Armoured Train 14-69 is a 1927 Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 play by Vsevolod Ivanov

Vsevolod Ivanov

Vsevolod Vyacheslavovich Ivanov was a notable Soviet writer praised for the colourful adventure tales set in the Asiatic part of Russia during the Civil War.-Biography:...

. Based on his 1922 novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 of the same name, it was the first play that he wrote and remains his most important. In creating his adaptation

Theatrical adaptation

In a theatrical adaptation, material from another artistic medium, such as a novel or a film is re-written according to the needs and requirements of the theatre and turned into a play or musical....

, Ivanov transformed the passive protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 of his novel into an active exponent of proletarian

Proletariat

The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...

 ideals; the play charts his journey from political indifference

Political apathy

Political apathy is the indifference on the part of citizen of any country as regards their attitude towards political activities; for example: elections, public opinons, civic responsibilities, etc. A broader way of referring to political apathy in a country is to consider its political culture...

 to Bolshevik

Bolshevik

The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....

 hero

Hero

A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...

ism. Set

Setting (fiction)

In fiction, setting includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story. Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may...

 in Eastern Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

 during the Civil War

Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...

, it dramatises the capture of ammunition

Ammunition

Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...

 from an counter-revolutionary armoured train

Armoured train

An armoured train is a train protected with armour. They are usually equipped with railroad cars armed with artillery and machine guns. They were mostly used during the late 19th and early 20th century, when they offered an innovative way to quickly move large amounts of firepower...

 by a group of partisans led by a peasant

Peasant

A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...

 farmer

Farmer

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

, Nikolai Vershinin. It is a four-act play in eight scenes that features almost 50 characters

Character (arts)

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

; crowd scenes form a prominent part of its episodic

Episode

An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...

 dramatic structure

Dramatic structure

Dramatic structure is the structure of a dramatic work such as a play or film. Many scholars have analyzed dramatic structure, beginning with Aristotle in his Poetics...

. Near the end of the play a Chinese revolutionary, Hsing Ping-wu, lays down on the railway tracks to force the armoured train to stop.

Characters

• Nikolai Vershinin, a peasant
• Peklevanov, Bolshevik party organiser
• Hsing Ping-wu, Chinese revolutionary
• Vaska Okorok
• Nezelasov, White commander of the armoured train
• Nadezhda Lvovna, a refugee White Guard

Production history

Armoured Train 14-69 was first performed by the world-famous Moscow Art Theatre

Moscow Art Theatre

The Moscow Art Theatre is a theatre company in Moscow that the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, founded in 1898. It was conceived as a venue for naturalistic theatre, in contrast to the melodramas...

 (MAT) in a production that opened with a gala performance on 8 November 1927. It was commissioned

Commission (art)

In art, a commission is the hiring and payment for the creation of a piece, often on behalf of another.In classical music, ensembles often commission pieces from composers, where the ensemble secures the composer's payment from private or public organizations or donors.- Commissions for public art...

 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution

October Revolution

The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...

. The production was directed by Constantin Stanislavski, Ilya Sudakov and N. Litovtsieva (of 76 rehearsal

Rehearsal

For other uses, see Rehearsal or Dress rehearsal A rehearsal is a preparatory event in music and theatre that is performed before the official public performance, as a form of practice, and to ensure that all details of the performance are adequately prepared and coordinated for professional...

 sessions, Stanislavski directed 11, though the staging as performed was principally his). The lead role of Vershinin was played by Vasili Kachalov (in his first role as a peasant), while Olga Knipper

Olga Knipper

Olga Leonardovna Knipper-Chekhova was a Russian stage actress. She was married to Anton Chekhov.Knipper was among the 39 original members of the Moscow Art Theatre when it was formed by Constantin Stanislavski in 1898...

 played Nadezhda Lvovna, Nikolai Batalov played Vaska Okorok, and Nikolai Khmelev played Peklevanov. Of the staging of the crowd scenes, the playwright observed during rehearsals that the MAT actors "want to and can portray the mass and at the same time distinguish each individual within this mass." Viktor Simov

Viktor Simov

Viktor Andreievich Simov was a Russian painter and scenographer who pioneered the use of Naturalistic settings. After having worked for Savva Mamontov's Private Opera Theatre, on 1 May 1898 Simov became the principal designer of Stanislavski and Nemirovich's newly formed Moscow Art Theatre. Simov...

 created the scenic design

Scenic design

Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...

, after Stanislavski rejected the initial sketches of Leonid Chupiatov. It was the first successful Soviet play that the theatre presented. In the history of theatre

History of theatre

The history of theatre charts the development of theatre over the past 2,500 years. While performative elements are present in every society, it is customary to acknowledge a distinction between theatre as an art form and entertainment and theatrical or performative elements in other activities...

, the MAT production of Armoured Train 14-69 has been seen as a turning point, heralding the new form of Socialist realism

Socialist realism

Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...

 that would soon dominate dramatic production in the Soviet Union.

At the same time that the MAT performed the play in Moscow, another production opened at the State Academic Theatre of Drama (now the Alexandrinsky Theatre) in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

). This production was directed by Nikolai Petrov. Nikolai Simonov

Nikolai Simonov

Nikolai Simonov was a Soviet film and stage actor.-Early life and education:Nikolai Konstantionovich Simonov was born on December 4, 1901, in Samara, Russia. From 1917–1919 he studied art at Samara School of Art and Design. From 1919–1923 he studied art at the Imperial Academy of Arts...

 played Vershinin, Boris Zhukovsky played Peklevanov, and Illarion Pevtsov played Nezelasov.

Armoured Train 14-69 was performed in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 by the Proletkult

Proletkult

Proletkult was movement which arose in the Russian revolution and was active from 1917 to 1925 which aspired to provide the foundations for what was intended to be a truly proletarian art devoid of bourgeois influence.The name is a portmanteau of "proletarskaya kultura" , which are better-known as...

 Kassel

Kassel

Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...

 group, which originated from the League for Proletarian Culture

League for Proletarian Culture

The League for Proletarian Culture was a short-lived German left-wing organisation for the promotion of proletarian culture. It was founded in Berlin in spring 1919 by Alfons Goldschmidt, Arthur Holitscher, and Ludwig Rubiner and was dissolved in early 1920...

 organisation. Opening in January 1928, its production was publicly acclaimed. The play was performed in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 a few years later. Léon Moussinac's Theatre of International Action (Théâtre d'Action) staged it at the Bouffes du Nord

Bouffes du Nord

The Bouffes du Nord is a theater at 37 bis, boulevard de la Chapelle in the 10th arrondissement of Paris located near the Gare du Nord. It is registered as a historic monument.-History:...

 theatre in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, where it opened on 5 November 1932. The production was directed by I. M. Daniel and received favourable reviews in the press.

The play became one of the most frequently performed of the new Soviet drama and now forms part of the Russian theatrical repertory. Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

 praised the play as "a good piece that has great revolutionary significance", adding that "its educational significance is indisputable."

Adaptations

The playwright Sandro Shanshiashvili

Sandro Shanshiashvili

Sandro Shanshiashvili was a Georgian poet and playwright.Shanshiashvili was born in the small village Jugaani near Sighnaghi . In the 1900s, he was noted for his dramas in verse and prose. At the same time, he engaged in revolutionary movement against the Tsarist rule and was put in prison in 1908...

 wrote a Georgian

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 version of the play, which he called Anzor. He set his version in Dagestan

Dagestan

The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...

 in the Northern Caucasus

North Caucasus

The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....

 and made his characters Georgians and Lezghins. The play's hero became a Chechen

Chechen people

Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...

 called Anzor Cherbbizh and Shanshiashvili removed the presence of the White Army

White movement

The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...

 from its action. He also changed its ending, substituting a lezginka

Lezginka

Lezginka or Lezghinka is a national dance of many people in the Caucasus Mountains. It derives its names from the Lezgin people; nevertheless, Georgians, Chechens, Lezghins, Ossetians, Circassians, Karachays, Balkars, Armenians, Abkhazians, Kabardins, Ingush, Ingilos, Azerbaijanis, Iranian...

dance performed by Zaira to select who will sacrifice himself to stop the armoured train.

Anzor was first performed in 1928 at the Rustaveli Theatre

Rustaveli Theatre

Rustaveli National Theatre also referred to as Rustaveli State Drama Theatre, is found in Tbilisi, Georgia. The theatre is conveniently located at 17 Rustaveli Avenue, one of the main streets in Tbilisi...

 in Tbilisi

Tbilisi

Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...

 in a non-naturalistic

Naturalism (theatre)

Naturalism is a movement in European drama and theatre that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It refers to theatre that attempts to create a perfect illusion of reality through a range of dramatic and theatrical strategies: detailed, three-dimensional settings Naturalism is a...

 production directed by Sandro Akhmeteli

Sandro Akhmeteli

Sandro Akhmeteli was a Georgian theater director whose innovative conceptions and skill at mass scenes profoundly influenced the evolution of Soviet and post-Soviet Georgian theater tradition...

, with a constructivist

Constructivism (art)

Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...

 scenic design by Irakly Gamrekeli. Akaky Khorava played Anzor. In a review, the poet Simon Chikovani

Simon Chikovani

Simon Chikovani was a Georgian poet who set out to be the leader of Georgian Futurist movement and ended up as a Soviet establishment figure.Born near the town Martvili, he was educated at the Kutaisi Realschule and Tbilisi State University from which he graduated in 1922. As a teenager, he was...

 criticised the play for trivialising the revolution.

Soviet film director Yakov Protazanov

Yakov Protazanov

Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov was Russian and Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of cinema of Russia....

 directed a cinema

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

tic version of the story, called Tommy

Tommy (1931 film)

Tommy is a 1931 Soviet film directed by Yakov Protazanov based on a play Armoured Train 14-69 by Vsevolod Ivanov.-Cast:* Aleksei Temerin* A. Zhutayev - British Soldier* Mikhail Kedrov - Chinaman* Vasili Kovrigin - Leader* Vasili Vanin - Guide...

, in 1931

1931 in film

-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...

.

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• Bradby, David, and John McCormick. 1978. People's Theatre. London: Croom Helm and Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Littlefield. ISBN 0847660737.
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• ---. 1998b. "Vsevolod Viacheslavovich." In Cornwell (1998, 409-411).
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• Ivanov, Vsevolod
  Vsevolod Ivanov
  Vsevolod Vyacheslavovich Ivanov was a notable Soviet writer praised for the colourful adventure tales set in the Asiatic part of Russia during the Civil War.-Biography:...
  
  . 1983. Armoured Train 14-69: A Play in Eight Scenes. Trans. W. L. Gibson-Cowan and A. T. K. Grant. Reprint ed. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood P. ISBN 0313241325. Originally published: New York: International Publishers and London: Martin Lawrence, 1933.
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• ---. 1988. Russian and Soviet Theatre: Tradition and the Avant-Garde. Trans. Roxane Permar. Ed. Lesley Milne. London: Thames and Hudson. Rpt. as Russian and Soviet Theater, 1905-1932. New York: Abrams. ISBN 0500281955.
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• Senelick, Laurence. 1984. "Ivanov, Vsevolod Vyacheslavovich." In McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama: an International Reference Work in 5 Volumes. Vol. 3. Ed. Stanley Hochman. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. 87-89. ISBN 0070791694.
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