In this classic of Russian humor and social commentary, a fired cable fitter goes on a binge and hopes a train to Petushki (where his "most beloved of trollops" awaits). On the way he bestows upon angels, fellow passengers, and the world at large a magnificent monologue on alcohol, politics, society, alcohol, philosophy, the pains of love, and, of course, alcohol.

The first major English translation of a masterful seriocomic theatrical work by one of the most prominent writers of the Soviet epochWalpurgis Night, by acclaimed Russian writer Venedikt Erofeev, is considered a classic in the playwright’s homeland. Erofeev’s dark and funny five-act satire of Soviet repression has been called the comic high-water mark of the Brezhnev era. Walpurgis Night dramatizes the outrageous trials of Lev Isakovich Gurevich, an alcoholic half-Jewish dissident poet confined by the state to a hospital for the insane. In “Ward 3”—a microcosm of repressive Soviet society—Gurevich deploys his brilliant wit and ingenuity to bedevil his jailers, defend his fellow inmates, protest his incarceration, and generally create mayhem, which ultimately leads to a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.

Venedikt Erofeev — yavlenie v russkoj literature yarkoe i neodnoznachnoe. Ego znamenitaya poehma «Moskva - Petushki», napisannaya eshche v 1970 godu, svoego roda filosofskaya pritcha, proizvedenie vne vremeni, ved'' Erofeev sozdal v knige svoj mir, svoyu vselennuyu, v centre kotoroj — chelovek, «chelovek kak mesto vstrechi vsekh planov bytiya». Vpervye poyavivshayasya na stranicah zhurnala «Trezvost'' i kul''tura», poehma «Moskva-Petushki» stala nastoyashchim otkroveniem dlya chitatelej i pozdnee byla perevedena na mnozhestvo yazykov mira. «Vo vselennoj Erofeeva ne sushchestvuet zdravogo smysla, logiki, tut net zakona, poryadka. Esli smotret'' na nego snaruzhi, on ostanetsya neponyatym. Tol''ko vklyuchivshis'' v poehtiku Erofeeva, tol''ko perejdya na ego syurrealisticheskij yazyk, tol''ko stav odnim iz personazhej, v konce koncov — soavtorom, chitatel'' mozhet oshchutit'' idejnuyu napryazhennost'' filosofsko-religioznogo dialoga, kotoryj vedut „visokosnye lyudi". No i togda chitatel'' smozhet uznat'' erofeevskuyu kartinu mira, no ne ponyat'' ee. Istinu ved'' voobshche nel''zya poluchit'' iz vtoryh ruk» (A. Genis).

Venedikt Erofeev — pisatel'' i dramaturg, avtor genial''noj poehmy «Moskva—Petushki» (1970) i p''esy «Val''purgieva noch''» (1985) — yavlenie v russkoj literature ogromnoe i eshche ne do konca osmyslennoe. V kratkoj avtobiografii svoim «pervym zasluzhivayushchim vnimaniya sochineniem» Erofeev nazyvaet «Zapiski psihopata» (1956-1958), nachatye v semnadcatiletnem vozraste, «samoe ob"emnoe i nelepoe iz napisannogo». Dolgoe vremya «Zapiski» ne publikovalis'', v to vremya kak v svoih interv''yu Erofeev snova i snova podcherkival, chto schitaet ehtot tekst dostojnym publikacii, no edva li veril v podobnuyu vozmozhnost'', poskol''ku «Zapiski» nasyshchenny «neozhidannymi leksicheskimi oborotami, myagko govorya». I dejstvitel''no polnyj, tshchatel''no vyverennyj tekst «Zapisok psihopata» uvidel svet tol''ko v 2004 godu. «Kogda menya vygonyali iz MGU, — rasskazyval v odnom iz interv''yu Venedikt Erofeev, — ya uzhe pisal — chisto yunosheskie „Zapiski psihopata". Odnokursniki, te, kto chital, govorili, chto ehto nevozmozhno, chto tak pisat'' nel''zya. „Ty, Erofeev, hochesh'' proslavit''sya na ves'' institut?" A ya v otvet: „U menya namereniya namnogo krupnee!"» I razve mog inache otvetit'' na ehtot vopros chelovek, slava kotorogo uzhe davno preodolela predely stolicy i samih Petushkov i ch''i knigi perevedeny bolee chem na tridcat'' yazykov mira.

Venedikt Erofeev — yavlenie v russkoj literature yarkoe i neodnoznachnoe. Ego znamenitaya poehma "Moskva — Petushki», napisannaya eshche v 1970 godu, — svoego roda filosofskaya pritcha, proizvedenie vne vremeni, ved'' Erofeev sozdal v knige svoj mir, svoyu vselennuyu, v centre kotoroj — "chelovek, kak mesto vstrechi vsekh planov bytiya». Vpervye poyavivshayasya na stranicah zhurnala "Trezvost'' i kul''tura» v 1988 godu, poehma "Moskva — Petushki» stala podlinnym otkroveniem dlya chitatelej i pozdnee byla perevedena na mnozhestvo yazykov mira.V nastoyashchem izdanii ehtot shedevr Erofeeva publikuetsya v soprovozhdenii podrobnyh kommentariev EHduarda Vlasova, kotorye, kak i samu poehmu, mozhno po pravu nazvat'' "ehnciklopediej sovetskoj zhizni». Opublikovannye vpervye v 1998 godu, kommentarii EH. YU. Vlasova s tekh por uzhe neodnokratno pereizdavalis''. V nih chitateli najdut ne tol''ko poyasneniya mnogih realij sovetskogo proshlogo, no i rasshifrovki namekov, allyuzij i reminiscencij, kotorymi napolnena poehma "Moskva — Petushki».

Vsemirnuyu slavu Venediktu Erofeevu prinesla ego znamenitaya, perevedennaya bolee chem na tridcat'' yazykov poehma "Moskva — Petushki". I hotya ee geroj — Venichka — tak i ne uvidel Krasnoj ploshchadi, zato stal poistine narodnym, a sam avtor teper'' uzhe priznan klassikom russkoj literatury HKH veka. Odnako tvorcheskoe nasledie Erofeeva — ehto ne tol''ko poehma "Moskva — Petushki": ehto i "Zapiski psihopata" (1956–1958), nachatye v 17-letnem vozraste, i p''esa "Val''purgieva noch''" (chast'' zadumannoj avtorom, no neosushchestvlennoj trilogii pod obshchim nazvaniem "Draj Nehkhte"), i tak nazyvaemye proizvedeniya maloj prozy, vklyuchaya sochinenie, napisannoe na vstupitel''nyh ehkzamenah vo Vladimirskij pedagogicheskij institut, i kratkuyu avtobiografiyu. EHtot tom stanet nastoyashchim podarkom dlya poklonnikov pisatelya.

In this classic of Russian humor and social commentary, a fired cable fitter goes on a binge and hopes a train to Petushki (where his "most beloved of trollops" awaits). On the way he bestows upon angels, fellow passengers, and the world at large a magnificent monologue on alcohol, politics, society, alcohol, philosophy, the pains of love, and, of course, alcohol.

The first major English translation of a masterful seriocomic theatrical work by one of the most prominent writers of the Soviet epochWalpurgis Night, by acclaimed Russian writer Venedikt Erofeev, is considered a classic in the playwright’s homeland. Erofeev’s dark and funny five-act satire of Soviet repression has been called the comic high-water mark of the Brezhnev era. Walpurgis Night dramatizes the outrageous trials of Lev Isakovich Gurevich, an alcoholic half-Jewish dissident poet confined by the state to a hospital for the insane. In “Ward 3”—a microcosm of repressive Soviet society—Gurevich deploys his brilliant wit and ingenuity to bedevil his jailers, defend his fellow inmates, protest his incarceration, and generally create mayhem, which ultimately leads to a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.

Venedikt Erofeev — yavlenie v russkoj literature yarkoe i neodnoznachnoe. Ego znamenitaya poehma «Moskva - Petushki», napisannaya eshche v 1970 godu, svoego roda filosofskaya pritcha, proizvedenie vne vremeni, ved'' Erofeev sozdal v knige svoj mir, svoyu vselennuyu, v centre kotoroj — chelovek, «chelovek kak mesto vstrechi vsekh planov bytiya». Vpervye poyavivshayasya na stranicah zhurnala «Trezvost'' i kul''tura», poehma «Moskva-Petushki» stala nastoyashchim otkroveniem dlya chitatelej i pozdnee byla perevedena na mnozhestvo yazykov mira. «Vo vselennoj Erofeeva ne sushchestvuet zdravogo smysla, logiki, tut net zakona, poryadka. Esli smotret'' na nego snaruzhi, on ostanetsya neponyatym. Tol''ko vklyuchivshis'' v poehtiku Erofeeva, tol''ko perejdya na ego syurrealisticheskij yazyk, tol''ko stav odnim iz personazhej, v konce koncov — soavtorom, chitatel'' mozhet oshchutit'' idejnuyu napryazhennost'' filosofsko-religioznogo dialoga, kotoryj vedut „visokosnye lyudi". No i togda chitatel'' smozhet uznat'' erofeevskuyu kartinu mira, no ne ponyat'' ee. Istinu ved'' voobshche nel''zya poluchit'' iz vtoryh ruk» (A. Genis).

Venedikt Erofeev — pisatel'' i dramaturg, avtor genial''noj poehmy «Moskva—Petushki» (1970) i p''esy «Val''purgieva noch''» (1985) — yavlenie v russkoj literature ogromnoe i eshche ne do konca osmyslennoe. V kratkoj avtobiografii svoim «pervym zasluzhivayushchim vnimaniya sochineniem» Erofeev nazyvaet «Zapiski psihopata» (1956-1958), nachatye v semnadcatiletnem vozraste, «samoe ob"emnoe i nelepoe iz napisannogo». Dolgoe vremya «Zapiski» ne publikovalis'', v to vremya kak v svoih interv''yu Erofeev snova i snova podcherkival, chto schitaet ehtot tekst dostojnym publikacii, no edva li veril v podobnuyu vozmozhnost'', poskol''ku «Zapiski» nasyshchenny «neozhidannymi leksicheskimi oborotami, myagko govorya». I dejstvitel''no polnyj, tshchatel''no vyverennyj tekst «Zapisok psihopata» uvidel svet tol''ko v 2004 godu. «Kogda menya vygonyali iz MGU, — rasskazyval v odnom iz interv''yu Venedikt Erofeev, — ya uzhe pisal — chisto yunosheskie „Zapiski psihopata". Odnokursniki, te, kto chital, govorili, chto ehto nevozmozhno, chto tak pisat'' nel''zya. „Ty, Erofeev, hochesh'' proslavit''sya na ves'' institut?" A ya v otvet: „U menya namereniya namnogo krupnee!"» I razve mog inache otvetit'' na ehtot vopros chelovek, slava kotorogo uzhe davno preodolela predely stolicy i samih Petushkov i ch''i knigi perevedeny bolee chem na tridcat'' yazykov mira.

Venedikt Erofeev — yavlenie v russkoj literature yarkoe i neodnoznachnoe. Ego znamenitaya poehma "Moskva — Petushki», napisannaya eshche v 1970 godu, — svoego roda filosofskaya pritcha, proizvedenie vne vremeni, ved'' Erofeev sozdal v knige svoj mir, svoyu vselennuyu, v centre kotoroj — "chelovek, kak mesto vstrechi vsekh planov bytiya». Vpervye poyavivshayasya na stranicah zhurnala "Trezvost'' i kul''tura» v 1988 godu, poehma "Moskva — Petushki» stala podlinnym otkroveniem dlya chitatelej i pozdnee byla perevedena na mnozhestvo yazykov mira.V nastoyashchem izdanii ehtot shedevr Erofeeva publikuetsya v soprovozhdenii podrobnyh kommentariev EHduarda Vlasova, kotorye, kak i samu poehmu, mozhno po pravu nazvat'' "ehnciklopediej sovetskoj zhizni». Opublikovannye vpervye v 1998 godu, kommentarii EH. YU. Vlasova s tekh por uzhe neodnokratno pereizdavalis''. V nih chitateli najdut ne tol''ko poyasneniya mnogih realij sovetskogo proshlogo, no i rasshifrovki namekov, allyuzij i reminiscencij, kotorymi napolnena poehma "Moskva — Petushki».

Vsemirnuyu slavu Venediktu Erofeevu prinesla ego znamenitaya, perevedennaya bolee chem na tridcat'' yazykov poehma "Moskva — Petushki". I hotya ee geroj — Venichka — tak i ne uvidel Krasnoj ploshchadi, zato stal poistine narodnym, a sam avtor teper'' uzhe priznan klassikom russkoj literatury HKH veka. Odnako tvorcheskoe nasledie Erofeeva — ehto ne tol''ko poehma "Moskva — Petushki": ehto i "Zapiski psihopata" (1956–1958), nachatye v 17-letnem vozraste, i p''esa "Val''purgieva noch''" (chast'' zadumannoj avtorom, no neosushchestvlennoj trilogii pod obshchim nazvaniem "Draj Nehkhte"), i tak nazyvaemye proizvedeniya maloj prozy, vklyuchaya sochinenie, napisannoe na vstupitel''nyh ehkzamenah vo Vladimirskij pedagogicheskij institut, i kratkuyu avtobiografiyu. EHtot tom stanet nastoyashchim podarkom dlya poklonnikov pisatelya.