Cultural Mobilization: Russian Theatre and the First World War, 1914-1917

Cultural Mobilization: Russian Theatre and the First World War, 1914-1917 by Murray Frame

This article argues that the First World War marked a distinctive phase in the development of Russian theatre as an organized profession. In response to wartime pressures, the industry mounted a defence of its material interests. In the process, it reasserted a long-standing discourse about the public value of the stage, and called for theatrical 'democratization'. Furthermore, the value of theatrical culture was increasingly linked to the necessity of wider political reform. The wartime experience of the theatre industry, therefore, points to an increasingly assertive cultural sphere, emboldened by the general spirit of mobilization.