Authors

Russian · 1823–1886

Alexander Ostrovsky

Alexander Ostrovsky is the founder of the Russian theatrical repertoire: his forty-seven plays — including The Storm (Groza, 1859), considered by many critics the greatest Russian play before Chekhov, and the fairy-tale drama The Snow Maiden — established the Russian merchant class as fit subjects for tragedy. He worked as a court clerk before devoting himself to drama and became the director of the Moscow Imperial Theatres late in his career. His plays are the backbone of the Russian classical theatre tradition.