Grand Theater Book

Acknowledgments ix

Note on Transliteration and Abbreviations xi

Districts in the Kirov Region, 1935 xiii

Map of Kirov Region, 1935 xv

Preface xvii

Introduction 1

1 A Script of Perfection, Failure, Blame 25

2 Ascent into Darkness: Escalating Negativity, 1931-1941 39

3 A Symbiosis of Errors: The Personal, Professional, and Political, 1931-1938 63

4 The Art of Complaint, 1931-1938 91

5 Power to the People and to the State: Great Performances by V. P. Bulygina and E. T. Chernykh 107

6 "My Friend, I've Hit Rock Bottom": Politics and Friendship 129

7 A Tragedy: The Terror 151

8 Degeneration of the Symbiosis of Errors, 1938-1941 177

9 "Stop This Petty Tyranny": Letters and The Administration of Schools in Falenki, 1940-1941 191

10 Proprietary Professionalism: Mine by Right, 1538-1941 205

Conclusion 229

Bibliography 241

Index 249

About the Author 257