"The Cherry Orchard". Premiere! "Cherry Orchard" on Tverskoy Boulevard Cherry Orchard premiere

Ranevskaya - Gaeva played.

Among the guests at the premiere were the Minister of Culture of the Moscow Region Oksana Kosareva, director Alexander Adabashyan, actor and director Sergei Puskepalis, choreographer Sergei Filin, composer Maxim Dunaevsky, figure skaters Roman Kostomarov, Oksana Domnina, Ilya Averbukh, actors Alexander Oleshko, Boris Galkin, Katerina Shpitsa Evgenia Kregzhde, Ilya Malakov, journalist and TV presenter Vadim Vernik, artistic director of the Russian Ballet Theater Vyacheslav Gordeev and many others.

Written in 1903, at the end of the eras, Chekhov's play is still modern today. In the production of the theater, Lopakhin's personal drama comes to the fore. The story of the loss of the cherry orchard directed by Sergei Bezrukov becomes the story of many years of hopeless love - Lopakhin's love for Ranevskaya. About love, which he will have to uproot from his heart, like a cherry orchard, in order to live on. The director of the production, Sergei Bezrukov, admits that the idea of ​​the performance was largely based on the acting nature of Anton Khabarov, who was chosen by him for the role of Lopakhin.

Sergei Bezrukov, stage director: “Lopakhina is played by Anton Khabarov - he has both strength and vulnerability. We have this story - about crazy, passionate love. Lopakhin fell in love with Ranevskaya as a boy, and after many years he continues to love her, and can not help himself. This is a story about a man who rose from the bottom and made himself - and he was driven not by a passion for profit, but by a huge love for a woman whom he idolized all his life and strove to become worthy of her. It seems to me that with Anton Khabarov we returned to the original image of Lopakhin, as written by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Ermolai Lopakhin is not a bawdy man, but an intelligent person, he is sensual and charismatic, he is 100% a man, like Anton Khabarov, and he is very sincere, he loves platonically, as a man should love, to truly love. "

It is known that Chekhov dreamed that Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky himself would become the first performer of the role of Ermolai Lopakhin - he saw this character as delicate, vulnerable, intelligent, despite his low origin.

“We pushed away from Chekhov's letters,- says Anton Khabarov, the leading actor of Lopakhin, - how Chekhov wanted to see his hero, he wanted Stanislavsky to play this role. When we were working on the play, we found many parallels between Chekhov and Lopakhin. Lopakhin had a tyrant father who beat him with a stick, and to the point of blood. Chekhov's father also beat him with a stick, he was a serf. "

The image of Ranevskaya also became unusual in Sergei Bezrukov's performance. The director "returned" to the age of the heroine, which is designated by the author - Lyubov Andreevna is 35 years old, she is a young woman full of passions.

“I have a very tragic character,- says the performer of the role of Ranevskaya Karina Andolenko. - A person who has experienced many losses and lost his faith begins to commit thousands of ridiculous acts. She understands that she is being used, that she is not loved the way she would like, but at the same time a person remains in her soul. Therefore, she does not drag Lopakhin into this pool, but tells him that he is worthy of real pure love, which Ranevskaya can no longer give him. This performance is about the mismatch of love, and this is a tragedy. "

Along with the unrequited love of the protagonist, personal dramas unfold for almost all the characters in the play. Unrequited love Epikhodov, Charlotte Ivanovna, Varya - all the characters who are able to truly love.

Chekhov's theme of the passing era and the inevitable loss of the values ​​of the past sounds in the production no less clear and shrill. The famous cherry orchard in the play not only acquired a completely visible image - in the course of the action it blooms, fades, and in the finale it literally disappears from the face of the earth. The Cherry Orchard, as conceived by the director, became a full-fledged character of the play:

“Besides Lopakhin, nature is an important character here. The play takes place against its background, in the cherry orchard,- says the director Sergei Bezrukov. - Despite the fact that theater is a very conditional matter, it still seems to me that today's audience is a little tired of solving puzzles, some constructions on the stage, trying to understand what exactly they mean. The audience missed classical theater. Chekhov pays much attention to describing the scene: both Gaev talks about nature, and Lopakhin has a whole monologue: "Lord, you gave us huge forests, deepest horizons, and being here, we ourselves must be truly giants ..." It was important for me to show a performance about the death of a once beautiful civilization. About how, against the background of magnificent nature, these beautiful people destroy themselves by their inaction, drowning in vices, drowning in their own inner filth. "

In the finale of the performance, against the backdrop of a cherry orchard uprooted by the roots, in the smoky emptiness of the nude scene, alone with an old toy house, a lonely Firs. But the director leaves the viewer with hope: all the actors come out to bows with a small shoot of a cherry tree, which means there will be a new cherry orchard!

We thank our partner, the Vishnevy Sad company for creating a cozy, stunning atmosphere of the estate in our foyer!

On January 17, 1904, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov's play "The Cherry Orchard" was staged at the Moscow Art Theater for the first time. It was this play that was destined to become a symbol of Russian drama of the twentieth century.

The Cherry Orchard is Chekhov's last play and the pinnacle of his dramatic creativity. By the time this play was written in 1903, Chekhov was already a recognized master of thought and the author of four plays, each of which became an event - "Ivanov", "The Seagull", "Uncle Vanya", "Three Sisters".

The main dramatic feature of The Cherry Orchard is symbolism. The main character of the play is not this or that character, but the cherry orchard itself. This garden was not grown for the sake of profit, but to delight the eyes of its noble owners. But the economic realities of the beginning of the twentieth century inexorably dictate their laws, and the garden will be cut down, as the noble nests will disintegrate, and with them the noble Russia of the XIX century will go down in history, and it will be replaced by the Russia of the XX century with its revolutions, the first of which just around the corner.

Chekhov already worked closely with the Moscow Art Theater. While working on the play, he often discussed it with Stanislavsky, and the main role of Ranevskaya was originally intended for the actress Olga Knipper-Chekhova, who became the writer's wife in 1901.

The premiere of "The Cherry Orchard" was a great success and became the main event in Moscow in early 1904, which was promoted by the skill and fame of Chekhov, the reputation of the Moscow Art Theater, Stanislavsky's directorial talent and the brilliant performance of the Moscow Art Theater actors. In addition to Olga Knipper-Chekhova, Konstantin Stanislavsky himself (who played the role of Gaev), Leonid Leonidov (who played the role of Lopakhin), Vasily Kachalov (who played Trofimov), Vladimir Gribunin (the role of Simeonov-Pishchik), Ivan Moskvin (played the role of Epikhodov) played in the premiere performance , and Alexander Artem delighted the audience in the role of Firs, which Chekhov wrote especially for this favorite actor.

In the same 1904, Chekhov, whose tuberculosis worsened, went to Germany for treatment, where he died in July.

And "The Cherry Orchard" began a triumphant march through the theater stages of Russia and the world, which continues to this day. Only in 1904 was this play by Chekhov staged at the Dyukova Theater in Kharkov (simultaneously with the Moscow Art Theater, premiered on January 17, 1904), by the New Drama Partnership in Kherson (director and performer of the role of Trofimov - Vsevolod Meyerhold), at the Kiev Solovtsov Theater and in Vilna theater. And in 1905, the audience in St. Petersburg saw the Cherry Orchard - on the stage of the Alexandrinka Theater, Chekhov's play was staged by Yuri Ozerovsky, and Konstantin Korovin acted as a theatrical artist.

The Moscow Provincial Theater will present its version of the most famous play by Anton Chekhov. Stage Director - Sergei Bezrukov. Lopakhin will be played by Anton Khabarov, Ranevskaya will be played by Karina Andolenko, Gaeva will be played by Alexander Tyutin, and Gela Meskhi will play the role of Petya Trofimov.

Written in 1903, at the end of the eras, Chekhov's play is as relevant today as ever. After all, even now we live in an era of breaking times, changing formations. In staging the theater, Lopakhin's personal drama comes to the fore, but Chekhov's theme of the passing era and the inevitable loss of the values ​​of the past sounds no less clear and shrill.

The story of the loss of the cherry orchard directed by Sergei Bezrukov becomes the story of many years of hopeless love - Lopakhin's love for Ranevskaya. About love, which Lopakhin must uproot from his heart, like a cherry orchard, in order to live on.

The famous cherry orchard in the play will acquire a completely visible image - the audience will see how in the course of the action it blooms, withers, and in the finale it literally disappears from the face of the earth.

The director of the production, Sergei Bezrukov, admits that the idea of ​​the performance was largely based on the acting nature of Anton Khabarov, who was chosen by him for the role of Lopakhin. It is known that Chekhov dreamed that Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky himself would become the first performer of the role of Ermolai Lopakhin - he saw this character as delicate, vulnerable, aristocratic, despite his low origin. This is how Lopakhin sees Sergey Bezrukov.

Sergei Bezrukov, stage director:

“Lopakhina is played by Anton Khabarov - he has both strength and vulnerability. We have this story - about crazy, passionate love. Lopakhin fell in love with Ranevskaya as a boy, and after many years he continues to love her, and can not help himself. This is a story about a man who rose from the bottom and made himself - and he was driven not by a passion for profit, but by a huge love for a woman, whom he idolized all his life and strove to become worthy of her. "

Work on the play began in the summer, and part of the rehearsals took place at the estate of KS Stanislavsky in Lyubimovka, where Chekhov was staying in the summer of 1902 and where he conceived the idea of ​​this play. The sketch for the play "The Cherry Orchard" by S. Bezrukov was shown in June this year in the natural scenery of the estate, in a real cherry orchard. The show took place at the opening of the Stanislavsky Season. Summer Festival of Provincial Theaters ”.

Cast: Anton Khabarov, Karina Andolenko, Alexander Tyutin, Natalia Shklyaruk, Viktor Shutov, Stepan Kulikov, Anna Gorushkina, Alexandrina Pitirimova, Danil Ivanov, Maria Dudkevich and others.

Theatrical performance "The Cherry Orchard". Premiere!" took place at the Moscow Provincial Theater on December 2, 2017.

The premiere of Chekhov's play "The Cherry Orchard" took place on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater on January 17, 1904. Directed by K.S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko.
Artist - Simov V.A.

K.S. Stanislavsky recalls how Anton Pavlovich came up with the title of the play:

“Finally we got to the point. Chekhov paused, trying to be serious. But he did not succeed - a solemn smile from within made its way out.

Look, I found a wonderful title for the play. Wonderful! - he announced, looking at me point-blank.

Which? - I was worried.

The Cherry Orchard, ”and he burst into joyful laughter.

I did not understand the reason for his joy and did not find anything special in the name. However, in order not to upset Anton Pavlovich, I had to pretend that his discovery impressed me. What worries him about the new title of the play? I began to carefully question him, but again I came across this strange feature of Chekhov: he did not know how to talk about his creations. Instead of explaining, Anton Pavlovich began to repeat in different ways, with all sorts of intonations and sound coloration:

The Cherry Orchard. Look, this is a wonderful name! The Cherry Orchard. Cherry!

From this I only understood that it was about something beautiful, dearly beloved: the charm of the name was conveyed not in words, but in the very intonation of Anton Pavlovich's voice. I hinted it carefully to him; my remark saddened him, the solemn smile disappeared from his face, our conversation ceased to stick, and there was an awkward pause.

Several days or a week passed after this meeting ... Once during a performance he came to my dressing room and sat down at my table with a solemn smile. Chekhov loved to watch us prepare for the performance. He watched our makeup so closely that one could guess by his face whether you were successfully or unsuccessfully putting paint on your face.

Look, it's not the Cherry Orchard, but the Cherry Orchard, ”he announced, and burst out laughing.

At the first minute I did not even understand what was being said, but Anton Pavlovich continued to savor the title of the play, emphasizing the gentle sound "ё" in the word "Cherry", as if trying with its help to caress the old beautiful, but now unnecessary life that he with tears destroyed in his play. This time I understood the subtlety: "The Cherry Orchard" is a business, commercial garden that generates income. Such a garden is needed now. But "The Cherry Orchard" does not bring any income, it keeps in itself and in its blossoming whiteness the poetry of the former lordly life. Such a garden grows and blooms for a whim, for the eyes of spoiled aesthetes. It is a pity to destroy it, but it is necessary, since the process of the country's economic development requires this. "

K.S. Stanislavsky. A.P. Chekhov at the Art Theater (Memoirs).
In the book: A.P. Chekhov in the memoirs of his contemporaries. Publishing house "Khudozhestvennaya literatura", Moscow, 1960. С.410-411

"The Cherry Orchard" (1904)

The first actress to play the role of Ranevskaya was the wife of Anton Pavlovich, the brilliant actress Olga Knipper. The play was also attended by: M. P. Lilina (Anya), M. F. Andreeva (Varya), K. S. Stanislavsky (Gaev), L. M. Leonidov (Lopakhin), V. I. Kachalov (Trofimov), I. Moskvin (Epikhodov), A. R. Artem (Firs) and others. Then Chekhov considered that Stanislavsky "ruined" his play, but to this day "The Cherry Orchard" is one of the most popular plays among theater directors , and the role of Ranevskaya is a gem in the repertoire of any actress. Among them are Alla Tarasova, Alla Demidova, Alisa Freindlikh, Renata Litvinova and many others.

The premiere had, according to Stanislavsky, "only average success, and we condemned ourselves for not being able, from the very first time, to show the most important, beautiful and valuable in the play."

Chekhov was brought to the premiere almost by force, and even then only by the end of the third act. And in the last intermission, they arranged, with pomp, with long speeches and offerings, a celebration on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his literary activity.

“At the jubilee itself,” Stanislavsky later recalled, “he was not cheerful, as if he had a presentiment of his imminent demise. When, after the third act, he, deathly pale and thin, standing in the foreground, could not stop his cough while he was greeted with addresses and gifts, our heart sank painfully. From the auditorium they shouted to him to sit down. But Chekhov frowned and stood all the long and languid celebration of the jubilee, over which he good-naturedly laughed in his works. But even then he could not help smiling. One of the writers began his speech with almost the same words with which Gaev greets the old wardrobe in the first act: "Dear and respected ... (instead of the word" wardrobe "the writer inserted the name of Anton Pavlovich) ... welcoming you, etc. Anton Pavlovich glanced sideways at me, the performer Gaev, and a sly smile ran across his lips. The jubilee was solemn, but it left a heavy impression. He smelled like a funeral. It was melancholy in my soul ... Anton Pavlovich died (approx. July 15, 1904), and did not wait for the real success of his last fragrant work. "

Of course, Anton Pavlovich and Olga Leonardovna discussed the play and preparations for it in their letters to each other:

“And you, dusik, first wanted to make Ranevskaya calm down, right? Do you remember - you showed me her words in the 2nd act? And how difficult it is to play! How much lightness, grace and skill are needed! We read the play yesterday.
They listened, caught every word and applauded at the end. "

“The roles have not been assigned yet, rehearsals have not been scheduled yet. Charlotte, I think, will be played by Muratova. Rumor has it that if there was an actress on Ranevskaya, I would have to play Charlotte. Those. actors speak, and then only two, from the directors did not hear anything. "

“No, I never wanted to make Ranevskaya calm down. Only one death can calm such a woman. Or maybe I don’t understand what you want to say. It's not difficult to play Ranevskaya, you just need to take the right tone from the very beginning; you have to come up with a smile and a manner of laughing, you have to be able to dress. Well, yes, you can do everything, if there was a hunt, you would be healthy. "

“Lilina desperately wants to play Anya. If, he says, I'm old, they can tell me and kick me out, and I won't be offended. Varya she does not want to play, she is afraid to repeat herself. KS says she should play Charlotte. They also varied as follows: Ranevskaya - Maria Fedor., I - Charlotte, but hardly. I want a graceful role. "

“I just visited the Morozovs, dined with them, and, of course, everyone was talking about the theater and the Cherry Orchard. Zinaida is delighted with the title, she has not read the play, but a lot of charm and poetry awaits and ordered you to convey this. With Savva, everything was decided who should play whom. The kids are all the same nice. The palace atmosphere is oppressive. Savva left after dinner, and I sat and chatted; chatted and pondered dresses for Ranevskaya. "

“You don’t really learn your role, you still have to consult with me; and don't order dresses before my arrival.
Muratova is so funny in a hostel; tell her to be funny in Charlotte, that's the main thing. And Lilina will hardly get Anya, there will be an old-looking girl with a raspy voice, and nothing more. "

“We talked about the roles, found out the characters, relationships: Ranevskaya, Ani, Vari, Gaev. Continuation today.
All soft, pleasant. We watched on the stage two approximate sets of the 1st act. Dusik, when you arrive, you will tell me where it will be possible to insert French into my role. phrases characteristic. Can I? "

“It will be good. I found laughter for Ranevskaya. Const. Serg. ordered me to study at home in an elegant dress, so that I get used to feel at least approximately a gorgeous woman. I took a dress from "Dreams" and will work in it. Technically, this is a hellishly difficult role. Thank you, my dear husband. You asked me a task. Now I have no rest for a minute. You can be jealous of Ranevskaya. I only know her now. "

From this correspondence we learn that Olga Leonardovna is rehearsing the role of Ranevskaya in a dress from the play "In dreams", and that Anton Pavlovich did not allow buying dresses for The Cherry Orchard without him.

In April 1904, the Moscow Art Theater was on tour in St. Petersburg. The play came to see Maria Gavrilovna Savina (the leading actress of the Alexandrinsky Theater, who also played Ranevskaya), who expressed her displeasure at the fact that Lamanova made her the same hood as Olga Leonardovna.

“Yesterday I watched Savina, I was in the restrooms. All she found it necessary to tell me was that I killed her with my hood. Lamanova did exactly that for her and everyone will say that Savina copied it from me. Will fly in now Lamanova. "

In the summer of 1936 the Moscow Art Theater toured Kiev. They showed the performances "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich" and "The Cherry Orchard". Olga Leonardovna writes a letter to Nadezhda Petrovna from Kiev:

"Dear Nadezhda Petrovna,

I don’t know how to thank you for the wonderful, wonderful costume.
And the dress without a coat sits famous, just charming. Kiss you.
Kiev is beautiful, green, good air; I walk a lot and have a little rest from the Moscow crowd.
Will you breathe soon?
I am sending you a big, big hello.
Hugs and kisses.

Yours O. Knipper-Chekhova "

The audience of the Art Theater of the 1930s knew and loved Ranevskaya performed by Olga Knipper. The fact that Olga Leonardovna continued to play this famous role in "The Cherry Orchard" illuminated the old performance, still staged in the original 1904 mise-en-scenes, with enduring poetry. Her participation was the main poetic meaning of the performance and saved it from the museum flavor. She retained her creative right to this role to the end. Ranevskaya remained her creation, which turned out to be unsurpassed whenever other, even the most talented actresses entered the performance. It seemed that Olga Leonardovna alone possessed some cherished secret of this subtle Chekhovian image, the most complex in its internal psychological interweaving. Guessing even then, at the beginning of the century, that the most difficult thing for an actress in Ranevskaya is to find her "lightness", she did not burden her with anything over the years. When you listen to the phonographic recording of The Cherry Orchard now, its skill is striking - the delicacy of the drawing of each phrase, the weight of each word, the richness of shades, the extraordinary courage and precision of the most unexpected inner transitions, the harmonious harmony of the whole. But when Olga Leonardovna was Ranevskaya on stage, hardly anyone in the hall thought about her skill. It seemed that she did not play her at all, and everything that she does was born right there, of course, exists outside of her acting intention and skill.

Interestingly, Olga Leonardovna played Ranevskaya in the 1930s, all in the same dress created by Nadezhda Petrovna. In support of this, there is a photograph taken in 1932. In total, the Lamanova dress served 40 years.

This dress for the role of Ranevskaya is captured on portrait by Nikolai Pavlovich Ulyanov, a student of Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov.

In 2016, a portrait of Olga Leonardovna Knipper-Chekhova was shown at the exhibition "The Fashion Designer whom Stanislavsky believed" in Moscow Fashion Museum and in Nizhny Novgorod Literary Museum. Gorky .

Used sources:
http://diletant.media/blogs/60920/675/
http://vadim-i-z.livejournal.com/1060229.html
http://teatr-lib.ru/Library/MAT_v_kritike/MAT_v_kritike_1919-1930/#_Toc272450594
https://studfiles.net/preview/4387373/page:11/
http://thelib.ru/books/vitaliy_vulf/50_velichayshih_zhenschin_kollekcionnoe_izdanie-read.html

K.S. Stanislavsky. A.P. Chekhov at the Art Theater (Memoirs).
In the book: A.P. Chekhov in the memoirs of his contemporaries. Publishing house "Khudozhestvennaya literatura", Moscow, 1960. P.410-411

No matter how many performances “The Cherry Orchard” are in Moscow, there will be a spectator for everyone. The Moscow Art Theater named after Gorky restored the play based on the immortal play by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, the premiere of which appeared on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater back in 1904: Olga Knipper played Ranevskaya then, and Stanislavsky himself played her brother Gaev.

In 1988, Sergei Danchenko staged at the Moscow Art Theater. Gorky his "Cherry Orchard", which has been on stage with success for almost thirty years, and now the performance with a renewed cast, again met with its audience.

The all-star cast of the theater, led by the renowned Tatiana Doronina, is presented in full color in the updated performance. But, in addition to the great and famous, young actors of the legendary theater were introduced to the production. Ranevskaya's daughter, seventeen-year-old Anya, is played by Elena Korobeinikova, and with her youth and enthusiasm, the actress seems to color the life of the inhabitants of the old house, which will soon be sold for debts. But it is youth that is the future, and the young actress is eager to make her dreams of the future come true. And thanks to the sensual performance of Elena Korobeinikova, the viewer practically sees this future, it seems close and inexpressibly beautiful.

The production takes place in an old estate, where Ranevskaya returns from Paris with her daughter Anya. The scenery of the performance (the interior of the house is furnished with great love) emphasizes the place and time in which visitors find themselves. Entering the house, they seem to fall into oblivion, succumbing to the spell of this place, which will forever remain in their hearts. Thanks to the soulful play of the actors, the viewer is ready to believe that the estate was once the most comfortable place on earth for the characters.

The interior of the estate is divided into a room with windows overlooking the garden and a light corridor - here they dance at balls, which turn out to be pyrrhic for the owner of the estate, Ranevskaya. These are all the heroes of the play and move in these two spaces, as in two worlds. They are either immersed in dreams of the future, or in nostalgia for the past, which they want to return.

The main character, she is the main victim of circumstances Ranevskaya, performed by the brilliant Honored Artist of Russia Lidia Matasova, appears before the viewer as a “blind” embodiment of what is happening around the garden and the house. Ranevskaya lives with memories and does not notice the obvious at all. But she is at home (for now) and therefore is in no hurry, and hopes for the best, which, alas, will never come.

Tatiana Shalkovskaya, who played Varya, most likely understands the true state of affairs better than others, and therefore is sad, quiet and all in black. But she is also unable to help the audience with anything but sympathy, and even furtively regretting her bitter fate.

His character embodies on stage and a house with a garden - he breathes his life, from very recent serf times. After all, it was then that the old man Firs (convincing Gennady Kochkozharov) wanted to marry, and life was in full swing and the cherries were “dried, soaked, pickled, made jam…”. But the time of serfdom is gone, and those gathered cannot find a new way to “raise money”. From that time, only the habit of wasting money remained, and Lyubov Andreevna knows how to do this more than anyone else. And although she admits this weakness to herself, at the same time, she cannot resist her in any way. Like, probably, each of us, she has enough of these weaknesses, but maybe that is why she forgives the shortcomings of others, and pity everyone.

And although the production is inherently deeply lyrical, the performance deeply reflects the characters of the characters who remain themselves in the proposed circumstances. Even the thick-skinned Lopakhin performed by Valentin Klementyev will stop within the walls of the estate, subject to memories of his own difficult childhood. And Charlotte, performed by Irina Fadina, appears playful, hiding her own disorder and indecision behind a wide smile. Dunyash's “gentle creature”, embodied by Yulia Zykova, reliably depicts an inappropriate delight at everything that happens and reluctantly brushes off the clerk Epikhodov (Sergei Gabrielyan), who proposed to her.

Farewell to the native noble nest, which all the heroes will face, will not be saved by deliberate fun or dancing with music. Illusions dissipate and Ani's words sound like a call, comforting her mother and persuading her to leave her old house as soon as possible: “... We will plant a new garden, more luxurious than this, you will see it, you will understand, and joy, quiet, deep joy will descend on your soul, like the sun in the evening ... ”.

Everyone has the right to a “new garden”, but not everyone can afford it.

Sabadash Vladimir.

Photo - Yuri Pokrovsky.