts saw this as an important educational function. The Kuskovo theatre was founded by Pyotr Borisovich, but it reached its true heights under his son, Nikolai Petrovich, who founded a school for talented peasant children aged nine to 13, offering strict discipline and a high level of education, including instruction in singing, dancing, and foreign languages. In one of his orders for the selection of boys, Sheremetev specified: "To deliver to the house the fattest, thickest-set howlers with good figures and tenors who know musical notation for the theatre."
The theater also saw the emergence of actresses Praskovya Kovaleva-Zhemchugova and Anna Buyanova-Izumrudova, and dancers Tatyana Shlykova-Granatova and Kuzma Deulin-Serdolikov. The performers were given second surnames—pseudonyms derived from the names of precious stones. And they truly became a treasure trove of talent on the Russian stage.
Performances were held in the summer both in the indoor theater and in the "air" theater, that is, outdoors. Visit The Kuskovo estate is still easy to visit today. It hosts performances, classical music concerts, and city festivals. Tickets can be purchased through Mosbilet.
Ostankino Palace Theatre
The Ostankino Palace became a declaration of love for women and the theater. In 1792, Nikolai Sheremetev began construction of a palace-theater at the Ostankino estate near Moscow.
The count's beloved, the serf Praskovya Kovaleva-Zhemchugova, was one of his most illustrious actresses. The influential aristocrat secretly married her, and after his wife's death in 1803, he asked the Tsar to recognize the legitimacy of the marriage and their sole heir, their son Dmitry. Olga Eremina, chief curator of the Ostankino and Kuskovo Museum-Reserve and a candidate of historical sciences, explains the depth of this gesture: "Nikolai Sheremetev was steeped in the ideas of enlightenment and humanism, and was deeply passionate about the theater. I believe he carried these theatrical ideas into his life. After all, on stage, the count, meeting a shepherdess and seeing how sweet and virtuous she is, ignores her social status. What matters is the person, their qualities."
The theater, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, hosted only four performances. In 1803, Praskovia died of tuberculosis; Nikolai Sheremetev outlived her by only six years. The palace seemed to fall into a state of slumber, which was a boon: it retained its authenticity and originality. This unique architectural monument is currently undergoing restoration, but the Egyptian Pavilion is already open for visits during the warmer months.
A treasure of a gallant age: how the Ostankino estate is being revived
Durasov Theatre in the Lyublino estate
No less famous was the theater at the Lyublino estate, owned by Nikolai Durasov, a bachelor, eccentric, and avid theatergoer. Interestingly, the halls of his palace, built in the shape of a cross, have excellent acoustics.
The local troupe is said to have been particularly renowned for its remarkable voices. Actors from serf families also received stage training, as was the practice among the Sheremetevs. Nikolai Durasov bequeathed his freedom to all his actors, and after his death, many of them found work at the imperial theaters of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Palace of N.A. Durasov in Kuzminki-Lyublino Museum-Reserve It is open to visitors all year round and still hosts concerts and performances.
The Maly Theatre and Ostrovsky
Mikhail Sadovsky, Pavel Mochalov, Mikhail Shchepkin, Maria Yermolova—the names of Moscow's Maly Theatre actors are etched into history. Mikhail Shchepkin was one of the innovators of realistic theater, creating his own acting school. Maria Yermolova, according to Konstantin Stanislavsky, represents an era in Russian theater. And Moscow playwright Alexander Ostrovsky created timeless plots that remain relevant today.
"What is Ostrovsky's particular genius? He was the first Russian playwright to bring unique characters to the stage—with all the problems, passions, and vices inherent to people not only in the 19th century. He remains incredibly contemporary even today," reflects Irina Karpacheva.
Innovators of the Moscow scene
By the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, Moscow's theatre tradition was professional and strong, but it was about to enter a new stage of development that would change theatrical trends throughout the world.
The A.P. Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre (MKhT), founded in 1898 by innovative directors Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, became Russia's leading drama theater and influenced global culture. Stanislavsky contrasted the art of performance with the art of experience and created a system based on the actor's immersion in the character's psychology and the circumstances presented. This remains the foundation of the global theater school today. It was at the MKhT that the concept of psychological theater was born.
Here, Anton Chekhov gained recognition as a playwright, and the soaring seagull became the theater's symbol, capturing in a recognizable emblem the triumph of his play "The Seagull" and psychological dramaturgy. Here's how Konstantin Paustovsky described one of the Moscow Art Theater's productions, "The Living Corpse": "On stage, I saw the real Moscow, the court, and heard the songs of gypsy women."
Mikhail Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich's nephew, became a prominent figure in the Moscow Art Theatre school. In 1912, Konstantin Stanislavsky invited him to work at the theater. Chekhov developed his own acting method and described it in his books "The Actor's Way" and "On the Technique of the Actor," which received wide recognition in Russia and abroad.
Theatrical experiments of the early 20th century
Moscow's theaters continued to operate and develop during the most difficult years of upheaval in the 20th century, and the city's interest in them never waned.
Post-revolutionary Moscow became a center of theatrical exploration and experimentation. In 1919, a decree was issued declaring theaters a national treasure. New companies emerged one after another: Vsevolod Meyerhold's RSFSR-1 Theater (later GosTiM), the Theater of Revolutionary Satire, later transformed into the Theater of the Revolution (now Moscow Academic Theatre named after Vladimir Mayakovsky).
Alexander Tairov's Chamber Theatre thrived. Opposite aesthetics clashed on stage: Meyerhold countered psychologism with spectacle and biomechanics, while Tairov created a "theatre of emotionally charged forms" where ballet, dramatic acting, and movement were seamlessly intertwined.
A triumphant performance. The story of Alexander Tairov's "Adrienne Lecouvreur"
In the 1930s, Meyerhold's theater was closed as alien to Soviet art. The Chamber Theater operated until 1949, when Tairov was accused of formalism and lack of ideas. The theater was closed, but its successor was Moscow Drama Theater named after A.S. PushkinIt opened in the same building, and part of Tairov's troupe moved there.
Soviet theatrical childhood
The Soviet theatrical tradition is, first and foremost, a cultural outing to the theater! School classes and work collectives went to see performances. Every Muscovite has their own theater, where it all began. For Irina Karpacheva, it's Moscow Youth Theatre"My Moscow theatrical journey began back in 1972, when our tight-knit 1st "A" class, stuffing their pockets with lollipops and chocolates, headed to the Moscow Youth Theater. My dad had probably taken me to theaters before, but I remember this particular performance. It was a funny and slightly sad story about a boy prince from some land called Dzungakhor, based on Lev Kassil's novella, 'Be Prepared, Your Highness!'"
Irina Karpacheva shared how theatrical conventions dissipated and the "fourth wall" seemed to cease to exist: "At first, it was funny when a little woman bounded onto the stage as the boy prince, but gradually her performance captivated us so much that we were simply transported into the story, forgetting everything else for two hours. I'll never forget the name of the actress who was so convincing and sincere. Lidiya Knyazeva is a legend of Moscow theater, the only drag queen to be awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR. I remember the enthusiastic ovation, how instead of flowers, we threw her chocolates and candies."
Irina Karpacheva also recalled how they picked lilacs in the parks for their favorite actors, and how girls and boys fell in love with their stage idols. The theater left them with all these vivid, funny, and warm memories.
Theatre and Muscovites in the 21st Century
For two summers in a row, the center of Moscow was transformed into a vast open-air stage. Plays, installations, performances—everything that makes up contemporary theater—could be enjoyed right on the streets of Moscow, openly, freely, and virtually nonstop during the festival. Theatre BoulevardYou could not just watch, but also join in—take part in training sessions and open rehearsals, ask questions of the actors, directors, and designers.
The summer festival has effectively eliminated the pause between seasons and brought continuity to Moscow's theatrical life. City residents are undoubtedly looking forward to its continuation this summer.
"After dinner, Mom pulled gray theater tickets with a picture of a seagull out of a box. It turned out Mom had stood in line at the box office all cold winter night to get those tickets," reads an excerpt from Konstantin Paustovsky's "A Tale of Life." Only the development of online services spares Muscovites from such a feat, which the capital's theatergoers would certainly be willing to undertake even today. But now everything is simpler—online Mosbilet Tickets can be purchased conveniently and quickly.
Moscow's theatrical landscape in the 21st century has become more expansive and diverse, growing along with the city. And today, theaters maintain their traditions, adhere to their cherished customs, and meticulously prepare for every audience.
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