Anatoly Anatolyevich Durov (sometimes spelled ''Durow'') () (1887–1928) was a renowned 20th century animal trainer. He was a member of the Durov family of performers who raised the quality and prestige of the Russian circus.

Background

Anatoly Anatolyevich's great-grandmother, Nadezhda Durova, was the first female officer in the Russian Army, who became a decorated soldier in the Russian cavalry during the

Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. His mother, née Tereza Stadler, was a talented circus horse rider of German descent and owned the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n Circus] Long and successful tours led her to make Russia her home. His father, Anatoly Durov, was born to an old noble family and broke with it to join a traveling troupe. Anatoly (Jr.) was a good acrobat, a magician, and a monologue reciter. Anatoly (Sr.) and Vladimir Durov were the first of the Durov clan to gain fame as circus entertainers.

Career

Anatoly (Jr.) made his circus debut in 1914 in the Nikitin brothers' circus in the city of

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

. His real fame came in the years following the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

. The younger Anatoly Durov performed with a large and varied group of animals. His performance commentary was always biting and topical. He toured abroad in 1921. In

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he performed in the city of

Subotica Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...

in the variety show Alhambra; in the city of

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in the Music Hall; in the city of

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in the Winter Garden. In November 1921, he signed a contract for performances in the cities of

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and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

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with the international circus Orpheus for 500,000 kronor plus travel expenses. In 1922-1923 he toured throughout the

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, performing in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

(

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(Genova),

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Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...

(Atria), and other places. At the request of Queen Elena of Italy, Anatoly (Jr.) gave a private performance at the royal villa. His performing dog ''Petit'' lived in the queen's apartment for three days. Queen Elena granted Anatoly Durov Jun. a golden cigarette-case and a letter of thanks. After his tours across

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and the

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, Anatoly Durov returned to

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

and founded an entertainment program that gained international recognition. In 1926 he settled in the city of

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

on Shevchenko street 111, where he founded ''The Taganrog Animal Theater of Anatoly Durov''. Anatoly Anatolyevich Durov died in 1928 in a hunting accident near

Izhevsk Izhevsk or Ijevsk (, ; , or ) is the capital city of Udmurtia, Russia. It is situated along the Izh River, west of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It is the 21st-largest city in Russia, and the most populous in Udmurtia, with over 600,000 ...

. Anatoly Durov was interred at Taganrog Old Cemetery. His nephews, Vladimir Grigorievich Durov (1909-1972) and Yury Vladimirovich Durov (1909-1971) continued in his footsteps. Both became People's Artists of the USSR. Currently the Durov Theater in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

is run by Tereza Durova (b. September 5, 1926), a niece.

External links and references

* "Энциклопедия Таганрога". — Ростов-на-Дону: Ростиздат, 2003. — 512 с. — .
Anatoly Durov Jun. Museum in Taganrog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durov, Anatoly 1887 births 1928 deaths Animal trainers Soviet circus performers Russian circus performers Hunting accident deaths Accidental deaths in the Soviet Union Entertainers from the Russian Empire