Art taverns of the Silver Age. How the color of Russian culture relieved stress. Bohemia, especially the practical directors of these cafes, treated the bourgeoisie with contempt, as a source of food: for example, in the Stray Dog, visitors were divided into representatives of the arts

Literary and artistic cabaret “Stray Dog”

BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE APPEARANCE OF “ART-CABARET”

The history of the literary and artistic cabaret “Stray Dog” goes back three years. However, long before the opening of the “basement” in St. Petersburg, in Europe already in the 80s of the 19th century, “many young poets and writers dreamed of their own club, where they could feel free and completely unconstrained.” The Art Nouveau century gave birth to new trends, new ideas in art, which means that the secular salons of previous eras were no longer acceptable. In a series of attempts to create a new type of establishment, the first was the Emile Goudeau club in Paris. “At first he chose the “La Rive Gauche” (“Left Bank”) zucchini for this purpose.<…>On October 11, 1878, the first meeting of the club of poets, writers, and artists took place.<…>The success was obvious." After 3 years, the tavern was renamed “Les Hirsutes” (“The Shags”), and the number of club members was already 1,500 people. The split of the club in the fall of the same year marked the end of the club's functioning.

In the same year, on November 18, the Chat Noir cabaret was opened, which in many ways became a model for this type of establishment. Most of the visitors to the “Left Bank” moved here, and the cabaret “became the most famous night spot in Paris.<…>Soon, nightly artistic cabarets appeared in other European cities.<…>- in Munich, Berlin."

At the same time, “Russian traditional life” was established in Russia through the efforts of the “loving but strict father” of the Russian state, Alexander III. Despite this, according to S. Makovsky, “the inevitable happened: Europe at the end of the century, about whose art, literature, poetry, music we knew very little until then, Europe, indulging in all the sophistications and excesses of imagination and thought, captured our cultural leaders mentally wealth, boldness, all-sophistication.<…>The French (or rather Parisian) “end of the century” was especially seductive. Everything in him, the most perfect, the most unusual, the most “for the few,” and even the painfully decadent, fascinated and infected.” And after the “timelessness” of Alexander III and in Russian culture of the pre-revolutionary time, and then the inter-revolutionary decade, a special need arose for meetings, for meetings where the most important and exciting topics for thinking people would be discussed. “The time has come when interviews and arguments in a close circle are no longer satisfying.”

Before the First Russian Revolution, in the foreground were meetings united by the narrow interests of one or another aspect of life, such as the “World of Art” or Religious and Philosophical Meetings (the religious quest of the Russian intelligentsia resulted in them), held with the permission of Pobedonostsev himself. “Since the fall of 1905, the “environments” of Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov began to play a major role in the life of the capital’s intelligentsia.” But these meetings were a meeting place only for the literary and philosophical intellectual elite of St. Petersburg, while young poets, artists, and other aspiring artists did not have access there. True, it should be noted that it was on V. Ivanov’s “Wednesdays” that such regulars of the future cabaret “Stray Dog” as N. Gumilyov, A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam formed as poets.

Nevertheless, the need for more democratic meetings was felt quite acutely. In a letter to V.P. Verigina V.E. Meyerhold (still not widely known) wrote in 1906: “One of the best dreams was the one that flashed at dawn between Pronin and me in Kherson (we went there to buy a ruble).

We need to create a Community of Mad Men. Only this Community creates what we dream about.”

But for Meyerhold, the creation of such a Community took 4 years. Although the idea itself, proving its relevance, came not only to him. In 1908, in Moscow, in Pertsov’s house, at the Moscow Art Theater, the first Russian cabaret, “The Bat,” was opened, which “expelled” the Intimate Theater from this building (B. Pronin, the future director of “Stray Dog,” also participated in it). "It will be<…>a kind of Art Theater club, inaccessible to others. It’s incredibly difficult to become a member of the circle.” The founding members of “The Bat” are all the main actors of the Art Theater: O.A. Knipper, V.I. Kachalov, I.M. Moskvin, V.V. Luzhsky, T.S. Burdzhalov, N.F. Gribunin, N.G. Alexandrov<…>The close circle of “artists” was expanded only by musicians, artists, writers, and people close to the theater.<…>The mystery of what was happening in the closed club of the Art Theater heightened the curiosity of the theater audience.<…>They said that Stanislavsky himself danced the cancan there with Moskvin; they said that the majestic Knipper was there humming a frivolous chansonette, and Nemirovich-Danchenko, who had never held a baton, was directing a small orchestra to which Alisa Koonen and Kachalov were dancing a polka or a wildly fiery mazurka.” Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to dwell in detail on this phenomenon of cultural life, so we will consider only the most characteristic features of the cabaret, which after 4 years will be revived again, but in “Stray Dog”. So, the entrance to the cabaret was from the alley, and not from the front door of the house; There were 10 steps leading down. The walls of the basement were painted by artists K. Sapunov (his brother, a famous artist, will be at the origins of “Stray Dog”) and A. Klodt. The buffet had no waiters. And each invitee dressed in a jester's cap. There was no program for the evenings: improvisation was the entertainer here. We will see all this again in the cabaret “Stray Dog”, but in a somewhat complicated, developed form.

The decline of the “Bat” cabaret began already in 1910, when it “began to issue tickets, they were called merchant tickets - they cost from 10 to 25 rubles and were still shyly called countermarks.” Soon the cabaret was filled with the Moscow elite, and theater figures appeared there less and less. “In the spring of 1912, newspapers reported for the first time that from the next season Baliev (creator and director of “The Bat” - V.R.) leaves the Moscow Art Theater troupe and organizes a large cabaret with wide access to the public.<…>From being a haven for artists, The Bat has become a commercial enterprise.<…>The history of the artistic cabaret of the Art Theater has ended.”

Probably, one of the laws of the universe is such a phenomenon as the parallel development of similar institutions, in which one tends to decline, and the other develops, the first dies, and the second flourishes. So it is in the case of cabaret: with the decline of “The Bat” in 1910, the “House of Sideshows” was born. Meyerhold. But it opened “as a commercial cabaret - with a staff of actors, musicians, prop men, lighting technicians, stagehands, a restaurant and a hanger; with a system of sessions (one ran from nine to half past eleven, the other from midnight to three): something completely different from what Meyerhold saw at the beginning.<…>“The House of Interludes” really seemed to him like an art club, a community of a wide variety of artistic people.” Thus, it is precisely this failed idea that will be embodied in “Stray Dog,” which is not surprising, since many participants in the “House of Interludes” will also move there (though without Meyerhold): M. Kuzmin, I. Sats, N. Sapunov, S. Sudeikin. The most famous production in this cabaret was “The Scarf of Columbine” by A. Schnitzler - this is how the Italian commedia dell’arte burst into the culture of the Silver Age.

THE IDEA OF OPENING A CABARET IN ST. PETERSBURG. ITS FOUNDATION

With the closure of the House of Sideshows, the idea of ​​​​creating a Community of Madmen not only did not fade away, but also gained strength, as evidenced by the famous director A. Mgebrov, who was also at the origins of the new cabaret: “Stray Dog” still lived in the dreams of Boris (Pronin, the creator and cabaret directors - V.R.) and in the few real enthusiasts who surrounded him." This place was supposed to become a fundamentally new institution, although it continued the idea of ​​a kind of club, “where literary and artistic figures could come together creatively.”

The first thing that arose in the process of organizing a new cabaret was the completely logical and, at the same time, difficult question of a location for the future club of the Intimate Theater Society. Participants in those events remember the decision to set up a future meeting place for bohemians in the basement in different ways. Director N.V. Petrov described this stage of creating the cabaret as follows: “We were sure that our club must be located in the basement. And only Boris Pronin was against the basement, arguing that we should not bury ourselves in the ground, but strive upward, and therefore we need to look for an attic or attic.” S.S. Schultz points out that Pronin searched for a long time for the premises for the planned club and, finally, he identified a suitable basement in the Dashkov house (No. 5 on Arts Square), where the wines of the former owner were once stored, and where Pronin himself currently lived .

No less important was the question of the name for the future club “Society of Intimate Theater”. S. Sudeikin, one of the founders and artists who painted the walls of the cabaret, in his memoirs especially focused on the appearance of the name and the first acquaintance with the premises: “Pronin met me and immediately took me to the basement, on Mikhailovskaya, No. 5. A wonderful, dry basement real architecture of old cities. The basement was vaulted, divided into four rooms and painted white. It was small and could accommodate about two hundred people.

“Our theater will be here,” said Boris. “Here you will write a wreath to Sapunov, here he would sit, and here - Satsu.”<…>

Our souls became heavy, and we silently walked out onto Nevsky, heading towards Gostiny Dvor. On the way, I came across a tramp selling a shaggy, colorless puppy. “What a delight,” said Pronin. - A stray puppy, no, a future “stray dog.” Buy it, it’s the name for our basement.” For two silver rubles I bought a “stray dog”.

The name was found and even legally assigned to us.”

Despite such thoroughness of S. Sudeikin’s story, N. Petrov recalled the appearance of such an original name a little differently: “One day, when we were looking from one gateway into another in search of a free basement, A.N. Tolstoy suddenly said:

Don't we now resemble stray dogs looking for shelter?..

“You found the name for our idea,” exclaimed N.N. Evreinov. - Let this basement be called “Stray Dog”!

Everyone really liked the name, and everyone congratulated Tolstoy.”

It is unknown who is more right of these two participants in the founding of the cabaret, but they are united by something in common, something that characterizes the name of the club, and what A. Mgebrov expressed in his own words: “Thus, a wide variety of people easily and freely got into it ( Pronina - V.R.) the attic, from where there was invariably a path down to the basement, which is why it was called “Stray Dog” because it united noble tramps and homeless people on various paths of creative quest.”

In addition, one cannot help but notice the fact that “the image of a “stray dog”<…>was unusually widespread in those years.” Consequently, each of the founders of the cabaret was right in the main thing - in the idea, in the worldview that dominated at that time.

The basement on St. Michael's Square was first inspected on November 13, 1911, and the choice was approved by all members of the Intimate Theater Society. Work began immediately on repairing and improving the basement. Architect Fomin, according to S. Sudeikin, built a fireplace, which, according to the same Mgebrov, seemed to have been transferred from Faust’s zucchini. But this was not the main feature of the cabaret’s design. The famous “fresco” paintings of S. Sudeikin, N. Sapunov, and N. Kulbin covered all the walls of the basement. Not many descriptions of this work of art have survived, but enough to understand the enormity of the work. Thus, the already mentioned director N.N. Evreinov recalled this detail of the cabaret this way: “All the wall paintings, playful, mysteriously humorous, so to speak, were, of course, not “scenery” in the narrow sense of the word, but like scenery that transported visitors to the basement far beyond their boundaries. authentic place and time. Here the spell of “theatricalization of this world”, which Sudeikin possessed as a real hypnotist, was fully reflected. And under the influence of these spells, which confused life with theater, truth with fiction, “prose” with “poetry,” the visitors to the “Stray Dog” seemed to be transformed into some other creatures, some truly fantastic and purely free, “stray”, “stray” dogs from the “kingdom of bohemia”.

As for the wall paintings themselves, the following reconstruction, made on the basis of surviving evidence, makes it possible to imagine them: “...Both the walls and the fireplace were painted in a brutal manner.” The surface of the walls in one of the rooms - and there were two of them - was broken by the cubic painting of N. Kulbin, the multi-colored geometric shapes crushing its plane chaotically overlapped each other. Another room, from the floor to the closing vaults, was painted by Sudeikin with figures of women, children, arapits, bent in a strange bend, unprecedented birds, whimsically intertwined with fantastic flowers. Their painfully excessive luxury, clashing feverish red with poisonous green, evoked images of Baudelaire’s “The Flowers of Evil.”

Since the cabaret was founded as a public institution, and even more so in St. Petersburg, it goes without saying that it required official registration, which included the names of the administration of the Intimate Theater Society club. This is also evidenced by the memoirs of S. Sudeikin: “Administratively, “Stray Dog” was organized according to the following scheme. The chairman of the ball was Prince Eristov. Treasurer - Bernardazzi. Secretary of the Jews. The Audit Commission is the same. The books were allegedly kept by Lutsevich, a retired soldier. Boris Pronin was a “dog” director. I was a meter. Sazonov was in charge of the buffet. From a financial point of view, everything was very simple. When Bernardazzi or Eristov did not give money for some reason, Pronin visited the rich (he knew everyone, and everyone knew him) and easily got money for the most bizarre productions.”

The opening of the “Basement of the Intimate Theater Society” took place on the night of January 1, 1912. Special invitations were sent to all guests, one of which was kept by Sun. Meyerhold: “Dear Vsevolod Emilievich! On the night of January 1, 1912, the “basement” of the Intimate Theater Society will open. You are welcome on our holiday. Arrive any time from 11 pm. Entrance - 3 rubles. Registration for accepting money is only on December 28, 29, 30 at the O-va premises from 12 noon to 8 pm. The number of places is extremely limited. Governing body".

The first visitors to the cabaret, in addition to new ideas about its placement, were able to appreciate the internal structure of the basement. G. Ivanov, a frequent visitor to the “Stray Dog,” quite colorfully described all the misadventures associated with these original details: “To get into the “Dog,” you had to wake up the sleepy janitor, go through two snow-covered courtyards, turn left at the third, and go down ten steps and push the oilcloth-lined door. Immediately you were stunned by the music, the stuffiness, the diversity of the walls, the noise of the electric fan, which hummed like an airplane.

The hanger, piled high with fur coats, refuses to take them anymore: “There’s no room.” Preening ladies are crowding in front of a small mirror and blocking the passage.” The interior of the cabaret was also distinguished by its original design: in the middle of the main hall there was a table and 13 stools around (according to the number of founders of the cabaret). Above the table there is a cheerful chandelier, which was a wooden rim suspended on four chains and decorated with a vine, with 13 electric bulbs that looked like candle stubs. “Olga Vysotskaya, actress of the House of Sideshows, was one of the first to arrive, took off a long white glove from her hand and threw it on a wooden circle. Evreinov approached and hung a black velvet half mask on one of the candles. So these relics, with Sapunov’s approval, hung on the chandelier the entire time “The Dog” existed. There is another fairly detailed description of the cabaret in the first weeks of its existence: “...The atmosphere is simpler than simple. Unpainted wooden tables with cheap tablecloths and straw stools. But there is plenty of light, and a simple brick fireplace provides a lot of heat.”

Two more elements of the interior furnishings played an important role in the life of the cabaret: the “Pig Book” and the coat of arms of the “basement.” The first of them will be discussed below. As for the coat of arms, its author, the “World of Art” artist M.V. Dobuzhinsky, against the background of a knight’s shield, depicted a sitting stray dog ​​with its paw on an antique mask. The coat of arms hung above the entrance to it throughout the existence of the cabaret.

PROGRAMS, PERFORMANCES AND IMPROVISATIONS

In the numerous memoirs of visitors and organizers of the “basement,” most of the space is given to stories about the events that took place directly in the cabaret, that is, descriptions of the evenings of “Stray Dog,” programs, performances, improvisations and “antics” of the regulars of the “Intimate Theater Society” club.

It must be assumed that the general tone for all subsequent evenings, or rather nights, of the cabaret was set by the first, New Year's Eve from December 31, 1911 to January 1, 1912, when the “basement” was officially opened. Director N. Petrov, whose testimony we have already resorted to more than once, recalls in detail about that night (unfortunately, this is so far the only known story about the opening of “The Dog”): “The concert program was prepared in advance, but it was not possible to implement it completely: visitors “Dogs” that evening represented the quintessence of artistic St. Petersburg, and the appearance of some of them on our small stage was a deeply joyful event for everyone. T.P. Karsavina, M.M. Fokin, E.V. Lopukhova, A.A. Orlov and Bobish Romanov represented the art of ballet; P.M. Zhuravlenko, E.I. Popova, M.N. Karakash, and N.S. Ermolenko-Yuzhin was represented by the opera; V.P. Dalmatov, Yu.M. Yuriev, E.P. Studentsov, E.N. Thieme, N.G. Kovalevskaya, Nastya Suvorina, V.A. Mironov and V.N. Kurikhin performed on behalf of drama theatres; Anna Akhmatova, N.S. Gumilev, K.D. Balmont, Igor Severyanin, M.A. Kuzmin, P.P. Potemkin, Sasha Cherny, O.E. Mandelstam and Georgy Ivanov represented the guild of poets; Ilya Sats, Vyacheslav Karatygin, Alfred Nurok, M.F. Gnesin and Anatoly Drozdov from the composers' wing; the editors of the Apollo magazine were represented by Sergei Makovsky and S. Auslander, and theater studies by Prince V.P. Zubov."

This is not the entire list of guests that night. As for the program of the first evening itself, N. Petrov sets out its contents as follows: “A pre-prepared program was not required here. We couldn’t even perform a one-act play by Alexei Tolstoy, where the abbot had to give birth to a hedgehog on stage during the action. When more than one toast had already been raised and the temperature in the hall also rose in connection with this, suddenly the figure of Tolstoy appeared near the lectern. Wearing an open fur coat, wearing a top hat, and with a pipe in his mouth, he cheerfully looked around at the spectators who animatedly greeted him.

There is no need, Kolya, to show this nonsense to such a brilliant society,” Tolstoy announced at the last minute, and the flying meeting of the nine granted Alexei Nikolaevich’s request.” Thus the first season of the Stray Dog cabaret was opened. However, in the study of other “basement” evenings, we will inevitably encounter the fact that each of the cabaret visitors writes in his memoirs about all the most important programs for him in the complex, putting evenings of different seasons, of different character, with different participants on the same row, which makes it difficult systematic study of evenings. However, such an original establishment as the Stray Dog cabaret had its own logic.

So, having received an invitation, or having learned in another way about the evening at the cabaret, the guests headed to the cabaret. “We usually gathered around 11 pm and left at 4-6 am.” Having overcome all the obstacles along the way, the guest found himself directly in the “basement”; "on-duty board member of the Intimate Theater Society"<…>grabs you by the sleeve: three rubles and two written recommendations, if you are a “pharmacist”, fifty kopecks - from your own.”

As for the program itself, according to S. Sudeikin, “there were announced and unannounced evenings. For unannounced evenings, the entrance fee ranged from one to three rubles. These evenings featured impromptu performances by poets, musicians and artists.” Almost no materials from such evenings have been preserved, and how could it be possible to preserve a momentary remark, a gesture, a joke, in a word, improvisation, which “here essentially became life itself.”

Another type of program was “an evening announced, that is, prepared (and they often took a month to prepare for one evening), the entrance fee was from five rubles and above.”

Many participants in the evenings at the “Dog” especially remembered “The Puppet Den” by M. Kuzmin (January 6, 1913) and the evening of dance by T.P. Karsavina (March 28, 1914).

According to B. Livshits, on special, or “extraordinary” Saturdays or Wednesdays, guests were asked to put paper caps on their heads, which were handed to them on the threshold of the basement, and famous lawyers or members of the State Duma known throughout Russia, taken by surprise, meekly obeyed this requirement.

“...on the stage, first one or the other of the artists will sing, dance, and recite. The audience does not hesitate to make jokes out loud at the performers; the latter, interrupting themselves, make jokes at the audience.”

In addition to the planned programs and improvisations, various literary games were constantly taking place in the Stray Dog, which were the best proof of the poet’s true talent and required, even from a select few, full attention and composure. Many impromptu performances by Mandelstam, Gumilyov, and M. Lozinsky were born in such competitions, and according to some information, one evening G. Ivanov was not allowed to play because he could not provide permission from his parents (especially since his father had long since died).

Now let’s look at the most important “announced” evenings that took place during the entire period of the cabaret’s existence. It has already been said more than once that personal invitations, as a rule, were sent out to such evenings; There was also a poster for the Intimate Theater Society. We’ve already talked about the first evening, so we’ll start the review with the evening “Conference on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the poetic activity of K.D. Balmont" on January 13, 1912. This program laid the foundation for the tradition of poetry evenings, and although the hero of the evening himself was in exile, only the introductory report was devoted to his work.

The evening “Rejoicing at Yuri Yuryev” is also interesting. “A stray dog ​​barks” January 16, 1913 Yu.M. Yuryev was a famous actor of the Alexandrinsky Theater, and the cabaret celebrated 20 years of his creative activity. N. Petrov “read out a comic biography of the hero of the day and punning and fantastic congratulations.” Thus the foundation was laid for the evenings of actors and their creativity. But there were also musical evenings at the “Dog”, for example, on February 2, 1912: the evening consisted of works by E. Grieg, Arensky, Sats and others. Musical evenings, where both classical and new works were performed, existed in the “basement” for almost the entire duration of his work.

But there were also absolutely amazing programs called: “Meeting of exceptionally intelligent people,” which took place, although regularly, but only at the beginning of the cabaret’s existence.

The first season of the “Stray Dog” was completed with a special meeting on April 30, 1912. N. Petrov read a report on the work done by the “Dog” for 4 months: “During the existence of the “Stray Dog” the society organized 13 Wednesdays and 13 Saturdays and another 13 meetings, which included 4 Wednesdays, 4 Saturdays and 5 emergency meetings.”

New season 1912-1913 was opened on September 1, 1912, as reported by many newspapers. It is also noteworthy that N.N. tragically passed away in the summer. Sapunov, and I.A. Sats, whose memorial evening was held on October 14.

The unique feature of the “Stray Dog” programs was the abundance of lectures and reports on various topics, from literature to sun spots. Thus, on December 19, 1912, S. Gorodetsky’s famous lecture “Symbolism and Acmeism” took place, which for the first time reflected the theoretical foundations of a new literary movement - Acmeism, which replaced symbolism. According to the program, “after the lecture there will be a debate with the participation of A. Akhmatova, N. Kulbin, N. Gumilev.” This evening can in many ways be called epoch-making in the history of Russian literature in general and in the cultural history of the Silver Age in particular.

On January 1, 1913, “Stray Dog” turned 1 year old. M. Kuzmin wrote a special anthem dedicated to the anniversary of the cabaret, the words of which are cited by B. Livshits in his memoirs, in order to “save them from oblivion.” In addition, other festive events were held. According to the poster, “Stray Dog” will celebrate its first anniversary and would like to see its closest friends.<…>Recipients of the Order of the Dog and those with insignia should be present.”47 We also have a fairly complete program for the evening. “The evening was supposed to include a “Cinematograph” program. Review of artistic performances and active activities of “Dogs”: 1) Members of the board - Podgorny, Pronin, Petrov, Uvarova, Zonov, Bogoslovsky, Krushinsky (waltz).<…>4) Hymn of Gorodetsky (Tsybulsky), 5) How gr. lives and works. Al. N. Tolstoy (Polish), 6) Attempt of the book. Volkonsky for the first time to penetrate the “Dog” (gamma)<…>11) Emergency meeting of the board of the Electric Island on the issue of depriving the “Stray Dog” of lighting for non-payment of fees (funeral march), 12) Explanation of the board member Pronin with the senior janitor regarding the rent (“Don’t tell me, mother...”)<…>Khovanskaya on stage (Spain)<…>16) Vl. Ryzhkov writes a letter about his resignation from the membership of the Society<…>17) Evreinov celebrates the New Year in Finland (“Where, where have you gone”), 18) Presnyakov in the family circle (“Chizhik, Chizhik…”), 19) “The Rock of Death or the Voice of Life,” operetta by Tsybulsky and Gibshman<…>24) Kulbin exhibition, 25) Deykarkhanova performs an English chansonette<…>27) Mask of Yuri Mikhailovich Yuryev, First Knight of the Order of the Dog (carcasses 3 times), 28) Gibshman in “Skull Apocalypse”<…>29) Dodina and Radina, Desi and John or Potemkin and Romanov<…>32) Basement at the present moment and “Les artistes chez sois”, 33) Anthem.”

Members of the board of the Society of Intimate Theater were also required to wear a special “uniform”: they “had to appear wearing medal ribbons and with the attributes of their professions: Kolya Peter - mask, harlequin rattle; Pronin - a glass-goblet, a flower wreath on the head; Krushinsky - large wallet, keys; Bogoslovsky - abacus, glasses, inkwell, quill pen; Zonov - astrologer's hat, triangle; Uvarova - a teapot, a fan and a large bottle of champagne; Presnyakov - a piece of blotter, a pair of different shoes; Rotgolts - compass, hammer, fathom; Miklashevsky - whistle, thick books, hourglass, quill pen; Sudeikin - palette, brush, beret; Kuzmin - myrtle wreath, lyre; Sazonov - cap, fork, spoon, corkscrew; Spies-Eshenburkh and Tsybulsky - tuning fork, cymbals, triangle.”

It was this night that Akhmatova wrote her famous poem “We are all hawk moths here, harlots...”, which reflected with all its tragedy and liveliness the mood that reigned in the souls of people of art. This poem also contained a terrible sentence: “And the one who is dancing now / will certainly be in hell” - most likely, the same Olga Glebova-Sudeikina (she was on stage at that moment).

An equally grandiose event was Christmas Eve 1913, when “Stray Dog” presented “The Puppet Nativity Scene. Christmas mystery." Words and music by Kuzmin, staged by Evreinov "(Mistake by S. Sudeikin - staged by K.M. Miklashevsky) Traditional folk fun on Christmas Eve in "Stray Dog" was reproduced in full accordance with the atmosphere of the "basement": "On a small stage the decoration: on The battle between angels and black and red demons is written against a blue calico background. In front of the blue dominant spot stood a bed covered with red calico. All the stages are covered with red kumac. On a red bed is a golden Herod in a black woolen wig with gold. In the corner is a brown grotto, lit inside by candles and lined with gold leaf. The whole hall has been redone, it feels like the “Last Supper”. Long narrow tables, the public sitting at them, light everywhere...

Twenty children from an orphanage, dressed in white, with golden wigs and silver wings, walked among the tables with lit candles and sang. And on stage the devil seduced Herod, Christ was born, the massacre of infants took place, and the soldiers stabbed Herod to death.” It is also worth noting that the Mother of God was played by O. Glebova-Sudeikina (the heroine of another life drama that took place some time after the mystery), and the scenery was created by S.Yu. Sudeikin, the husband and, at the same time, not the husband, of the leading actress. But this will be discussed further. As for the Mystery, according to L. Tikhvinskaya, “the performance that K. Miklashevsky planned to stylize as a temple performance, however, was more like a home performance or, more likely, a children’s Christmas party.”

The “Puppet Nativity Scene” was probably the most striking event in the 1912-1913 season. and remained in the memory of many participants and spectators of this mystical action.

On January 13, an “Evening dedicated to the memory of Kozma Prutkov” took place, where, according to the recollections of eyewitnesses, a certain Polixena Sergeevna especially surprised everyone. She, dressed in “a general’s uniform, with her hair cut, held a large horseradish root in her hand and, according to Prutkov’s commandment “Look at the root,” looked at it carefully all evening, without saying a word.”

The autumn of 1913 in the cabaret was marked by the appearance of futurists, and already on December 23, 1913, V. Shklovsky made a report on the topic: “The place of futurism in the history of language,” which was the beginning of a new period in the life of the cabaret.

This season was marked by another bright evening that cabaret visitors could not forget. On March 28, 1914, T.P. danced in the “Dog.” Karsavina. S. Sudeikin described this event in his memoirs no less colorfully: “And the evening of Karsavina, this goddess of the air. Eighteenth century - music by Couperin. “Elements of Nature” staged by Boris Romanov, our trio on ancient instruments. A scene in the middle of the hall with real wooden cupids from the 18th century, standing on a marvelous blue carpet of the same era with candelabra. Unprecedented intimate beauty. 50 balletomanes (50 rubles per seat) watched with bated breath as Karsavina released a living child, cupid, from a cage made of real roses.”

Karsavina herself recalled this evening in “Teatralnaya Street”: “I danced<…>right among the public in a small space surrounded by garlands of fresh flowers.”

Although not as elegant and expensive, but no less interesting was the evening, or rather the week, of Caucasian culture (in April 1914). N. Kulbin opened the Week with a lecture on Caucasian art. After traveling through the south of Russia and the Caucasus, “...he returned to St. Petersburg, more than usual excited, filled with impressions of oriental exoticism, people and, above all, applied art, many of which he brought with him. He takes a heap of multi-colored fabrics, scarves, a pile of majolica, household utensils, and Persian miniatures straight to Sobaka, where he organizes an exhibition of them.” April 27, 1914 The “Week” ends with a report by artist V.V. Enne "On three journeys through Fergana and the Zarafshan ridge."

But the summer of 1914 was fatal not only for the country, but also for the “basement.” In the absence of some “masters,” in a state of rapid decline in public spirit and morality, with an increasing influx of “pharmacists” into the cabaret, the futurists “seize power.” On February 11, 1915, Mayakovsky’s legendary performance took place, which ended in a huge scandal. B. Pronin recalled this in detail: “I sat with Vera Alexandrovna, my wife, who really recognized Mayakovsky.<…>Suddenly Mayakovsky turns to me: “Borichka, give me permission!” And he felt that he was not loved and was not allowed on the stage, that I and Kulbin were the only ones who were for him, and this was his tragedy. “Allow me to go on stage, and I’ll do an “epate”, stir up the bourgeoisie a little.” Then I, embittered that the evening turned out to be sour, said to Vera Alexandrovna: “This will be wonderful,” and she says: “Scald!” Mayakovsky came out and read “To You.” Next we talk about the effect that the poem produced: “All of us went frenzied,” and only M.N. Volkonsky, and then K.I. Chukovsky, spoke approvingly about what they read and were able to calm the situation.

The last prepared program was an evening dedicated to the literary and artistic collection “Sagittarius” on February 25, 1915. A week later, the “Stray Dog” cabaret was closed.

"HUND DIRECTOR", FOUNDERS AND GUESTS

The literary and artistic cabaret “Stray Dog” brought together a society of people completely different both in occupation and social status. But, according to N. Petrov, “The Dog did not develop its own platform, uniting a variety of artists, each of whom brought his own, personal.”

And the first among these “various artists” should be called the managing director of “Stray Dog” B. Pronin. “Boris Konstantinovich Pronin (12/7/1875-10/29/1946) was born in Chernigov into a mixed family. He received his education at the Kyiv Collegium of P. Galagan, from which he graduated in 1897.” Further, wanting to find his path in life, he enters the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University, moves to the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, and then to the Faculty of Law. Having dropped out of school, Pronin then enrolls again, but at Moscow University, from where he was expelled, apparently, for participating in student unrest. Having been abroad, in 1901 Pronin entered the Moscow Art Theater school, after which in 1905 he was recommended as an assistant to V.E. Meyerhold, with whom Pronin maintained friendly relations for many years. He took part in the creation of "The Bat" and "Sideshow House".

“He was a dissolute man. He began his theater work in Stanislavsky's studio. At one time it seemed like he was about to make it into the public eye - he was hired as an assistant director at the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. Alas! Boris’s directing on the state stage did not last long - he was removed for political unreliability!” According to another version, he was kicked out of the theater for being late for the entire performance. Nevertheless, it was he who became the figure on the historical field who made a qualitatively new breakthrough in the creation of a “shelter” for bohemia.

“And so our Boris started “Stray Dog,” N. Mogilyansky later recalled. It was with Pronin that many participants in those events connected the very existence of the “basement”. However, they assessed his very nature differently. The idea of ​​Pronin’s “dissoluteness” was first proposed by his closest friend, V.E. Meyerhold, who in one of his letters created an unseemly portrait of the “hund director” of “The Dog”: “I know him very well and I really don’t recommend him. The man is completely inoperative. A typical product of the actor-student bohemia.<…> In business, serious matters, I can't stand it <…>While he’s talking, everything is going like clockwork, when the moment comes implementation words and projects- Pronin is not there. And then some mania to create projects. It's a disease". Many researchers recognize this assessment as unfair, since this letter was written under the influence of emotions caused by Pronin’s departure to director Evreinov, which Meyerhold strongly disapproved of.

The description of Pronin, presented by A. Tolstoy in the image of Ivanushko in the unfinished autobiographical novel “Yegor Abozov”, is not very positive: “... A shaved, excited, disheveled man, in rumpled tobacco-colored clothes, with a large bow tie under his sharp chin.<…>He was on first name terms with all women, calling them columbines and fantastic creatures, for which he enjoyed great favor from them. His head was filled with plans for extraordinary evenings, unimaginable performances, crazy cabarets. He considered the ordinary life of friends and acquaintances an oversight, a misunderstanding due to lack of imagination and ardor. If he had enough strength, he would turn the whole world into traveling theaters, crazy holidays, all the women into columbines, and the men into characters from the commedia dell’arte.”

The director of “Stray Dog” was not left unnoticed by G. Ivanov, who devoted more than one page to him in his memoirs: “On the business cards it was written: Boris Konstantinovich Pronin - Doctor of Aesthetics, honoris causa.<…>Having appeared with the project, Pronin bombarded his interlocutor with words. An attempt to object to him, to interrupt him, to ask a question was hopeless.<…>The machine, however, did not work completely in vain.<…>“Something” eventually worked out or “worked out,” as Pronin put it.”

We see that the personality of B.K. Pronina in the memoirs of different people is depicted quite similar: irrepressible creative energy, the creation and non-implementation of projects, fussiness due to a huge creative fervor. But it was precisely such a person that was probably necessary for the birth of “Stray Dog” - a bohemian cabaret that was able to realize the desire of most artists, writers, and actors to escape from the terrible reality into their bohemian world of commedia dell'arte.

The crazy nature of the cabaret director was evident in everything, even in greeting the guests: “Pronin said “you” to everyone.” “Hello,” he hugged someone he came across at the entrance to the “Stray Dog.” - Why can’t you see? How are you? Come quickly, our people (broad gesture into space) are all there...<…>Ask him: - Who were you greeting just now? - With whom? - Broad smile. - The devil knows. Some kind of boor!

During the evening itself, Pronin also continued to greet, but with acquaintances: “Oh, and you’re here,” he appeared at someone’s table and, having kissed, sat down with the gathered company. They drank champagne at the table, he drank a glass, and suddenly noticed friends who had not yet been greeted at the table next to him. Rushed towards them<…>then he moved on."

In general, unimaginable things happened. So, according to the memoirs of G. Ivanov, once, having had too much, Pronin had a row with one lawyer, and it almost came to a duel, but the next morning the offended lawyer and Pronin’s second managed to try on good cognac. His direct activities in the cabaret are also depicted by A. Tolstoy.

Of course, the Stray Dog was always full of guests. Some visited the cabaret throughout its existence, others left immediately, and others came some time after the opening. It is clear that it is almost impossible to talk about everyone, as a result of which we will consider only the most prominent personalities who left their mark in the history of cabaret and in the history of culture.

A. Tolstoy, one of the organizers of the cabaret, was a managing member of the Intimate Theater Society club. It was he who owned the charter of the “Society”, the first paragraph of which, according to N. Petrov, read: “All members of the society work for free for the benefit of society. No member of society has the right to receive a single penny for his work from society’s funds.” Soon after the opening of the “basement”, Tolstoy left the society, and, when he was later in St. Petersburg, he very rarely visited the “Dog”. According to some accounts, he protested against allowing “pharmacists” to attend cabarets.

Over time, M. Kuzmin, a composer and author of a number of cabaret productions and music for them, also retired from working in the “basement.” A contemporary describes Kuzmin of that time in “Stray Dog” as follows: “An amazing unreal creature, as if sketched with the capricious pencil of a visionary artist, climbs onto the stage with small, quick steps. This is a man of small stature, thin, fragile, in a modern jacket, but with the face of either a faun or a young satyr, as they are depicted in ancient frescoes. Black, as if varnished, thin hair is combed forward on the sides, towards the temples, and a narrow beard, as if drawn on with ink, defiantly emphasizes the unnaturally rosy cheeks. Large, protruding eyes that want to be naive, but have seen a lot, have seen a lot, are shone with long, fluffy, like a woman’s eyelashes.”

B. Livshits, who came to the “basement” already in the second year of its existence, very colorfully described the arrival of A. Akhmatova and N. Gumilyov: “Drawn in black silk, with a large oval cameo at the waist, Akhmatova floated in, lingering at the entrance to at the insistence of Pronin, who rushed to meet her, to write his last poems in the “pig” book.<…>In a long frock coat and a black regatta, not leaving a single beautiful woman unattended, Gumilyov retreated, backing between the tables, either thus observing court etiquette, or fearing a “dagger” gaze in the back.”

G. Ivanov also wrote about Akhmatova in “Stray Dog”: “Akhmatova is sitting by the fireplace. She sips black coffee and smokes a thin cigarette. How pale she is!<…>Akhmatova never sits alone. Friends, admirers, lovers, some ladies in big hats and eyeliner.” The fact that Akhmatova was always surrounded in the “Dog” is also recalled by G. Adamovich, a participant in the “Workshop of Poets” and a frequent guest of the cabaret. Here Akhmatova met the artist Yu. Annenkov, the author of portraits of many figures of the Silver Age.

O. Mandelstam constantly visited the “Dog”, as eloquently evidenced by the same B. Livshits: “Having long ago exhausted his credit, the villian Mandelstam was heated in front of the barman’s counter, demanding the impossible: to exchange for him the gold he had spent in another basement.”

It is impossible not to mention A. Akhmatova’s close friend, Olga Glebova-Sudeikina. In 1907, she married the artist S. Sudeikin, but they soon separated. In “Stray Dog” she repeatedly took part in various productions (“Puppet Den”, “Dance of the Goat-footed”, etc.). But this is not the only reason her name is known. The young poet Vsevolod Knyazev, another guest of “The Dog,” fell madly in love with Glebova-Sudeikina, and when she did not reciprocate his feelings, he shot himself (spring 1913). “The death of the young hussar made a deep and painful impression in the “basement.” Akhmatova’s prediction in that very poem, written on January 1, 1913, is connected with this tragic event (the poetess always foresaw trouble).

According to N. Petrov, “From the very first day, singer Zoya Lodiy, Professor Andrianov, E.P. were constant and active “friends” of “Dog”. Anichkov, architect Bernardazzi, artist and doctor N.A. Kulbin and the common favorite of St. Petersburg, the clown Jacomino. Among the young people I remember two conservatory students, Seryozha Prokofiev and Yura Shaporin.”

S. Sudeikin said that Diaghilev himself, one of the most prominent cultural figures of the beginning of the century, came to the cabaret. This event happened exactly at the “Puppet Nativity Scene” on January 6, 1913: “The magnificent Diaghilev came to us for the first time this evening. He was led through the main door and seated at a table. After the mystery, he said: “This is not Amergau, this is real, authentic!”

We have already mentioned that V. Mayakovsky repeatedly appeared in “Stray Dog,” although his performances were rarely without scandals. Yes, and he shocked the audience with all his might: “In the pose of a wounded gladiator, Mayakovsky reclined on a Turkish drum, hitting it every time the figure of a fellow citizen who had wandered into the light appeared at the door.” And we have already talked about the performance on February 11, 1915, when the evening ended in a scandal after the poem “To You.” Let us only add that this was precisely what many considered to be the “beginning of the end” of “Dog”, the main reason for its closure.

The list of guests of only famous families can be continued for a very long time: this is the future “Red Commissar” Larisa Reisner and V. Piast - a friend of A. Blok; Socialist Revolutionary Kannegiesser - the future killer of Uritsky; and ballet dancer B. Romanov, composers I. Sats and N. Tsybulsky and others.

The topic related to the guests and friends of the “Stray Dog” deserves a separate study and, naturally, is beyond the scope of this work. Although one cannot ignore the visits to Russia of such great figures of European art as Marinetti, the king of the Italian Futurists; Paul Faure - the king of French poets, and Emile Verhaerne, who visited the "Stray Dog" during their stay in Russia.

In February 1914, F.T. arrived in St. Petersburg. Marinetti is the head of the Italian Futurists. It is known that “in the “Dog” he was received with great solemnity: he was brought to the basement after the lectures that he gave in the hall of the Kalashnikov Exchange, and he spent not one, but five whole nights there, reading excerpts from his poem in French “ Tsang tumb tuum" and read a report on the foundations of futurism."

Emil Verhaeren came to St. Petersburg following Marinetti, and the poet was also honored in the “basement.”

In March 1914, Paul Faure, who was elected “King of French Poets,” spent 4 evenings at the “Dog.” Vl. Piast described this event as follows: “The Parisian poet liked “Dog” even more (perhaps not vice versa),<…>crowned "king of poets", publisher of a modernist magazine with an extremely limited circle of subscribers<…>"Vers et Prose" - I'm talking about Paul Faure. Still would! He was the last representative of the tradition of Parisian bohemia that goes back centuries.<…>He read an endless number of apparently watery, and in any case completely incomprehensible - not like Marinetti's - "poemes".83

Summarizing all of the above, we can agree with N. Petrov, who, in the legendary report on the activities of “Stray Dog” for its first season, outlined the circle of people who visited and did not attend the cabaret: “In addition to representatives of the arts, among whom it is necessary to mention architects, of whom one Fomin, built a fireplace, and the other Bernardazzi, broke through this wall, I will say (in rhyme?) and the author of today’s scenery, people of science, political life, industry and trade find shelter here, and there are not only representatives of the clergy and the police and the excise department.”

However, it is also quite interesting that a number of the brightest representatives of the Silver Age did not visit the “Dog”. So, for example, a comrade-in-arms of many of Pronin’s ideas, his “patron” Vs. Meyerhold did not go to the basement, and according to the recollections of one of his contemporaries, “he was puffed up because he was very jealous of what he did not invent.”

Unlike his wife, Lyubov Dmitrievna, A. Blok did not visit the “Dog”, and whom “no way, never, and for no reason could the hound director get into the “Dog”! And this despite the fact that Blok personally treated him very friendly,<…>and resolutely declared about the hound director that he was “not an indecent person.” But the “Stray Dog” itself was for him a symbol of the “literary majority”, those who “get excited about art”, those who “praise and scold” artists and thus “drink”<…>artistic blood." But, of course, the majority of prominent artists still disagreed with Blok in this regard and regularly visited the “Stray Dog”.

However, it should be noted once again that all these people who were related to the “basement” are only a small part of the people active in the “Dog”, they are not even the “cream” of that society, but only selective fragments from a huge mosaic “ friends" "Dogs". But even from such a small list, one can conclude what a huge role “Stray Dog” played in the cultural life of not only St. Petersburg, but throughout Russia, and even Europe, and what importance it had for each of the guests and managing members of the Society’s club The intimate theater had a cabaret.

"MORAL" CABARET

We have already mentioned that during the relatively short period of its existence, a large number of traditions arose in the Stray Dog cabaret, relating to everything from the entrance to the basement to the honoring of individual representatives of art. There was also a special “ideology”, “theoretical attitude” of the basement. “The main premise of “dog” existence was the division of humanity into two unequal categories: into representatives of art and into “pharmacists,” which meant all other people, no matter what they did or what profession they belonged to.” It was then that the term “pharmacists” was born, which over time became almost an accusation of opposition to art. However, B. Pronin, many years later, recalled “Sapunov’s historical phrase at the first meeting, with which such an unequal division of all people is connected - “Tightly keep out pharmacists and drug specialists!” (In essence, this is the same thing, but Sapunov used this word to designate dentists and sworn attorneys - they were Sapunov’s personal enemies). And it was personally decided not to let Breshko-Breshkovsky, Mitka Censor and someone else in (I forget now). Dmitry Censor then published the Blue Journal - the quintessence of vulgarity.” The “theoretical setting” of the basement found expression in the society’s motto: “First, keep out pharmacists, druggists, Censor, Reginin and Breshko-Breshkovsky, as well as the second class of poets and artists. Secondly, “The Dog” has its own point of view on life, on the world, on art.” Unfortunately, B. Pronin did not comply with the motto of the Society, as evidenced by many participants in the life of the basement. Passage of “pharmacists”, according to N.V. Petrova, the director of “Dog” initiated the resignation of the entire nine board members a year and a half after the opening. It was this event that mainly caused the “change of dynasties.” “Then the street burst into the basement of Soba,” recalled N. Mogilyansky. “There was no longer any question of ‘intimacy’, and many of the first visitors to the basement began to look into its walls less often.”

Those who did not belong to the category of “pharmacists” were welcomed by the “Dogs”, each of whom certainly had to make an entry in the “Pig Book” - probably the most famous cabaret tradition, about which almost all visitors wrote in their memoirs . In memory of Vl. Piast also preserved this detail of the life of the “basement”: “In the “Pig Dog Book,” so strangely called<…>because this thick book of unlined paper was bound in pigskin, many excellent impromptu statements were written in the “Pig” book, not only by sworn poets of the light genre,<…>but also more serious ones, including the most interesting poems by Mandelstam, Mayakovsky and how many others!”

A. Tolstoy brought this book and began it with his quatrain. In total, over the years of the existence of “Dogs” there were two such books. They were located, of course, sequentially, at the entrance to the hall (the main room with the stage) on a desk or lectern. Pronin himself “rushed” to the most eminent guests and certainly insisted that an entry be made in the book. The significance of the "Pig Book" is difficult to exaggerate. “I’m not going to write the history of the “Stray Dog,” wrote B. Livshits in “The One and a Half-Eyed Archer,” especially since it has its own chronicle in the form of a huge tome bound in pigskin, which lay at the entrance, and into which visitors were are required to at least enter their names. This book, kept by one of Pronin’s friends, not only represents a collection of the most valuable autographs, but could at any moment resolve many controversial issues of the literary life of that time.” But the author of these lines was optimistic about the existence of “Pig Books” after the closure of “Dog”. We still don’t know where they are, or if they even exist. Stray Dog researcher S.S. Schultz Jr. believes that they died during the revolution and cites the story of N.V. Petrov that a friend of his had a herring wrapped in two sheets with E.B.’s autograph. Vakhtangov, clearly similar in origin to the pages from The Pig Book. However, the same author quotes O. Vysotskaya that Pronin “got on the trail” in the late 30s. According to other sources, the search was carried out by V. Shklovsky, who also achieved certain results. But be that as it may, for almost 90 years the fate of the priceless “archive” of the cabaret remains unknown. But Petrograd-Leningrad has experienced more than one fuel crisis during this time! But there is still hope. If it were found today, “much of what seems inexplicable today in Russian artistic life at the beginning of our century would receive clarity and correct interpretation.”

If on the one hand there were people of art who left notes in the “Dog Book”, then on the other there were simple-minded “pharmacists” who, according to G. Ivanov, “paid three rubles for admission and look at the “bohemia” with all their eyes.” According to many eyewitnesses of life in the “Dog”, the “pharmacists” were not in the cabaret from the very beginning (we already talked about this above), but appeared only a year and a half after the opening, apparently as a forced measure, the purpose of which was to preserve the cabaret . However, L. Tikhvinskaya sees in this the natural development of such an institution as an art cabaret, since most previous experiences of this kind not only in Russia, but also in Europe in their development went through stages similar to “Dog”: discovery and existence in the first time only for “insiders”, then the admission of outside visitors, no matter what they are called, an increase in the number of outsiders and the departure of the organizers and former regular visitors from the “bohemian” environment and, finally, closure. Although, in our opinion, even if such a theory of cabaret evolution is correct, each specific case has its own special circumstances, including closures.

But the presence of “pharmacists” in “Stray Dog” not only did not bother some cabaret regulars, but also pushed them to a new invention - “bullying” strangers. Such was the poet Tinyakov, distinguished by his constant state of inebriation and violent disposition. “Past them (Mr. and Lady - “pharmacists” - V.R.) Tinyakov walked with an unsteady gait.

Stops. Stares at him with a dull gaze. Sits at their table without asking. He takes the lady's glass, pours wine, and drinks.

The “pharmacists” are surprised, but do not protest. “Bohemian morals... It’s even interesting...”

Tinyakov pours more wine. “I’ll read some poetry, would you like?”

“...Bohemian morals... Poet... How interesting... Yes, please read it, we are so glad...”

Hiccupping, Tinyakov reads: “I love it, spit and spit<…>».

Well... Do you like it? - Yes, very much! - Did you understand? What did you understand? Well, tell me in your own words...

The gentleman hesitates. - Well... These poems... You say... That you spit and... A terrible blow with your fist on the table. The bottle flies to the floor. The lady jumps up, scared to death. Tinyakov shouts in a wild voice:

Ah!.. I’m a spit!.. I’m a spit!... And you...”

It should, however, be noted that this is the only case of this kind preserved in the memory of visitors to the “Dog”. But outsiders were “bullied” in other ways: these were Mayakovsky’s speeches, which, as a rule, ended in a scandal; and dressing guests in caps, and even, according to some sources, including bohemian expenses in their buffet bill. We must not forget that for many, “Stray Dog” could not be imagined without “pharmacists” at all, since outsiders acted as a kind of counterbalance to the artistic environment, stimulating it to even greater creative activity in the basement.

The period of existence of the “Dog” occurred at a turning point in Russian history. A new revolutionary upsurge at this time was replaced by chauvinistic sentiments at the beginning of the First World War and a depressed mood and hopelessness in 1915. And politics, too, despite the closeness of the “basement” from outside life, sometimes penetrated into the cabaret, although it did not become an everyday occurrence: “ Having learned from a deputy who had arrived directly from the State Duma about the change of ministry, the young dancers of the imperial ballet, Fedya Sherer and Bobish Romanov, dragged a log onto the stage, carried it away, pretending to resign Kokovtsev, and again erected the same block, staging, at the request of those present, the appointment of Goremykin as Prime Minister : politics burst into the drunken fog of the basement in clouds of frosty air.”

With the last phrase of B. Livshits, another topic bursts in, probably the most controversial in the history of “Dogs”. “Drunken basement fog”... did it even exist? Or maybe there was only him, and there was no creativity, no play of living imagination? Disputes on this issue began from the time of the existence of the “Dog”.

It is known that the newspapers did not skimp on accusations of the “depraved atmosphere” of the cabaret, especially after Mayakovsky’s scandals. But the journalists did not know much, while the visitors to the “Dog” saw the whole background of bohemian life, and described it in their memoirs, albeit with distortions, and sometimes serious ones. Many years after the “basement” was closed, a dispute broke out between visitors to the cabaret in absentia. One of the first to speak out in defense of “Stray Dog” was V. Mayakovsky, who sought to restore the good name of the “basement”: “Bohemia was a society of exquisitely witty people, and they did not go there to get drunk.”

Perhaps the most negative memories regarding the “mores” of the cabaret were left by G. Ivanov. In them, “The Stray Dog” cannot be called anything other than a gathering of drunken poets, and the pictures of late night, or rather early morning, in “Dog” the author paints the corresponding: “Four to five o’clock in the morning. Tobacco smoke, empty bottles.<…>Few people sit at the tables in the middle of the hall. More in the corners...” We have already given A. Akhmatova’s review of these memories. For her, “Stray Dog” was remembered for something else - that atmosphere of a “literary joke” and at the same time the feeling of one’s “binge drinking”, but not in the sense of drunkenness and revelry; for Akhmatova it is an image of people of art who do not obey “generally accepted” norms, but live their lives in your world.

B. Pronin also defended the honor of his brainchild, years after the closure of the cabaret: “In “The Dog” morals were shy, there were no orgies and the nasty things associated with them.<…>Conversations and disputes were attracted here...”

Now it is difficult to judge which of them was right. Perhaps there were conversations, arguments, and drunkenness, but only at different times and among different people. And, if nothing like this could have happened among the Acmeists before the war, then with the beginning of the war, due to the reasons described in Chapter 1, both drunkenness and revelry appeared by themselves, and, probably, not only in the cabaret, but also in throughout the country among people who were not able to calmly perceive the tragedy that was taking place.

We looked at the most important and most significant detail of the “Stray Dog” cabaret - its functioning, including programs, rules of behavior and friends of the “basement”. Of course, this is not all that could be said, and, of course, this is only a small part of the description of what actually happened, but has not yet been studied. Researching the life of “The Dog” is not the most difficult task, because in the numerous memoirs of her contemporaries, published and unpublished, they most often talk about programs, guests, and events. And although today there are still many questions on this topic, everything is becoming clearer, emerging from the depths of time, demonstrating life, the real life of that circle of people who are called bohemia.

CLOSING CABARET. REASONS FOR CLOSURE

“The Basement of the Intimate Theater Society” was closed on March 3, 1915. S. Sudeikin recalled this episode with bitterness: “...Only we were not slaughtered in the fall, but in the early cold spring. In the morning, wandering around the city, we came to the “Stray Dog” - Mayakovsky, Radakov, Gumilyov, Tolstoy and me. There was a war... My pockets were full of stolen silver. We sat down in hats and coats at a round table to play cards. Four bear-like, felt-wearing, robed policemen with herrings under their left hands, accompanied by a sheepskin janitor with a badge, entered the unlocked doors and announced that the Intimate Theater Society was being closed for illegal card playing. And so the “Stray Dog” died.”

The same event is discussed in detail in the article “The Stray Dog Program”: “The closure of the “Stray Dog” by order of the mayor was motivated by the discovery of the illegal sale of wine.<…>The press linked the closure to incidents during futuristic evenings. Pronin recalled what followed the mayor’s order: “Then we were overcome by debts and we were shamefully described; we had to pay some microscopic amount, but we were so confused that we were sold under the hammer, just like in an operetta. The table was taken out, they banged with a hammer, and what is now called “junk” was sold for 37 thousand rubles.<…>My friend Viktor Krushinsky (he was the director of a large plant) paid 37,000 and saved the good name of “Dogs” and mine.”

This is the official reason for the closure: violation of Prohibition during hostilities. This is an external reason. But analyzing the numerous memories of visitors and leaders of the cabaret, it is easy to understand that there were also internal reasons that prompted B. Pronin to leave the basement on the corner of Italianskaya and Mikhailovskaya and move to the Field of Mars, where the “Comedians’ Halt” was located in the Adamini house - a kind of continuation of “ Stray Dog”, although not put on a par with it by both contemporaries and researchers.

Internal causes also have various aspects. On the one hand, “thanks to the influx of “pharmacists,” the revenue was quite significant, and Pronin began to think about expanding the area.<…>Pronin dreamed of preserving the Stray Dog for meetings of the narrowest circle of friends and like-minded people, and opening a second, larger basement, which would no longer be a tavern, but rather an underground theater with a varied and unconventional repertoire.”

Thus, the need for financial development already forced us to leave the basement on Mikhailovskaya Square, if not completely, then to remove the outside public from there (this is already a moral need in front of like-minded people). But G. Ivanov believes that there is also a subjective, “non-business” reason for the cabaret’s move. “No,” he declares, “Pronin himself would hardly have parted with Mikhailovskaya Square on his own initiative. Vera Alexandrovna inspired him with the idea of ​​​​changing the modest rooms of the “Dog”, with straw stools and a hoop chandelier, to the Venetian halls and medieval chapels of the “Halt”.

Vera Alexandrovna, the wife of B. Pronin, is presented in G. Ivanov’s memoirs in a very unsympathetic light. Obviously, in her he saw the culprit in the closure of Stray Dog, which he writes further: “Vera Alexandrovna immediately began to redo, change and expand everything in Stray Dog.” And, of course, on the third day I got bored.<…>“Dog” was a small basement built with copper pennies - twenty-five rubles collected from friends.<…>There was no program - Pronin arranged everything at random.<…>Visitors<…>there were, for the most part, “our own people” ... who liked this routine and did not want to change it. In a word, Vera Alexandrovna had nothing to do in “The Dog”.<…>She, as Pronin put it, decided to “twist the dog’s neck.”<…>A huge basement was filmed on the Champ de Mars - not in order to revive “The Dog”, but in order to create something grandiose, unprecedented, amazing.” G. Ivanov’s opinion about the results of the move was also unequivocal: “...The result was some kind of aesthetic, very aesthetic, but still a restaurant.” As a result, if we began to look for the culprit in closing the “basement,” then G. Ivanov would help in solving this problem: for him, only one person is to blame - Vera Alexandrovna, and not the Petrograd mayor. But it is clear that this question is much more complex. The “stray dog” was a unique phenomenon in the social life of that period, and therefore the cessation of its existence was not a momentary and volitional decision, but the result of evolution, and a twofold one: the cabaret itself and the entire life of society. The first component will be discussed in the following chapters. As for the second side of this process, we can say with confidence that Russian society has already rushed into the abyss. The feeling of such inevitability, as well as the atmosphere of war and general tension, forced people to hide from reality. Moreover, if the atmosphere of “suicidal melancholy” in 1912 was acutely felt only by people associated with art, now many people needed “shelter”. And many representatives of bohemia probably tried to spend the last moments before the disaster as best as possible.

It cannot be excluded that the cabaret did not have a certain “ideology” in its artistic life, that is, it included representatives of many creative directions, and only protected its world from false art. It is possible that it was precisely this combination of often incompatible phenomena that played a significant role in the gradual evolution of the “basement” until its closure.

CONTRIBUTION TO POETRY, PAINTING, THEATER

The literary and artistic cabaret “Stray Dog” was one of the centers of artistic life in St. Petersburg-Petrograd, therefore, its significance in the context of the entire Silver Age, and especially in the last pre-revolutionary years, is very great. True, B. Livshits in this regard would not agree with such a hypothesis: “To assert that “Stray Dog” was the background against which the literary and artistic life of the last three years before the war took place would undoubtedly mean falling into exaggeration.” But we have one advantage over him - we look at the events that took place not only through the prism of time, but also of science, which allows us to see in more detail the picture of literary, artistic, and artistic life of that period. Based on all this, we see that almost all the major events of 1912-1915. in one way or another are related to the “Stray Dog Basement”.

The associations and figures who settled in the “Stray Dog” were of great importance for the literature of the Silver Age. And the first in this row are the Acmeists and their “Workshop of Poets”. The Acmeism program itself was proclaimed here on December 19, 1912. “Theses” of the report of S.N. Gorodetsky “Symbolism and Acmeism” were published in the invitational program of the evening and looked like this: “1. The last stage of symbolism in Russia: apotheosis or catastrophe? Experiments of “great art” based on symbolism and their failure. The causes of the catastrophe of symbolism: its vices. What is a symbol, and what does consistent service to it lead to? Corruption of words and word compounds. Hunters of "matches". World on the web. Cross draft in the world. 2. New century and new man. The work of the Workshop of Poets. Birth of Adam. Acmeism and Adamism. The attitude of Acmeists to the world. Freeing the world from the web of “correspondences.” The intrinsic value of the world and creativity in it. The Word is like a diamond of chastity, like a precious stronghold. Defenders of this stronghold. Paradise created by the poetry of N. Gumilev, Vladimir Narbut, M. Zenkevich, A. Akhmatova and O. Mandelstam. The relationship of Acmeism to Parnassus, impressionism and symbolism. An open path to great art."

The “guild of poets” generally preferred to gather exclusively in the “basement”, feeling a favorable environment for themselves, which caused discontent among representatives of other, “disadvantaged” movements: “... The atmosphere of the most favored nation that defined it (Acmeism - V.R.) in the basement on St. Michael's Square, was created by none other than<…>whipped youth."

This was the opinion of the Cubo-Futurist, or Budteller, B. Livshits, who generally believed that “the Futurists were fallen from birth,” and their works “did not knock a single drunken tear out of the eyes, did not tickle the loosened intelligentsia’s sensitivity with any “Dostoevshchina.” But his subjective assessment does not contain what Vl. noticed in the literary life of “The Dog.” Piast: “The greatest historical merits of her (“Stray Dog” - V.R.) before futurism". And in this he is certainly right, one has only to remember the report of V. Shklovsky (in fact, one of the first theoretical justifications of futurism, no less important for the literary movement than the report of S. Gorodetsky a year earlier), “Evening of Five”, “Evening of Mayakovsky” and an evening dedicated to the literary and artistic collection “Sagittarius”, which were completely futuristic. V. Khlebnikov, A. Kruchenykh, N. and D. Burliuk, V. Kamensky, V. Mayakovsky and many others read their works here. The famous “Evening of Five” was mainly remembered for the scandal after the poem “To You” by Mayakovsky, but even at the beginning of the evening the author of this poem caused a slight commotion: “When the audience gathered, D. Burliuk appeared on the stage with a lorgnette in his hand and announced to the audience that At the evening the lions of the various deserts will perform, each boasting its own roar. He quickly appeared in public<…>poet Mayakovsky. “They don’t eat carrion here,” he said.” But despite such internal disagreements, the futurists as a whole were formed within the walls of the “Dog”.

As for symbolism, the role of cabaret in its development was minimal. This is explained both by the fact that the most prominent representatives of this movement did not attend cabarets (for example, A. Blok), and by the fact that by 1912 a serious crisis had emerged in this movement.

But the presence of three main literary movements was not perceived either then or later as the main idea of ​​​​the existence of cabaret. “It would be a mistake, however, to imagine the Symbolists, Acmeists and Budutans as three warring camps, entrenched from each other in impassable ditches and once and for all excluding for themselves the possibility of mutual communication,” believes B. Livshits, further describing in detail the “inter-directional” literary contacts. In view of this, we can make the assumption that it was precisely this diversity of movements, mainly two - Acmeists and Futurists - that “balanced” each other, which allowed each of them not to “rot”, not to stop at the achieved level of each poet, but to go further to the heights of your creativity.

We must not forget that the image of the cabaret “Stray Dog” itself entered the literary works of cabaret visitors.

The “Dog” made a significant contribution to the fine arts of that era. Cabaret was a kind of club for “leftist” art, the Russian avant-garde. The artists S. Sudeikin and N. Sapunov, who took part in the creation of the fantastic painting of the basement walls, were already famous by 1912. They were members of the Blue Rose society, their works were exhibited at the famous Salon exhibition, organized in 1909 in Moscow by S. Makovsky. Finally, their undoubted achievement was painting the walls of the cabaret. Alas, this work turned out to be short-lived: dampness reigned again in the abandoned basement, and the plaster completely crumbled within a few years. Unfortunately, even in the photographs of “Stray Dog,” even if some areas of the painting are visible, they do not create a holistic impression. And then, during the existence of the cabaret, no one even thought of capturing this masterpiece of “fresco” painting, as, in fact, most of the works of art created in “Stray Dog”.

This work also ended the creative path of N. Sapunov, who died tragically in the summer of 1912. He drowned in the Gulf of Finland.

The third participant in the painting, N. Kulbin, in addition to his talent as an artist, also had excellent organizational skills. Pronin later recalled that “Kulbin himself made the productions, spending a lot of effort on it. At the exhibition he was with the extreme left and even exhibited his things with them.” It was he who brought the futurists to the “Dog” and, one might say, organized the very movement of the Budelians in the cabaret. In a word, his contribution to fine art, and art in general, as an artist and organizer is invaluable. Unfortunately, “he died in early March 1917, falling victim to his “dynamism” and the thirst for activity that overwhelmed him.”

Another representative of the “caste” of artists is Ilya Zdanevich (Ilyazd), a “passionate” propagandist of poets and avant-garde artists, in two reports: “Face Painting” and “Worship of the Shoe”<…>April 9 and 17, 1914, popularized the work of radiant artists.<…>At the same time, Zdanevich spoke about the avant-garde art exhibitions “Donkey’s Tail” and “Target” that took place in Moscow.

Thus, in the fine arts, “Stray Dog” became a stronghold in the “swamp” of St. Petersburg-Petrograd, where representatives of “leftist” art could feel comfortable.

The cabaret also brought certain innovations to the musical sphere of life. M. Kuzmin, whom we have mentioned more than once, was the author of numerous songs that were quite popular among the capital's bohemia.

Another representative of music was N.K. Tsybulsky is an extremely controversial figure. Vl. Piast recalled him this way: “... An excellent orator, a remarkable chess player, but he drowned all his talents (very significant in musical composition) in continuous drunkenness.” Tsybulsky played, almost always improvising, and never wrote down what he composed, so he left nothing to his descendants except his listeners. “And suddenly - deafening, crazy music. Those who dozed startle. Glasses bounce on the tables. The drunken musician hit the keys with all his might. Hit, cut off, something else plays, quiet and sad. The player's face is red and sweaty. Tears fall from his blissfully senseless eyes onto the keys, drenched in liquor.”124

I. Sats, another organizer of the cabaret, was a musician of “Dogs” who performed his works. S.S. called I. Satsa “a wonderful composer and pianist.” Schultz. But due to a tragic mistake by doctors, another talent died in September 1912. It is worth adding that over time, the two tragic deaths of Sapunov and Sats moved in S. Sudeikin’s memory somewhat earlier than the opening of the “Stray Dog” cabaret: in his memoirs he cites B. Pronin, clearly referring to the time after the opening of the cabaret: “Here you will write a wreath to Sapunov, here he would sit, and here - Satsu.”

We have already addressed the art of dancing in the “basement”. T. Karsavina, an outstanding ballerina of the Imperial Theater, danced here; O. Glebova-Sudeikina, who never learned to dance professionally; E.V. Lopukhov and A.A. Orlov are also brilliant performers of professional ballet and B. Romanov is a dancer at the Mariinsky Theater and dance director in Stray Dog.

And finally, one of the main achievements of “The Dog” - the theater, was a whole era in the life of cabaret directors N.N. Evreinova and N.V. Petrova. The first by this time had already organized a theater studio, and the second was still only an assistant director of the Alexandrinsky Theater. But, in many ways, it was their creativity in “Stray Dog” that allowed them to become brilliant directors in the future.

The list of artistic people who began their creative journey in “The Dog” or shortly before it can be continued endlessly. We can also talk for a long time about their achievements. But having named only the main names, we already have the right to declare the important role that cabaret played in the culture of the Silver Age.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CABARET IN THE LATER LIFE OF ITS VISITORS

On March 3, 1915, the Stray Dog cabaret was closed, as it turned out, forever. But the memory of him lived for many years in the minds and hearts of the founders and visitors of the basement. Many of the guests of the “Dog” left invaluable memories for the modern researcher. Some participants in the cabaret life made “Dog” one of the images in their works. But “Stray Dog” left neither the first nor the second indifferent and forced them to return to the theme of the “basement” again and again.

Already in 1925 in Paris, according to N. Mogilyansky, “P.P. Potemkin had the happy idea to gather members and visitors of the Stray Dog for a friendly dinner. Without further ado, it becomes clear what role cabaret played in the life of bohemia in 1912-1925, if, in isolation from Russia, there was still a craving for the nightlife of the “basement”, for the meetings and debates that took place there. It is precisely this craving, the desire to return to the “Dog,” that permeates most memories of the cabaret, which testifies to its significance.

The memoirs of B. Pronin, the main witness of the life of the “Dog,” remain completely unpublished. It was this “basement” that the Hund director considered the main achievement of his life. Having lived for more than 30 years after the closure of the Dog, he did not regret at all that he had created the cabaret, but he regretted that it was irretrievably lost. As far as one can understand, his memories are imbued with kindness and tenderness for everything that happened in the cabaret and for the “basement” itself.

One of the main organizers of the “basement,” A. Tolstoy, made “Stray Dog” almost the heroine of his unfinished novel “Egor Abozov,” where the cabaret is hidden under the name of “Underground Cranberry.” “It was a strange institution, where those who were no longer overcome by the usual dope, who were afraid at the end of the day to be left alone and bored to death, sat underground at night until the morning.” And although “Underground Cranberry” and its director are presented in a somewhat ironic manner, the author nevertheless conveys that mood, that atmosphere of life that forced them to flee from them to the “basement”, where, under the guise of fun, the guests tried to hide their inner anxiety - a feeling that like no other, was characteristic of that time.

“Stray Dog” also appeared on the pages of M. Kuzmin’s novel “Floating and Traveling.”

All my life I remembered with extraordinary touching “The Cellar of the Stray Dog” by A. Akhmatov. It so happened that she did not have time to write the book “My Half a Century,” where one of the chapters was supposed to be called: “Stray Dog” (1912-1914). (Two winters)." Of course, this book would become a kind of encyclopedia of the creative and social life of the country from 1910 to 1960.

But Akhmatova expressed her attitude towards cabaret in already written works. Suffice it to recall such poems as “We are all hawk moths here, harlots...”, actually written under the impression of New Year’s Eve 1913, or “Yes, I loved them, those nocturnal gatherings...”, created much later.

However, the touching and tenderness of Akhmatova’s memories of the cabaret was not perceived, or even ridiculed by G. Ivanov. At the end of the 20s, he wrote his “Petersburg Winters” and “Memoirs”, which, among other things, deals with “Stray Dog”. We have already spoken more than once about the great subjectivity of the perception of what was happening in the cabaret and the incorrect, in the opinion of many other participants, reproduction of the situation. For him, everything that happened in the cabaret was a kind of farce with a tragic end (meaning the revolution). Perhaps there is some kind of resentment towards Russia, for the fact that it has become different, a resentment towards Akhmatova, for the fact that, having Christianly shared the fate of her people, she remained; for his memory of old times and for much more, this resentment resulted in his memories and touching irony over Akhmatova, who recalled “The Dog” with tenderness.

We have already said that many years after writing those memoirs, and several years after the death of G. Ivanov himself, Akhmatova condemned him, condemned him for not understanding and accepting, and therefore not remembering everything of what actually took place in the cabaret.

A. Akhmatova herself was destined for two more meetings with the “Dog” - real and creative.

On New Year's Eve 1941, almost 30 years after the night of 1913, the shadows of her near and distant contemporaries appeared to her on the eve of the coming of another world war to Russia and remained forever in the “Poem without a Hero”: “Midnight Hoffmanniana” flashed before her the entire Silver Age: Meyerhold, Gumilyov, Blok, Glebova-Sudeikina and Vs. Knyazev,” everything flashed by, including “Stray Dog,” which was included in the poem with the following lines: “On Isakyevskaya exactly at six ... / Somehow we’ll wander through the darkness / We’ll go from here to “The Dog” ... / “Where are you from here? » - / “God knows!”.130

The real meeting with the “Dog” took place in August 1941, when the war was already underway. Akhmatova together with B.V. Tomashevsky were driving through Mikhailovskaya Square, where “they were caught by an air raid alarm, and everyone from the tram rushed into the gateway, deeper, to the left, into the basement.” This basement turned out to be the premises of the “Stray Dog”.

The meeting with the shadow of the past made a strong impression on Akhmatova. We can say that she was lucky: the memory came to her in a real, tangible form, unlike other visitors to the cabaret. But still, they all remembered, one way or another, about the “Dog” shelter in the second courtyard on Mikhailovskaya Square, where serious passions played out, works of art were born and died and people died, precisely when:

NOTES

1. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Stray dog: The present century is the past century. St. Petersburg, 2002. P. 44.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid. P. 46

4. Makovsky S. Portraits of contemporaries: Portraits of contemporaries. On Parnassus of the “Silver Age”. Art criticism. Poetry. M., 2000. P.260-261.

5. Makovsky S. Portraits of contemporaries: Portraits of contemporaries. On Parnassus of the “Silver Age”. Art criticism. Poetry. M., 2000. P.273

6. Bunatyan G.G., Charnaya M.G. Petersburg of the Silver Age. Houses, events, people. St. Petersburg, 2002. P. 66.

7. Meyerhold V.E. Correspondence. 1896-1939. M., 1976. P. 76

8. Tikhvinskaya L.I. Cabarets and miniature theaters in Russia 1908-1917. M., 1995. S. 19-20.

9. Tikhvinskaya L.I. Decree. op. P. 36.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid. P.70-71.

12. Arthur Schnitzler (1862-1931) - Austrian playwright and prose writer, began his writing career with works of critical realism: “The Slap”, “Lieutenant Gustl”, but over time he moved to the art of decadence, reflected in the plays “The Green Cockatoo”, “ Paracelsus”, “Columbine’s Scarf”, etc. In Schnitzler’s work, many researchers note the influence of S. Freud, which intensified in his later works.

13. Mgebrov A. Life in the theater.. M.;L., 1929-1932. T.2, p. 160.

14. Bunatyan G.G., Charnaya M.G. Decree. op. p.132.

15. Petrov N. 50 and 500. M., 1960. P.142

16. For more information about the history of this house, see Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op.

17. Here S. Sudeikin clearly made a chronological error. For more details, see Chapter 3 of this work.

18. Sudeikin S.Yu. Homeless dog. Memories. // Meetings with the past. M., 1984. P.189-190.

19. Petrov N. Decree. op. P.142-143.

20. Mgebrov A. Decree. op. T.2 P.164.

21. Tikhvinskaya L.I. Decree. op. P. 87.

22. Mgebrov A. Decree. op. T.2. P.158.

23. Quote. by: Parnis A.E., Timenchik R.D. “Stray Dog” Programs // Cultural Monuments. New discoveries. Yearbook 1983. M., 1985. P. 172-173.

24. Tikhvinskaya L.I. Decree. op. P.96

25. Sudeikin S.Yu. Decree. op. P.191.

26. Parnis A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree op. P.179.

27. Ivanov G. Collection. Works: In 3 volumes. Volume 3: Memoirs. Literary criticism. M., 1993. P.339.

28. Petrov N. Decree. op. P.144-145.

29. Parnis A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree op. P.180.

30. Presence of K.D. Balmont at the opening of the cabaret is rather doubtful: at that time he was hiding from the Russian authorities in Paris.

31. Auslander S. A. (1886 – 1943) - a well-known writer at the beginning of the century, an employee of the magazines “Libra” and “Apollo” by S. Makovsky.

32. Petrov N. 50 and 500. M., 1960. P.145.

33. Petrov N. Decree. op. P.145-146.

34. Verblovskaya I.S. Beloved with bitter love: Anna Akhmatova’s Petersburg. St. Petersburg, 2003. P.48.

35. Ivanov G. Collection. cit.: In 3 volumes. T.3: Memoirs. Literary criticism. M., 1993. P. 339.

36. Sudeikin S. Yu. Stray dog. Memories. // Meetings with the past. M., 1984. P. 191.

37. Tikhvinskaya L.I. Cabarets and miniature theaters in Russia 1908-1917. M., 1995. P. 109.

38. Sudeikin S.Yu. Decree. op. P.191.

39. Livshits B. One and a half-eyed Sagittarius: Memoirs. M., 2002., p. 186.

40. Parnis A.E., Timenchik R.D. “Stray Dog” Programs // Cultural Monuments. New discoveries. Yearbook 1983. M., 1985. P. 180.

41. Verblovskaya I.S. Decree. op. P.49.

43. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Stray dog: The present century is the past century. St. Petersburg, 2002. P.66.

44. Parnis, A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree. op. P.187

45. Ibid. P.201.

46. ​​For more details, see: Livshits B. Decree. op. P.187.

47. Parnis A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree. op. P.201

48. “Artists at home” - fr.

49. Parnis A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree. op. P.201-202.

50. Ibid. P.202.

51. Akhmatova A. Collection. Op.: In 6 vols. T.4. Books of poetry. M., 2000. P.44

52. Sudeikin S.Yu. Decree. op. P.192.

53. Sudeikin S.Yu. Decree. op. S.192

54. In the spring of 1913, because of unrequited love for her, the young poet Vs. shot himself in Riga. Knyazev.

55. Tikhvinskaya L.I. Decree. op. P.104.

56. Parnis A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree. op. P.205.

57. Sudeikin S.Yu. Op. op. P.193.

58. Karsavina T.P. Theater street. L., 1971. P.221 Tikhvinskaya L.I. Decree. op. P.99.

59. Tikhvinskaya L.I. Decree. op. P.99.

60. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.125.

61. Ibid. P.125.

62. Petrov N. Decree. op. P.145

63. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P. 48

64. Memories of the Silver Age. M., 1993. P.445

65. Ibid. P.445

66. Meyerhold V.E. Correspondence. 1896 - 1939. M., 1976. P.126

67. Tolstoy A. Collection. op. T.2. M., 1958. P.690-691.

68. Ivanov G. Decree. op. P.40-42.

69. Ivanov G. Decree. op. P.41.

70. Tikhvinskaya L.I. Decree. op. P.112.

71. Tolstoy A. Decree. op. P.704.

72. Petrov N. Decree. op. P. 143.

73. Memories of the Silver Age. M., 1993. P.236-237.

74. Livshits B. Decree. op. P.189.

75. Ivanov G. Decree. op. pp. 58-59.

76. Memories of the Silver Age. M., 1993. P.257.

77. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.98.

78. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.88.

79. Petrov N. Decree. op. P.145.

80. Sudeikin S.Yu. Decree. op. pp. 192-193.

81. Livshits B. Decree. op. P. 189.

82. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.116.

83. Piast Vl. Meetings. M., 1997. pp. 178-179.

84. Parnis A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree. op. P.187.

85. Ibid. P.169.

86. Piast Vl. Decree. op. P.182.

87. Parnis A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree. op. P.169.

88. Livshits B. Decree. op. P.186.

89. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.58.

90. Ibid.

91. Petrov N. Decree. op. P.147.

92. Memories of the Silver Age. M., 1993. P.447.

93. Piast Vl. Decree. cit., p.170.

94. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.61.

95. Livshits. B. Decree. op. P.185.

96. For more details, see: Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.63.

97. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.63.

98. Ivanov. G. Decree. op. P.82.

99. Ivanov G. Decree. op. P.82-83.

100. For more information about this fact, see: Tikhvinskaya L.I. Decree. op.

101. Livshits B. Decree. op. P.190.

102. Quote. by: Parnis, A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree. op. P.165.

103. Ivanov G. Decree. op. P.58.

104. Quote. by: Tikhvinskaya L.I. Decree. op. P.115.

105. Such a composition of cabaret visitors walking together around the city seems implausible to us, since it is known that, apart from N. Burliuk, Gumilyov did not communicate with any other futurist, of whom Radakov and Mayakovsky were. In addition, there was a war going on, and it is unlikely that he was in the city at that time.

106. Sudeikin S.Yu. Decree. op. P.194.

107. Parnis A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree op. P.242.

108. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.123.

109. Ivanov G. Decree. op. P.45.

110. Ivanov G. Decree. op. P.48-49.

111. Ivanov G. Decree. op. P.51.

112. Livshits B. One and a half-eyed Sagittarius. M., 2002. P.185.

113. Russian poets of the “Silver Age”: Sat. verse in 2 volumes. T.2. L., 1991. P.16-17.

114. Livshits B. Decree. op. P.193.

115. Ibid P.190-191.

116. Piast Vl. Meetings. M., 1997. P.166.

117. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Stray dog: The present century - the past century. St. Petersburg, 2002. P. 123.

118. Livshits B. Decree. op. P.191.

119. For more details, see: Sternin G.Yu. Artistic life of Russia in the 1900-1910s. M., 1988. P.160.

120. Quote. by: Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.107.

121. Piast Vl. Decree. op. P.188.

122. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Decree. op. P.107-108.

When the great Italian Tommaso Marinetti came to Russia in 1914, he was taken to the basement cafe “Stray Dog”. He sat at the table, draining glass after glass, did not pay attention to what was happening on the stage and, periodically shaking off his drowsiness, burst into a thunderous tirade: “Possessing a woman does not mean rubbing against her, but penetrating body into body! Putting one knee between your thighs? What naivety! What will the second one do? Russian visitors to the cafe trembled with exclamations - and the conversation was about how to dance tango correctly: the furious futurist Marinetti had just published a manifesto “Down with tango and Parsifal!” and scalded pieces from it. The topic was relevant - in “Stray Dog” this particular dance was considered the most fashionable, in defiance of the “outdated” antics of the barefoot poser Isadora Duncan.

St. Petersburg "Stray Dog" is a famous art cabaret of the Silver Age. But not the only one - in that era there were many of them throughout Russia. Another famous St. Petersburg institution is the Comedians' Halt; Even in the capital there were theaters “Lukomorye” and “Curved Mirror” (where the parody opera “Vampuka” was invented). In Moscow there were “The Bat” (the Moscow Art Theater students vacationed there) and “Alatr”, in which Vertinsky began to sing, and Vera Kholodnaya met Khanzhonkov. “H.L.A.M.” worked in Kyiv, and was a shelter for the Nichevoks, the great Russian absurdists. These cafes, where bohemians felt at home, appeared both in the 1900s and after the revolution, and some lasted until the 20s.

Well, what does “like home” mean? Better than at home!

In “Die Fledermaus,” after a hard day at work, Stanislavsky danced the cancan, and the majestic Knipper-Chekhova sang frivolous songs. The future choreographer of the Metropolitan Opera, Boris Romanov, rode astride chairs.

While still a very decent director in the civil service, Meyerhold experimented on the small stage of Stray Dog with all the techniques that came to his mind - we know what will come of it.

The director of the imperial theaters, Prince Sergei Volkonsky, organized a demonstration of fashionable rhythmic gymnastics techniques there - not himself, but with the help of his friend, the almost naked Frenchman Paul Tevne, a dancer and artist, in the future a close friend of Cocteau and Stravinsky.

The actors came immediately after evening performances - sometimes without even removing their makeup. Of course, there was a lot of flirting, alcohol and other substances. The list of people and entertainment is endless and varied, you can’t list everything - in any artistic memoirs of that era you can find references to these unique “cultural centers.”

Why did theatrical and literary cabarets begin to appear in such numbers during this era?

The fact is that at the beginning of the twentieth century, a critically large mass of “professional slackers” had already formed - excuse me, intellectual workers (artists, painters, poets, journalists). That is why there was such a surge in culture in the Silver Age.

But here the everyday factor also played a role: this audience no longer fit into their own living rooms for intimate evenings. And they didn’t have their own living rooms and “salons” - they were working people. A request arose to create your own nightlife establishments, where you can have fun without regard for civilized people, be yourself, be bohemian. In Europe, such cabarets have long been invented - and the matter has come to Russia.

The first such establishments were completely closed; only “our own” people were allowed in. But this format, of course, was not economically viable - after a while the doors had to be opened to everyone. However, the early, “closed” stage had an excellent PR effect: rumors about a cabaret were already actively circulating among the rest of the public, where one could see all the celebrities easily or in the most amazing productions.

Bohemians, especially the practical directors of these cafes, treated the bourgeoisie with contempt, as a source of food: for example, in the Stray Dog, visitors were divided into representatives of the arts and the so-called “pharmacists”.

This word, as Benedikt Livshits recalls, was used to call people of any other profession, as long as they had money. Outsiders were charged huge sums simply for entering the cabaret, and the bills for service were probably higher than for insiders. Obviously, it was these idle spectators who mainly made money for the establishments - after all, altruism at catering outlets quickly leads to collapse. And the stars staged their appearance in a truly theatrical manner.

“Dressed in black silk, with a large oval cameo at her belt, Akhmatova floated in, pausing at the entrance so that, at the insistence of Pronin, who rushed towards her, she could write her last poems into the “pork” book, from which the simple-minded “pharmacists” made guesses that tickled only their curiosity » (B. Livshits).

The actors participating in the play could sit in the hall at the next table and give lines - so that you would not immediately realize that this was also a character in the production, and not a drunken regular. Actresses climbed onto tables to dance between the plates.

Decent ladies and gentlemen, in addition to the swagger of the elite, were, of course, awed by the very ambiance of the art cafe, which was very different from the atmosphere of decent restaurants with mirrors and well-trained waiters. Cabarets were usually located in basements with low vaulted ceilings. You had to get there through the gateways, left, right, down the steps, keep your head down, it takes a long time to knock. Guests were forced to undergo rites of passage, such as putting paper caps on them.

“The faces that we are used to seeing as important and businesslike were groaning with spasms of uncontrollable laughter. Everyone was seized by a kind of carefree madness of laughter: the art professor was crowing like a rooster, the art critic was grunting like a pig.” (N. Efros).

The atmosphere, of course, was influenced by the design: out of friendship, it was done by the friends of the owners of these basements - the same painters who are now among the top 100 most expensive Russian artists based on auction results. For example, the pantry and another room in the St. Petersburg “Comedians’ Rest” were painted by processions of Italian actors by Boris Grigoriev (today the auction record for his painting is $3.7 million) and Alexander Yakovlev ($4.6 million). Shutters, painted by Sudeikin, covered the windows - they depicted the Venetian carnival. He also decorated the walls of one of the halls of “Stray Dog” with figures of bent women and little blacks, unprecedented birds and flowers of poisonous green and feverish red, and Nikolai Kulbin decorated the second room with eye-catching cubist painting.

Instead of tablecloths, bright scarves were sometimes laid. Some design trends of such basement cafes are self-reproducing in the 21st century: tables made of unpainted wood, brick walls without plaster...

Resigned to the presence of strangers, the cabarets did not pay attention to them. Although anyone coming from the street could sit down at the tables in front of the stage and order a drink, in fact all the numerous events were organized for people of the same circle, albeit not necessarily friends. For them, actors staged theatrical miniatures, danced (often comic ballet), writers read poetry (often this was the first performance), reports and lectures. Mikhail Kuzmin described the production of what happened in “Stray Dog”. The sequence was usually like this: gathering of guests, whispering, first glasses. Then the official part, with one or two prepared numbers, without any improvisations. (The Stray Dog, for example, hosted themed “musical Mondays,” “evenings of high spirits,” and “goat-legged dances.”)

And finally, when the evening was already turning into night and the atmosphere became full of alcohol, the most interesting part of the “program” began - half-drunk “common lyrics, sometimes sad, sometimes joyful, sometimes angry.”

It became a way of life - a way for the people of the Silver Age, who were bursting with talent, to show their fresh works to an understanding audience and friends. The habit turned out to be so strong that even the Civil War and Revolution did not affect it. For example, Kyiv "H.L.A.M." (an abbreviation for “Artists, Writers, Performers, Musicians”), the one where Osip Mandelstam met his Nadezhda, was apparently founded in 1918. They served there, as Leonid Utesov recalled, only carrot tea. And visitors brought such a delicacy as black bread with them. But the hall was always crowded, because the main thing is not food or alcohol, but meetings. Well, then the Soviet government put an end to these uncontrolled parties...

It is interesting to compare the history of art cabaret with the processes that are taking place in the field of catering and entertainment now. Indeed, at the beginning of the 21st century, just like a hundred years ago, the stratum of people in creative professions has again grown enormously, is ideologically not particularly controlled by anyone - and has acquired sufficient economic independence. It is logical that in large cities, “their” places have also begun to appear for certain types of public, where an outsider will feel uncomfortable and where much (if not everything) will be incomprehensible to him. But alas, we don’t have the same number of geniuses, and the endless fireworks of talented creativity that rumbled on the small stages of art cabarets of that time cannot be repeated. And the tradition of “showing yourself” has almost completely moved to the Internet: there is now much, much more creativity there - God willing, someday quantity will develop into quality.

The Cabaret club (St. Petersburg) is primarily intended for adherents of same-sex love (and there are about half a million such people in the city). The design of the halls of the establishment is made in a glamorous style, the menu is quite exquisite, and the shows are very specific. Magnificent musicals, interesting programs, costumed performances, prizes, competitions - all this and much more awaits the guests of the club.

Club "Cabaret" (St. Petersburg)

The club began its existence twenty years ago and is perhaps considered the oldest, most visited and largest (about 1.5 thousand square meters) gay club in the northern capital of Russia. The establishment is part of the “Cabaret Art Center”, located in a two-story building (Ligovsky Prospekt).

On the ground floor there is a large wardrobe (for 500 people), a cafe, restrooms, a theater area (for 130 seats) with a transforming stage and an isolated dance floor. On the second floor there is a bar, karaoke and relaxation area.

The musical format of the establishment consists of various styles of popular music.

Description of the establishment

The club has five halls.

First floor:

• Theater Hall.
• Restaurant.
• Dance hall.

Second floor:

• Relax room.
• Karaoke zone.

The club's specialty can be called the "Cabaret" show, which is based on parody numbers. Usually it involves ten professional artists performing work in the synchro-buff style. In addition, staged musicals are shown on the club stage several times a month.

Show program

The program starts at 2:30 am. It was by this time that audiences from many nightclubs and not strictly non-traditional ones began to come to the “Cabaret” club (St. Petersburg). Famous artists and popular personalities often come to see the performances. On a beautifully decorated stage, performers in bright costumes perform parodies. The shows look very exciting and spectacular.

Every month the club presents real musicals that have no analogues on the gay stage.

All information about the programs can be found on the “Club Poster” presented on the official website of the establishment.

Kitchen

The Cabaret menu offers a wide selection of European and signature dishes. The bar serves whiskey, rum, wine, a variety of cocktails and other quality drinks.

Location

"Cabaret" is located in the center of St. Petersburg, five minutes from the "Ligovsky Prospekt" station. The entrance to the establishment can be found by the sign “Art Center Cabaret”.

The exact address: St. Petersburg, Razyezzhaya street, building 43.

Operating mode: s Avedenie welcomes guests on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 pm to 6 am. From 9 pm until the club opens, you can reserve a table by contacting the administrator at the phone number, which can be found on the “Cabaret” page.

Entrance fee: in There is a fee to enter the Cabaret. For girls, a ticket costs 500 rubles, for guys - 300 rubles. During parties, the administration of the establishment retains the right of entrance tickets.

To ensure a relaxed and safe holiday for club visitors, there is a control service at the entrance.

Impressions of visitors from visiting the club

The club is the most famous place in the city of a similar format. Many regular guests of the club have repeatedly left their positive reviews about its work. According to Cabaret clients, this is a super place for people with a non-standard orientation, everyone is here, everyone is friends, you can behave freely, and not be embarrassed by anyone.

Club "Cabaret" (St. Petersburg) helps its guests make new acquaintances, and maybe even find a soul mate. Once inside the establishment, you feel a pleasant atmosphere, it’s homely and calm. The place is not pretentious, all the staff are welcoming and friendly. Guests note the large space, spacious halls, and interesting show programs. Many in their reviews express special gratitude to the artists for their work. You can often see famous people among the spectators.

People come to Cabaret to chat with friends in a relaxed atmosphere, see spectacular shows, and celebrate holidays.

Guests consider the club's only disadvantage to be prices, which are an order of magnitude higher than in other similar establishments in St. Petersburg.

The Cabaret nightclub will appeal to people who appreciate spectacular show programs, as well as those who crave communication and new acquaintances. Come to "Cabaret", you will have fun here!

Literary and artistic cabaret opened in St. Petersburg Boris Konstantinovich Pronin(he was also the entertainer of all evenings) and two companions in the basement of a house on the corner of Italianskaya Street and Mikhailovskaya Square in front of the Russian Museum.

Probably, the Parisian art cafes, in particular the famous cabaret, served as an analogue of cabaret "Black cat".

The art cabaret “Stray Dog” did not pursue commercial goals, but was a kind of nightclub for the artistic bohemia of the “Silver Age”... Theatrical performances were held here; meetings with famous artists (for example, Filippo Marinetti); lectures; poetry and musical evenings. Evenings at the Stray Dog opened at midnight, when the performances of St. Petersburg theaters ended...

The club’s visitors were divided into two categories: bohemians (or “friends of the Stray Dog”), and “bourgeois” (or “pharmacists”), which included everyone else... Since the club was fashionable, it existed precisely on the money of the “pharmacists”, who had to buy expensive entrance tickets for the right to join celebrities, sit next to them, listen and watch their performances...

“On the business cards it was: Boris Konstantinovich Pronin- Doctor of Aesthetics, Honoris Causa. However, if the servant handed you the card, you did not have time to read this loud title. The “Doctor of Aesthetics,” cheerful and radiant, was already embracing you. A hug and a few juicy kisses anywhere were a natural form of greeting for Pronin, the same as a handshake for a less enthusiastic person. Having kissed the owner, throwing his hat on the table, gloves in the corner, muffler on the bookshelf, he began to set out some next plan, for the execution of which either money, or trouble, or participation was required from you. Pronin did not appear without plans, and not because he did not want to visit a friend - he was an extremely sociable person - but simply did not have enough time. He always had something to do and, of course, something urgent to do. The case occupied all his time and thoughts. When it ceased to occupy Pronin, a new one mechanically appeared. Where are the friendly visits? Pronin said “you” to everyone.
“Hello,” he hugged someone he came across at the entrance to the “Stray Dog.” - Why can’t you see? How are you? Go quickly our(broad gesture into space) everything is there... A stunned or flattered visitor - a lawyer or an engineer who first came to the "Petersburg Art Society", as the "Stray Dog" was officially called, looks around restlessly - he is unfamiliar, he must have been mistaken for someone else's? But Pronin is already far away.
Ask him:
- Who were you greeting just now?
- With whom? - Broad smile. - The devil knows. Some kind of boor!
This was the most likely answer. “Boor,” however, did not mean anything offensive in the mouth of the “doctor of aesthetics.” And he hugged the first one he came across, not out of any calculations, but out of an excess of feelings.”

Ivanov G.V., Petersburg winters. Memoir prose, M., “Zakharov”, 2001, p. 41-42.

“The number of rooms in the Stray Dog is three. A pantry and two “halls” - one larger, the other very tiny. This is an ordinary cellar, it seems to have been a Rensk cellar in the past. Now the walls are colorfully painted by Sudeikin, Belkin, Kulbin. In the main hall, instead of a chandelier, there is a hoop painted with gold leaf. A huge brick fireplace burns brightly. On one of the walls there is a large oval mirror. Underneath there is a long sofa - a particularly honorable place. Low tables, straw stools. All this later, when the “Dog” ceased to exist, she recalled with mocking tenderness Anna Akhmatova:

Yes, I loved them - those night gatherings,
There are ice glasses on the low table,
There is bluish steam above the black coffee,
Fireplace red heavy winter heat,
The gaiety of a caustic literary joke...

There is also a quatrain from Kuzmin, which seems not to have been published anywhere:

Here many chains are untied,
Everything will be preserved in the underground hall,
And those words that were spoken at night,
Anyone else wouldn't have said this in the morning.

Indeed, the vaulted rooms of the “Dog,” clouded with tobacco smoke, became a little magical by morning, a little “out of Hoffmann.” Someone is reading poetry on the stage; he is interrupted by music or a piano. Someone quarrels, someone declares their love. Pronin in a vest (he regularly took off his jacket around four in the morning) sadly strokes his favorite Mushka, a shaggy evil dog: “Oh, Mushka, Mushka, why did you eat your children?” Rajiy Mayakovsky beats someone at toss. O.A. Sudeikina, looking like a doll, with a charming, kind of puppet-like mechanical grace, dances “lechka” - her signature number. “Master Sudeikin” himself, with his arms crossed in Napoleonic style, with a pipe in his teeth, stands gloomily in the corner. His owl-like face is motionless and inscrutable. Maybe he's completely sober, maybe he's drunk - it's hard to decide. Prince S.M. Volkonsky, not embarrassed by time and place, passionately sets out the principles Jacques Dalcroze. Baron N.N. Wrangel, now flicking into his eye, now dropping (with amazing dexterity) his monocle, clearly does not listen to the bird chatter of his companion, the famous Pallada Bogdanova-Belskaya, wrapped in some fantastic silks and feathers. At the “poetry” table there is an exercise in writing comic poems. Everyone is racking their brains to figure out how to invent something like this. Finally, something completely new is proposed: everyone must compose a poem, each line of which must contain a combination of the syllables “zho-ra”. Pencils creak, foreheads frown. Finally, time has run out, everyone takes turns reading their masterpieces...

To the accompaniment of applause, the author, whose “zhora” is recognized as the best, is led to write it down in the “Dog Book” - a tome the size of a square arshin, bound in motley leather. Everything is here: poems, drawings, complaints, declarations of love, even recipes for binge drinking - especially for "Count O" Contrère. Pyotr Potemkin, Khovanskaya, Boris Romanov, someone else - having driven the poet off the stage Mandelstam, trying to sing (God, what a voice!) “Chrysanthemums,” the cinematography begins to depict. Tsybulski provides heartbreaking accompaniment. Replacing the inscriptions on the screen, Tairov announces: “Part one. Meeting of lovers in the garden near the statue of Cupid. (Cupid is portrayed by Potemkin, long and thin as a pole.) Part two. The Viscount suspects... Part three...” Little by little the “Dog” becomes empty. Poets, of course, stay the longest. Gumilyov And Akhmatova- Tsarskoye Selo residents are waiting for the morning train, others are sitting in company. For company, they go to the station “on the road” to Ostrov or the Petersburg side. There they drink black coffee while waiting for the train. The conversation is no longer flowing well, they yawn more. Once we missed the train while having coffee. Gumilyov, very angry, calls the gendarme: “Listen, has the train left?” - "Yes sir". - “It’s a disgrace to submit a complaint book here!” The book was handed over, and Gumilyov wrote half a page in it. Then everyone signed their names solemnly. Who knows, maybe this funny autograph will be found someday...

Clashes with the authorities generally occurred more than once upon returning from the “Dog”. One day, someone, it seems, Sergei Klychkov, boasted that he could climb onto a cast-iron horse on the Anichkov Bridge. And he got in. Of course, a policeman appeared. Tsybulsky helped everyone out. Taking on a menacing appearance, he suddenly began to advance on the policeman. “Yes, you know who you are dealing with, do you understand... How dare you be insolent to the chief officers’ children!” - he suddenly yelled at the whole Nevsky. The guardian of the law chickened out and retreated from the “chief officer’s children.”

The streets are empty and dark. They call for matins. Janitors shovel away the snow that has fallen overnight. The first trams are passing. Having turned from Mikhailovskaya to Nevsky, one of the “idle revelers”, sticking his nose out of the raised collar of his fur coat, looks at the dial of the Duma tower. A quarter to seven. Oh! And you have to be at the university at eleven.”

Ivanov G.V., From memories / St. Petersburg winters. Memoir prose, M., “Zakharov”, 2001, p. 335-337.

The cabaret was closed in 1915, but was restored in 2000...

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