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 A.M.GORKY INSTITUTE OF WORLD LITERATURE
OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

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fedor@dostmirkult.ru

ISSN 2619-0311 (Print)
ISSN 2712-8512 (Online)

The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky in the Radio Adaptation Babulyenka by N.S. Sukhotskaya

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  • Author: Oxana A. Vorobyova
  • Information about the author:

    PhD in Philology, Assistant Professor, National Research University "Higher School of Economics" (HSE University), Staraya Basmannaya St., 21/4c1, 115054 Moscow, Russia.

    https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6676-4654

    E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

     
  • For citation:

    Vorobyova, O.A. "The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky in the Radio Adaptation Babulyenka by N.S. Sukhotskaya." Dostoevsky and World Culture. Philological journal, no. 3 (35), 2026, pp. 230-246. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2026-3-230-246
  • Received: 12 Jan. 2026
  • Approved after reviewing: 10 Feb. 2026
  • Published: 25 Sept. 2026
  • Issue: 2026 no. 3 (35)
  • Department: DOSTOEVSKY ON STAGE
  • Pages: 230-246
  • DOI: Visit Website
  • EDN:

    https://elibrary.ru/CIFWUK
  • UDK: 821.161.1.0
  • BBK: 83.3(2Рос=Рус)
  • Publication Type: Research Article
  • Keywords: Keywords: Dostoevsky, The Gambler, Babulyenka, radio theatre, radio play, N.S. Sukhotskaya, F.G. Ranevskaya
  • Abstract: The article examines the history of the creation of the radio play Babulyenka, directed in 1968 by N.S. Sukhotskaya based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Gambler. An analysis of archival materials preserved in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI), including the typescript of the script, Sukhotskaya's directorial notes, the working notes of F. G. Ranevskaya, who played Antonida Vasilyevna Tarasevicheva (Babulyenka) in the radio play, and the author's comments on photographs of the actress, as well as memoir sources, sheds light on the context of Sukhotskaya and Ranevskaya's creative collaboration during this period. It also makes it possible to advance the hypothesis that Sukhotskaya's choice of Ranevskaya for the leading role in the radio production was not only a tribute to her acting talent but also a gesture of friendly support on the part of Sukhotskaya, who was aware of the actress's deep personal attachment to the role of Tarasevicheva, which she had played at the A.S. Pushkin Moscow Drama Theater and which she had been forced to give up in the late 1950s because of a conflict within the creative ensemble. The article also examines Sukhotskaya's approach to adapting Dostoevsky's The Gambler for radio: relying on the expressiveness of the actors' voices, she did not use complex sound effects; treating the author's words with great care, she adhered strictly to the "letter" of the novel on the one hand, while on the other she reduced the plot to a single line centered on Babulyenka, completely shifting the emphasis from the psychology of the gambling narrator Alexei Ivanovich to Tarasevicheva's loss, thereby transforming Dostoevsky's novel into a moralizing radio parable.

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List of Web Pages

1. Babulen'ka [Grandmother]: radio play based on F.M. Dostoevsky's novel Igrok [The Gambler]. Adaptation and direction by N.S. Sukhotskaia. USSR, 1968. Available at: https://staroeradio.ru/audio/7875?ysclid=mt2t90dwdc657050820 (accessed 21 August 2026). (In Russ.)

2. Mir Dostoevskogo [The World of Dostoevsky]. Available at: https://dostoevskyworld.ru/reader-world/film-adaptations/igrok-1966 (accessed 07 May 2026). (In Russ.)

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