Abstract

In the fall of 1918, Vladimir Lenin famously attended a production of Alexander Ostrovsky's Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man at the Moscow Art Theatre. According to the former Art Theatre actress Olga Gzovskaia, Lenin was struck by Konstantin Stanislavsky's portrayal of the pompous General Krutitsky and proclaimed:

You see this play by Ostrovsky […] An old, classical author, but the acting of Stanislavsky speaks to us in a new way. This general uncovers many things that are important to us […] This is agitprop in the best and most noble sense […] If only they all knew how to reveal a character in a new, contemporary way, it would be wonderful!