A Golden Age of Belarusian Cinemas.
1911-1914
Mogilev
The correspondents who covered the other Belarusian cities did a lot of work between 1911-1914. But the cities earned that coverage. Mogilev, Mozyr, Bobruisk, Gomel and Rogachev all had theaters and avid film watchers. Next up: Mogilev.
An online article, “History of the Film Industry in Mogilev", takes us deep into the history of film in this important Belarusian city.1
The article says that cinema had a permanent residence in Mogilev as of 1909. It was in the city center, on Dneprovsky avenue, house No. 42 (currently Pervomayskaya Street), the Electro-biograph theater was opened under the name Enchantment.2
Mogilev, Dneprovsky Avenue, beginning of the XX century.
Source: https://ay.by/lot/mogilev-gub-dneprovskij-prospekt-dostatochno-redkaya-5034128394.html
The Bologoye fire continued to influence reporting:
“On Sunday, March 27, at about 11 o'clock in the evening, a flash of light from a film being shown occurred in the projection room of the "Enchantment" electric theater. This circumstance would have gone completely unnoticed by the public, who were filling the auditorium of the electric theater at that time, since neither flame nor smoke was visible in the hall, thanks to the fact that the projection room was completely isolated from the auditorium by a stone wall, if someone had not thought fit to shout: "We're burning."
The audience, who had been sitting quietly in their seats and contemplating the light spot on the screen after the break in the film being shown, under the influence of this cry and under the still fresh impression of the Bologoye catastrophe, rushed to the exits into the foyer, completely forgetting about the emergency exits, as a result of which a crush occurred, which could have ended very sadly if several prudent viewers had not managed to calm the audience.”3
Cine-Phono Magazine
Site of the fire in Bologoye, 1911.
Source: https://www.trv-science.ru/2018/04/pozhar-v-bologom/
A new theater opened in the province on December 3, 1911. No name given.4 We know that there were three theaters in Mogilev, because, according to one writer, “in all three cinemas, in the presence of the police chief, telephones were installed and water taps with fire hoses were arranged.”5 The third was known as the Express.6 It was shut down, probably at the end of 1911.7 Cine-Phono reported that the three cinemas in Mogilev in 1911 were the Enchantment, Modern, and Odeon.8
The same writer who named the three Mogilev cinemas also excoriated the Odeon and its “debutant-demonstrator” Nesha Shenin. The writer continued “The hastily put together basis of this business and the stereotyped staging with cheap farcical effects, authoritatively indicated the complete absence of practical experience and any fundamental knowledge in the business of cinematography of its owner.” 9
Mogilev, 1911.
Source: https://vk.com/wall-25111744_4422 and TaganrogCity.com
But it was Shenin’s business “acumen” which really gives the flavor of the cut-throat nature of the movie business. After just a few months of “painful existence,” the Odeon closed. But Shenin was not on the hook when it came to satisfying the claims of creditors:
If he was unable to foresee in advance those unfavorable conditions in which, it turned out, his business, due to the inability to compete, then he was able to shrewdly foresee the consequences of the liquidation of the business and in changing the owner of all the property actually belonging to him, showed great practice and knowledge, which can fully compete with the refined tricks of first-class transformers.”10
Cine-Phono Magazine
The same correspondent, in the following issue of Cine-Phono, praised the management of the Enchantment, writing that management had been “inattentive and indifferent to the business” for showing films which had just been shown at its competition, the Modern. The Enchantment was now showing newer films. Trying something new, the Modern management got rid of its string quartet and brought in an orchestra, then got rid of the orchestra and brought in people to speak during the films (declamators). The correspondent said that this was not good enough: “The clean and intelligent visitor could no longer find the same pleasant rest in this improvised tavern and willingly skipped to Enchantment.”11
The writer added that the Modern brought in the services of “visiting actors” and used them without “critical analysis.” He called them “celebrities in miniature” who “did not leave the stage,” and “their place was directly assigned to the shabby and seedy cafes, not to the cinemas.”12
Finally, the writer noted that there was a new chief of police, who brought in “a whole storm of administrative censorship strictness.”13 By mid-July the reign of administrative censorship terror was over “with the accession of the new political master.”14
By August, the “celebrities in miniature” now described as “notorious celebrities” were active on the “improvised stages of local cinemas.” “One fame is replaced by another. Coupletists, equilibrists, clowns, étoiles, dancers, visiting, faded stars and other celebrities in miniature — all this indiscriminately and indiscriminately finds a place for themselves in the steps of local cinemas. The management of Modern gives a wide reception to all these nomadic tour performers.”15
Mogilev, beginning of the XX century.
Source: https://mogilev-region.gov.by/news/kak-menyalis-goroda-belarusi-mogilev-kotoryy-tak-i-ne-stal-stolice
The bureaucrats came for the Modern theatre in July of 1911. Inspectors closed the two remaining theaters, the Modern and the Enchantment, for being “unsafe in a fire.” (No doubt this was a reaction to both the Bologoye fire in late February and the fire in Mogilev’s own Enchantment theater in late March). The Modern theater was also not going to be able to meet new rules calling for the placement of distance between the city power station and the theater, which actually were located on the same premises.16
The reporting seems to disappear on the fate of the Modern, but we know (see below) that there was a Modern in Mogilev in 1914.
For a while, there was a theater, Lux, in Mstislavl.17
Leonard Plotkin, in his article on the history of Mogilev cinemas, wrote that: “It is known that before the First World War, there were three cinemas or, as they were called then, electrotheatres in Mogilev: Modern and Enchantment on Dneprovsky avenue and Electro-bioscope Skvirsky on Bolshaya Sadovaya Street."18
In May 1914, Cine-Phono reported that a Mr. Chemansky ran the Enchantment theater. He later sold to Vereshchako. There is also a Modern. The police often censored the films. One writer said, that they cut out the parts that “make the film interesting.” 19
Cine-Phono Magazine
1 “History of the Film Industry in Mogilev"/«История киноиндустрии в Могилеве». Mogilev State Enterprise "Kinovideoprokat"(Могилевское государственное предприятие «Киновидеопрокат»), https://mogilevkino.by/about-us/istoriya-kinootrasli-v-g-mogileve Accessed March 8, 2025.
2 Ibid.
3 Cine-Phono, No. 14, 15 April 1911, p. 16
4 Cine-Phono, No. 6, 15 Dec.1911, p. 22.
5 Ibid.
6 Cine-Phono, No. 23, 1 Sept., 1912, p. 25.
7 Kine-Zhurnal, No. 24, 23 Dec.3 1911, p. 18.
8 Cine-Phono, No. 17, 1 June1911, p. 15.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Cine-Phono, No. 18, 15 June 1911, p. 14.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Cine-Phono, No. 20, 15 July 1911, p. 21.
15 Cine-Phono, No. 21, 1 August 1911, p. 22.
16 Cine-Phono, No. 23, 1 Sept. 1911, p. 21.
17 Cine-Phono, No. 4, 10 Nov. 1912, p. 24.
18 Plotkin, Leonard, "History Of Mogilev Cinemas / Vlasov Was In Mogilev. Bomb Shelter In 'Rodina'"/Власов был в Могилеве. Бомбоубежище в 'Родине'.” Masheka.by, 17 May 2018, https://masheka.by/history_mogilev/history_mogilev_articles/1597-istoriya-mogileva-modern-chary-i-prochie-bioskopy.html , Accessed March 10, 2025.
19 Kine-Zhurnal, No. 11, 31 May 1914, pp. 54-55.
20 Cine-Phono, No. 7, 1 Jan. 1911, p. 16.