Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre

Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama (Ukrainian: Донецький обласний драматичний театр, Russian: Донецкий областной драматический театр) was a theatre in Mariupol in southern Ukraine. The modern theatre was constructed in 1960. The theater was largely destroyed by Russian airstrikes on 16 March 2022.

History

• 1847 - Records the first time a theatrical troupe came to Mariupol, under entrepreneur V. Vinogradova. As there was no theatre in the city the troupe gave its performances in a rented barn in Ekaterininskaya street (nowadays - Lenin Av.).
• 1850 - 1860 - A barn in the courtyard of Popov (a local resident) provides the first theatrical venue - "The Temple of a Muse of the Melpomene". The building is fairly basic with elementary conditions, but here during several seasons many troupes performed. These included participation by provincial actors of that time: Alexandrov, Neverov, Medvedeva, Stoppel, Novitsky, Minsky, Prokofyev, Piloni and others.
• 1878 - The first professional theatrical troupe appears in the city of Mariupol. The beginning of the Mariupol theatre is funded by the son of a rich merchant Vasily Shapovalov who has rented a room for the theatre. The career of actors I. Zagorsky, L. Zagorsky, L. Linitskaja and others begins here.
• 1887 - Opening of the newly built theatre on November 8, named the Concert Hall (subsequently Winter Theatre), it has a big stage, comfortable seating, a place for the orchestra, and an auditorium for 800. [?A role of the Governor of a town in the first statement of the Concert hall "the Auditor" the owner of theatre and impresario has played]
• 1880 - 1890 - Performances of outstanding masters of the Ukrainian stage took place: M. Kropivnitsky, I. Karpenko-Kary, P. Saksagansky, M. Staritsky and others.
• 1920 - A drama collective "New Theatre" under the management of A. Borisoglebsky was active
• 1934 - The theatre is created the All-Donetsk musical-dramatical theatre based in Mariupol (the head - A. Smirnov, the main director - A. Iskander).
• 1959 - The Mariupol theatre is given the status Donetsk State Theatre.
• 1960 - November 2, the official opening of the re-constructed theatre and the first performance takes place.
• 1978 - The theatre company celebrates the 100th anniversary. The collective is awarded an Honour for significant merits in the theatrical arts.
• 1985 - The small stage of theatre is opened.
• 2022 - March 16, the theater was largely destroyed by airstrikes during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds of civilians were apparently sheltering in the building at the time. Satellite imagery taken prior to and immediately after the attack showed the Russian word for children, "Дети," painted on the ground at the front and rear of the building, to inform Russian military planes that children were sheltering in the building. On March 17, Dario Franceschini, Italian Minister of Culture informed on his Twitter page that the Cabinet of Ministers of Italy had approved his proposal to offer Ukraine the resources and means to rebuild the theatre as soon as possible. The Associated Press estimated that as many as 600 people were killed in the attack.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre" and modified on March 17, 2022 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.

On 16 March 2022, Ukrainian officials accused that Russian Armed Forces had bombed the Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine, which was in use as an air raid shelter during the siege of Mariupol, allegedly holding from 500 to 1,200 civilians in the days before 16 March.

Background

On February 24, the Russian Armed Forces, working together with pro-Russian rebels, besieged the port city of Mariupol, leading to heavy casualties as supplies such as food, gas, and electricity were cut off from the locals.

The theatre is one of a number of Ukrainian heritage and cultural sites that have been destroyed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Satellite images of the theatre taken on 14 March 2022 show the word "children" spelled out in Russian in two locations outside the theatre in an attempt to identify it to invading forces as a civilian air raid shelter containing children and not a military target. Mariupol city council officials stated that the theatre was the largest single air raid shelter in the city, and at the time of the attack it contained only women and children. Human Rights Watch interviewed refugees from Mariupol who stated that in the days preceding 16 March, there had been around 500 to 800 people sheltering in the theatre.

Incident

On 16 March, Ukraine accused that Russian forces began shelling civilian areas in Mariupol. Artillery hit numerous locations, including a swimming pool and a vehicle convoy. Shelling then struck the theatre, reducing the building to rubble. It was described by Ukrainian authorities as a war crime.

While the theatre was estimated to have held 500 to 1,200 civilians in the days before 16 March, casualty figures were not known as of 16 March 2022. Many people were trapped under the burning rubble of the collapsed theatre following the attack, and ongoing shelling in the area complicated recovery efforts.

The bomb shelter in the basement of the theatre survived the bombing. Some people emerged alive on 17 March.

Reactions

RIA Novosti reported that Russian authorities had denied their responsibility, instead accusing the Azov Battalion of having planned and carried out the theatre bombing, without providing evidence.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Mariupol theatre airstrike" and modified on March 17, 2022 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.