Censorship of public Lithuanian theatre evenings in late nineteenth and early twentieth century imperial Russia

Straipsnyje analizuojama viešų lietuviškųjų vakarų repertuaro cenzūra XIX a. pabaigos–XX a. pradžios Rusijos imperijoje. Pateikiama trumpa Rusijos imperijos dramaturgijos ir teatro cenzūros istorija, nusakomi bendrieji principai, kuriais vadovavosi rusų ir kitų Rusijos imperijos tautų kalbomis rašomą dramaturgiją tikrinę Rusijos imperijos cenzoriai. Remiantis archyvine medžiaga rekonstruojama, kaip buvo cenzūruotas viešų lietuviškųjų vakarų repertuaras, konkrečiai – iki 1904 m. spaudos draudimo panaikinimo Rygoje bei Sankt Peterburge lietuvių draugijų rengtiems spektakliams skirtos pjesės, o po minėtos datos – ir Lietuvoje vis dažnėjančiuose kultūrinių draugijų spektakliuose vaidinti kūriniai. Aptariant konkrečius cenzūriniuose egzemplioriuose išlikusius taisymus, uždraustus ir leistus vaidinti kūrinius, bandoma nustatyti ir specifinius, lietuvių dramaturgijai taikytus reikalavimus. Dėmesys skiriamas pagrindiniam lietuviškos dramaturgijos cenzoriui Eduardui Volteriui, 1904–1917 m. cenzūravusiam į Vyriausiąją spaudos reikalų valdybą Sankt Peterburge siunčiamas lietuviškas dramas: straipsnyje svarbi ne tik cenzoriaus darbo rutina, tačiau ir Volterio, aktyvaus Peterburgo lietuvių teatrinio gyvenimo dalyvio, pozicija tikrinant lietuviškas pjeses. Atskirai aptariamas dramaturgijos cenzūros poveikis: bandoma nusakyti, kaip valstybės kontrolė veikė lietuviškus vaidinimus, ar turėjo įtakos spausdinamai dramaturgijai, galiausiai pristatomi valstybinės cenzūros veiksmingumą mažinę veiksniai.The goal of this article is to examine the censorship of public Lithuanian theatre evening repertoires under imperial Russian rule in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The author offers a short history of theatre censorship in imperial Russia and identifies the general principles that guided state censors. Drawing on archival material, she reconstructs how the repertoires of public Lithuanian theatre evenings was censored. She examines specific edits that have been preserved in copies of censored plays and compares banned and approved plays, identifying specific requirements that were made of Lithuanian playwrights: state censorship prohibited the expression of nationalist aspirations in any form, and the performance of any works that portrayed the Russian people in a negative light. Lithuanian works were censored somewhat more lightly than Russian plays of the same period, particularly after the Revolution of 1905. This loosening of censorship reflects the general tendencies of softening censorship, a process to which Eduard Volter, a censor who was sympathetic to the Lithuanian nationalist movement, contributed. Volter viewed Lithuanian historical dramas in formal terms and did not withold permits for performances of plays that might inspire patriotic feelings. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that theatre censorship during this period was ineffective: it does not appear to have had a significant effect on Lithuanian playwrights, as censorship guidelines were not applied to the texts of published dramatic works. This was a result of Lithuania’s particular, northwestern situation. Because of imperial Russia’s ban on Lithuanian-language publications, most earlier plays had been printed outside of the Russian Empire; moreover, the organizers of public Lithuanian theatre evenings had the experience and alternative of holding secret Lithuanian events prior to 1904. In the Lithuanian consciousness, because the organization of Lithuanian theatre evenings was associated with a stance of defying official policy, censorship rules were not always adhered to. While censorship sought to control Lithuanian theatre evenings repertoires, it ultimately reinforced the politicization of Lithuanian theatregoers