Russian mighty talent. The Presidential Library marking the 200th anniversary of the famous playwright Alexander Ostrovsky

On April 14, 2023, the Presidential Library hosted a video lecture marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Russian playwright Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (1823–1886). The event was held within the framework of the city-wide festival “Our Ostrovsky”, which involves libraries, museums and cultural institutions of St. Petersburg.

The phenomenon of Ostrovsky is that his works have never been forgotten. For more than 150 years the author’s plays have been in demand in the theaters of our country. The founder of the Russian national theater, he wrote about five dozen dramatic works, and one of the most famous is the play “The Storm”. Ivan Turgenev, after watching this play, called it “the most amazing, most magnificent work of a Russian, powerful, completely self-mastered talent”.

However, few people know that Alexander Ostrovsky has another “The Storm”. The speech of Nadezhda Gennadievna Mikhnovets, Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Department of Russian Literature of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia was devoted to this fact at the Presidential Library’s video lecture. She revealed how the conflict of the famous literary work “The Storm” is built and why this drama is important and topical at all times. Then, it was talked about the libretto for the opera “The Storm”, which Ostrovsky wrote in 1867. Professor Mikhnovets explained how the works complement each other.

Critics have repeatedly noted that, despite the fame of the works of Alexander Ostrovsky, his personality has always remained mysterious. “We do not know”, - wrote critic Alexander Urusov, “what are his ideals, what are his religious and poetic convictions. He writes comedies for himself, without any prefaces and nothing more”. Tatyana Arkadyevna Sinelnikova, Head of the Sector of Archival Materials of the Rare Book Department of the St. Petersburg Theater Library, lifted the veil of uncertainty at the video lecture. She talked about Ostrovsky’s letters to various recipients, as well as introduced unusual documents related to the preparation of performances based on the plays of the playwright as well as other unique materials.

The video lecture dedicated to the life and career of Alexander Ostrovsky will be of interest to both lovers of the theater and literature, and professional researchers.

The recording of the event is available on the institution’s Rutube channel.

The Presidential Library regularly holds interactive lessons and video lectures. The detailed information about them is available on the institution's portal in the Multimedia Lessons section and in the Video lecture for school section. Video recordings of lectures and open lessons are also available here.