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Abstract:

This article is devoted to the censorship history of the works written by Evgeny Nikolayevich Chirikov (1864–1932). As a writer of democratic orientation, he published his works regularly at the Knowledge Association leaded by Maxim Gorky. In 1900–1910s he was one of the most frequently staged playwrights in Russia: his plays were highly demanded by the metropolitan and provincial theatres. Many of the productions turned into significant events in the history of the Russian theatre. Leading theatre and cinema directors worked with Chirikov’s dramatic works. The most famous theatre columnists and reviewers wrote about the productions of his plays. The author of this paper provides survey of the published and archival sources for the study of the drama censorship reports describing the staging of Chirikov’s plays, as well as accompanying documents of the Russian Imperial Censorship Agency, kept in the Russian State Historical Archives (RGIA, F. 776). These documents are important for the censorship history studies: they demonstrate in detail the practice of censorship in 1902–1915s — the critical period for Russia, while the public mood upsurged before and during the 1st Russian Revolution and then recessed again. Moreover, these documents present a valuable source for the history of Russian literature and theatre. They provide rich material that helps to reconstruct the creation process of Chirikov’s dramatic works, history of their staging, and biographies of theatre troupes who worked with these plays.

Keywords: E.N. Chirikov, Russian Empire, Theatre Censorship.