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Literary and artistic cabaret "The Stray Dog" (Brodyachaya Sobaka) was opened on December 31, 1911, in the vault of the second courtyard of the building at 5 Mikhailovskaya Street (today Iskusstv Square). It was established by writer Aleksey Tolstoy, artists Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Nikolai Sapunov, Serge Sudeikin, theatre worker Nikolai Evreinov, architect Ivan Fomin among others. However, it was mostly organized and inspired by Producer and Actor Boris Konstantinovich Pronin (1875-1946). The name originates from the mock and romantic image of a lonely artist compared with a shelter-less stray dog. Founding members of The Stray Dog tried to achieve one of the fundamental ideas of the beginning of the 20th Century - synthesis in the arts (poetry, music, painting and theatre), to unite artists of new trends. In 1915, The Stray Dog was closed because of financial difficulties. There was no question of reviving The Stray Dog during the Soviet period, although it was used as a bomb shelter during the Leningrad blockade. However, in the more tolerant climate of perestroika, local artists began to talk of reopening the place, with Andrei Moguchy and his Formal Theater giving several performances on the old premises, and artist Eduard Kochergin holding exhibitions there. Proper reconstruction of the place was finally finished in 2000, and at last The Stray Dog was officially opened in February, 2001 in the basement of the Mussorgsky Theater, where it was originally located. "We don't want to turn it into a museum," says Vladimir Sklarsky, the Director of The Stray Dog. "We realise that it's impossible to step in the same river twice. It's also impossible to revive the former atmosphere. Times have changed. What we want is to breath new life into the place and make a bridge across time." The Stray Dog is comfortable and spacious, with its own exhibition hall, an area for theater performances and concerts and a small restaurant. The reconstruction was supervised by architect Jean Verzhbitsky, while Kochergin, who is well known for his work in the Bolshoy Drama Theater, designed the interior. The perfomance area has an important feature, in that it is can be easily adapted to the needs of a jazz concert, performance or a lecture. "The aim of The Stray Dog today," says Vladimir Sklyarsky, "is to mantain new contacts between artists, as there is much isolation nowadays. It may give rise to interesting new projects." Today, December 4, 2008, the club is opening an exhibition of paintings by Petr Reykhet. Behind the scene : 2 mistakes of Frommer's travel guide Caption in Russian - Ресторан клуба "Бродячая собака"
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