The heroes of Shukshin's play are indeed energetic people in the full sense of the word. Jacks of all trades, quick-witted and dishonest, grabbers and thieves, who can be called businessmen of the era of socialism, for whom there was no use for their practical acumen and intelligence. Tovstonogov and the actors breathed true life into these characters.

A middle-aged gentleman, yet utterly naive, sums up his life experience gained over years of traveling around good old England. The comical and absurd situations in which he and his friends constantly find themselves turn the play into a rare and truly timeless bestseller that entertains millions of viewers.

Based on Leo Tolstoy's story "Holstomer" staged by the Leningrad State Academic Bolshoi Drama Theater named after M. Gorky.

The plot is based on stories by B. Gorbachev: "The Trial of Stepan Grokhot," "Birth on Cucumber Land," "The Merchant Labas," and "The Great Flood." The main circumstance of the plot is five days of blizzard that began immediately after the arrival of a new boss at the Arctic construction site. The time of the action is 1935. A new manager arrives at a construction site that is in a state of crisis.

A judge is devastated after the death of his wife and is neglectful of his children. His son befriends the children of a street beggar who live in an abandoned, derelict church. After his experience with his new friends, the young boy begins to feel sorry for his father and sympathizes with his loneliness.

A fatal surgical mistake involving the wrong blood type splits the lives of twin brothers. One, the guilt-ridden surgeon, embraces anonymity as a kerosene salesman, while his sibling ascends to become the powerful Chairman of the City Council. When a government investigation into bribery begins, the brothers are finally forced to confront the dark secret that binds them.

Based on Alexander Pushkin's novel "The Queen of Spades." The modern situation is projected onto the plot of "The Queen of Spades."

Based on materials from real criminal cases, it follows the trial of the trade mafia.

The conceit is that Sherlock Holmes is, as in reality, a fictional creation of Arthur Conan Doyle, but that the place where his office would be is maintained by the brilliant detective Shirley Holmes, who both solves crimes and maintains a museum for people who think Sherlock Holmes is real -- accompanied by a phonograph playing music from the Livanov series which had not long ended. She is accompanied, as might be expected, by a woman Watson, and must fight off the affections of both a Scotland Yard inspector an a parody Latin lover from Spain.

As an adviser to the emperor Nicholas II, mystic Grigori Rasputin holds great influence over the empire. However, many in St Petersburg begin to regard Rasputin, with his strange practices and mesmerizing qualities, as a liability and plot his assassination. When Rasputin, known to many as the 'Mad Monk', leads Nicholas to embrace an ill-conceived military strategy, a group of determined conspirators set down a plan to eliminate him.