The Russian State Pushkin Academy Drama Theater - the legendary Alexandrinsky Theater - is the oldest Russian national theater. It was founded by the Senate’s Decree, signed by Empress Elizabeth (daughter of Peter the Great) on August 30, 1756, the day of Saint Alexander Nevsky. This theater is the progenitor of all Russian theaters and the date of its foundation marks the birth of Russian professional theater.

The Russian State Drama Theater served as an attribute of the Russian state system for over two and a half centuries. In the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries it was the main imperial theater; Russian emperors had been directly involved with its guidance.

Premieres of practically all Russian drama classics took place at the Alexandrinsky Theater: from the“Woes of Wits" by A. Griboyedov to the plays by A. Ostrovsky and A. Chekhov. The Alexandrinsky Theater is a textbook of Russian theatrics. A number of renowned actors performed on its stage - from V. Karatygin and A. Martynov to N. Simonov, N. Cherkasov, V. Merkuriev, I. Gorbachev, and B. Freindlikh. Talents of famous Russian actresses had flourished on this stage.

Outstanding theater directors, such as V. Meyerhold, L. Vivien, G. Kozintsev, G. Tovstonogov, and N. Akimov, worked at the theater. Today the theater is directed by an acclaimed director, People’s Artist of Russia, Laureate of State Awards, Valery Fokin. Alexandrinsky’s productions are catalogued in all world theater encyclopedias. A whole number of great artists, such as A. Benua, K. Korovin, A. Golovin, N. Altma, and famous composers like A. Glazunov, D. Shostakovich, R. Shchedrin cooperated with the theater.

The Alexandrinsky Theater occupies an honorable place among the oldest national theaters of Europe ( the Comedie Francaise in Paris, the Burgtheater in Vienna, the Drury Lane in London, and the Deutsches Theater in Berlin), serving as a symbol of Russian national theater.

Director : Valery Fokin

Born in 1946 in Moscow. People’s Artist of Russia, laureate of four State Prizes of Russia, Honoured Artist of Poland, Chairman of the Guild of Russian theatre directors. Performances staged by him are shown in Russia, USA, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, France; many of them are marked with prestigious theatre awards.

In 1970, after graduating the Higher Theatre School named after B.V. Schukin, Valery Fokin came to Moscow theatre “The Contemporary” [Sovremennik] where every new play by a young director caused a keen interest of the audience and critics.

In 1985 he took charge of the theatre named after M.N. Ermolova. His flagship performance “Talk ...“ meant a turn to a new staging approach. A significant part of Valery Fokin’s creative activity is preservation, study and development of Vsevolod Meyerhold’s directorship method. He has been a chairman of the Commission for creative heritage of his great predecessor from 1988. In 1991, a cultural theatre centre named after Meyerhold (Meyerhold Centre) was set up in Moscow. Valery Fokin was its producer and artistic director from its foundation up to September 2011; from September 2011 – he has been a President of the Meyerhold Centre.