“During the day the artists rehearsed and waited outside the director Lar’s office hoping to receive the money they’ve earned. Lar (Russian circus owner and impresario) did not permit the circus employees to enter his office until he himself would have had pity and would have sent the fifty rubles, which we’ve been always grateful for. We fed at the poor Jewish man’s, who had a little cellar opposite the circus. He boiled potatoes for us and cut one herring into 10 pieces – and he also had to have part of this for himself and his giant family. After the performance we went to sleep inside the big carpet – the very same carpet, which was laid out on the arena during the performance. We slept together with the coachmen, ticket collectors, circus staff, covered by the ring carpet, which was also filled with millions of louses. Then Lar began to delay those pitiful fifty roubles. So the Renee brothers who performed on the rings climbed up the metal cross-beam under the tent during the performance and raised up the noise, saying that if Lar would not pay them the money they’ve earned, they would not get off there or even jump off with their heads down in front of the honorable audience. It was a big scandal. A police officer had to step in. The next day the police sent the Renees out of Tiraspol for “kicking up a row in a public place”. Lar had several toadies the bonebreakers close to him (usually they were the coachmen and watchmen), whom he treated special way in order for them to beat unmercifully “the unruly” at his will. I witnessed how coachmen and stablemen had violently beaten one ticket collector who criticized Lar in a fit of temper, demanding to be paid the money he’d earned. The employee could not seek defense from the circus master’s tyranny from anyone. If you go complain to a constable or police-officer, they would be against you as well, because they’ve been provided with free circus tickets, a dinner, a supper and master’s vodka. And if the guardian of the law was melancholic, the master would set up a night for him with a choir girl that he liked from the so-called “women’s choir”, which always existed by every fair circus...”, recollected Soviet circus artist Maslukov in 1937.