Published on: 2026-09-14
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
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In theaters subordinate to the capital To the Department of Culture, often turn to the rich literary heritage of Leo Tolstoy — plays based on his works allow for a new perspective on the author’s ideas and the characters of his heroes. In the mos.ru article — about how contemporary directors bring classical plots to the stage and why these stories still resonate with audiences.
“Resurrection” at the N.V. Gogol Theatre
Dates: September 24, October 13 and 28
Address: Kazakov Street, 8
Age restriction: 16+
Pavel Parkhomenko referred to the last novel of Lev Nikolayevich. Tolstoy wrote “Resurrection” based on a real court case: the plot about a juror who recognized in the defendant a girl he once seduced deeply moved him. The author also invested personal remorse into this work, reflecting in it his own sinful youthful affair with a maid. To achieve maximum authenticity, Tolstoy studied the routine in one of the prisons and even walked with prisoners on their way to the station. Work on the novel took Lev Nikolayevich 11 years (with interruptions).
In performance employed are Alexander Khotenov, Yanina Tretyakova, Sofya Kovaleva, Anna Gulyarenko, and others.
“Karenina. Volume Two” at the Vladimir Mayakovsky Theater
Dates: September 13 and 26, October 24 and 25, November 14 and 15
Address: Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, building 19/13, structure 1
Age restriction: 16+
“Anna Karenina,” one of the most famous novels in the world, was first published in full in 1878. The writer began working on the work in 1873 but was dissatisfied with what he had written. Later, Leo Tolstoy agreed to publish it chapter by chapter in the magazine “Russkiy Vestnik,” but due to political disagreements with the editor, the final part of the novel never appeared in the magazine.
This season, the Mayakovsky Theatre is staging one of the most ambitious adaptations based on a novel performances in its history. Egor Peregudov deliberately avoided retelling the beginning of the main characters’ relationship and Anna’s breakup with her husband. Instead, he focuses on the tragic finale. In each of the several acts, the audience will see a complete change of scenery. They will view the events through the eyes of Karenin, Vronsky, and Dolly. In the final act, the narrative will be from Anna’s own perspective.
“Tolstoy is interesting and powerful because of his details, nuances, and, of course, psychology: understanding how complex and nonlinear the relationships between a man and a woman are. How difficult it is to maintain love and build a family. This is exactly what we want to explore in detail. We are expecting a thoughtful audience at the play, one that is interested not in a retelling of the plot, but in the search for a theatrical language equivalent to Tolstoy’s epic novelistic word,” said the director.
Arbuzov’s play, Tolstoy’s novel: Mayakovsky Theater revealed plans for the season
“Masha and the Three Bears” at the Moscow Puppet Theater
Dates: September 27, October 18, November 8 and 21
Address: 9 Bazhov Street
Age restriction: 0+
Leo Tolstoy, a generally extremely prolific author, also wrote children’s fairy tales, invariably embedding in them a moral that can be traced one way or another in his works for adult audiences as well. Among the most famous stories for the very young is “The Three Bears,” an original adaptation of a plot borrowed from English folklore.
At the Moscow Puppet Theater, there is performance Based on this fairy tale: because of a runaway horse, the old man and the old woman are forced to put on a puppet show about the girl Masha and the three bears right on the road for a crowd that has gathered around them by chance.
The author of the staging and director is the honorary artist of the city of Moscow, Valery Badzhi; the set designer is Irina Khmaruk; the composer is Ivan Gerasimenko.
“The Story of a Horse” at the “At Nikitskiye Gates” Theater
Dates: September 15, October 9
Address: Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, building 23/14/9
Age restriction: 12+
The story of the novella “Kholstomer” began in 1856 when Leo Tolstoy heard about a piebald trotter that its owners had expelled due to a congenital coat defect — white spots. The story deeply moved Lev Nikolayevich, and he decided to write about it. The work was completed in 1886.
The plot revolves around the tragic confession of the old gelding Hulstomer, whose life turned out to be much more honest and useful than the life of his degraded owner. A century later, this profound philosophical parable became the basis of the famous musical by Mark Rozovsky and Yuri Ryashentsev, “The Story of a Horse.” production The horse thinks, feels, and sings like a human, maintaining dignity better than many people. The play gained colossal recognition and became the only Soviet musical staged on Broadway.
“War and Peace” at the Modern Theater
Dates: September 15, October 20
Address: Spartakovskaya Square, 9/1
Age restriction: 12+
Initially, Tolstoy conceived the novel about the return of the Decembrists from Siberian exile. But during the process, the concept changed, and the work on the book, which turned into a grand epic, took six years—from 1863 to 1869. The author revised the text eight times, and once he visited the Borodino field for a more accurate description of the famous battle. For the first time, the novel “War and Peace” was published as a separate edition in 1868–1869 and brought the writer enormous success.
Yuri Grymov in his production shifted the main focus to Pierre Bezukhov and his transformation into a true patriot. The entire theater troupe is involved in the performance, along with guest artists — about 70 people in total. Artist Irena Belousova created more than 400 historical costumes, meticulously recreating the style of the early 19th century. The musical accompaniment is provided by the A.V. Sveshnikov State Academic Russian Choir, which performs spiritual hymns and Western European compositions.
“Anna Karenina” at the Operetta Theatre
Dates: from September 15 to 20, from October 13 to 18
Address: 6 Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street
Age restriction: 12+
The operetta theater also offers its own perspective on the immortal novel. The original libretto is complemented by expressive choreography, orchestral accompaniment of the theater, and the latest multimedia technologies. In performance Ekaterina Guseva, Dmitry Ermak, Valeria Lanskaya, Natalia Bystrova, and others will perform.
“What Keeps People Alive” at the “Vedogon Theatre”
Dates: September 19, October 18
Address: Zelenograd, Yunosti Street, house 17
Age restriction: 12+
Performance “What keeps people alive” based on the short story of the same name, first published in the magazine “Children’s Leisure” in 1881. The plot centers on an angel who spared a woman for the sake of her children. As punishment for disobeying, the angel was sent to live on earth among ordinary mortals. To return to heaven, he must find answers to three main questions about human nature and the meaning of life.
Director Tatyana Tarasova added another heroine to the well-known story. Viewers will be invited to see everything through the eyes of a little girl.
“Karenina” at the Taganka Theatre
Dates: September 23, October 29, November 10
Address: Zemlyanoy Val Street, building 76/21, structure 1
Age restriction: 16+
At the Taganka Theatre, Alexander Karpushin combined the works of Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov: the plot unfolds in station restaurants in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, where the paths of different but recognizable characters intersect. The play helps to reflect on the most important questions through the example of the tragic fate of Anna Karenina.
“Happy families only drink tea, while a tragedy unfolds in their souls” — such a hybrid from Chekhov and Tolstoy, from possibility and impossibility, from doctor and philosopher, from pity and compassion, from a person’s love and love for a person. Do we need ‘Anna Karenina’ today? Or rather — do WE today matter to Tolstoy? And we cannot be the We of today without being the We of today; we cannot get into a time machine and become people of the 19th century. We have already become who we are, existing in a different rhythm, at a different speed. Having become completely different, we still continue to ask questions. Love or passion? Who has the right to judge? Why unrest instead of peace? Is it possible to give everything for a second of happiness? Is there meaning in love? And each answer is like a small step on the path to solving the great novel of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy,” the director believes.
Performance staged in a strict black-and-white aesthetic using large-scale visual projections. Pavel Levkin, Darya Avratinskaya, Kirill Yanchevskiy, and others will appear on stage.
“Anna Karenina” at the Pokrovka Theatre
Dates: September 23 and 25
Address: Pokrovka Street, Building 50/2, Structure 1
Age restriction: 16+
The first performance in Russia — a large-scale production where dramatic theater merges with modern multimedia technologies. The action unfolds in the aesthetics of the early 20th century. The audience awaits a unique multimedia space, where dramatic storytelling is complemented by video projections, generative graphics, as well as light and sound effects. One of the key symbols of the production becomes the image of the railroad, embodying rapidly changing times and a person’s movement toward inevitable changes.
The creators of the performance shift the focus from external judgment to the ability to accept a person as they are, to understand and forgive. The production explores the nature of human relationships, the power of social prejudices, and the destructive impact of judgment faced by the characters. It is a story about time that changes people, and about eternal human feelings that remain unchanged.
The director of the play is Dmitry Bikbaev. The production features actress Maria Volkova, winner of the “Golden Mask” award, Dina Korzun, and Maxim Dakhnenko.
“Anna Karenina” at the Theatre on the Southwest
Dates: September 26, October 24, November 21
Address: 125 Vernadsky Avenue
Age restriction: 16+
Oleg Anishchenko in his version of “Anna Karenina” preserved all key plot lines. The main heroine appears not just as a socialite, but as a desperate maximalist on the path to self-destruction. He added to performance A slight touch of grotesque complemented the narrative with choreographic numbers. An important part of the visual design was the on-screen video projections featuring the characters’ revealing monologues.
“Tolstoy is not here” at the Theatre on Trubnaya
Dates: September 30, October 30, November 15
Address: 29 Neglinnaya Street, Building 1
Age restriction: 16+
They will perform at the Theatre on Trubnaya performance, staged based on the diaries and letters of Lev Nikolaevich. Viewers will live through a day with the classic author: they will learn what he was thinking about, what he shared with his loved ones, what made him happy and sad. The writer’s wife, Sofya Andreyevna, will be played by People’s Artist of Russia Irina Alferova.
“Three Bears” at the “Russian Song” Theater
Dates: October 4 and 31, November 22
Address: Sadovaya-Chernogryazskaya Street, Building 5/9, Structure 2
Age restriction: 0+
On the small stage of the “Russian Song” theater, there is performance Based on the fairy tale “The Three Bears” from Leo Tolstoy’s story. The creators of the production modernized the story a bit: Masha here is a capricious city girl who came to her grandfather and grandmother for the holidays. But she doesn’t like the village, and she runs away to the forest, where she meets the three bears.
The performance is interactive: children will be taught to count, imitate forest sounds, say tongue twisters, and also be introduced to Russian folk music.
“War and Peace” at Vyacheslav Spesivtsev’s Theater
Dates: October 4, November 29
Address: Rustaveli Street, house 19
Age restriction: 12+
Vyacheslav Spesivtsev created production, in which he combined the text of Leo Tolstoy with the songs of Vladimir Vysotsky. He managed in just 1.5 hours to convey the main content of the novel — from large-scale battles and lavish balls to the personal dramas of the characters.
“War and Peace. Princess Mary” at the Pokrovka Theatre
Dates: October 15
Address: Pokrovka Street, Building 50/2, Structure 1
Age restriction: 12+
All the events of the novel in the production “War and Peace. Princess Mary” presented through the perception of Marya Bolkonskaya. The plot revolves around the heroine’s personal drama, who sacrifices herself for her loved ones but ultimately finds family happiness. Leo Tolstoy himself loved Bolkonskaya very much and endowed her with traits of his own mother, Maria Nikolaevna.
“War and Peace. The Beginning of the Novel” at the “Pyotr Fomenko Workshop”
Dates: October 16, November 10
Address: Taras Shevchenko Embankment, building 29
Age restriction: 12+
In the play “Peter Fomenko’s Workshop” Only a small part of “War and Peace” is shown — an incomplete first volume. The plot unfolds during a period when Natasha Rostova is still childishly in love with Boris Drubetskoy, and Andrei Bolkonsky is just preparing to go to the front.
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