The subject of this research is the dramatic legacy of Roman Kumov (1883–1919). For the first time in the scientific literature, an overview of his dramatic works from 1908 to 1916 is provided, and their role in the writer’s creative biography is determined. The drama The End of the Korostomyslov Family,” which was recognized as the best play of 1916 at the All-Russian Com- petition of Alexander Ostrovsky, is analyzed in detail. The play reveals how the biblical motifs underlying the drama (the fratricide of Cain, the mark of Cain) are projected onto the characters’ fates, and it also reveals motifs and plot parallels with the dramas of Alexander Ostrovsky, the novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky, and the later works of Leo Tolstoy. The article examines the distinctive characteristics of the main characters in the drama, as well as the moral and religious conflicts that contributed to the tragic demise of an old merchant family. The article also includes the first publication of Kumov’s memories of Komissarzhevskaya, which are stored at the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Pushkin House). These memoirs were written shortly after the death of the great actress. The memoirist described her reactions to his first plays, which were presented at the Komissarzhevskaya Drama Theatre, and provided a detailed account of her meetings and conversations with him in Moscow in 1908–1909. Kumov almost word-for-word recounted the actress’s opinions on theater aesthetics, contemporary playwrights, Chekhov, and the characters she would like to see on the stage of her theater. These encounters with Komissarzhevskaya had a significant impact on the development of Kumov’s creative personality and his evolution as a playwright.
Goldenberg et al. (Wed,) studied this question.