ABSTRACT
Under the oppressive regime of Nicholas one and the milder reign of Alexander two, Russia experienced a "Golden Age" of literature. Under the intermittently severe censorship and repression of Nicholas two, Russia enjoyed a "Silver Age" in literature as well as in other arts. Diagilev was instrumental in the rapid development of a superb ballet which, fusing the arts of scenery painting, choreography, and music, assumed first place in the world and kept it. In 1900 the paintings of Russian artists were shown at the Paris Exposition; in 1906 an Exhibition of Russian Art was held in Paris; in 1906 the Ballet Russe began its Western seasons. Especially after Diagilev's Festival of Russian Music in Paris in 1907, the last years of the tsarist period witnessed a fruitful and congenial interchange and appreciation between musicians and publics of Russia and the West. The Russian cultural scene became known in the West.
