Cultural project s and insulted feelings: Materials on the history of perception

Abstract

The published materials deal with censorship bans on cultural projects that referenced insulted religious feelings. The first set of documents is related to the ban on staging Oscar Wilde’s play Salomé in Russia. It includes a letter from V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko justifying the importance of staging this play for the Moscow Art Theatre, and an appeal from V. F. Komissarzhevskaya requesting permission to put on a revised version of the tragedy. The arguments of those in favour of the ban are reflected in an expert analysis of the Salomé adaptation for the Russian theatre by Bishop Innocent (Belyaev) of Shatsk. Bishop Innocent proceeds from the fact that both the portrayal on stage of saints venerated by the Church and the re-enactment of Gospel-based plots are inadmissable. The document set concludes with the transcribed bureaucratic correspondence about the ban on staging in Russia of the play Salomé and any of its adaptations. The second set of documents is devoted to the intention of the A. Khanzhonkov and Co. Joint Stock Company to prepare a series of documentary films focusing on the life of the Russian Church. It includes a letter to the Synod signed by A. A. Khanzhonkov in which he seeks the Synod’s assistance and permission to film in churches and monasteries. Another document is a questionnaire, intended for distribution among bishops, about the most significant shrines and architectural monuments in their dioceses. The Synod did not support Khanzhonkov’s project, citing the fact that cinematic reproduction of icons and shrines is prohibited. The published documents show that early 20th-century Russian culture was marked by active assimilation and adaptation of Christian culture, which provided reasons to accuse authors of cultural and educational projects of profaning the sacred.