Les Justes

"Les Justes" is a five-act play set in February 1905 in Moscow. It tells the story of a group of terrorists belonging to the Socialist Revolutionary Party who plan and execute an attack on the Grand Duke Serge, Tsar Nicholas II's uncle. The events leading up to and following the attack form the basis of the play. Despite its historical setting, "Les Justes" is not a purely historical play. All of the characters are real people who behaved as described in the play. The author has simply tried to make their actions believable. He even kept the name of the main character, Kaliayev, which was his real name. This was not due to lack of imagination, but out of respect and admiration for these extraordinary men and women who were able to remain true to themselves despite the harshness of their task. Today, things are different and the hatred that weighed upon these exceptional souls has become a comfortable system. For this reason, it is even more important to remember them and their just rebellion, their difficult fraternity, the enormous efforts they made to come to terms with murder and thus show where our loyalty lies.