Russian Versions of Don Juan

Abstract

The legend of Don Juan with all its wonderful possibilities could not fail sooner or later to reach Russia on its triumphant march through Europe from its home in Spain. In truth we find that as early as the reign of Peter the Great (the first quarter of the eighteenth century) there was produced a Don-Yan. Only the fifth act of this is preserved, but it seems to be a Russian translation of a Polish version of Villiers' Le Festin de Pierre. For a century more there is no Russian version and it is not until the time of Pushkin that we find a really valuable contribution to the development of the legend.