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 served as an analogue of the cabaret, in particular - the famous cabaret "Black cat".

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, with Filippo Marinetti); lectures; poetry and musical evenings. Evenings at Stray Dog opened at midnight, when the performances of St. Petersburg theaters ended ...

Visitors to the club were divided into two categories: bohemians (or "friend of the Stray Dog"), and on "bourgeois" (or "pharmacists"), to whom everyone else belonged ... Since the club was fashionable, it existed precisely on the money of "pharmacists" who had to buy expensive entrance tickets for the right to join celebrities, sit next to them, listen and watch their performances ...

“The business cards read: Boris Konstantinovich Pronin- Doctor of Aesthetics, Honoris Causa. However, if the servant gave you a card, you did not have time to read this loud title. The "Doctor of Aesthetics", cheerful and radiant, has already embraced you. A hug and a few juicy kisses, wherever it was, were a natural form of greeting for Pronin, the same as a handshake for a less enthusiastic person. After kissing the owner, throwing his hat on the table, gloves in the corner, mufflers on the bookshelf, he began to outline some next plan, for the execution of which you needed either money, or trouble, or participation. 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 some business and, of course, urgent. The matter occupied all his time and thoughts. When it ceased to occupy Pronin, a new one appeared mechanically. Where is it before friendly visits? Pronin said "you" to everyone.
- Hello, - he hugged someone he came across at the entrance to the "Stray Dog". - Why can't I see you? How are you? Come quickly our(a wide gesture into space) everything is there ... A stunned or flattered visitor - a lawyer or an engineer who first got into the Petersburg Art Society, as "Stray Dog" was officially called, looks around restlessly - he is unfamiliar, he must have been mistaken for someone else? But Pronin is already far away.
Ask him:
- Who did you say hello to?
- With whom? - Broad smile. - The devil only knows. Some kind of boor!
This was the most likely answer. "Ham", however, did not mean anything offensive in the mouth of the "doctor of aesthetics." And he hugged the first person 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.

"Stray Dog's rooms" total three... A pantry and two "rooms" - one larger, the other very tiny. This is an ordinary basement, it seems, in the past, a Renskoy cellar. Now the walls are motley 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. There is a large oval mirror on one of the walls. A long sofa underneath is a special place of honor. Low tables, straw stools. All this later, when the "Dog" ceased to exist, recalled with mocking tenderness Anna Akhmatova:

Yes, I loved them - those night gatherings
On a low table - ice glasses,
Bluish steam over black coffee
Fireplace red heavy winter heat,
The gaiety of a caustic literary joke ...

There is also Kuzmin's quatrain, which seems to be not printed anywhere:

Here many chains are untied
The underground hall will keep everything
And the words that were spoken at night
Anyone else would not have said this in the morning.

Indeed - the vaulted rooms of the "Dog", covered with tobacco smoke, became a little magical by morning, a little "from Hoffmann." On the stage, someone reads poetry, he is interrupted by music or a piano. Someone quarrels, someone declares their love. Pronin in a vest (he regularly took off his jacket by four in the morning) sadly strokes his pet Mushka, a shaggy angry dog: "Ah, Mushka, Mushka, why did you eat your children?" Razhy Mayakovsky beats someone into a coin. O.A. Sudeikina, like a doll, with a charming, some kind of doll-like mechanical grace, dances "like a leech" - her signature number. The "Master Sudeikin" himself, with his arms folded in Napoleonic style, with a pipe in his mouth, stands gloomily in the corner. His owl face is motionless and impenetrable. Maybe he is completely sober, maybe drunk - it's hard to decide. Prince S.M. Volkonsky, not embarrassed by the time and place, ardently expounds the principles Jacques Dalcroze... Baron N.N. Wrangel, now throwing it into the eye, then 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 "poetic" table there is an exercise in writing comic poetry. Everyone is puzzled over what to invent. Finally, something completely new is proposed: everyone should compose a poem, in each line of which there should be a combination of the syllables "zho-ra". Pencils creak, foreheads frown. Finally, time ran out, everyone in turn reads their masterpieces ...

To applause, the author, whose "zhora" is recognized as the best, is being led to write it down in the "Dog Book" - a folio in a square yard in size, intertwined in variegated leather. Everything is here: poems, drawings, complaints, declarations of love, even recipes for hard drinking - especially for "Count O" Counterair. ”Pyotr Potemkin, Khovanskaya, Boris Romanov, someone else - banishing the poet from the stage Mandelstam, who tried to sing (God, with what voice!) "Chrysanthemums" - they begin to portray the cinema. Tsybulsky is a heartbreaking accompaniment. Replacing the inscriptions on the screen, Tairov announces: “Part one. Meeting of lovers in the garden at the statue of Cupid. (Potemkin portrays Cupid, long and thin as a pole.) Part two. The Viscount suspects ... Part Three ... "Little by little" Dog "is empty. Poets, of course, stay the longest. Gumilyov and Akhmatova- Tsarskoelya, waiting for the morning train, others sit for the company. For the company, they go to the station "on the way" to the Ostrov or the Petersburg side. There, waiting for the train, they drink black coffee. The conversation is already badly glued, they yawn more. If so, they missed the train for coffee. Gumilyov, very angry, calls the gendarme: "Listen, has the train left?" - "Yes sir". - "It is disgraceful to submit a complaint book here!" The book was filed, and Gumilev covered half a page in it. Then they all solemnly signed. Who knows, maybe this funny autograph will be found someday ...

Clashes with the authorities in general occurred more than once when returning from "Dog". Once someone, it seems, Sergei Klychkov, boasted that he would climb a cast-iron horse on the Anichkov bridge. And climbed in. Of course, a policeman appeared. Tsybulsky helped everyone out. Assuming a formidable air, he suddenly began to attack the policeman. "Yes, you know who you are dealing with, but do you understand ... How dare you be insolent to the officers' children!" - he suddenly yelled at the whole Nevsky. The guardian of the law got cold feet and stepped back from the "chief officer's children."

The streets are empty and dark. They call for matins. The wipers are shoveling away the snow that has fallen during the night. The first trams are going by. Turning 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 watchtower. A quarter to seven. Oh! And at eleven you have to be at the university. "

Ivanov G.V., From memoirs / Petersburg winters. Memoir prose, M., "Zakharov", 2001, p. 335-337.

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

When the great Italian Tommaso Marinetti arrived in 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 sleepiness, burst into a thunderous tirade: “Possessing a woman does not mean rubbing against her, but penetrating the body into the body! Insert one knee between your thighs? What naivety! And what will the second do? " Russian visitors to the café trembled with exclamations - and the talk was about how to dance tango correctly: the furious futurist Marinetti had just published the manifesto "Down with tango and Parsifal!" and scalded with pieces of it. The topic was relevant - in "Stray Dog" this dance was considered the most fashionable, in spite of the "outdated" antics of the barefoot poser Isadora Duncan.

Petersburg "Stray Dog" - the famous art cabaret of the Silver Age. But not the only thing - at that time there were many of them all over Russia. Another famous St. Petersburg institution is "Halt of Comedians"; even in the capital there were theatrical "Lukomorye", "Crooked Mirror" (where they invented the parody opera "Vampuka"). In Moscow, there were "The Bat" (the Moscow Art Theater members rested there) and "Alatr", in which Vertinsky began to sing, and Vera Kholodnaya met Khanzhonkov. In Kiev, "Kh.L.AM" worked, but it was a shelter of Nicholas, the great Russian absurdists. These cafes, where the bohemians felt at home, appeared in the 1900s and after the revolution, with some surviving until the 1920s.

What do you mean, "at home"? Better than home!

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

Still a very decent director in the civil service, Meyerhold, on the small stage of Stray Dog, experimented with all the tricks that came into his head - we know what will grow out of this.

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

The actors came right after the evening performances - sometimes without even taking off their makeup. Of course, there was a lot of flirting, alcohol and other substances. The list of faces and entertainments is endless and varied, you cannot list everything - in any artistic memoirs of that era, you can find references to these peculiar "cultural centers".

Why did theater and literary cabarets begin to appear in such numbers in this particular era?

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

But here the everyday factor also played a role: this audience did not fit into their own living rooms for intimate evenings. And they did not have their own living rooms and "salons" - they were working people. There was a request to create your own nightlife, where you can have fun without looking back at civilized people, be yourself, be bohemian. In Europe, such cabarets have long been invented - it came to Russia as well.

The first such establishments were completely closed, only “insiders” were allowed there. But this format, of course, was not economically viable - after a while the doors had to be opened for everyone. However, the early, "closed" stage had an excellent PR effect: rumors of a cabaret were already circulating among the rest of the public, where all the celebrities could be seen easily or in the most amazing performances.

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

By this word, as Benedikt Livshits recalls, they called people of any other profession, if only they had money. From outsiders, simply for entering the cabaret, they fought huge sums, and bills for service probably came out more than for their own. Obviously, it was these idle spectators who basically made the cash register for establishments - after all, altruism in catering points quickly leads to collapse. And the stars arranged their appearance in a truly theatrical way.

“Tied in black silk, with a large oval cameo at her waist, Akhmatova floated in, pausing at the entrance to, at the insistence of Pronin, who was rushing towards her, to write her last poems into the“ pig's ”book, according to which simple-minded“ pharmacists ”conjectured, tickling only their curiosity " (B. Livshits).

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

Decent ladies and gentlemen, in addition to the swagger of the beau monde, were, of course, thrilled by the very surroundings of the art cafe, which was very different from the atmosphere of decent restaurants with mirrors and well-trained waiters. Cabarets were usually housed in basements with low vaulted ceilings. It was necessary to get there through the gateways, to the left, to the right, down the steps, bend your head, then knock for a long time. Guests were forced to undergo a rite of passage, for example, they put paper caps on them.

“The faces we used to see important and businesslike moaned with a spasm of uncontrollable laughter. Everyone was seized by some kind of carefree madness of laughter: the professor of painting crowed like a rooster, an art critic grunting like a pig. " (N. Efros).

The atmosphere, of course, was influenced by the design: friends of the owners of these cellars were doing it out of friendship - the same painters who are now in the top 100 most expensive Russian artists according to the results of auctions. For example, Boris Grigoriev (today the auction record for his picture is $ 3.7 million) and Alexander Yakovlev ($ 4.6 million) painted the pantry and another room in the St Petersburg Comedians' Halt in processions of Italian actors. The shutters painted by Sudeikin covered the windows - they depicted the Venetian carnival. He also decorated the walls of one of the rooms of the Stray Dog with figures of crooked women and arapchat, unseen birds and flowers of poisonous green and feverish red, and Nikolai Kulbin decorated the second room with twisted-eyed cubist painting.

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

Resigned to the presence of strangers, the cabaret paid no attention to them. Although anyone who came from the street could sit 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, the actors staged theatrical miniatures, danced (often a comic ballet), writers read poetry (this was often the first performance), reports and lectures. Mikhail Kuzmin described the staged cuisine of what was happening in The Stray Dog. The sequence was usually as follows: gathering guests, whispering, the first glasses. Then the official part, with one or two prepared numbers, without any improvisation. (In "Stray Dog", for example, themed "music Mondays", "evenings of high spirits", "dances of the goat legs" were held.)

And finally, when the evening was already flowing into night and the atmosphere became full of alcohol, the most interesting part of the "program" began - half-drunken "general lyrics, now sad, now joyful, now vicious."

It has become a way of life - such a way of the people of the Silver Age, who gushed with talent, to show their fresh works to an understanding audience, to friends. The habit turned out to be so strong that it was not even influenced by the Civil War and the Revolution. For example, the Kiev "H.L.A.M." (an abbreviation for "Artists, Writers, Artists, Musicians"), the one where Osip Mandelstam will meet his Nadezhda, was founded, apparently, in 1918. 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 get-togethers ...

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 XXI century, as well as a hundred years ago, the stratum of people of creative professions has grown enormously again, is not ideologically controlled by anyone, and has acquired sufficient economic independence. It is logical that in large cities "their" places for certain types of public also began to appear, where an outsider would be uncomfortable and where much (if not all) would be incomprehensible to him. But alas, we do not have the same number of geniuses, and the endless fireworks of talented creativity that rumbled on small stages of the then art cabaret cannot be repeated. And the tradition of "showing oneself" has almost completely moved to the Internet: there is now much, much more creativity there - God willing, someday the quantity will grow into quality.

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

Club "Cabaret" (St. Petersburg)

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

On the ground floor there is a large cloakroom (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, a karaoke and relaxation area.

The musical format of the institution consists of various directions of popular music.

Description of the establishment

The club has five rooms.

First floor:

• Theater Hall.
• A restaurant.
• Dance hall.

Second floor:

• Relax room.
• Karaoke zone.

The specialty of the club is the show "Cabaret", which is based on parody numbers. It usually employs ten professional artists working in synchro-buff style. In addition, staged musicals are shown on the club's stage several times a month.

Show program

The program starts at 2:30 am. It was by this time that the audience 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 watch the performances. On a beautifully designed stage, performers in bright costumes perform parody numbers. The shows look very exciting and spectacular.

Every month the club shows real musicals that have no analogues in the gay scene.

All information about the programs can be found on the "Club Playbill" presented on the official website of the institution.

Kitchen

The "Cabaret" menu offers a wide selection of European and original cuisine. 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 station "Ligovsky Prospect". The entrance to the establishment can be found by the sign "Art Center Cabaret".

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

Mode of operation: s The restaurant accepts guests on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 pm to 6 am. From 9 pm until the opening of the club, you can book a table by contacting the administrator by phone number, which can be found on the page "Cabaret".

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

To ensure a relaxed and safe rest of the club's 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 left their positive feedback on its work more than once. According to the clients of "Cabaret", this is a super place for people with a non-standard orientation, here everyone is yours, all friends, you can behave relaxed, not be ashamed of anyone.

Club "Cabaret" (St. Petersburg) helps its guests to make new acquaintances, and maybe find a soul mate for themselves. Once inside the establishment, you feel a pleasant atmosphere, it is home-like, cozy and calm. The place is not pretentious, all the staff are welcoming and friendly. Guests celebrate the large space, roomy halls, interesting show programs. Many in their reviews express special gratitude to the artists for their work. Famous people can often be seen among the spectators.

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

The only disadvantage of the club, guests consider the prices, which are an order of magnitude higher than in other similar establishments in St. Petersburg.

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

Literary and artistic cabaret "Stray Dog"

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE APPEARANCE OF "ART-CABARET"

The history of the literary and artistic cabaret "Stray Dog" is three years old. 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 unrestrained." The Art Nouveau age gave birth to all new trends, new ideas in art, which means that the secular salons of previous eras were already unacceptable. In a series of attempts to create a new type of establishment, the first was the club of Emile Gudot in Paris. “At first he chose for this purpose the pub“ La Rive Gauche ”(“ Left Bank ”)<…>October 11, 1878 and the first meeting of the club of poets, writers and artists took place.<…>The success was evident. " After 3 years, the zucchini was renamed "Les Hirsutes" ("Rags"), and the number of members of the club was already equal to 1500 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. This is where most of the visitors to the "Left Bank" have moved, and the cabaret "has become the most famous nightlife establishment in Paris.<…>Soon, nightly artistic cabarets appeared in other cities of Europe.<…>- in Munich, Berlin ".

At the same time, a “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 refinements and excesses of imagination and thought, captured our cultural wealth, boldness, sophistication.<…>In particular, the French (or rather, Parisian) "end of the century" seduced. Everything about him, the most perfect, the most unusual, the most "for the few", or even painfully decadent, bewitched and infected. " And after the “timelessness” of Alexander III, in the Russian culture of the pre-revolutionary time, and then the inter-revolutionary decade, a special need arose for meetings, in meetings where the most important and exciting topics of thinking people would be discussed. “The time has come when interviews and disputes in a close circle have ceased to satisfy.”

Before the First Russian Revolution, in the foreground were meetings united by narrow interests of one or another aspect of life, such as the "World of Art" or Religious and Philosophical Meetings (in which the religious searches of the Russian intelligentsia poured), held with the permission of Pobedonostsev himself. "From the autumn of 1905, Vyacheslav Ivanovich Ivanov's" milieu "began to play an important role in the life of the Moscow 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 novice artists did not have access there. True, it should be noted that it was on the "Wednesday" of V. Ivanov that such regulars of the future cabaret "Stray Dog" as N. Gumilyov, A. Akhmatova, O. Mandelstam became poets.

Nevertheless, the need for more democratic gatherings was felt quite sharply. In a letter to V.P. Verigina V.E. Meyerhold (still not widely known) writes in 1906: “One of the best dreams is the one that flashed at dawn with Pronin in Kherson (we went there for a ruble).

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

But for Meyerhold, the creation of such a Community lasted 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 the "Stray Dog", also participated in it). "This will<…>a kind of club of the Art Theater, inaccessible to others. It is insanely difficult to become a member of the circle. " The founding members of The Bat are all the main actors of the Moscow 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, people close to the theater.<…>The mystery of what was happening in the closed club of the Art Theater inflamed the curiosity of the near theatrical public.<…>It was said that Stanislavsky himself danced the cancan with Moskvin there; they said that the majestic Knipper was singing a frivolous chansonette there, and Nemirovich-Danchenko, who never held a conductor's baton, directs a small orchestra, to which they dance a polka, or a violently fiery mazurka Alisa Koonen with Katchalov. " Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to dwell on this phenomenon of cultural life in detail, therefore we will consider only the most characteristic features of cabaret, which in 4 years will revive again, but already in "Stray Dog". So, the entrance to the cabaret was from the alley, not from the front door of the house; 10 steps led down. The walls of the basement were painted by artists K. Sapunov (his brother, a famous artist, will be at the origins of the "Stray Dog") and A. Klodt. The buffet was without waiters. And each invitee dressed in a buffoon's hat. The evening program did not exist: the improvisation was the entertainer here. We will see all this in the “Stray Dog” cabaret, but in a somewhat complicated, developed form.

The decline of the Cabaret "The Bat" began already in 1910, when it "began to issue tickets, they were called merchants - they cost from 10 to 25 rubles and so far were bashfully called counter-marks." Soon the cabaret was filled with the Moscow elite, and theatrical figures appeared there less and less often. “In the spring of 1912, newspapers reported for the first time that starting next season, Baliev (the creator and director of The Bat - V.R.) leaves the troupe of the Moscow Art Theater and arranges a large cabaret with public access rights.<…>From a haven for artists, The Bat has evolved into a commercial enterprise.<…>The history of the artistic cabaret of the Art Theater is over ”.

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, while the other develops, the first dies, and the second flourishes. So it is with the cabaret: with the decline of The Bat in 1910, the House of Interludes was born. Meyerhold. But it opened “as a commercial cabaret - with a staff of actors, musicians, props, lighting, stage workers, a restaurant and a coat rack; with a system of sessions (one conducted from nine to half past eleven, the other from midnight to three): something completely different from what Meyerhold had seen at the beginning.<…>The House of Interludes really seemed to him to be an art club, a community of the most diverse people of art. " Thus, it is this unsuccessful idea that will be embodied in The Stray Dog, which is not surprising, since many participants of the House of Interludes will also go there (albeit without Meyerhold): M. Kuzmin, I. Sats, N. Sapunov, S. Sudeikin. The most famous production in this cabaret was A. Schnitzler's Columbine's Scarf - this is how the Italian comedy del arte burst into the culture of the Silver Age.

THE IDEA OF OPENING A CABARET IN PETERSBURG. ITS FOUNDATION

With the closure of the House of Interludes, 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 also stood at the origins of the new cabaret: "Stray Dog" 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 creatively come together."

The first in the process of organizing a new cabaret was a completely logical and, at the same time, a difficult question about the premises for the future club of the Society of Intimate Theater. The decision to arrange a future meeting place for bohemians in the basement is remembered by the participants of those events in different ways. Director N.V. Petrov described this stage of the cabaret creation in the following way: “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 an attic. " S.S. Schultz points out that Pronin had been looking for a room for the conceived club for a long time and, finally, he determined the basement in the Dashkova house (No. 5 on Arts Square), where the wines of the former owner were once kept, and where Pronin himself lived now ...

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, to Mikhailovskaya, No. 5. Wonderful, dry basement real architecture of old cities. The basement was vaulted, divided into four rooms, and was painted white. It was small and could accommodate about two hundred people.

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

It became heavy in my soul, and we silently went out onto Nevsky, heading for Gostiny Dvor. On the way, we came across a tramp selling a shaggy, colorless puppy. “What a delight,” Pronin said. - A stray puppy, no, the future “stray dog”. Buy it, that'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 a 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 for a free basement from one gateway to another, A.N. Tolstoy suddenly said:

Aren't we now reminiscent of stray dogs looking for shelter? ..

You have found the name of our venture, ”N.N. exclaimed. Evreinov. - Let this basement be called "Stray Dog"!

Everyone liked the name very much, and everyone congratulated Tolstoy. "

It is not known which of these two participants in the founding of the cabaret is more right, but they have something in common, something that characterizes the name of the club, and what A. Mgebrov expressed in his own words: “Thus, the most diverse people easily and freely fell into it ( Pronina - V.R.) the attic, from where there was invariably a way down to the basement, which is why it was called "Stray Dog" because it united noble vagrants and homeless people on various paths of creative quests. "

In addition, one cannot fail to notice the fact that the "image of a" stray dog ​​"<…>in those years it was unusually widespread. " Consequently, each of the founders of the cabaret was right in the main thing - in the idea, in the worldview that prevailed at that time.

For the first time, the basement on Mikhailovskaya Square was examined on November 13, 1911, and the choice was approved by all members of the Society of Intimate Theater. Immediately, work began on the repair and improvement of the basement. The architect Fomin, according to S. Sudeikin, built a fireplace, which, according to the same Mgebrov, seemed to have been transferred from the Faustian taverns. But this was not the main feature in the design of the cabaret. The famous "fresco" painting of S. Sudeikin, N. Sapunov, and N. Kulbin covered all the walls of the basement. There are not many descriptions of this work of art, but enough to understand the entire grandeur of the work. So, the already mentioned director N.N. Evreinov recalled this detail of the cabaret this way: “The entire wall painting, perky, mysteriously humorous, so to speak, was, of course, not“ decorations ”in the narrow sense of the word, but, as it were, decorations that carry the visitors of the basement far beyond their borders. authentic place and time. Here the spell of "theatricalization of the given world", which Sudeikin possessed as a real hypnotist, was fully affected. And under the influence of these charms, which confused life with theater, truth with fiction, “prose” with “poetry,” the visitors to “Stray Dog” seemed to be transformed into some other creatures, in some really fantastic and purely free, "Stray", "homeless" dogs from the "kingdom of bohemia".

As far as the wall paintings are concerned, the following reconstruction, carried out on the basis of the surviving evidence, is quite possible to present them: “... Both the walls and the fireplace were painted exactly that“ atrociously ”. The surface of the walls in one of the rooms - and there were two of them - was breaking the cubic painting of N. Kulbin, the multi-colored geometric shapes that split its plane chaotically overlapped each other. Another room, from the floor to the closing vaults, was painted by Sudeikin with figures of women, children, arapchat, bent in a strange bend, unseen birds, whimsically intertwined with fantastic flowers. Their morbidly excessive luxury, clashing feverish red with toxic green, evoked images of Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil".

Since the cabaret was founded as a public institution, and even more so in St. Petersburg, then, of course, it required official registration, which included the names of the administration of the Society of Intimate Theater. This is also evidenced by the memoirs of S. Sudeikin: “Administratively, the" Stray Dog "was arranged according to the following scheme. The chairman of the ball is Prince Eristov. The treasurer is Bernardazzi. Secretary of the Jews. The Auditing Commission is the same. The books were allegedly kept by Lutsevich, a retired soldier. Boris Pronin was a "doggy" 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 for any reason did not give money, Pronin traveled to the rich (he knew everyone, and everyone knew him) and easily got money for the most bizarre performances. "

The opening of the Cellar of the Intimate Theater Society took place on the night of January 1, 1912. All guests were sent special invitations, one of which was kept by Vs. Meyerhold: “Dear Vsevolod Emilievich! On the night of January 1, 1912, the "basement" of the Intimate Theater Society will open. Welcome to our holiday. Arrival at any time from 11 pm. Entrance - 3 rubles. An appointment for receiving money is only on December 28, 29, 30 at the Island's 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 arrangement of the basement. G. Ivanov, a frequent visitor to The Stray Dog, quite colorfully described all the misadventures associated with these original details: ten steps and push open the oilcloth door. Immediately you were overwhelmed by the music, the stuffiness, the variegated walls, the noise of an electric fan humming like an airplane.

The hanger, piled high with fur coats, refuses to take them anymore: "There are no places." Before a small mirror, preening ladies are huddling 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 was a chandelier, which was a wooden rim suspended on four chains and decorated with grapevines, with 13 electric bulbs that looked like candle stubs. “Olga Vysotskaya, actress of the House of Interludes, was one of the first to come, took off her long white glove and threw it on a wooden circle. Evreinov came up and hung a black velvet half-mask on one of the candles. So these relics, with the sanction of Sapunov, and hung on the chandelier all the time the "Dog" existed. There is another rather detailed description of the cabaret in the first weeks of its existence: “… The decor is simpler than simple. Unpainted wooden tables with cheap tablecloths and straw stools. But there is a lot of light, and a simple brick fireplace gives a lot of heat. "

In the life of the cabaret, two more elements of the internal setting played an important role: the "Pork Book" and the coat of arms of the "cellar". The first of them will be discussed below. As for the coat of arms, its author, artist of the world of art M.V. Dobuzhinsky, against the background of a knight's shield, depicted a seated wandering dog, putting his paw on an antique mask. The coat of arms has hung over the entrance to the cabaret all the time.

PROGRAMS, PRESENTATIONS AND IMPROVISATIONS

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

It must be assumed that the general tone for all subsequent evenings, or rather nights, 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, recalls in detail that night (unfortunately, this is still the only known story about the opening of "Dog"): “Dogs” that evening represented the quintessence of artistic 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-Yuzhina represented the opera; V.P. Dalmatov, Yu.M. Yuriev, E.P. Studentsov, E.N. Time, N.G. Kovalevskaya, Nastya Suvorina, V.A. Mironov and V.N. Kurikhin performed from drama theaters; 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 poets' workshop; Ilya Sats, Vyacheslav Karatygin, Alfred Nurok, M.F. Gnesin and Anatoly Drozdov from the composer wing; the editorial staff of the Apollo magazine was represented by Sergei Makovsky and S. Auslander, and theater studies by Prince V.P. Zubov ".

Here is not the entire list of guests that night. As for the program of the first evening itself, N. Petrov expounds its content in the following way: “A program prepared in advance was not obligatory here. Even the one-act play by Alexei Tolstoy, where the abbot was supposed to give birth to a hedgehog on the stage during the action, we failed to play. When more than one toast had already been raised and the temperature in the hall also rose in connection with this, suddenly a figure of Tolstoy appeared near the analogion. In a fur coat wide open, in a top hat, with a pipe in his mouth, he cheerfully looked around at the audience, who cheerfully 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 satisfied Alexei Nikolaevich's request. " This is how the first season of the Stray Dog cabaret was opened. However, in the study of other evenings of the "basement" we will inevitably come across the fact that each of the cabaret visitors writes in his memoirs about all the programs most important for him in the complex, putting in one row evenings of different seasons, of a different nature, with different participants, which makes it difficult a systematic study of evenings. Nevertheless, such an original institution as the Stray Dog cabaret had its own logic.

So, having received an invitation, or learned in a different way about an evening in a cabaret, the guests went to the cabaret. "They usually got together at 11 in the evening and left at 4-6 in the morning." Having overcome all obstacles on the way, the guest got directly into the "basement"; "Duty member of the board of the" Society of Intimate Theater "<…>grabs you by the sleeve: three rubles and two written recommendations, if you are a "pharmacist", fifty dollars - from your own. "

As for the program itself, according to S. Sudeikin, “the evenings were announced and unannounced. On unannounced evenings, the entrance fee was from one ruble to three. These evenings were attended by impromptu performances of poets, musicians and artists. " There are almost no materials from such evenings, and how it was possible to preserve a momentary remark, gesture, joke, in a word, improvisation, which "here essentially became life itself."

Another type of program was "the evening was announced, that is, prepared (and often prepared for a month by one evening), the entrance fee was from five rubles and more."

Many participants in the evenings in "Dog" especially remembered the "Puppet Nativity Scene" by M. Kuzmin (January 6, 1913) and the dance evening 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 to all of Russia, taken by surprise, meekly obeyed this demand.

“… On the stage, one or the other of the artists will sing, dance, recite. The audience does not hesitate to joke out loud at the performers, the latter, interrupting themselves, joke at the audience. "

In addition to the planned programs and improvisations, various literary games were constantly held in the "Stray Dog", which were the best proof of the poet's true talent and demanded, even from the elite, full attention and concentration. Many impromptu acts of Mandelstam, Gumilyov, M. Lozinsky were born in such competitions, and according to some reports, one evening G. Ivanov was not allowed to play, since he could not provide permission from his parents (especially since his father died long ago).

Now let's look at the most important "announced" evenings that took place during the entire period of the cabaret's existence. It has been said more than once that, as a rule, personalized invitations were sent to such evenings; there was also a poster for the Society of Intimate Theater. We have already discussed the first evening, so we will start the review with the evening “Conference on the 25th anniversary of the poetry of K.D. Balmont ”on January 13, 1912. This program laid the tradition of poetry evenings, and although the hero of the evening himself was in exile, only an introductory lecture was devoted to his work.

The evening is also curious “Rejoicing in Yuri Yuriev. "A stray dog ​​barks" January 16, 1913 Yu.M. Yuriev 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 pun-fantastic congratulations." This laid the foundation for the actors' evenings and their creativity. But there were also musical evenings in "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, although regularly, were held only at the beginning of the cabaret's existence.

The first season of "Stray Dog" was completed with a special meeting on April 30, 1912. N. Petrov read a report on the work done by "Dog" for 4 months: "During the existence of" Stray Dog "the society arranged 13 Wednesdays and 13 Saturdays and 13 more 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 in the summer N.N. Sapunov, and I.A. Sats, whose memorial evening was organized on 14 October.

The peculiarity of the "Stray Dog" programs was the abundance of lectures and reports on various topics, from literature to spots in the sun. So on December 19, 1912, S. Gorodetsky's famous lecture "Symbolism and Acmeism" took place, in which for the first time the theoretical foundations of a new literary trend - Acmeism, which replaced Symbolism, were reflected. According to the program, "after the lecture, a debate will take place with the participation of A. Akhmatova, N. Kulbin, N. Gumilyov." This evening can be called epoch-making in the history of Russian literature in general and in the history of the Silver Age culture, in particular.

January 1, 1913 "Stray Dog" was 1 year old. M. Kuzmin wrote a special hymn dedicated to the anniversary of the cabaret, the words of which are quoted in his memoirs by B. Livshits, in order to "save them from oblivion." In addition, other festive events were held. According to the poster, "Stray Dog" will be celebrating its first anniversary and would like to see her closest friends.<…>Holders of the Order of the "Dog" and those who have insignia should be with them. ”47 We also have a fairly complete program of the evening. “At the evening, the program“ Cinematography ”was supposed. Review of artistic performances and active activities of "Dogs": 1) Board members - Podgorny, Pronin, Petrov, Uvarova, Zonov, Bogoslovsky, Krushinsky (waltz).<…>4) Anthem Gorodetsky (Tsybulsky), 5) How does gr. Al. N. Tolstoy (polka), 6) Attempt of the book. Volkonsky to penetrate the "Dog" for the first time (scale)<…>11) An 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 about the rent ("You don’t want me, mother ...")<…>Khovanskaya on stage (Spain)<…>16) Ow. Ryzhkov writes a letter of resignation from the members 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) Exhibition of Kulbin, 25) Deikarkhanova performs an English chansonette<…>27) Mask of Yuri Mikhailovich Yuriev, First Knight of the Order of the Dog (carcasses 3 times), 28) Gibshman in "Chereposlov"<…>29) Dodina and Radina, Desi and John or Potemkin and Romanov<…>32) The cellar at the present moment and "Les artistes chez sois", 33) Anthem. "

The members of the board of the Society of Intimate Theater were also required to have a special “form”: they “had to appear in order ribbons and with the attributes of their professions: Kolya Peter - a mask, a harlequin's rattle; Pronin - a goblet-goblet, a flower wreath on the head; Krushinsky - big wallet, keys; Bogoslovsky - abacus, glasses, inkwell, quill; Zonov - stargazer hat, triangle; Uvarova - a kettle, a fan and a large bottle of champagne; Presnyakov - a piece of blotting paper, a pair of different shoes; Rotgolts - compasses, hammer, fathoms; Miklashevsky - whistle, thick books, hourglass, quill; Sudeikin - palette, brush, beret; Kuzmin - myrtle wreath, lyre; Sazonov - cap, fork, spoon, corkscrew; Spies-Eschenburkh and Tsybulsky - tuning fork, plates, triangle. "

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

Christmas Eve 1913 was no less grandiose event, when the “Puppet Nativity Scene” was presented in The Stray Dog. Christmas Mystery ". Words and music by Kuzmin, staged by Evreinov "(S. Sudeikin's mistake - staged by K. Miklashevsky) Traditional folk fun on Christmas Eve in Stray Dog was reproduced in full accordance with the atmosphere of the" basement ": a battle between angels and black-and-red demons is written against the background of a blue calico. In front of the dominant blue spot was a bed covered with red red cotton. All the scaffolds are tightened with red red cotton. On a red bed, a golden Herod in a black woolen wig with gold. In the corner there is a brown grotto, lit by candles inside and lined with gold leaf. The whole hall has been redesigned, it feels like a "last supper". Long narrow tables, the audience sits behind them, there is light everywhere ...

Twenty children from the orphanage, dressed in white, with gold wigs and silver wings, walked between the table with lighted candles and sang. And on the stage, the devil tempted Herod, Christ was born, babies were beaten, and the soldiers stabbed Herod. " It is also worth noting that the Mother of God was played by O. Glebova-Sudeikina (the heroine of another, already life drama, played out some time after the mystery), and the scenery was created by S.Yu. Sudeikin, a husband and, at the same time, not a husband, the performer of the main role. 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 action, however, looked more like a home performance or, rather, a Christmas holiday for children."

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 Poliksena Sergeevna surprised everyone. She, dressed in "a general's uniform, with a haircut, held in her hand a large horseradish root and, according to Prutkov's behest," Look at the root, "she looked at him attentively all evening, without saying a word."

Autumn 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 cabaret.

This season was marked by another bright evening, which the visitors of the cabaret could not forget. On March 28, 1914, T.P. Karsavin. S. Sudeikin described this event in his memoirs no less colorfully: “And the evening of Karsavina, this goddess of the air. Eighteenth century - Couperin's music. "Elements of Nature" directed by Boris Romanov, our trio on ancient instruments. A stage 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. An unprecedented intimate beauty. 50 balletomanes (50 rubles each) 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 shallow space surrounded by garlands of fresh flowers. "

Let not so elegant and expensive, but no less interesting was the evening, or rather a week, of the Caucasian culture (in April 1914). N. Kulbin opened The Week with a lecture on Caucasian art. After a trip to the south of Russia and the Caucasus “... he returned to St. Petersburg above usual excited, overwhelmed with impressions of oriental exoticism, people and, above all, applied art, many of which he brought with him. A heap of multi-colored fabrics, scarves, a pile of majolica, household utensils, Persian miniatures, he directly takes to the "Dog", where he organizes their exhibition. " April 27, 1914 "Week" ends with a report by the artist V.V. Enne "About three travels in Fergana and Zaravshan 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 increase in the influx of "pharmacists" in the cabaret, the Futurists "seize power". On February 11, 1915, the legendary performance of Mayakovsky took place, which ended in a grandiose scandal. B. Pronin recalled this in detail: “I sat with Vera Alexandrovna, my wife, who recognized Mayakovsky very much.<…>Suddenly Mayakovsky turns to me: "Borichka, let me go!" And he felt that he was not loved, and they were not allowed to go to the stage, that I and Kulbin were the only ones who supported him, and that was his tragedy. "Let me go to the stage, and I will do" epate ", stir up the bourgeoisie a little." Then I, embittered by the fact that the evening turned out to be sour, say to Vera Alexandrovna: "It will be wonderful," and she says: "Spar!" Mayakovsky went out and read "You". Further, we are talking about the effect that the poem produced: "All of our people were furious", and only M.N. Volkonsky, and then K.I. Chukovsky, spoke approvingly about what they had read and were able to calm the situation.

The last prepared program was an evening dedicated to the literary and artistic collection "Archer" 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 in social status. But, according to N. Petrov, "The dog did not work out its platform, uniting a variety of artists, each of which 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 (7.12.1875-29.10.1946) was born in Chernigov in a family of different ranks. Educated in the Kiev collegium of P. Galagan, which he graduated in 1897 ”. Further, wishing to find his own way in life, he entered the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University, moved to the Physics and Mathematics, and then to the Faculty of Law. After dropping out of his studies, Pronin then enters again, but this time at Moscow University, from where he was expelled, apparently for participating in student unrest. Having visited 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 The House of Interludes.

“He was a dissolute man. He began working on the theater in Stanislavsky's studio. At one time it seemed that he was about to become a man - he was accepted as an assistant director at the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. Alas! Directing Boris 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 whole performance. Nevertheless, it was he who became the figure in the historical field who made a qualitatively new breakthrough in creating a “shelter” for bohemians.

“And so our Boris started the“ Stray Dog ”, - N. Mogilyanskiy recalled later. It was with Pronin that the very existence of the "basement" was associated with many participants in those events. However, they evaluated his very nature differently. The idea of ​​Pronin's "dissipation" was first suggested by his closest friend, V.E. Meyerhold, who in one of his letters created an unseemly portrait of the "hund director" of "Dog": "I know him very well and do not recommend him very much." The man is completely unworkable... A typical product of the student-acting bohemia.<…> In business, serious matters, can't stand <…>While he speaks - everything goes like clockwork, as the moment comes implementation words and projects- Pronin is not. 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 the director Evreinov, which Meyerhold strongly disapproved of.

The description of Pronin, presented by A. Tolstoy as Ivanushko in the unfinished autobiographical novel Egor Abozov, is not very positive: “... A shaved, excited, disheveled man, in rumpled tobacco-colored clothes, with a large bow tie under a pointed chin.<…>He was on friendly terms with all women, called them columbines and fantastic creatures, for which he enjoyed great favor on their part. His head was filled with plans for extraordinary evenings, unthinkable performances, crazy cabarets. The ordinary life of friends and acquaintances he considered an oversight, a misunderstanding from a lack of imagination and fervor. If he had enough strength, he would have turned the whole world into wandering theaters, crazy holidays, all women into columbine, and men into characters from the commedia dell'arte. "

The director of “Stray Dog” also did not disregard G. Ivanov, who devoted more than one page to him in his memoirs: “The business cards were: Boris Konstantinovich Pronin - Doctor of Aesthetics, honoris causa.<…>Having appeared with the project, Pronin bombarded the interlocutor with words. An attempt to argue with him, interrupt, ask a question, was hopeless.<…>The machine, however, did not work entirely in vain.<…>"Something" in the end, worked out or "wrapped around", 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 fuse. But just such a person, probably, was necessary for the birth of "Stray Dog" - a bohemian cabaret, which managed to realize the desire of most artists, writers, artists to escape from the terrible reality into their bohemian world of commedia dell'arte.

The insane nature of the cabaret director was manifested 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 I see you? How are you? Come quickly, ours (a wide gesture into space) are all there ...<…>Ask him: - Who did you say hello to? - With whom? - Broad smile. - God knows. Some kind of boor! "

During the evening directly, Pronin also continued to greet, but with his acquaintances: “Oh, and you’re here,” he appeared at someone’s table and, kissing, sat down at the assembled company. They drank champagne at the table, he drank a glass, and suddenly noticing at the table a number of not yet welcomed friends. I rushed to them,<…>then I moved on. "

In general, unimaginable things happened. So, according to the memoirs of G. Ivanov, once, having gone over, Pronin had a row with one lawyer, and the matter almost came to a duel, but the next morning a good brandy was able to try on the offended lawyer and the second Pronin. A. Tolstoy also portrays his direct activities in the cabaret.

Of course, Stray Dog was always full of guests. Some visited the cabaret throughout the entire period of its existence, others left immediately, and still 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 have 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 member-manager of the club "Society of Intimate Theater". It was he who owns 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 good of society. Not a single member of the society has the right to receive a single kopeck for his work from the funds of the society. " Soon after the opening of the "basement", Tolstoy left the society, and, while later in St. Petersburg, very rarely visited "Dog". According to some testimonies, this was how he protested against the permission to visit the cabaret "pharmacists".

Over time, M. Kuzmin, a composer, author of a number of cabaret performances and music to them, also retired from business in the "basement". A contemporary describes Kuzmin of that time in his "Stray Dog" as follows: “An amazing surreal creature sketched out on the stage with small, quick steps, like a capricious pencil of a visionary artist. This is a man of short stature, thin, fragile, in a modern jacket, but with the face of either a faun or a young satyr, as they are depicted in antique frescoes. Black, as if varnished, liquid hair is combed on the sides forward, to the temples, and a narrow, as if drawn with ink, beard defiantly emphasizes the unnaturally ruddy cheeks. Large, convex, wishing to be naive, but many, many have seen the eyes shine 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: the insistence of Pronin, who was rushing towards her, to write his last poems into the "pig" book.<…>In a long frock coat and a black regatta, who did not disregard a single beautiful woman, Gumilyov retreated, backing up between the tables, either observing court etiquette in this way, or fearing a "dagger" gaze in the back. "

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

O. Mandelstam constantly visited "The Dog", which is eloquently testified by the same B. Livshits: "Long ago, having exhausted the credit, the villonous Mandelstam got excited in front of the barman's counter, demanding the impossible: exchange the gold that was spent in another basement."

It is impossible not to mention a close friend of A. Akhmatova, Olga Glebova-Sudeikina. In 1907 she married the artist S. Sudeikin, but they soon parted. In "Stray Dog" she repeatedly took part in various productions ("Puppet Nativity Scene", "Dance of the Goat Legs", etc.). But not only this is her name known. The young poet Vsevolod Knyazev, another guest of The Dog, fell madly in love with Glebova-Sudeikina, and when she did not reciprocate, he shot himself (spring 1913). "The death of the young hussar made a deep and painful impression in the" basement ". Akhmatova's prediction in the 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, the singer Zoya Lodiy, Professor Andrianov, E.P. Anichkov, architect Bernardazzi, artist and doctor N.A. Kulbin and the common favorite of St. Petersburg, the clown Jacomino. Among young people I remember two students of the Conservatory, Serezha Prokofiev and Yura Shaporin. "

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

We have already mentioned that V. Mayakovsky has repeatedly appeared in The Stray Dog, although his performances have rarely been without scandals. Yes, and he shocked the audience with all his might: "In the pose of a wounded gladiator, Mayakovsky was reclining on a Turkish drum, hitting him every time the figure of a Budetlyan who had wandered into the light appeared in the doorway." And we have already spoken about the performance on February 11, 1915, when the evening ended with a scandal after the poem "You". We will only add that this is what many considered the "beginning of the end" of "Dogs", the main reason for its closure.

The list of guests of only well-known names 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 Kannegisser - the future murderer 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 Verharne, who visited the "Stray Dog" during their stay in Russia.

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

Emile Verhaarn came to St. Petersburg after Marinetti, and the poet was also honored in the "basement".

In March 1914, Paul Faure, who was elected “the 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 number of subscribers<…>Vers et Prose, I'm talking about Paul Faure. Still would! He was the last representative of the ancient tradition of Parisian bohemia.<…>He read an infinite number of apparently watery, and at least completely incomprehensible - not like Marinetti's - of his "poemes" .83

Summing up all of the above, we can agree with N. Petrov, who in the legendary report on the activities of the "Stray Dog" for its first season, so designated the circle of people who attended and did not attend the cabaret: one Fomin, built a fireplace, and the other Bernardazzi, broke this wall, I will say (in rhyme?) and the author of today's decorations, people of science, political life, industry and trade find shelter here, and there are no representatives of the clergy and the police and the excise department. "

However, it is quite interesting that a number of the brightest representatives of the Silver Age did not visit The Dog. So, for example, a colleague of many of Pronin's ideas, his "patron" Vs. Meyerhold had never been to the basement, and according to the recollections of one of his contemporaries, “he bristled up, because he was very jealous of what he didn’t come up with.”

Unlike his wife, Lyubov Dmitrievna, A. Blok had never been to "Dog", and whom "in no way, never, and for nothing could the hund director get into" Dog "! And this despite the fact that Blok was very friendly to him personally,<…>and decisively declared about the hund 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" the artists and thus "drink"<…>artistic blood ". But, of course, most of the outstanding artists still did not agree with Blok in this regard and regularly visited the "Stray Dog".

Nevertheless, it should be noted once again that all these people who were related to the "basement" are only a small part of the persons who acted in "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 draw a conclusion about what a huge role the "Stray Dog" played in the cultural life of not only St. Petersburg, but all of Russia, and even Europe, and how important it is for each of the guests and members-managers of the Society's club the intimate theater had a cabaret.

"MORALS" CABARET

We have already mentioned that for a relatively short period of its existence, a large number of traditions arose in the "Stray Dog" cabaret, which concerned everything - from the entrance to the basement to the honoring of individual representatives of art. There was also a special "ideology", a "theoretical setting" for the basement. "The main prerequisite for the" canine "life was the division of humanity into two unequal categories: the representatives of the arts and the" pharmacists ", which meant all other people, whatever they did and what profession they belonged to." It was then that the term "pharmacists" was born, which eventually became almost an accusation of opposing art. However, B. Pronin many years later recalled "Sapunov's historical phrase at the first meeting, which is associated with such an unequal division of all people -" Tightly not let pharmacists and drogists in! " (In essence, this is the same thing, but Sapunov used this word to denote dentists, attorneys at law - they were Sapunov's personal enemies). And personally it was decided not to let Breshko-Breshkovsky, Mitka the Censor and anyone else (I have now forgotten). Dmitry Censor then published "Blue Journal" - the quintessence of vulgarity. " The "theoretical attitude" of the basement found expression in the motto of the society: "First, not to let the pharmacists, drogists, Censor, Reginin and Breshko-Breshkovsky, as well as the second class of poets and artists, be in tight. Second, "Dog" has its own point of view on life, on the world, on art. " Unfortunately, B. Pronin did not comply with the Society's motto, as many participants in the basement's life testified to. The “pharmacists” pass, according to N.V. Petrova, director of "Sobaka" initiated the resignation of the entire nine of the board a year and a half after opening. It was this event that mainly caused the “change of dynasties”. “Then the street burst into the basement of the“ Dog ”, - recalled N. Mogilyansky. "Intimacy was out of the question, 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", the ball was a welcome guest of "Dogs", each of whom 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 "- called so strangely<…>because this thick book of unlined paper was bound in a pigskin binding - in the “Pig” book many excellent impromptu works were recorded, not only of sworn poets of the light genre,<…>but also more serious, including the most interesting poems by Mandelstam, Mayakovsky and how many others! "

A. Tolstoy brought this book and began it with his quatrain. All in all, over the years of the existence of "Dog" 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 a lectern. To the most eminent guests Pronin "rushed" himself 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 “One and a half-eyed archer,” especially since it has its own chronicle in the form of a huge folio intertwined in pigskin, lying at the entrance, and in which visitors were must at least enter their names. This book, kept by one of Pronin's friends, is not only a collection of the most valuable autographs, but could at any moment resolve many controversial issues of the then literary life. " But the author of these lines was optimistic about the existence of "Pork Books" after the closure of "Dog". Until now, we do not know where they are, or if they exist at all. Researcher "Stray Dog" S.S. Schultz Jr. believes that they died during the revolution and cites the story of N.V. Petrov that his friend had a herring wrapped in two sheets with an autograph by Ye.B. Vakhtangov, by origin clearly similar to the sheets from the "Pig Book". However, the same author quotes O. Vysotskaya as saying that Pronin “got on the trail” at the end of the 30s. According to other sources, V. Shklovsky was involved in the search, and he 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 gone through more than one fuel crisis during this time! But there is still hope. Had it been found today, "much of what seems inexplicable today in Russian artistic life at the beginning of our century would have received clarity and correct interpretation."

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

But the presence of "pharmacists" in "Stray Dog" of some cabaret regulars not only did not embarrass, but also pushed them to a new invention - "bullying" of strangers. Such was the poet Tinyakov, who was distinguished by a constant state of drunkenness and a violent disposition. "Past them (the gentleman and the lady -" pharmacists "- V.R.) Tinyakov was walking with an incorrect gait.

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

The "pharmacists" are surprised, but not protesting. "Bohemian customs ... Even interesting ..."

Tinyakov pours more wine. "I'll read the poems, want?"

"... Bohemian customs ... Poet ... How interesting ... Yes, please read, we are so glad ..."

Hiccuping, Tinyakov reads: “Love me, spit-spit<…>».

Well ... Do you like it? - How, very much! - Do you understand? What do you understand? Well, tell us in your own words ...

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

Ah! .. I am a spit! .. I am a spit! ... And you ... "

It should be said, however, that this is the only case of this kind preserved in the memory of the visitors to the "Dog". But outsiders were "mocked" in other ways as well: these are Mayakovsky's speeches, which, as a rule, ended in a scandal; and dressing guests in caps, and even, according to some reports, including in their bill at the buffet and bohemian expenses. We must not forget that for many "Stray Dog" without "pharmacists" did not appear at all, since outsiders acted as a kind of counterbalance to the artistic environment, stimulating her to even greater creative activity in the basement.

The period of the existence of "Dog" came 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, hopelessness in 1915. And politics also, despite the fact that the “basement” was closed from outside life, sometimes penetrated into the cabaret, although it did not become commonplace: “ Having learned from the deputy who came directly from the State Duma about the change of the ministry, the young dancers of the imperial ballet, Fedya Sherer and Bobish Romanov, dragging a log onto the stage, carried it away, pretending to resign Kokovtsev, and again hoisting the same block of things, staged, at the request of those present, the appointment of the Prime Minister Gorem : the politics burst into the drunken fog of the basement in clouds of frosty air. "

With the last phrase of B. Livshits, another topic, probably the most controversial in the history of "Dog", bursts in. "Drunken Basement Fog" ... was it there at all? Or maybe he was the only one, and there was no creativity, play of living imagination? Disputes on this matter began since the days of the existence of "Dog".

It is known that the newspapers were not stingy with accusations of the "depraved atmosphere" of the cabaret, especially after the Mayakovsky scandals. But the journalists did not know much, while the visitors to "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 closure of the "basement", an absentee dispute flared up between the visitors to the cabaret. One of the first in defense of the "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 at all to drink."

Perhaps, G. Ivanov left the most negative memories of cabaret "morals". In them, the "Stray Dog" can only be called a bunch of drunken poets, and the pictures of late night or, rather, early morning, in "Dog" the author draws the appropriate: "Four to five o'clock in the morning. Tobacco smoke, empty bottles.<…>Few people sit at tables in the middle of the hall. More in the corners ... ”We have already quoted A. Akhmatova on these memories. For her, "Stray Dog" was remembered by others - that atmosphere of "literary joke" and at the same time the feeling of her "hawkishness", 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 your world.

B. Pronin also defended the honor of his brainchild, already years after the cabaret was closed: “In“ Dog ”manners were shy, there were no orgies and nasty things associated with them.<…>They were attracted by conversations, disputes ... "

Now it is difficult to judge which of them was right. Perhaps there were also conversations, arguments, and drunkenness, but only at different times and among different people. And, if in the circle of Acmeists before the war nothing of the kind could have been, then with the outbreak of the war, due to the reasons described in Chapter 1, both drunkenness and revelry appeared by themselves, and, probably, not only in a cabaret, but also the whole country among people who were not able to calmly perceive the ongoing tragedy.

We have covered the most important and most significant detail of the Stray Dog cabaret - its functioning, which includes programs, rules of conduct and friends of the basement. Of course, this is far from all that could be said, and, of course, this is only a small part of the description of what was actually, but has not yet been studied. Exploring the life of "Dog" is not the most difficult task, because in the numerous memoirs of her contemporaries, published and unpublished, most often it is about programs, guests, events. And although today there are still a lot of questions in this topic, it is becoming clearer and clearer, emerging from the depths of time, demonstrating the life, the real life of that circle of people who is called bohemian.

CLOSING CABARET. REASONS FOR CLOSING

“The basement of the society of an intimate theater” was closed on March 3, 1915. S. Sudeikin recalled this episode with bitterness: “… Only not in the fall we were stabbed to death, but in the early cold spring. Staggering around the city in the morning, we came to the "Stray Dog" - Mayakovsky, Radakov, Gumilev, Tolstoy and me. There was a war ... Pockets were swollen from the bargained for silver. We sat down in hats and coats at a round table to play cards. Four bear-like, felt boots, shaggy policemen with herring under their left hand, accompanied by a sheepskin sweeper with a badge, entered the unlocked doors and announced that the Society of Intimate Theater was closing for an illegal card game. This is how the Stray Dog passed away. "

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 an illegal sale of wine.<…>In print, the closure was linked to incidents during futuristic evenings. Pronin recalled what followed the mayor's order: “Then debts overcame us and we were shamefully described, it was necessary to contribute 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 knocked 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 the "dry law" during the 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 at the corner of Italyanskaya and Mikhailovskaya and move to the Field of Mars, where the "Halt of Comedians" was located in the house of Adamini - a kind of continuation " A stray dog ​​”, although not placed on a par with it by both contemporaries and researchers.

Internal causes also have different 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 that, having kept The Stray Dog for meetings of the narrowest circle of friends and like-minded people, he would open 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 has already compelled 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 in the cabaret move. “No,” he declares, “Pronin himself would hardly have parted with Mikhailovskaya Square on his own initiative. Vera Aleksandrovna inspired him with the idea of ​​changing the modest rooms of the Dog, with straw stools and a hoop chandelier, for the Venetian halls and medieval chapels of Privala.

Vera Aleksandrovna - B. Pronin's wife - is presented in G. Ivanov's memoirs in a very unsympathetic light. Obviously, in her he saw the culprit for the closure of Stray Dog, which he writes further about: “Vera Aleksandrovna immediately began to alter, change and expand everything in Stray Dog. And, of course, on the third day I got bored.<…>"Dog" - there was a small basement, arranged on copper pennies - twenty-five rubles, collected from friends.<…>There was no program - Pronin arranged everything at random.<…>Visitors<…>there were, for the most part, “their 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, in the words of Pronin, decided to "twist the dog's neck."<…>A huge basement was removed on the Champ de Mars - not to revive the "Dog" - to create something grand, unprecedented, amazing. " G. Ivanov's opinion about the results of the move was also unambiguous: “... It turned out to be 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 guilty - Vera Aleksandrovna, and not the Petrograd mayor. But it is clear that this question is much more complicated. The "stray dog" was a unique phenomenon of social life of that period, and therefore the cessation of its existence is not a one-time and volitional decision, but the result of evolution, moreover, twofold: the cabaret itself and the whole 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 was already rushing 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 needed a "shelter". Yes, and many bohemians tried, probably, as best as possible to spend the last moments before the disaster.

It cannot be ruled out 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 this very combination of often incompatible phenomena played an important role in the gradual evolution of the "basement" right up to its closure.

CONTRIBUTION TO POETRY, PAINTING, THEATER

The literary and artistic cabaret "Stray Dog" was one of the centers of the life of art 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 respect would not agree with such a hypothesis: "To assert that" Stray Dog "was the background on which the literary and artistic life of the last three years before the war proceeded would undoubtedly be an 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 through science, which allows us to see in more detail the picture of the literary, artistic, and artistic life of that period. Based on all this, we see that almost all the major events of 1912-1915. somehow have to do with the "Stray Dog's 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 very program of Acmeism was proclaimed exactly here on December 19, 1912. "Tezi" of S.N. Gorodetsky's "Symbolism and Acmeism" were published in the invitation program of the evening and looked as follows: "1. The last stage of symbolism in Russia: apotheosis or catastrophe? Experiments of "great art" on the basis of symbolism and their failure. Causes of the Catastrophe of Symbolism: Its Vices. What is a symbol, and what does consistent service lead to. Corruption of words and word combinations. Match hunters. The world is on the web. Cross draft in the world. 2. A new century and a new man. Work of the Poets' Workshop. Birth of Adam. Acmeism and adamism. The attitude of acmeists to the world. Liberation of 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. Gumilyov, 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 "workshop of poets" generally preferred to gather exclusively in the "basement", feeling a favorable atmosphere for itself, which caused discontent among representatives of other, "restrained" movements: V.R.) in the basement on Mikhailovskaya Square, was created by none other than<…>whipped youth ”.

This was the opinion of a cubo-futurist, or a Budelian, B. Livshits, who generally believed that "the futurists were fallen from birth", and their works "did not knock a single drunk tear out of their eyes, no" dostoyevshchina "tickled the disheveled intellectual sensibility." But his subjective assessment does not include what Vl. Piast: “Her greatest historical achievements (“ Stray Dog ”- V.R.) before futurism ". And in this he is, of course, right, one has only to recall the report of V. Shklovsky (in fact, one of the first theoretical foundations 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. Here V. Khlebnikov, A. Kruchenykh, N. and D. Burliuki, V. Kamensky, V. Mayakovsky and many others read their works. The famous "Evening of Five" was mainly remembered for the scandal after Mayakovsky's poem "You", but even at the beginning of the evening the author of this poem made a stir: "When the audience gathered, D. Burliuk appeared on the stage with a lorgnette in his hand and announced to the audience that the evening will feature lions from various deserts, each showing off their own roar. Appeared in public quickly<…>poet Mayakovsky. "They don't eat carrion here," he said. But despite such internal disagreements, the Futurists as a whole formed within the walls of "Dog".

As for symbolism, the role of cabaret in its development was minimal. This is explained by the fact that the most prominent representatives of this trend did not visit cabaret (for example, A. Blok), and by the fact that by 1912 a serious crisis was outlined in this current.

But the presence of three main literary movements was not perceived, either then or later, as the main idea of ​​the existence of cabaret. “However, it would be a mistake to imagine the Symbolists, Acmeists and Budelyans in the form of three warring camps, entrenched from each other with impassable ditches and once and for all excluded the possibility of mutual communication for themselves,” believes B. Livshits, further describing in detail about the “interdirectional” contacts of writers. In view of this, it can be assumed that just such a variety of currents, mainly two - acmeists and futurists - "balanced" each other, allowed each of them not to "rot", not to stop at the achieved level for each poet, but to go further, to the heights your creativity.

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

Significant was the contribution of "Dogs" to the fine arts of that era. Cabaret was a kind of club of "left" art, 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 exhibition "Salon", organized in 1909 in Moscow by S. Makovsky. Finally, their undoubted achievement was the painting of the walls of the cabaret. Alas, this work turned out to be short-lived: dampness reigned in the abandoned basement again, and the plaster completely crumbled after a few years. Unfortunately, even in the photographs of "Stray Dog", if some areas of the painting are visible, they do not create a complete impression. And then, during the existence of the cabaret, no one even thought to capture this masterpiece of "fresco" painting, like, in fact, most of the works of art created in "Stray Dog".

This work also completed the creative path of N. Sapunov, who tragically died 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, had excellent organizational skills. Pronin recalled later that “Kulbin himself made the performances, spending a lot of energy on it. At the exhibition he was with the extreme leftists and even exhibited his things with them. " It was he who brought the futurists to "Dog" and, one might say, organized the very trend of the Budelyans in the cabaret. In a word, his contribution to the visual arts, and art in general, as an artist and organizer, is invaluable. Unfortunately, "he died in early March 1917, having fallen victim to his" dynamism "that overwhelmed his thirst for activity."

Another representative of the "caste" of artists - Ilya Zdanevich (Ilyazd) "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 rayon painters.<…>At the same time, Zdanevich talked about the art exhibitions of the avant-garde artists "Donkey's Tail" and "Target" that had taken place in Moscow.

Thus, in the visual arts, "Stray Dog" became a stronghold in the "swamp" of St. Petersburg-Petrograd, where representatives of the "left" art could feel at ease.

Cabaret also brought certain innovations to the musical sphere of life. M. Kuzmin, whom we have already mentioned more than once, was the author of numerous songs that were quite popular among the metropolitan bohemians.

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

I. Sats - another organizer of the cabaret, was the musician of "Dogs", who performed his works. S. S. Sats called I. Sats "a remarkable composer and pianist" Schultz. But due to the tragic mistake of doctors, another talent died in September 1912. It should be added that over time, two tragic deaths of Sapunov and Sats moved in the memory of S. Sudeikin somewhat before the opening of the cabaret "Stray Dog": in his memoirs he quotes B. Pronin, who clearly dated back to the time after the opening of the cabaret: "Here you write a wreath for Sapunov, here he would sit, and here - Satsu."

We have already addressed the art of dance 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 - also brilliant performers of professional ballet and B. Romanov - dancer of the Mariinsky Theater and dance director in "Stray Dog".

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

The list of people of art who, having started their creative career in "Dog" or shortly before it, is endless. You 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 VALUE OF CABARET IN THE FURTHER 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 "Dog" have left invaluable memories for a modern researcher. Some participants in the life of cabaret made "Dog" one of the images in their works. But neither the first nor the second "Stray Dog" left indifferent and forced again and again to refer to the theme of the "basement".

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

Until now, the memoirs of B. Pronin, the main witness to the life of "Dog", remain completely unpublished. It was this "basement" that the hund director considered the main achievement of his life. Having lived after the closure of "Dog" for more than 30 years, he did not regret at all that he had created a cabaret, but he regretted that it was irretrievably lost. As far as can be understood, his memories are also saturated 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 "Yegor Abozov", where the cabaret is hiding under the name "Underground Cranberry". "It was a strange institution, where those who were not taken by the usual dope, who were afraid at the end of the day to be left alone and to yearn to death, spent the night until the morning." And although "Underground Cranberry" and its director are presented in a somewhat ironic form, 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, it was characteristic of that time.

"Stray Dog" also appeared on the pages of M. Kuzmin's novel "Swimming-Travelers".

With extraordinary touching all her life she recalled A. Akhmatova's "The Basement of the Stray Dog". It so happened that she did not have time to write the book "My Half Century", where one of the chapters was to be called: "Stray Dog" (1912-1914). (Two winters) ". Undoubtedly, this book would become a kind of encyclopedia of the country's creative and social life from 1910 to 1960.

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

However, G. Ivanov did not perceive the touching and tenderness of Akhmatova's memories of the cabaret, or even ridiculed him. At the end of the 1920s, he wrote his "Petersburg Winters" and "Memories", where, among other things, he was talking about "Stray Dog". We have already talked 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, the 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 some kind of resentment against Russia, for the fact that she has become different, resentment against Akhmatova, for the fact that she, in a Christian way, sharing the fate of her people, remained; in his memory of bygone times and on many other things, this insult poured out in his memories and touching irony over Akhmatova, who fondly remembered "Dog".

We have already said that many years after the writing of those memoirs, and several years after the death of G. Ivanov himself, Akhmatova condemned him, condemned him for the fact that he did not understand and did not accept, and therefore did not remember everything. what actually happened in the cabaret.

A. Akhmatova herself had two more meetings with "Dog" - real and creative.

On New Year's Eve 1941, almost 30 years after the night of 1913, the shadows of her close and such distant contemporaries appeared to her on the eve of the coming of another world war to Russia and remained forever in Poem Without a Hero: Midnight Hoffmaniana flashed before her the entire Silver Age: Meyerhold, Gumilev, Blok, Glebova-Sudeikin and Vs. Knyazev, - everything flashed, including The Stray Dog, which entered the poem in the following lines: “On Isakievskaya Street at exactly six ... / Somehow we will wander through the darkness / We are from here to“ Dog ”... /“ Where are you from here? " - / "God knows!". 130

The real meeting with "Dog" took place in August 1941, when the war was already going on. Akhmatova together with B.V. Tomashevsky drove through Mikhailovskaya Square, where "they were caught by an air raid, 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: her memory came to her in a real, tangible form, unlike other visitors to the cabaret. But all the same, they all remembered, one way or another, about the "Dog" shelter in the second courtyard on Mikhailovskaya Square, where serious passions were played out, works of art were born and died, and people died, just when:

NOTES

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

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid. P. 46

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid. S.70-71.

12. Schnitzler Arthur (1862-1931) - Austrian playwright and prose writer, began his writing career with works of critical realism: "Slap", "Lieutenant Gustl", but eventually moved on to the art of decadence, which was reflected in the plays "Green Cockatoo", " Paracelsus "," Columbine's Scarf "and others. In the work of Schnitzler, many researchers note the influence of Z. Freud, which intensified in his later works.

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

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

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

16. For more on 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 details, see Chapter 3 of this work.

18. Sudeikin S.Yu. Homeless dog. Memories. // Encounters with the past. M., 1984.S. 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. Quoted. Quoted from: A.E. Parnis, R.D. Timenchik Programs of the "Stray Dog" // Cultural Monuments. New discoveries. Yearbook 1983. M., 1985. S. 172-173.

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

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

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

27. Ivanov G. Sobr. Vol .: In 3 volumes. Vol. 3: Memoirs. Literary criticism. M., 1993.S. 339.

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

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

30. The 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. Auslender SA (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. S. 145.

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

34. Verblovskaya I.S. Beloved with bitter love: Anna Akhmatova's Petersburg. SPb., 2003.S. 48.

35. Ivanov G. Sobr. cit .: In 3 volumes. Vol. 3: Memoirs. Literary criticism. M., 1993.S. 339.

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

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

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

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

40. Parnis A.E., Tymenchik R.D. Programs of the "Stray Dog" // Cultural Monuments. New discoveries. Yearbook 1983. M., 1985. S. 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. SPb., 2002. P.66.

44. Parnis, A.E., Tymenchik R.D. Decree. op. Page 187

45. Ibid. P.201.

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

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

48. "Artists at home" - fr.

49. Parnis A.E., Tymenchik R.D. Decree. op. S.201-202.

50. Ibid. P.202.

51. Akhmatova A. Sobr. cit .: In 6 volumes. Vol. 4. Books of poetry. M., 2000.S. 44

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

53. Sudeikin S.Yu. Decree. Op. P.192

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

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

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

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

58. Karsavina T.P. Teatralnaya 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.S. 445

65. Ibid. P.445

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

67. Tolstoy A. Collected. op. T.2. M., 1958.S. 690-691.

68. Ivanov G. Decree. op. S.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.S. 236-237.

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

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

76. Memories of the Silver Age. M., 1993.S. 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. S. 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.S. 178-179.

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

85. Ibid. P.169.

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

87. Parnis A.E., Tymenchik 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.S. 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. S.82-83.

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

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

102. Quoted. Quoted from: Parnis, A.E., Timenchik R.D. Decree. op. P. 165.

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

104. Quoted. Quoted from: Tikhvinskaya L.I. Decree. op. P.115.

105. Such a composition of cabaret visitors, walking together around the city, seems to us improbable, since it is known that apart from N. Burliuk, Gumilyov did not communicate with any other futurist, which were Radakov and Mayakovsky. Besides, 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., Tymenchik 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. S.48-49.

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

112. Livshits B. One-and-a-half-eyed archer. M., 2002.S. 185.

113. Russian poets of the "Silver Age": Sat. verse in 2 volumes. Vol.2. L., 1991.S. 16-17.

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

115. Ibid. P. 190-191.

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

117. Schultz Jr. S.S., Sklyarsky V.A. Stray dog: The present century - The past century. SPb., 2002.S. 123.

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

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

120. Quoted. 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. S.107-108.