Moscow State Jewish Theatre

The Moscow State Jewish Theater (Russian: Московский Государственный Еврейский Театр), also known by its acronym GOSET (ГОСЕТ), was a Yiddish theater company established in 1919 and shut down in 1948 by the Soviet authorities.

Originated before the Bolshevik revolution as the Jewish Theater Workshop directed by Alexei Granovsky, in 1918 it attracted Solomon Mikhoels who became the leading actor and, as of 1928, its director. The design of GOSET's foyer, as well as decorations sets and costumes for its first production, were done by Marc Chagall.

The theater's repertoire included adaptations of Sholom Aleichem, such as Tevye the Milkman (also adopted in the West as Fiddler on the Roof), and of Avrom Goldfaden, such as Bar Kokhba, as well as works by contemporary Soviet Yiddish writers, such as Perets Markish and Dovid Bergelson. The theater also performed William Shakespeare's King Lear to great acclaim. Many of the theater's plays were ostensibly supportive of the Soviet state, but closer readings suggest that they actually contained veiled critiques of Stalin's regime.