Authors

Discussion

Since 2014, Russia has hosted an annual playwriting competition called 'Время драмы' ('Time of Drama'). Numerous entries have been submitted by authors from various regions of Russia (including the so-called 'new territories'), as well as by members of the diaspora in Western Europe, China, the United States and Israel. The competition is relatively popular, with around 400 participants each year. Most of the participants are amateurs with no professional connection to theatre. The competition is divided into three categories: play, miniature, and children's play. 

The organisers of 'Time of Drama' are far from ideologically neutral. On the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives' website, they boast, "The 'Time of Drama' competition was the first platform to feature plays about Donbas and the special military operation. Some of these plays reached the finals, and some won.' This makes the works submitted to the competition all the more fascinating. Inevitably, it is works by Russian artists who oppose Vladimir Putin's regime that tend to find their way to the West. While studying these works has the desired effect of destigmatising Russian society as a whole, it is equally important to pay attention to cultural works that showcase the regime's point of view. Competitions aimed at amateurs, such as 'Time of Drama', provide an opportunity to understand the perspective of aspiring artists who align with propaganda concerning both the country's internal situation and the average Russian's attitude towards the West. 

In my paper, I will briefly discuss three award-winning plays from the 'Time of Drama' competition: 'Серая зона' ('Grey Zone') by Andrei Bartikov, 'Триста – тридцать – три' ('Three Hundred – Thirty – Three') by Sergei Lagunov, and 'Свадебное платье для аксолотля' ('Wedding Dress for an Axolotl') by Ragim Musayev. All of them deal with the theme of war and military mobilisation. These plays, written by amateurs and approved by the regime, are excellent material for examining how Putin's intelligentsia views the conflict with Ukraine. At the same time, they are a document of quite unusual propaganda, as they operate in the realm of high art. These plays, alongside performances about the Great Patriotic War staged in penal colonies, prove that although theatre is the art form most difficult for political forces to subjugate, Vladimir Putin's regime continues its efforts.