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

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

with "establishing

puppetry 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 perform ...

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 List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

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

Obraztsov was born on 22 June 1901 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

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 (russian: Владимир Иванович Немирович-Данченко; , Ozurgeti – 25 April 1943, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer an ...

in one of the studios of the

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

. During this period, he staged several

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

-style

puppet shows 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 ...

before going on to set up the State Central Puppet Theatre in

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Britain, 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 puppets. 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) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent drama school, theatrical arts school in Russia. Locat ...

(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 ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

in 1952, and a

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

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

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) 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 ...

. 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 by Obraztsov

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

. Translated from the Russian 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. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

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 male actors Russian puppeteers Russian theatre directors Soviet drama teachers Soviet film directors Soviet male actors Soviet puppeteers Soviet theatre directors Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery