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The preeminent Russian actor, at least in Western eyes, of the first half of the twentieth century. He became interested in the theatre as a teenager and joined the Teatr Mariinskij as a stagehand in 1918. He apprenticed with various traveling companies and therein learned ballet, pantomime, and acrobatics. He studied at the St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Theater Institute and made his stage debut in 1926. The following year, he entered films and his commanding presence soon brought him leading roles and enormous acclaim, as well as the approbation of the Soviet leadership, which elected him a deputy of the Supreme Soviet. His greatest fame world-wide came with his work in the films of Sergei Eisenstein. Following the masterpieces _Aleksandr Nevsky (1938)_ and _Ivan Groznyj I (1945)_ he was named to the Order of Lenin and made People's Artist of the USSR, respectively. He died in 1966. He should not be confused with the actor Nikolay P. Cherkasov who starred in many Russian films.

Vasili Vasilyevich Merkuryev was born on April 6, 1904, in Ostrov, Pskov province, Russia. He was the youngest of seven children in the family. His father, named Vasili Ilyich Merkuryev, was a grocer in the city of Ostrov, near Pskov. His mother, named Anna Ilyinichna, was a German immigrant. Young Merkuryev began his acting career in 1920, as an apprentice at the theatre of the city of Ostrov. In 1926 he graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Theatrical Art. Merkuryev made his film debut in 1935, he played a supporting role of Stas in 'Inzhener Goff' (aka.. Zemlya vperedi or Land Ahead, 1935). His professional acting career spanned over 50 years. Merkuryev played more than 40 roles in film and made over 100 stage works.

From 1937-1978 Vasili Merkuryev worked with the Pushkin Drama Theatre (Aleksandrinski Theatre) in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). He was invited to the troupe of the oldest Russian Drama Theatre by his acting teacher Leonid Vivyen. Merkuryev was among the leading actors of the Pushkin Drama Theatre. There his stage partners were such remarkable actors as Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Simonov, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Aleksandr Borisov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Leonid Vivyen, Igor Gorbachyov, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mameyeva', Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian actors.

Vasili Merkuryev was awarded the State prize of the USSR three times: for supporting role in 'Glinka' (1947), for supporting role in 'Povest o nastoyaschem cheloveke' (1949) and for the leading role in 'Donetskie shakhtery' (1952). He also received the Stanislavsky State Prize (posthumously in 1979) for his stage works and other awards and decorations for his works in theatre and film. Merkuryev was honored with the title of the People's Artist of the USSR (1964). From 1932-1978 Merkuryev was a professor at the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography. There he led acting class together with his wife, Irina Vsevolodovna Meyerhold, daughter of Vsevolod Meyerhold.

Vasili Merkuryev was known for his compassion and legendary generosity. He shared his money and food with his students during the times when they were struggling to survive. He adopted three children of his brother, Pyotr Merkuryev, who was executed in 1939, under dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. He also named his son, Pyotr Merkurev, in the memory of his brother. Vasili Merkuryev died on May 12, 1978, in Moscow, Russia, and was laid to rest in Necropolis of The Masters of Art "Literatorskie mostki" at Volkovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Grigori Mikhailovich Kozintsev was born on March 22, 1905, in Kiev, Russian Empire (now Kiev, Ukraine). His father, named Mikhail Kozintsev, was a medical doctor. Young Kozintsev studied at the Kiev Gymnazium. There, in 1919, he organized experimental theatre "Arlekin" together with his fellow students Sergei Yutkevich and Aleksei Kapler. During 1919 and 1920 Kozintsev studied art at the Kiev School of Art under the tutelage of Alexandra Exter.

Experiments. In 1920 Kozintsev moved to Petrograd (Leningrad or St. Petersburg). There he studied art at the "VKHUTEMAS" at the Academy of Fine Arts for two years. In 1921 Kozintsev with Sergei Yutkevich, Leonid Trauberg, and Leonid Kryzhitsky organized and led the Factory of Excentric Actors (FEKS). There Kozintsev directed radically avant-garde staging of plays "Zhenitba" (Marriage 1922) by Nikolay Gogol and "Vneshtorg na Eifelevoi Bashne" (Foreign trade on Eiffel Tower 1923). They were based in the former Eliseev Mansion on Gagarinskaya street No. 1 in St. Petersburg. Kozintsev and FEKS collaborated with writer Yuri Tynyanov, cinematographer Andrey Moskvin, young actor-director Sergey Gerasimov, artist Igor Vuskovich, and young composer Dmitri Shostakovich among others. Initially FEKS was the main platform for experimental actors, directors and artists, and was strongly influenced by Vsevolod Meyerhold and Vladimir Mayakovsky.

Artistic position. In 1924 Kozintsev and Trauberg came to "SevZapKino" Studios (now Lenfilm Studios). There Kozintsev continued his FEKS experiments in his first eccentric comedy 'Pokhozhdenie Oktyabriny' (1924). Kozintsev's early films were strongly criticized by official Soviet critics. His film 'Shinel' (1926) was compared to German Expressionism and accused of distortion of the original classic story by Nikolay Gogol. Kozintsev strongly argued against such comparisons with German expressionism; he was unhappy until the end of his life about such criticism of his early experimental works. Kozintsev insisted that his cheerful experiments were essential in the city of Petrograd (St. Petersburg) after the Russian Revolution of 1917, which brought destruction, depression, crime, and degradation of culture.

Early films. Kozintsev made twelve films together with Leonid Trauberg. Their collaboration began in 1921, in Petrograd (St. Petersburg). Their film-trilogy about Russian revolutionary hero Maxim was made from 1935-1941, when people in the Soviet Russia were terrorized under the most brutal dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. In departure from experimental youthfulness and freedom of their FEKS years, the Maxim trilogy was a trade-off blend of experiment and Soviet propaganda. It was still a powerful work and was even banned by censorship in the United States from the 1930s-1950s. For that work Kozintsev and Trauberg were awarded the Stalin's State Prize in 1941. After the Second World War Kozintsev and Trauberg made their last film together: 'Prostye Lyudi (Plain People 1946), which was censored and remained unreleased until 1958, when "Nikita Khrushchev' lifted the ban imposed by Stalin's censorship.

Highlights. Grigori Kozintsev ascended to his best works after the death of Stalin. Then Nikita Khrushchev initiated the "Thaw" which played a role in some liberation of individual creativity in the Soviet film industry. Kozintsev's adaptations of classical literature combined some experimental elements of his earlier silent films with the approach of a mature master. His Don Quixote (1957), King Lear (1969) and especially Hamlet (1963) were recognized worldwide as his highest achievements. In _Korol Lir (1969)_ Kozintsev made a brilliant decision to cast actors from the Baltic States as the Lear's family. Jüri Järvet, Regimantas Adomaitis, Donatas Banionis, Juozas Budraitis, and Elza Radzina together with Oleg Dal, Galina Volchek, Aleksey Petrenko made a powerful acting ensemble.

Hamlet and King Lear. Kozintsev first staged Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and 'King Lear" in 1941. His collaboration with Boris Pasternak began in 1940, when Pasternak was working on his Russian translation of the Shakespeare's originals. Both plays were prepared for stage under direction of Kozintsev. King Lear was staged in 1941, but further work was interrupted because of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Hamlet was staged in 1954. At the same time Kozintsev continued developing the idea of filming _Gamlet (1964)_, until everything came together in his legendary film. The adaptation by Boris Pasternak, the music by Dmitri Shostakovich, the direction by Kozintsev, and the acting talent of Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy produced special creative synergy. Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy was praised as the best Hamlet by Sir Laurence Olivier.

Legacy. In the 1920s Kozintsev taught at the Leningrad School of Acting. From 1944-1964 Kozintsev led his master-class for film directors at the Soviet State Film Institute (VGIK). Among his students were many prominent Russian directors and actors such as Sergey Gerasimov and others. Kozintsev was the head of master-class for film directors at Lenfilm Studios from 1964-1971. He wrote essays on William Shakespeare, Sergei Eisenstein, Charles Chaplin, and Vsevolod Meyerhold and published theoretical works on film direction. Grigori Kozintsev lived near Lenfilm Stidios in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) for the most part of his life. His work and presence was essential to the status of Lenfilm Studios as well as to the film community in Leningrad during the political and economic domination of Moscow as the Soviet capital. From his early works of the 1920s to his masterpiece _Gamlet (1964)_, Kozintsev was faithful to creative experimental approach.

Kozintsev was designated the People's Artist of the USSR. He was awarded the State Lenin's Prize of the USSR (1965), and received other awards and nominations. He died in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) on May 11, 1973, and was laid to rest in the Necropolis of the Masters of Art in St. Aleksandr Nevsky Convent in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Yuri Kamornyj was born on 8 August 1944 in Alapayevsk, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for 20-e dekabrya (1982), 'Poseidon' speshit na pomoshch (1978) and Sergeyev ishchet Sergeyeva (1974). He died on 27 November 1981 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].

Sergey Filippov was born on 24 June 1912 in Saratov, Saratov uyezd, Saratov Governorate, Russian Empire [now Saratov Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Twelve Chairs (1971), Carnival Night (1956) and Dvenadtsataya noch (1955). He died on 19 April 1990 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].

Aleksey Smirnov is a Soviet theater and film actor.

In 1940 he graduated from the theater studio at the Leningrad Theater of Musical Comedy and was accepted into the troupe of the same theater. In 1946, he was accepted into the troupe of the Leningrad Theater of Musical Comedy. In the early 1950s, he had several notable roles in the repertoire of the Musical Comedy Theater. By the end of the 1950s, he became famous among filmmakers. In 1961, when he became an actor in the Lenfilm film studio, two films with his participation were released on the screens of the country. All-Union fame for the actor brought the role in the films of Leonid Gayday. In all these films, he performed in comedic roles.

Pavel Kadochnikov was born on 29 July 1915 in Petrograd, Russian Empire [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. He was an actor and director, known for Secret Agent (1947), Povest o nastoyashchem cheloveke (1948) and A Big Family (1954). He was married to Rozaliya Kotovich. He died on 2 May 1988 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].

Nikita Mikhaylovsky was born on 8 April 1964. He was an actor, known for Love and Lies (1981), Obyasneniye v lyubvi (1978) and Zontik dlya novobrachnykh (1986). He died on 24 April 1991 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].

Leonid Andreev was born on August 21, 1871 in Orel, Russia. His father, named Nikolai Ivanovich Andreev, was a member of the provincial Russian Nobility and worked as a land inspector for the government. His mother, Named Anastasia Nikolaevna Andreeva (Pazkovska) belonged to the Polish Nobility. Andreev graduated from the Orel Gymnasium, went to study law at the St. Petersburg University, and graduated from the Moscow University. His work as a crime reporter for "Moscovski Vestnik" (Moscow daily paper) provided material for his stories. He was fond of reading Fyodor Dostoevsky, Lev Tolstoy, and Anton Chekhov. He also red then popular Friedrich Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. After the death of his father and a painful first love experience in 1894 he was depressed and tried to shoot himself in a suicide attempt. He survived and worked hard to support his mother and his two sisters and two younger brothers. He successfully passed the Russian Law Bar in 1897 and practiced law as an attorney for five years from 1897-1902.

Andreev published his first story "Bargamot and Garaska" in 1898. It was noticed by Maxim Gorky, who promoted Andreev to the circle of writers and publishers, called Znanie (Knowledge). In 1901 his first book of stories was published by Znanie. His story "Bezdna" (Abyss, 1902), about a teenager's experience with a prostitute ending in her murder and his suicide, was attacked by Lev Tolstoy. But Andreev became an instant celebrity in Russia. After his anti-war story "Krasny Smekh" (Red Laughter, 1904), written during the Russian-Japanese war, he got involved with anti-Czar revolutionaries. Andreev was arrested and jailed by the Czar's secret service in 1905, after that he emigrated to Europe and lived in Capri, Italy as a guest of Maxim Gorky. While developing his expressionist style, Andreev wrote a bluntly realistic anti-war story "Rasskaz o semi poveshennykh" (A Story About the Seven Hung, 1909) and a realist novel "Sashka Zhegulev" (1911). After the war and the first Russian revolution of 1905, Andreev was writing a play every year. His plays were staged at the Moscow Art Theatre and theatres in Vienna, Berlin, Odessa and Kazan by directors Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and Vsevolod Meyerhold among others. His best plays "Anathema", "Tsar-Golod" (Czar-hunger), "Samson v okovakh" (Samson in Handcuffs, 1914) were banned by Russian censorship under the Czar. Andreev built a big villa in Kuokkala, Finland, where many Russian intellectuals lived, just 50 km. West of St. Petersburg. He was a regular member of the circle of Korney Ivanovich Chukovskiy and maintained friendship with Maxim Gorky. Leonid Andreev also was a friend of writers Aleksandr Kuprin, Vladimir Korolenko, Ivan Bunin, Vikenti Veresaev, and singer Feodor Chaliapin Sr.. During WWI he was a strong critic of German aggression. In 1917 he opposed the Bolshevik Revolution.

Leonid Andreev was the founder of the Russian Expressionism in literature. He modernized his style through experiments with spiritualism, symbolism, eroticism and mysticism, and also studied a range of occult and religious traditions. His literary parallel was the American writer H.P. Lovecraft. Andreev remained in his villa in Finland after it's separation from Russia during the Russian revolution of 1917. He was a staunch critic of the Soviet communism and wrote powerful articles about the atrocities of communists in Russia. He died on September 12, 1919, at his home in Kuokkala, Finland, at the age of 48. Some mystery was haunting his burial; his grave in Finland was later on the Soviet territory since WWII. His magnificent villa was destroyed. In 1957 Leonid Andreev's remains were exhumed and moved to the prestigious "Poet's Alley" at the "Literatorskie Mostki" (Literary burials) near the graves of Ivan Turgenev, Ivan Goncharov, Nikolai Leskov and other Russian cultural luminaries at the Volkovo Cemetery in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).

Sergei Esenin was born on 3 October 1895 in Konstantinovo, Ryazan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Ryazan Oblast, Russia]. He was a writer, known for Poj pesnyu, poet (1973), The Hollow (2007) and Mongol Shuudan: Moskva (1996). He was married to Sophia Tolstaya, Isadora Duncan, Zinaida Reich and Anna Izryadnova. He died on 28 December 1925 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].

Mikhail Svetin was born on 11 December 1930 in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, USSR [now Ukraine]. He was an actor, known for Sirano de Berzherak (1989), Twelve Chairs (1977) and Zolotoy telyonok (2006). He was married to Proskurnina Bronislav. He died on 30 August 2015 in Gatchina, Leningrad Oblast, Russia.

He was born in 10 September 1867 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (Russia). He was a Russian ballet dancer, ballet master and choreographer, founder of character dance in Russian ballet who served at the Mariinsky Theatre, and also a pioneering animation director who is credited with invention of stop motion animation.

At the age of nine Alexander entered the Saint Petersburg Imperial Theatrical School where he studied under Marius Petipa, Pavel Gerdt, Platon Karsavin and Lev Ivanov. He graduated in 1885 and in a year became a member of the Mariinsky Theatre troupe. Shiryaev quickly rose to fame. During the studies he already managed to learn almost the entire repertoire of Mariinka, thus he easily substituted solo performers, both in classical and character roles. Shiryaev's musical talent and extraordinary visual memory gained him a place of Marius Petipa's assistant and tutor. He easily recollected all movements, reconstructing and finishing ballets after his teacher. He helped to stage The Seasons, Harlequinade, The Trial of Damis, among others. As a ballet master he helped Petipa to bring back such ballets as Coppélia, The Little Humpbacked, The Pharaoh's Daughter, Tsar Kandavl or Le Roi Candaule and Giselle.

Around the same time he became deeply interested in character dance. In 1891 Shiryaev, aged 24, opened and headed the first character class under the Theatrical School. He studied and implemented elements of Russian, Hungarian, Spanish and other national dances into his ballets.

He was the first performer of the Buffoon part in The Nutcracker (the role was edited out from later productions) which he also staged, gaining praise from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky himself. He also performed the buffoon dance from Mlada, Russian dance from Dubrovsky, dance of jesters and skomorokhs from The Merchant Kalashnikov and other operas directed by Lev Ivanov. Some of his famous ballet performances include Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty, Ivanushka in The Little Humpbacked Horse, Quasimodo in La Esmeralda, Harlequin in Harlequinade, Dr. Coppélius in Coppélia and Abderakhman in Raymonda.

In 1905 a new director of Imperial Theatres made Shiryaev leave the theatre. After that Shiryaev spent a lot of time touring around Europe. He also opened a training school in London; his students later joined the troupe led by Anna Pavlova. After the October revolution he worked both as a dancer and a pedagogue in the Mariinsky and Alexandrinsky Theatres, restoring forgotten ballets. In 1921 he left the stage and became a teacher at the Leningrad Choreographic Institute where he had worked for the rest of his life. Among his students were such acclaimed artists as Mikhail Fokin, Fyodor Lopukhov, Pyotr Gusev, Galina Ulanova.

During his 1904-1905 visits to London Shiryav acquired a 17.5 mm film Biokam camera and started filming ballets, as well as making home movies involving his family, comedy and trick films. His suggestion to film primary dancers of the Mariinka for free was rejected by the theatre management.

After that he built an improvised studio at his apartment where he carefully recreated various ballets by staging them using hand-made dolls which he created from either clay or papier-mâché; they were 20-25 centimeters tall, and their body parts were connected by thin wire which provided plasticity. He then filmed them on camera, frame by frame. In the process he also made thousands of sketches, catching every movement, also turning them into a filming reel so that one could watch the entire dance in form of a cartoon.

From 1906 to 1909 Shiryav produced a number of pioneering stop motion and traditionally animated films. This happened at least several years before Wladyslaw Starewicz - another influential Russian animator who had been long credited with invention of stop motion animation - produced his first films. Although Shiryav didn't hold much interest in animation as an art form, but rather saw it as an instrument in studying human plastics, using his films for educational purposes.

During the Soviet period those films were mostly forgotten, although Fyodor Lopukhov and some other memoirists mentioned his animation experiments in their books. Ninel Yultyeva described how Shiryaev produced around 1700 drawings and filmed them just to demonstrate one complex dance to his students. For a Hindu dance from La Bayadère he prepared clay figures and made them repeat every movement on camera; his film was later used during the restoration of Marius Petipa's ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre.

In 1995 a Russian documentarist and ballet historian Victor Bocharov started researching information on Shiryaev's animation experiments. He was soon contacted by Daniil Savelyev, a ballet photographer who personally knew the family. He got hold of the entire archive from the last wife of Alexander Shiryaev's son and kept it safe. Bocharov spent many years trying to get financing from Roskino in order to restore the films and produce a documentary.

In 2003 he finally released the one-hour movie entitled A Belated Premiere (2004) which included fragments of different films by Shiryaev. Around 2008 Bocharov finally managed to get fundings from the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in order to restore the negatives. Around the same time he got in contact with Aardman Animations who also became involved in restoration and digitizing process. The films were subsequently shown at various international film festivals.

Sergei Gurzo was born on 23 September 1926 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was an actor and assistant director, known for The Horsemen (1950), The Young Guard (1948) and V mirnye dni (1951). He was married to Irina Gubanova. He died on 19 September 1974 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].

Nikolai Ivanovich Lebedev was a Russian film director specializing in movies for children, such as Schastlivogo plavaniya (1949) and V moey smerti proshu vinit Klavu K. (1980).

He was born Nikolai Ivanovich Lebedev on 9 August 1897, in Gus-Khrustalny, Vladimir province, Russian Empire. Young Lebedev grew up in Vladimir province east of Moscow. After the Russian revolution of 1917, he moved to St. Petersburg (then called Petrograd). In 1923 he made his acting debut in Petrograd Film Studio (predesessor of Lenfilm Studios). In 1925 he graduated from Leningrad Institute of Cinema Art and worked as an assistant director for over a decade. From the beginning of his career Lebedev became specialized in children's film. He received awards at the 1959 and 1980 Soviet Film Festivals in the category of films for children. Nikolai Lebedev died in Russia, in October of 1989 (natural causes).

Nikolai Boyarsky was a Russian character actor known as Kozlevich in the popular comedy The Golden Calf (1968), and as leading stage actor with the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in St. Petersburg, Russia.

He was born Nikolai Aleksandrovich Boyarsky on 10 December 1922, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father, Aleksandr Boyarsky, was a priest of Russian Orthodox Church who was executed by the communists during the Great Purge of 1937 under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. Young Nikolai Boyarsky was fond of theatre, he followed his elder brother, Sergey Boyarskiy. From 1940 to 1941 he studied acting at the Leningrad Institute of Theatre and Cinema, but his studies were interrupted by WWII. Nikolai Boyarsky was drafted in the Red Army and served for four years fighting in the front-lines against the Nazis. During the war, he was taken by the Nazi forces and was kept as a POW, but he managed to escape and survived. He was wounded in the battle, but survived again and made it to the Victory day. He received numerous decorations for his courage. After the end of WWII, Nikolai Boyarsky returned to Leningrad. There, in 1945, he married actress Lidiya Shtykan who survived the Siege of Leningrad.

From 1948 to 1988 Nikolai Boyarsky was a permanent member of the troupe at the Theatre of Komissarzhevskoi in Leningrad/St. Petersburg. There his stage partners were such actors as Galina Korotkevich, Ivan Dmitriev, Tamara Abrosimova, Natalya Chetverikova, Elena Safonova, Valentina Chemberg, Tatyana Samarina, Aleksandr Galibin, Yefim Kamenetsky, Mikhail Khrabrov, Georgi Korolchuk, Stanislav Landgraf, Sergey Boyarskiy, Vladimir Osobik, Boris Sokolov, Ivan Krasko, Petr Shelokhonov, and other notable Russian actors. His most memorable stage appearances were as Zakhar in "Oblomov" and as Levan in "Esli b nebo bylo zerkalom" among other stage works.

He made his film debut as King Karl II of Spain in Don Sezar de Bazan (1957). In the course of his acting career, Nikolai Boyarsky played over 30 characters in film and on television. He worked with such directors as Pavel Kadochnikov, Mikhail Shapiro, Aleksandr Belinsky, Mikhail Shveitser, Vladimir Vengerov, Aleksandr Rou, Aleksandr Proshkin, Sergey Bondarchuk, and others. Nikolai Boyarsky was regarded for his presence and effortless style. He was designated People's Artist of Russia. He died on 7 October 1988, and was laid to rest in Komarovo cemetery near St. Petersburg, Russia.

Valeri Solovtsov was born on 28 January 1904 in Danilovka, Pskov Governorate, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was an actor and director, known for Leningrad v borbe (1942), Na rodine kapitanov (1938) and Msti, boyets! (1942). He died on 29 November 1977 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].

Vadim Medvededv was born Vladimir Aleksandrovich Medvedev on April 28, 1929, in Yalta, Crimea province, Ukraine, USSR (now Ukraine). In 1949, he graduated from the Acting Studio of Moscow Chamber Theatre under directorship of Aleksandr Tairov.

From 1952-1966 he was a permanent member of the troupe of Pushkin Drama Theatre in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). There his stage partners were such remarkable actors as Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Simonov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Aleksandr Borisov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Konstantin Adashevsky, Leonid Vivyen, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mamaeva, Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian actors. In 1954, he made his film debut in A Big Family (1954) by director Iosif Kheifits.

From 1966-1988 Vadim Medvedev was a permanent member of the legendary troupe of Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) under directorship of Georgi Tovstonogov. Medvedev worked with Tovstonogov for 22 years. During that time Medvedev worked with an outstanding ensemble of actors at BDT. There his stage partners were such stars as Oleg Basilashvili, Tatyana Doronina, Alisa Freyndlikh, Lyudmila Makarova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Zinaida Sharko, Valentina Kovel, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Sergey Yurskiy, Kirill Lavrov, Oleg Borisov, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Yefim Kopelyan, Evgeniy Lebedev, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Pavel Luspekayev, Nikolay Trofimov, Georgiy Shtil, Leonid Nevedomsky, Yuriy Demich, Roman Gromadskiy, Gennadiy Bogachyov, Andrey Tolubeev, and many other remarkable Russian actors.

Vadim Medvedev was honored with the title of People's Artist of the Russia. He received numerous awards and decorations for his works on stage and in film. His filmography includes over 30 roles, he also played over 80 roles on stage. Vadim Medvedev died on March 2, 1988, and was laid to rest in Bolsheokhtinskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia.

Aleksandr Bogdanov was born in 1957 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Ne bolit golova u dyatla (1975), Klyuch bez prava peredachi (1977) and Polkovnik v otstavke (1977). He died on 9 April 1985 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].

Nikolai Konstantionovich Simonov was born on December 4, 1901, in Samara, Russian Empire. His father, named Konstantin Simonov, was a manager of a local food industry. Young Simonov read voraciously and dreamed about acting in theatre. From 1917-1919 he studied art at Samara School of Art and Design. From 1919-1923 he studied art at Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, where his teachers were Aleksei Rylov and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. From 1922-1924 he studied acting under Leonid Vivyen at the Institute of Theatrical Arts in St. Petersburg, from which he graduated with honors in 1924.

From 1924 -1973 Nikolai Simonov was a permanent member with the company of Pushkin Drama Theatre in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). Nikolai Simonov was among the leading actors of the Pushkin Drama Theatre. During the 1950s and 1960s he was Artistic Director of the Pushkin Drama Theatre. There his stage partners were such remarkable actors as Yekaterina Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya, Illarion Pevtsov, Yuri Yuryev, Boris Babochkin, Nikolay Cherkasov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Aleksandr Borisov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Leonid Vivyen, Igor Gorbachyov, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mamaeva, Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian actors.

Nikolai Simonov made his film debut in 1924 in Leningrad and played supporting roles in five Russian silent films. He shot to fame after his role of Commander Zhikharev in the classic film 'Chapaev' (1934) by brothers Georgi Vasilyev and Sergey Vasilev, where his partners were Boris Babochkin, Leonid Kmit, Illarion Pevtsov, Georgi Zhzhyonov, Boris Chirkov, and other Russian actors. Simonov's portrayal of Tsar Peter the Great in 'The Conquests of Peter the Great' (part one, 1937, and part two, 1938) brought him international fame and numerous awards.

Simonov was considered to be a patriarch of the St. Petersburg school of acting. His education and acting style was based on deep traditions of the School of Russian Drama which was founded in 1779, in St. Petersburg by Catherine the Great. Simonov's stage performances were legendary; several of his stage works were filmed for a historic record. His leading role in "The Living Corpse", an adaptation of the book by Lev Tolstoy, is remembered as one of the highest achievements in stage acting in Russian theatre. Simonov's portrayal of Antonio Salieri in "Malenkie tragedii" by Alexander Pushkin won him a Stanislavski State Prize award in 1962. Simonov regarded acting on stage as superior to acting in film; he supported the similar position of Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.

Nikolai Simonov was awarded the State Prize of the USSR three times (1941, 1947, and 1950) and the State Prize of Russia (1966). He was the only actor in Russia three times awarded the Order of Lenin (1938, 1950, and 1967) for his achievements as an actor. In 1950 he was honored with the title of the People's Artist of the USSR. Simonov was also the father of a remarkable family, his wife was an actress, and his son, named Nikolai Nikolaevich Simonov, was a famous surgeon in Russia.

Nikolai Simonov died on April 20, 1973, in Leningrad (ST. Petesburg) and was laid to rest in the Necropolis of Masters of arts in St. Aleksandr Nevsky Convent in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Evgeniy Shvarts was born on 21 October 1896 in Kazan, Russian Empire [now Tatarstan, Russia]. He was a writer, known for Kain XVIII (1963), Cinderella (1947) and Na otdykhe (1936). He died on 15 January 1958 in Leningrad, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].

Aleksandr Fedorovich Borisov was born on May 1, 1905, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father was an industrial worker. Young Borisov was fond of theatre and participated in school drama club. In 1927 he graduated from the class of Yuri Yuryev at the Leningrad Theatre-Studio.

Borisov had also a stellar career as a stage actor. From 1928-1982 he was a permanent member of the troupe of the Pushkin Drama Theatre in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). There his stage partners were such remarkable actors as Yekaterina Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya, Nikolay Cherkasov, Yuri Yuryev, Boris Babochkin, Nikolai Simonov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Illarion Pevtsov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Leonid Vivyen, Konstantin Adashevsky, Igor Gorbachyov, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mamaeva, Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian actors.

Aleksandr Borisov was awarded the State Prize of the USSR three times: for his stage works (1947), for the leading role in film 'Akademic Ivan Pavlov' (1949), and for the leading role in film 'Mussorgsky' (1950). He was designated the People's Artist of the USSR (1951) and the Hero of Socialist Labor (1981). Aleksandr Borisov died on May 19, 1982, in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Russia, and was laid to rest at the Necropolis of Masters of Arts "Literatirskie Mostki" in Volkovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Efim Zakharovich Kopelian (Yefim Kopelyan) was born on April 12, 1912, in Rechitsa, Gomel province, Russian Empire (now Rechytsa, Homel province, Belarus). He studied architecture at the Academy of Arts in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), but after a year he dropped out of college and joined the stunts at the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT). In 1935 he graduated from the Acting Studio of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) and became a permanent member of the main troupe. In 1941 Kopelyan married actress Lyudmila Makarova.

Kopelyan was one of the leading actors of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in Leningrad for 43 years. He began his acting career under directorship of Aleksei Dikij and then Boris Babochkin. Among his highest achievements were remarkable stage works under the directorship of Georgi Tovstonogov. Kopelyan's stage partners at the BDT were a stellar troupe of actors, including such prominent film stars as Lyudmila Makarova, Oleg Basilashvili, Tatyana Doronina, Valentina Kovel, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Zinaida Sharko, Kirill Lavrov, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Sergey Yurskiy, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Oleg Borisov, Evgeniy Lebedev, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Nikolay Trofimov, Pavel Luspekayev, and many other remarkable Russian actors.

Kopelyan shot to fame in the Soviet Union with his legendary narration in the TV series Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973). Kopelyan's special and enigmatic voice in that narration gained him such a wide popularity that he became a hero of many popular jokes. A brilliant film actor, Kopelyan played major film roles in the trilogy 'Neulovimye Mstiteli' (1966-1971), Opasnye gastroli (1969), and Povest o chelovecheskom serdtse (1976) among other popular Russian films. Kopelyan himself considered his part as Ataman in epic film Dauriya (1972) as his best work in film.

Yefim Kopelyan was designated the title of People's Artist of the USSR. He died of a heart failure on March 6, 1975, and was laid to rest in Necropolis of The Masters of Art "Literatorskie mostki" at Volkovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Mikhail Shapiro was born on 2 April 1908 in Yekaterinoslav, Yekaterinoslav uyezd, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire [now Dnipropetrovsk, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine]. He was a director and writer, known for Katerina Izmailova (1967), Slippers (1945) and Kain XVIII (1963). He died on 26 October 1971 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].

Georgi Aleksandrovich Tovstonogov was born on September 28, 1915, in Tiflis, Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Georgia). Young Tovstonogov was fond of theatre and started acting on stage while at high school. In 1933 he moved to Moscow to study acting and directing. He studied at the Moscow Institute of Theatrical Art (GITIS), from which he graduated as a theatre director in 1938. Then he returned to Tbilisi and was a director at the Theatre of Russian Drama named after Griboedov until 1946. From 1946-1950 he worked as director at the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow.

Tovstonogov moved to Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1950, and from 1950-1956 was a director at the Leningrad Theatre of Leninsky Komsomol. There he continued his life-long effort focused on re-establishing the Russian Classical drama and literature in the Soviet-dominated theatrical repertoire. Tovstonogov was the first one who returned the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky into Soviet theatre. This became possible after Nikita Khrushchev denounced Joseph Stalin in February of 1956, and initiated the "Thaw" in Soviet culture and politics. Tovstonogov's 1956 production of 'The Insulted and Humiliated' was based on the eponymous book by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and became a brilliant artistic response to the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin.

From 1956-1989 Tovstonogov was the director general at the Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) named after Maxim Gorky. There he directed plays by Anton Chekhov, Lev Tolstoy, Aleksandr Griboyedov, Maxim Gorky, Nikolay Gogol, Vasiliy Shukshin, Charles Dickens and other authors. Under the leadership of Tovstonogov the Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) was nicknamed the "Tovstonogov's theatre" and that nickname became widely used by actors and public. After the director's death all actors and loyal theatre patrons appealed to the Russian Federal government to commemorate the famous director. In 1992, the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) was renamed after Tovstonogov.

Much of Tovstonogov's success as a theatrical director was achieved because of his ability to attract the best actors of the former Soviet Union to the Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT). There he assembled a stellar troupe of actors, including such prominent film stars as Kirill Lavrov, Oleg Basilashvili, Tatyana Doronina, Alisa Freyndlikh, Lyudmila Makarova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Sergey Yurskiy, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Oleg Borisov, Yefim Kopelyan, Evgeniy Lebedev, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Nikolay Trofimov, Pavel Luspekayev, and many other remarkable Russian actors.

Tovstonogov wrote several books about theatre. His books: 'About the Profession of Director' (1965), 'Circle of Thoughts' (1972) and 'Mirror of Stage' has been highly regarded among Russian actors and directors. He also taught acting and directing in Tbilisi, Moscow, and Leningrad. From 1955-1989 Tovstonogov was a professor of directing at the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography (now the Academy of Theatre, Music and Cinema) in St. Petersburg, Russia. He also directed several stage plays for theatres in European countries.

Georgi Tovstonogov was awarded the Stalin's Prize in 1950 and 1952, and the State Prize of the USSR in 1956, 1968, and 1978. Tovstonogov was awarded the Order of Lenin (twice), he was honored with the title of People's Artist of the USSR, and received numerous other awards and decorations. Georgi Tovstonogov died of a heart failure on May 23, 1989, and was laid to rest in the Necropolis of Masters of Art in St. Aleksandr Nevsky Convent in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Vladimir Osipchuk was born on 17 August 1960 in Kharkov, Ukrainian SSR, USSR. He was an actor, known for Kazhdyy desyatyy (1984), Zaliv schastya (1987) and Ottsy (1989). He died on 31 October 1990 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR.