 Staged by Oleg Yefremov at the Moscow Art Theatre, it drew a full house for 10 years straight and was eventually adapted into a movie.According to Volodarsky, at the time his plays were staged all over the USSR and he earned 4000 rubles monthly, which was five times more than a minister's salary, yet he and Vysotsky spent all money on booze.During late 1980s he began writing historical and biographical novels; some of them were also made into TV series.