How theaters and libraries helped Muscovites during the war

During the Great Patriotic War (WWII), Moscow continued to live, the cultural life of the city did not stop throughout the years in order to distract the attention of local residents from fear and panic. This was reported on May 6 on the portal of the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin.

On the day of the outbreak of war, June 22, 1941, Muscovites did not change their plans to visit cultural sites. Performances in theaters continued, but the next morning many actors were already queuing at military enlistment offices as volunteers. Among such actors are Vladimir Etush, Zinovy Gerdt. Actor Vladimir Zeldin was recalled after joining the service to work on the film "The Pig and the Shepherd."

Theater actors began performing at assembly points, train stations, hospitals, orphanages, military schools, and bomb shelters. Irina Karpacheva, head of the Moscow Museum's History Department, shared that Nina Sazonova, People's Artist of the USSR, and Tosya Romanova, her colleague at the Red Army Theater, sang for those leaving for the front at the Belorussky Railway Station.

Some actors, among others, were formed into front-line brigades and sent after the troops. At that time, there were 12 united theaters operating in Moscow, which most often staged productions on patriotic or historical themes. At the same time, viewers often wanted to watch comedies and listen to classical romances, Karpacheva notes.

"The actor of the Satire Theater, Vladimir Khenkin, told how they drove a truck to the front line. The truck served as a stage, the actor began a funny monologue and saw how the dead were buried nearby. But it was necessary to finish the funny scene," she said.

In August 1941, when the fascist invaders were approaching Moscow, several groups merged, which gave rise to the creation of a new Musical Theater named after K.S. Stanislavsky and V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko.

In addition, Soviet artists performed in the subway. Sergei Lemeshev, the soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, recalled that at night, during the shelling, he told fairy tales to children at the station. So, on November 6, 1941, a concert was held at the Mayakovskaya station, in which opera artists and ensembles took part.

"This needs to be understood. Moscow is under siege, there are rumors that the Nazis have landed troops, that the government has abandoned the city. And suddenly — a concert. And in the morning there is a parade on Red Square. As contemporaries said, it's not a pity to die for such a parade," Karpacheva emphasized.

On the first New Year's Eve after the start of the war, the artists dressed up as Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden, recalled pre-revolutionary Christmas fairy tales and played new ones. The Moscow Zoo continued its work during the war years. Dancing took place in Moscow parks, and an exhibition of captured weapons was opened in Gorky Park, which was visited by more than 1 million people.

Many cultural places have started to engage in amateur activities. Libraries also descended into bomb shelters so that residents of the city who were hiding from the bombing could continue to read.

On May 9, 1945, a spontaneous day off was declared, and theater and music groups staged performances on the streets and squares of Moscow in honor of the first Victory Day.

"The long-awaited Victory Day has arrived. Even strangers hugged each other. We performed on Red Square all day long... there was no end to the joy. Everyone rejoiced. In the evening, a light rain began to fall. People did not leave the Red Square. We held umbrellas over the guitarists' heads on stage so that the strings wouldn't get wet. They were beating right through puddles with thrashing and tap dancing," recalled Olga Demeter—Charskaya, an artist at the Romani Theater.

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The day before, the "Blue Victory Handkerchief" campaign took place in the Moscow metro. During the event, volunteers presented blue handkerchiefs to visitors of the Moscow Metro, which symbolize love, memory and loyalty. The participants of the action performed wartime songs and read poems, as well as a children's group with a dance "Bullseye".