''Adam and Eve'' (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Адам и Ева) is a four-act play by

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( ; rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright. His novel ''The M ...

. Written in 1931, the play is set in future

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, where chemical warfare is the main

weapon of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natural structures ( ...

, and has destroyed most of the world.

Plot

Eva Voikevich and Adam Krasovsky, a newlywed couple, meet Alexander Efrosimov, a scientist, who has invented a machine to protect the human body from toxic elements. Shortly thereafter, a fallout of chemical warfare occurs in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and most of the population of the city perishes. The newlyweds and Efrosimov form a group with three other survivors ─ ace pilot Andrey Daragan, writer Donut-Nepobeda, and Zakhar Marquizov, an expelled

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

member, and retreat into the wilderness.

History

Bulgakov was commissioned to make a play about a 'future war' by the

Krasniy Theater. He began writing the play in June 1931 and completed it on 22 August. Bulgakov explained in a letter to

Konstantin Stanislavsky Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( rus, Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj, links=yes; ; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian and Sovie ...

that he had offered the play to the Vakhtanagov Theater, as well as others, but not the

Moscow Art Theater The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; , ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was founded in by the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright ...

, because the latter contained a clause in which Bulgakov would have to return his advance payment if the play was banned before production, and mentioned that there was no such clause with other theaters associated with the production of his play. Such an absence of financial pressure is possibly why the play is absent of self-censorship and more abundant in open critiques of the Soviet government. Nonetheless, the play was read by

Yakov Alksnis Yakov Ivanovich Alksnis (, ; – 29 July 1938) was a Soviet military leader and the commander of the Red Army Air Forces from 1931 to 1937. Biography Jēkabs Alksnis was born in a farmer's family in Naukšēni Parish, Governorate of Livonia ...

, commander of the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

, who prohibited the play from being staged. Bulgakov wrote a second edition of the play, but it was not staged either. The play was first staged in 1971 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and returned to the USSR in 1987.

Characters

Source: * Eva Voikevich * Adam Nikolaevich Krasovsky, engineer * Alexander Ippolitovich Efrosimov, scientist * Andrey Fedorovich Daragan, ace pilot * Donut-Nepobeda, writer * Zakhar Sevastyannovich Marquizov, ex-trade union member * Anya, housekeeper

References

Sources

*Curtis, J.A.E. 2017. ''Critical Lives: Mikhail Bulgakov'' United Kingdom: Reaktion Books. *Milne, Lesley. 1991. ''Bulgakov Six Plays''. United Kingdom: Methuen World Dramatists.

External links

Bulgakov online encyclopediaOther works by Mikhail Bulgakov
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