Title of the article:

THE THEME OF “FAITH” AND “UNBELIEF” ON STAGE AND IN LIFE IN THE CONTEXT OF REVOLUTIONARY TRANSFORMATIONS

Author(s):

Vera К. Кrylova

Information about the author/authors

Vera K. Krylova — PhD in Arts, Senior Research, Institute of the Humanities and the Indigenous Peoples of the North of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrovsky St. 1, 677027 Yakutsk, Russia. E-mail: kvkrepressgur@mail.ru

Section

History of Arts

Year

2020

Volume

Vol. 55

Pages

pp. 231–248

Received

June 11, 2019

Date of publication

March 28, 2020

DOI:

10.37816/2073-9567-2020-55-231-248

Index UDK

792.03

Index BBK

85.33

Abstract

The article discusses the changes that occurred in the wake of revolutionary events of October 25 (November 7), 1917 in Petrograd, which in many ways transformed the meaning and content of the theater. The goal of the revolution was to destroy not only the entire bourgeois system, but also the cultural heritage that had been created in Russia for centuries and above all, the religion. And since power of theater`s impact on human psychology is well-known from the ancient times, it was determined to be one of the main tools in the fight against religiosity, especially of the Russian people. In that regard, one cannot pass over the fact that during a period of transformation of sociocultural processes of the 1920s and 1930s, theatrical activity turned out to be particularly effective in changing the consciousness of Russian society. The religious persecution was total, Soviet government having thought through every detail to sow discord within the church under the guise of fighting hunger, and thereby eradicating spirituality in people as soon as possible. Thus, under the conditions of building a new political system, for the first time in the entire centuries-long history, art came to be an object of politics, state-building belonging to the field of propaganda. The ideologists of Marxist-Leninist materialism, including A. V. Lunacharsky, A. A. Bogdanov, as well as V. I. Lenin, bore in mind a tremendous extent of theater`s influence on the audience, while considering primary matter, not spirit. To achieve their goals, they sought to use acting talent in the production of such anti-religious plays as “Savva” by Leonid Andreev, hence their close attention on it. Thus, gradually, steadily by means of theater among other things, proceeded the process of affecting the religiosity, as one of the characteristic features of the Russian society of the time. The process was not loyal, but ferocious due to the fact that within the shortest time the Soviet government needed to destroy spirituality in people replacing it with revolutionary expediency.

Keywords

theater, religion, split of the church, revolutionary expediency, a play “Savva” by Leonid Andreev, religiosity, theater and politics, spectators, transformation of the stage image.

References

1 Andreev L. N. “Savva”. Lib.ru. Available at: http://az.lib.ru/a/andreew_l_n/ (accessed 10 March 2018). (In Russian)

2 Andreev L. N. “Zhizn' cheloveka” [Human life]. Lib.ru. Available at: http://az.lib.ru/a/andreew_l_n/text_1030-1.shtml (accessed 10 March 2018). (In Russian)

3 Gor'kii M. Leonid Andreev. Lib.ru. Available at: http://az.lib.ru/a/andreew_ (accessed 17 May 2018). (In Russian)

4 Gren. Savva i zriteli [Savva and the audience]. Avtonomnaia Iakutiia, 1922, 22 August, no 15, p. 2. (In Russian)

5 Dekrety Sovetskoi vlasti [Decrees of the Soviet power]. Moscow, Politizdat Publ., 1983, vol. XI. Oktiabr'-noiabr' 1920 g. [October-November 1920], pp. 197–201, 399. (In Russian)

6 Emel'ianov S. Modernizatsii Rossii v kontekste vzaimodeistviia pravoslavnoi traditsii i marksistskoi kontseptsii [Russian Modernization in the context of interaction between the Orthodox tradition and the Marxist concept]. Vestnik russkoi khristianskoi gumanitarnoi akademii, 2006, no 2, vol. 7, pp. 60–74. (In Russian)

7 Iz"iatie tserkovnykh tsennostei vo vremia goloda 1921–1922 gg. Ideologicheskaia bor'ba protiv Tserkvi [Seizure of Church valuables during the famine of 1921–1922. Ideological struggle against the Church]. Sir35.ru. Available at: http://sir35.ru/rpc_2_2 (accessed 12 March 2018). (In Russian)

8 Karl Marks, Fridrikh Engel's. K evreiskomu voprosu. Sobranie sochinenii. 1955. T. 1. S. 399 [Karl Marks, Friedrich Engel's. On the Jewish question. Collected works. 1955, vol. 1, p. 399]. Informaxinc.ru. Available at: http://www.informaxinc.ru/ (accessed 12 March 2018). (In Russian)

9 Kirilenko G. G., Shevtsov E. V. Filosofiia sotsial'nogo pragmatizma (A. V. Lunacharskii i A. A. Bogdanov) [Philosophy of social pragmatism (A.V. Lunacharsky and A. A. Bogdanov) ]. Lunacharsky.newgod.su. Available at: http://lunacharsky.newgod.su/ (accessed 16 May 2018). (In Russian)

10 Koznova I. E., Nikol'skii S. A. Proshloe v politike i kul'ture sovetskoi Rossii [The past in the politics and culture of Soviet Russia]. Vestnik slavianskikh kul'tur, 2017, vol. 43, pp. 54–55, 57–58. (In Russian)

11 Kolesova I. S. Dukhovnoe soderzhanie russkogo kolokol'nogo zvona [Spiritual content of the Russian bell ringing]. Istoricheskie, filosofskie, politicheskie i iuridicheskie nauki, kul'turologiia i iskusstvovedenie. Voprosy teorii i praktiki, 2011, no 6 (12): in 3 parts, part III, pp. 111–114. (In Russian)

12 Kornev V. A. Rol' russkoi pravoslavnoi tserkvi v razvitie russkoi natsional'noi i gosudarstvennoi ideologii [Russian Orthodox Church's role in the development of Russian national and state ideology]. Istoricheskie, filosofskie, politicheskie i iuridicheskie nauki, kul'turologiia i iskusstvovedenie. Voprosy teorii i praktiki, 2011, no 7 (13): in 3 parts, part I, pp. 58–61. (In Russian)

13 Kudriavtsev A. “Boginia razuma” [“Goddess of reason”]. Russkaia liniia. Available at: http://www.rusk.ru (accessed 14 March 2018). (In Russian)

14 Krupskaia N. K. K piatiletiiu Oktiabr'skoi Revoliutsii [To the fifth anniversary of the October Revolution]. Rabotnik prosveshcheniia, 1923, no 8, pp. 15–19. (In Russian)

15 Lenin V. I. Kriticheskie zametki po natsional'nomu voprosu [Critical notes on the national issue]. In: Lenin V. I. Sobranie sochinenii: v 55 t. [Collected works: in 55 vols.]. Moscow, Politizdat Publ., 1967, vol. 24, pp. 113–150. (In Russian)

16 Lenin V. I. O proletarskoi kul'ture [On proletarian culture]. In: Lenin V. I. Sobranie sochinenii: v 55 t. [Collected works: in 55 vols.] Moscow, Politizdat Publ., 1967, vol. 41, pp. 336–337. (In Russian)

17 Lenin V. I. Sotsializm i religiia [Socialism and religion]. In: Lenin V. I. Sobranie sochinenii: v 55 t. [Collected works: in 55 vols.]. Moscow, Politizdat Publ., 1967, vol. 12, pp. 143–147. (In Russian)

18 Lenin V. I. O znachenii voinstvuiushchego materializma [On the meaning of militant materialism]. In: Lenin V. I. Sobranie sochinenii: v 55 t. [Collected works: in 55 vols.]. Moscow, Politizdat Publ., 1967, vol. 45, pp. 23–33. (In Russian)

19 Lenin V. I. Pis'mo M. Gor'komu [A Letter to Maxim Gorky]. In: Lenin V. I. Sobranie sochinenii: v 55 t. [Collected works: in 55 vols.]. Moscow, Politizdat Publ., 1967, vol. 48, pp. 230–233. (In Russian)

20 Lobazova O. F. Religioznost' sovremennogo rossiiskogo obshchestva: sotsial'no filosofskii analiz [Religiosity of the modern Russian society: a social and philosophical analysis: PhD thesis]. Moscow, 2010. 314 p. (In Russian)

21 Lunacharskii A. V. Ateizm. Ocherki po filosofii marksizma [Atheism. Essays on the philosophy of Marxism]. Filosofskii sbornik [Philosophical collection]. Moscow, Zveno Publ., 1908, pp. 107–161. (In Russian)

22 Lunacharskii A. V. Chekhov v nashi dni [Chekhov nowadays]. Ogonek, 1929, no 27, pp. 1–2. (In Russian)

23 Nikiforov-Volgin V. A. Altar' zatvorennyi. 1937 g. [The altar is closed. 1937]. Rus'-front [Rus`-front]. Available at: http://rusfront.ru/2655-altar-zatvorennyy.html (accessed 14 February 2019). (In Russian)

24 Prots D. E. Tipologiia kharakterov i sposoby ikh voploshcheniia v dramaturgii L. N. Andreeva [Typology of characters and ways of their implementation in L. N. Andreev's dramaturgy]. Dslib.net. Available at: http://www.dslib.net/ru (accessed 15 February 2019). (In Russian)

25 Slezin A. A. Gosudarstvennaia politika v otnoshenii religii i politicheskii kontrol' sredi molodezhi v nachale 1920-kh godov [State policy on religion and political control of the young people in the early 1920s]. Istoricheskie, filosofskie, politicheskie i iuridicheskie nauki, kul'turologiia i iskusstvovedenie. Voprosy teorii i praktiki, 2009, no 2 (3), pp. 92–98. (In Russian)

26 Stalin I. V. Ob itogakh XIII s"ezda RKP (b): Doklad na kursakh sekretarei ukomov pri TsK RKP (b) 17 iiunia 1924 g. [On the results of the XIII Congress of the RCP (b): Report on the courses of the uyezd committees secretaries at the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on June 17, 1924]. Moscow, OGIZ Publ., 1947, vol. 6, pp. 234–260. (In Russian)

27 Tabunshchikova L. V, Shadrina A. V. Antireligioznye aktsii 1923 goda v Donskom regione [Anti-religious actions of 1923 in the Don region]. Istoricheskie, filosofskie, politicheskie i iuridicheskie nauki, kul'turologiia i iskusstvovedenie. Voprosy teorii i praktiki, 2012, no 8 (22), part 1, pp. 199–204. (In Russian)

28 Florenskii P. A. Iz bogoslovskogo naslediia [From the theological heritage]. Bogoslovskie trudy [Theological works]. Moscow, Izdatel'stvo Moskovskoi patriarkhii Publ., 1977. Vol. 17. 248 p. (In Russian)

29 Shul'gin V. N. Pravyi uklon svil svoe prochnoe gnezdo v pedagogike [The right bias has built itsekf a strong nest in pedagogy]. Rabotnik prosveshcheniia, 1929, no 19, pp. 1–6. (In Russian)

30 Shuliatikov V. M. Novaia stsena i novaia drama [New scene and new drama]. Lib.ru. Available at: http://az.lib.ru/s/shuljatikow_w_m/text_0460.shtml (accessed 14 February 2019). (In Russian)

31 Ryan J. The Power and the Church: the Politburo against the Russian Orthodox Church in 1922. Severo-Vostok Rossii na rubezhe XIX–XX vekov: vlast' i obshchestvo. Materialy Vserossiiskoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem, posviashchennoi 150-letiiu so dnia rozhdeniia gubernatora Iakutskoi oblasti I. I. Krafta. 20 maia 2011 g. [North-East of Russia at the turn of the 20th c.: power and society Proceedings of All-Russian scientific.-practical. conf. with int. part., <url>. To the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Governor of the Yakut region I. I. Kraft. May 20, 2011], ed.-in- chief V. K. Krylova. Iakutsk, Izd-vo IGIiPMNS SO RAN Publ., 2012, pp. 127–133. (In English)

32 Neocosmos M. Transition, human rights and violence: rethinking a liberal political relationship in the African neo-colony. Interfacejournal.net. Available at: http://www.interfacejournal.net/ (accessed 16 May 2018). (In English)

33 Hannah Arendt Elemente und Ursprünge totaler Herrschaft München, 1986. 701 p. [Hannah Arendt elements and origins of Total Domination Munich, 1986. 701 p.]. Polit.ru. Available at: http://www.polit.ru/article/2010/04 (accessed 16 May 2018). (In Germany)

PDF-file

Download

Illustrations