Abstract
<jats:p>Maxim Gorky’s person has become a legend already during the writer’s life, and his perception has been ideologized both in Russia and abroad. This is evidenced by the analysis carried out in the article reception Gorky’s literary work in Poland, the most important stages of which were determined by the changing political situation. The reception has changed substantially: from the spontaneous popularity of the Russian writer at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries through ambivalence in the interwar period, forced apotheosis after World War II to marginalization after 1989 and reinterpretation attempts in recent times. As the analysis shows, a significant part of Gorky’s plays have survived the difficult test of time. These literary works, for many directors and spectators, are a carrier of universal values, and the author is considered a classic of Russian dramaturgy.</jats:p>