In the ancient times in Russia during Maslenitsa the Petrushka (Punch) comedies were quite popular. Sometimes it even so happened that several Petrushkas performed one and the same comedy several times on end on one and the same day. Petrushka's comedies' success lied on the one hand in their relevance and on the other hand in their satiric character. They were quite charming and understandable because of their simplicity to most of the people of all ages and mentalities. Usually such performances began with a loud laughter or a song from behind the curtain and after that Petrushka appeared. He was clad in a red shirt, velveteen trousers tucked into the dandy boots and wore a fancy cap on his head. The indispensable details of his appearance were one or two artificial humpbacks and a long crooked nose.
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