The resident company was founded as the
New Theatre in 1933, under
V. E. Meyerhold student Isaac (Isaak) Kroll. As government repression arose against "Meyerholdism" in the mid-1930s, Kroll was dismissed and actor, director and teacher
Boris Mikhailovich Sushkevich appointed. Sushkevich brought his disciples with him to the company. It was later renamed
Leningrad Soviet Theatre. The troupe's first home was in a building acquired by the
Lensovet on
Nevsky Prospekt, which formerly housed a Dutch church; however, this was destroyed by fire. In 1936 the city authorities gave the city council a new premises on Rubinshteina Street (which now houses a
children's theatre, Through the Looking Glass). They returned in 1945, moving into their current location at 12 Vladimirski Prospekt. new actors were brought in and the repertoire was updated. The first Soviet musical,
Spring in Moscow, by
Viktor Gusev, was staged. In 1953 the theatre was renamed. The name derives from Leningrad Council of People Deputies, or
Lensovet, which was succeeded by the
Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg in 1994. In 1960,
Igor Petrovich Vladimirov, a student of
Georgy Tovstonogov, took up the post as director, where he remained until his death in 1996. During his time there he opened a small stage. After his death,
Vladislav Borisovich Pazi was appointed director. Under Pazi, the Russian musical
Vladimirskaya Ploshchad as well as the Broadway hit
Cabaret were staged. Young artists such as
Konstantin Khabensky,
Mikhail Porechenkov,
Andrei Zibrov, and many others were recruited, and performances began to participate in festivals and to win awards. Pazi died in 2006 and was succeeded by
Harold Strelkov, and
Yuri Butusov took his place in 2011. He was succeeded by
Larisa Luppian in 2019. == History of the building ==