Putin drank tea in Stalin’s box: secrets of the Sochi Winter Theater revealed

In mid-May 1938, the opera “The Tsar’s Bride” opened the stage of this theater. The building itself has a long history, covered with all sorts of myths and legends. One of them is connected with the dungeons of the theater. They say that somewhere deep underground there still exists a government bunker and an extensive network of passages built especially for Stalin. On the eve of the 85th anniversary of the famous Winter Theater in Sochi, the MK reporter dispelled these rumors.

HELP MK:

The Winter Theater in Sochi is an architectural monument of federal significance. The architecture of the building is reminiscent of the Greek Parthenon. It is surrounded by 88 columns. The location of the main entrance is unusual – it is turned not to the city, but to the sea. This was done on purpose so that during the intermission the audience could enjoy the view of the Seaside Park and the sea. The Great Hall was also decorated with 12 columns with Corinthian capitals (crowning parts of the columns). The hall is illuminated by a large chased chandelier with crystal pendants. At that time, crystal was delivered only from abroad. But masters from the Moscow region for the first time in the USSR decorated the chandelier with domestic crystal. The backstage is a gift from the Moscow Theatre. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko. An equally interesting story is connected with the sculptures installed on the pediment of the Winter Theater, created in the workshop of Vera Mukhina. They symbolize the three arts: painting, sculpture and architecture. Uncharacteristic disciplines for the theater. These three sculptures were supposed to decorate the roof of a completely different building. They were temporarily installed on the pediment of the Winter Palace, and left like that.

The Winter Theater was built in record time – just two years. Stalin himself oversaw the project. And not just for the love of art. He personally took care of his security issues. Everything was thought out. From the Stalinist lodge, an underground tunnel led to a bomb shelter. But from the boxes that are nearby, the scene is not visible. They are for representatives of the special services, who were supposed to be with the first persons, while not looking at the stage at all. The bunker was never used for its intended purpose. It has been preserved in its original form, but now it performs other functions. The theater uses it as a warehouse.

According to legend, on the eve of the war, the Leningrad big band was delivered by plane to Sochi and, by order of the order, “offered” to perform in the Winter in front of … an empty hall. The musicians played a concert, after which a man in uniform approached them with the words: “Thank you, the owner liked it.” Be that as it may, there is no documentary evidence that Stalin visited the Winter Theater. Officially, the leader of the peoples has never been to the Winter Theater. At the same time, he supervised the construction of the theater, starting with the fact that he chose a layout from six options for the future Zimny ​​Theater and personally determined the chief architect – the young, which was completely unusual at the time of 1934, Konstantin Chernopyatov. True, two experienced masters of the Academy of Architecture were assigned to him.

Zimny ​​was built in the midst of political repressions. Stalin feared for his life, although he regularly came to Sochi on vacation. Therefore, the security measures in the building are unprecedented. Especially for Joseph Vissarionovich, a secret underground entrance was created. The leader could leave the theater directly from his personal box, to the right of the stage. For the first persons in the building there is a bomb shelter and an underground passage, and in the ceiling of the auditorium there are windows for the NKVD officers. The first director of the Winter Theater came under repression. According to contemporaries, Alexander Metelev was distinguished by his colossal energy and scrupulousness – he delved into all the details. From the day the theater building was laid and almost until the end of construction, Metelev took an active part in organizing the work, exercising strict control over the implementation of the project and knowing almost every builder by sight. On May 5, 1937, the director of the Winter Palace was arrested, and on October 26 he was shot as an “enemy of the people.” He was charged with participation in the work of a counter-revolutionary terrorist organization. Alexander Metelev was posthumously rehabilitated on October 13, 1955 by the VKVS of the USSR.

Now the 19th director rules the ball in Zimny. To dispel the myths and legends of the Soviet Parthenon “MK” chose the most “long-playing” general director of the Winter Palace, who held this position for almost 10 years (2010-2019), Vladimir Misharin.

“Indeed, one of the lodges built for Stalin is still used for its intended purpose,” Misharin tells MK. – It is still intended to serve the first person of the state. Until now, it is called “literary” (a special box, marked not with a number, but with a letter, and usually better furnished and more spacious than numbered boxes. – Auth.). If you look at the stage, it is on the right. And it is built in such a way that for security purposes it is not visible from the stage who is in it. From the story about that mysterious concert, it is known that Stalin could only be in it and no one could see him from the stage. Therefore, there is a lot of talk about her, and on every anniversary (and I spent them twice – for 75 and 80 years), questions arise for her. This is no longer any secret: indeed, Stalin had the opportunity, for security reasons, to drive a car into the theater unnoticed. And today, if you drive past the Zhemchuzhnaya Hotel, you can see an inconspicuous turn to the Winter Theater, which leads to a secret tunnel. Now it is technological. Indeed, it was possible to drive a car through this tunnel and get into the letter box, which was provided with all security measures.

– What kind of security measures?

— The lodge has a bulletproof wall. I repeat, it was possible to get into this box not through the official front door, but through a secret tunnel and leave it by car completely unnoticed. Security measures for those times were appropriately provided.

In addition to the Stalinist box in the hall, there are two more that have a strange purpose. If you enter them, then the stage is completely invisible from them, but at the same time the auditorium is clearly visible. Old-timers say that they were intended for security officers, who could comfortably fit in them and monitor the auditorium. Therefore, all the necessary security measures in Zimny ​​were provided.

During my work, both the chairman of the government and the president of Russia visited this theater. Therefore, all this is still used, except for the underpass. Today, for security reasons, this tunnel is not used, and protected persons quietly drive up to the main porch.

By the way, about the porch … This theater has four of them on each side. Until the last moment, no decision was made on which side the main entrance would be from – from the sea side or from the side of Kurortny Prospekt. As a result, it was made from the side of the sea. So, the letter box of Stalin has its own porch, which allows the first person of the state to enter his box without hindrance and completely separately. It is still in use today.

Was Putin in this box?

– Of course, in the box he drank a cup of tea, some water, talked with his guests, but during the time of my work, Vladimir Putin watched the performances of the artists from the central, 10th row of the stalls.

Do you remember what he was watching?

– He was in Zimny ​​several times – in the status of both the chairman of the government and the president. All my life I will remember February 4, 2014, when a reception was held in Zimny ​​in honor of the members of the International Olympic Committee, among whom were the crowned persons and the top leadership of Russia. On this day, the 126th session of the IOC opened. This ceremony was accompanied by an hour-long, in my opinion, absolutely beautiful, sparkling concert, in which the Bashmet Orchestra, the Kuban Cossack Choir, the St. Petersburg Yakobson Ballet and several academic folklore groups of Russia took part. I well remember that among the guests in the foyer were King Constantine II of Greece with Princess Anna Maria of Denmark, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain Princess Anna, the reigning Prince of Monaco Albert II, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri, Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein of Jordan … It was grand welcome. He will remain in my memory for the rest of my life.

In addition, I remember Vladimir Vladimirovich’s visits to the International Investment Forum, the main venue of which for many years was the Winter Theater. He has repeatedly visited the concerts of Yuri Bashmet as part of the annual Winter Festival, which takes place in February. The President also came to watch the play “The Little Prince” with the participation of Konstantin Khabensky.