Memorial Рlaque in Нonour Оf the Аctors of the Moscow Puppet Theatre Who Fought in the 2nd Division of the People’s Militia
During the first days of the Great Patriotic War, the Moscow Puppet Theatre prepared an anti-fascist program, with which it performed at the front, at recruiting and propaganda points, in hospitals and medical clinics. In July 1941, actors of the Moscow Puppet Theatre V.I. Visyashchev and R.S. Chekmarev were drafted into the ranks of the Red Army. The 2nd Rifle Division of the People’s militia included actors M.V. Glotov, S.I. Zadonin, V.N. Raspopov, N.V. Sazonova (she was a wife of the founder of the theatre V.A. Schwemberger). An independent front-line puppet brigade was created from the militia, which was headed by the leading actor of the theatre Sergey Zadonin. Before the war, several performances were staged at the Moscow Puppet Theatre, where the main character was a carrier of folk ingenuity, who found a way out of any scrapes, the well-known Petrushka. After the formation of the front-line puppet brigade, the play “Petrushka at the Front” was written and prepared for production in record time. In August 1941, a creative brigade of militia, loaded with several suitcases of props, was sent to the head of the political department of the 2nd Infantry Division of the People’s Militia of the Stalinskiy district of Moscow and gave concerts, raising the morale of our soldiers. Subsequently, the concert brigade of the division was surrounded and destroyed. In memory of the feat of the artists who served in the Moscow Puppet Theatre and gave their lives to protect the Motherland, a memorial plaque is located in the theatre building.
Address: Moscow, Spartak str., 26/30
