Editing Konstantin Stanislavski (section)

== Revolutions of 1917 and the Civil War years ==
[[File:Stanislavski as Krutitski 1910.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Stanislavski as General Krititski in [[Aleksandr Ostrovsky|Ostrovsky's]] ''[[Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man]]''. His performance was particularly admired by [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]].]]

Stanislavski welcomed the [[February Revolution]] of 1917 and its overthrow of the [[absolute monarchy]] as a "miraculous liberation of Russia".<ref>Stanislavski, in a letter to Nestor Aleksandrovich Kotliarevski from {{OldStyleDate|16 March|1917|3 March}}, quoted by Benedetti (1999a, 245).</ref> With the [[October Revolution]] later in the year, the [[Moscow Art Theatre|MAT]] closed for a few weeks and the First Studio was occupied by revolutionaries.<ref name=b247>Benedetti (1999a, 247).</ref> Stanislavski thought that the social upheavals presented an opportunity to realize his long-standing ambitions to establish a Russian popular theatre that would provide, as the title of an essay he prepared that year put it, "The Aesthetic Education of the Popular Masses".<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 245–248) and Magarshack (1950, 348–349).</ref>

[[Vladimir Lenin]], who became a frequent visitor to the MAT after the revolution, praised Stanislavski as "a real artist" and indicated that, in his opinion, Stanislavski's approach was "the direction the theatre should take."<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 251).</ref> The revolutions of that year brought about an abrupt change in Stanislavski's finances when his factories were [[Nationalization|nationalized]], which left his wage from the MAT as his only source of income.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 245–246) and Carnicke (2000, 13). In 1919, the [[Moscow Art Theatre|MAT]] was [[Nationalization|nationalised]] (along with all other theatres).</ref> On 29 August 1918 Stanislavski, along with several others from the MAT, was arrested by the [[Cheka]], though he was released the following day.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 251–252).</ref>

During the years of the [[Russian Civil War|Civil War]], Stanislavski concentrated on teaching his system, directing (both at the MAT and its studios), and bringing performances of the classics to new audiences (such as factory workers and the [[Red Army]]).<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 252–253) and Magarshack (1950, 349–350).</ref> Several articles on Stanislavski and his system were published, but none were written by him.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 260) and Leach (2004, 46).</ref> On 5 March 1921, Stanislavski was evicted from his large house on Carriage Row, where he had lived since 1903.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 126, 257–258) and Carnicke (2000, 13).</ref> Following the personal intervention of Lenin (prompted by [[Anatoly Lunacharsky]]), Stanislavski was re-housed at 6 Leontievski Lane, not far from the MAT.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 257–258), Carnicke (2000, 13), and Magarshack (1950, 352). The house contained a large ballroom that he used for rehearsals, teaching, and performances, which following his Opera Studio production of ''[[Eugene Onegin (opera)|Eugene Onegin]]'' (1922) became known as the Onegin Room; see Benedetti (1999a, 259). Leontievski Lane was renamed Stanislavski Lane on 18 January 1938; see Magarshack (1950, 396).</ref> He was to live there until his death in 1938.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 258).</ref> On 29 May 1922, Stanislavski's favourite pupil, the director [[Yevgeny Vakhtangov]], died of cancer.<ref>Benedetti (1999a, 274), Magarshack (1950, 356), and Worrall (1996, 221).</ref>