Member of the Council of Federation, President of the Fund to promote the conservation of cultural heritage of the “Russian avant-garde” Sergey Gordeev donated to the Federal State Cultural Institution" Museum of the Moscow Art Academic Theatre" (Museum of Art Theatre), a collection of archival documents and personal effects belonging to Stanislavsky.

Among the items donated by several photo albums, more than four hundred photographs of Stanislavsky and his family members, theater actors, financial instruments factory Alekseeva 1896-1917 gg. As well as letters, memos, postcards 1850-1880. Addressed to the great director, more than a hundred letters written by Stanislavsky, furniture and materials for the Opera Studio: autographs of actors, planning stage, the archive of correspondence. In total, the Museum passed more than two thousand items.

“This archive of Stanislavsky came to the fund «Russian avant-garde” of the family of Stanislavsky. We took the decision to transfer him to a museum, because we believe that the legacy of the great theatrical figures must be indivisible and to be in one place — in the fund of Stanislavsky Museum of Art Theatre», — said Sergey Gordeev.


Director of the Museum of Art Theatre, Marfa Bubnova:

All information collection of archival documents and personal effects belonging to Stanislavsky, is of great historical and cultural and artistic value, the museum has a value that is needed to supplement the collections of the Museum of Art Theatre and the research and permament exhibition projects of the Museum.
Especially valuable are notes, letters and telegrams, Stanislavsky to different persons, and letters from different persons to Stanislavsky. The information contained in these documents is of interest to researchers of different topics related to the Stanislavsky and allows you to set and specify the dates of some events in the life of Stanislavsky and his family. Financial instruments of the Alekseev factory 1896-1917 will join a small collection of documents that are kept in the Museum. Documents Opera Studio, created by Stanislavsky, Konstantin Sergeyevich submitted correspondence with the troupe of the studio and autographs of actors involved in the creation of this studio.
Photos of the family of Stanislavsky and his own at home, as well as some interior items from the apartment her daughter and granddaughter of Konstantin Stanislavsky (K. Alexeeva-Falk and K. Baranovsky) show lifestyle of this family.


Moscow Art Theatre Museum, Moscow Art Theatre, and personally, Oleg Tabakov express deep gratitude to the Foundation to promote the conservation of cultural heritage of the “Russian avant-garde” and personally Sergey Gordeev for a priceless gift, which will join the collection of cultural values of Russia.

January 17, 1904 — premiere of The Cherry Orchard at the Moscow Art Theatre, which coincided with the name-day of author.
Chekhov is ill and didn?t want to take part in the premiere ballyhoo. All previous premieres of his plays were held in the absence of the author. He was neither on the first performance of “The Seagull“, he had not seen the premiere of “Uncle Vanya”. He did not share the enthusiasm of spectators premiere of „Three Sisters”. In January 1904 the situation was quite different: and Chekhov, and his friends in the Moscow Art Theatre, and many in Moscow realized that his days were numbered. After repeated phone calls and requests, Chekhov agreed to come to the theatre to the intermission between Acts 3 and 4. Here began almost spontaneous celebration. Some came out from behind the scenes, and some just out of the hall to say Chekhov's words that could say only that evening. It was then Nemirovich-Danchenko, vowed that the Moscow Art Theatre will forever be the home of Chekhov and “Literate Russia“ will never forget what made this writer for self-consciousness of Russia Society. Several pieces have changed our perception of the country, about themselves, the notion of “Chekhov?s human“ and “Chekhov?s actor”. „House of Chekhov” during the twentieth century became the „House of Gorky”, but in the end, the name of Chekhov once again returned to the theatre in Kamergersky Sidestreet.

January 26 Moscow Art Theatre. Chekhov on the main stage will mark anniversary of his main sponsor of the evening “Our Chekhov”. The basis of the evening went to the letters of Anton Chekhov and Maria Chekhov, Olga Knipper, Konstantin Stanislavsky, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, their memories and documents of the time when the newborn Moscov Art Theatre and novice playwright, finding each other, have become sponsors of the art, which changes both the Russian and world theatre. In the evening will involve actors of contemporary Moscow Art Theatre, as well as actors and directors of other theatres of Moscow and St. Petersburg, which determined the stage history of Chekhov's last decades.

Directed by Evgeny Pisarev.

Start of the evening — 19.00.
Running time — 2 hours without interval.

January 29, 2010 will be 150 years since the birth of Anton Chekhov.

For the Moscow Art Theatre, Chekhov was always greater than the first among Russian playwrights. The dream of his “The Seagull“ was the one guiding star, under which was established by the Moscow Art Theatre. Here at the rehearsals, before the opening of the theatre, Chekhov met his future wife, Olga Knipper, which will be consistent performer in his plays, creating a collective image of “Chekhov's women“. Their correspondence, we owe much of Chekhov's instructions to his plays.
Anton Chekhov had to write “Three Sisters” and „The Cherry Orchard” specifically for the Moscow Art Theatre, directing, and sometimes even correcting them in accordance with the capabilities of the company. „Ivanov” will be placed in the Moscow Art Theatre in 1904, several months after the death of the author.
Reform of the scene, carried out by a director in the Moscow Art Theatre — Nemirovich-Danchenko, sooner become conscious of the dramatic novelty of Chekhov's plays, and Stanislavsky, who gave them his powerful intuition — largely owes its success precisely these plays.

Over 111 years of life of the Art Theatre, who in 1989 was named after Anton Chekhov, on the scene was done 22 productions of the works by Anton Chekhov. The recent premiere — “Ivanov”, directed by Yury Butusov — January 27, 2010 will be played in “Days of Anton Chekhov in Moscow”, which the International Theatre Festival, named after the writer's, will open program of the jubilee year.

And on January 26 the Moscow Art Theatre will mark the anniversary of playwright on the Main Stage with the evening “Our Chekhov”, which will form the basis of letters, memoirs and documents of the period 1898-1904 (director — Evgeny Pisarev).