Sergey Vladimirovich Obraztsov (, 5 July 1901 – 8 May 1992) was a Soviet and Russian puppeteer who is credited by the

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

with "establishing

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – wikt:inanimate, inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. S ...

as an art form in the Soviet Union." Puppet theaters in many countries owe their establishment to Obraztsov's influence. His collection of exotic puppets was the largest in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and one of the largest in the world.Sergey Vladimirovich Obraztsov

Obraztsov was born on 22 June 1901 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 ...

into the family of a schoolteacher and a railroad engineer. Between 1922 and 1931, he worked as an actor with

Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (; – 25 April 1943) was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how t ...

in one of the studios of the

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; , ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was founded in by the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright ...

. During this period, he staged several

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

-style

puppet shows Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performan ...

before going on to set up the State Central Puppet Theatre in Moscow in 1931. His theatre toured more than 350 cities in the USSR and 90 cities in foreign countries. During his numerous tours abroad, Obraztsov helped to popularize artistic puppetry in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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, and other countries. One of his best known shows, '' An Unusual Concert'' (1946), satirized bad performers. Besides more than 70 plays for children and grown-ups that he staged in his theatre, Obraztsov also directed the first short-length puppet film under the title ''Looking at a Polar Sunset Ray'' in 1938, and also a number of documentaries. In his later years, Obraztsov became enthusiastic about

finger puppet A finger puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by one or more fingers that occupy the interior of the puppet. Finger puppets are generally very simple, consisting of a sheath that the person wearing the puppet (the puppeteer) inserts eith ...

s. He was also skilled in puppeteering with his bare hands. Sergey Obraztsov was the president of the International Union of Puppeteers (1976–1984, and from 1984 the president emeritus), a teaching professor of the

Russian Academy of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) () is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, the school was founded on 22 September 1878 as the Shostakovsky Music School. It became the School of Mu ...

(from 1973), and a member of the Writers’ Union of the USSR. Obraztsov authored an autobiography and a monograph on Chinese puppet theatre. He was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1946, named

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

in 1952, and a

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

in 1971.Сергей Владимирович Образцов
Obraztsov Puppet Theatre Obraztsov died on 8 May 1992 and was buried in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

. The Obraztsov Foundation, established in 1998 by his family members and the Obraztsov Puppet Theatre, was aimed at preserving his rich creative legacy. In September 2001, the Sergey Obraztsov Theatre (Moscow State Puppet Theatre named after Obraztsov)Se
Information about Sergey Obraztsov Theatre
- puppet.ru hosted a week-long centennial celebration which included an international array of performers.

Books written

* ''My Profession'' (1950) Foreign Languages,

. Translated from the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

by Ralph Parker and Valentina Scott. Contains many sepia plates of

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

s plus a biography of Sergey Obraztsov.Further reprints can be found o
Amazon
/ref> * ''IMPRESSIONS OF LONDON: On What I Saw, Learned and Understood During Two Visits to London'' (1957) Sidgwick & Jackson, London * ''The Chinese Puppet Theatre'' (1961) Faber & Faber Limited, UK.

References

External links

Obraztsov's site

Biography of Sergey Obraztsov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obraztsov, Sergey 1901 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors Male actors from Moscow Mass media people from Moscow Theatre directors from Moscow Vkhutemas alumni Heroes of Socialist Labour Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize UNIMA presidents Russian drama teachers Russian film directors Russian puppeteers Russian theatre directors Soviet drama teachers Soviet film directors Soviet male actors Soviet puppeteers Soviet theatre directors Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery