Chest of the Mezhyhirya Vertep

In 1923, a political vertep appeared at the Mezhyhirya Art and Ceramic Technical School, one of the greatest enthusiasts of which was Pavlo Gorbenko. The traditional Ukrainian vertep was radically redesigned. To interest the rural audience, the puppets made a bizarre, unknown shape. The repertoire of the Mezhyhirya Puppet Theater was not limited to scenes dedicated to the events of international political life. One of the most important propaganda tasks of the Soviet era was to overcome religious influence. At the end of P. Gorbenko’s book, there is the one surviving play of the Mezhyhirya Theater - Holiday in Paradise. Its main task was to desecrate the church by exposing its shortcomings, dehumanizing its active adherents and clergy, and ridiculing the saints, angels, and God. The anti-religious character of the production was enhanced by the symbolism of the traditional Ukrainian vertep. The latter had two floors - sacred above and profane - below. The creators of the chest for Mezhyhirya vertep have abandoned the traditional two floors, and there is no upper floor in it.