[tropdrop]

There is such a cool puppet culture there. If you ever get the chance and are interested, you should check out a production by Obraztsov [1] – a lot of the concerts are on YouTube.

When I was in Russia in 2018 I was shocked at how big puppet theatres are there, still, and perhaps even more so. They're a vibrant part of life, very sophisticated, no doubt due to the popularity of Obraztsov and his ilk. It made me realize how neglected this part of theatre is in the US (not to mention circuses and clowns, which by now have just been thoroughly associated with horror or terrible birthday parties. Only Cirque du Soleil gets a mild pass).

I kept wishing one of my colleagues (in grad school currently) would make a dissertation about the rise of puppetry in the USSR and beyond, but alas, she abandoned her work with Russian theatre, though the probable reasons are obvious.

1 - https://youtu.be/SuR174hMr_Q?t=1208