Alpha Centauri & Etwas über Nawalny

Part 1: Aleksandr Plotnikov “Alpha Centauri”

The play “Alpha Centauri” speaks about those who are not usually spoken of. It tells the stories of Soviet cosmonauts who never made it to space — Sergey Kartashov, Valentin Varlamov, Dmitry Zaikin, Vitaly Bondarenko, Sergey Nefedov. Each of them could have been in Gagarin’s place, but a chain of impossible, monstrous coincidences and circumstances robbed them of that chance. And for some, even of life itself. Is there a place for them in the present? For us? For all those who ended up somewhere they never wanted to be? For those cast aside, erased by time, stripped of their dreams and their voice? And how does this eternal triumph — be it the triumph of war or the conquest of space — shape our political consciousness today?

The play by Aleksandr Plotnikov doesn't provide answers, but it offers a perspective on defeat as a way to think about time itself. It's a sensitive discussion, a return of names, a poetic speech that interrupts historical silence.

Part 2: Mikhail Durnenkov “Something about Navalny”

Over his 48 years, Navalny was an opposition politician, a revolutionary, and the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. He was the poisonous sting that pricked the authorities and exposed the vulnerability of a totalitarian system.

A masterful trickster, he inspired people with the words: “I am not afraid, and you should not be afraid either.”

Navalny had many faces. There are thousands of witnesses — those who worked with him, fought against him, loved him, and hated him. Each has their own, true Navalny. That is why this legendary story can only be told as a polyphony — an ancient Greek chorus, a thousand-faced witness to great events.


In Mikhail Durnenkov’s play, dozens of testimonial voices share with the audience their personal truths about Navalny. None claim to be exhaustive or to capture the full scope of the late politician’s personality. Yet each contributes a fragment of the mosaic that, taken together, forms an epic portrait of Alexei Navalny.