Abstract
The article examines the impact of the Russian occupation of Lviv on the activities of major national professional stages of the city – Polish City Theatre, “Ruska (Ukrainian) Besida” Theatre and a private Jewish “Himpel Theatre” as well as on the popular culture functioning. The publication tries to analyze the policy of the occupational and local government on theatrical culture and peculiarities of their relationships with local theatre professionals. In addition, it observes the retransformation of artistic hierarchies, changing social status of artists, and everyday life and survival strategies in the war-torn city.