Moscow State Circus

The Moscow Circuses, like many other institutions, were nationalized in 1919, life as a performer with the Circus was almost as good as being a government official. Artists performed nine shows each week, delighting over 70 million citizens per year, and were guaranteed retirement benefits, childcare for children over one year old, maternity leave, the ability to travel, and in special cases were awarded luxuries, like nicer housing, normally restricted to the political elite. One such performer was the famous clown Oleg Popov, who was awarded the title of "People's Artist of the USSR". Like their American contemporaries, the Communist government saw the circus as the people's entertainment. Officials considered the circus to be culturally on par with the Ballets Russes or Tchaikovsky, but was much more affordable, and therefore more proletarian, at only about five dollars per ticket. The Soyuzgoscirk established seventy circus buildings across the USSR, and entire towns would turn out to see the shows. Even television contributed to the fame of the Soyuzgoscirk organization, with its Moscow branch receiving at least an hour-long TV summary of its offerings on occasions. ==Style and politics==

Since these well-attended shows often ran for four hours and were run by the government, they became outlets for Soviet propaganda. ==Bolshoi Circus==

The Great Moscow State Circus() is an auditorium in Moscow located at the Vernadsky Prospekt. It was opened 30 April 1971. It can seat up to 3,400 people and the height of the amphitheatre is 36 metres. Performances are held each day in the afternoon and evening. The circus building has 5 arenas (equestrian, water, illusionist, ice rink, and light-effect), located 18 metres below the floor, which can be swapped during the performance. The Moscow State Circus is a state-owned enterprise. The circus organisation was threatened by the dismantling of the Soviet Union, and by some performers' inclination to seek better-paid foreign contracts. In June 2007, an attempt to privatise the building was initiated, strongly opposed by company director Leonid Kostyuk, among many others. Eventually President Vladimir Putin eliminated the building from the list of state properties to be privatised. ==United Kingdom==

The name Moscow State Circus has long been used by troupes of Russian circus performers in the West. Such a tour is currently being promoted and produced in the United Kingdom by The Extreme Stunts Show ltd., a company formed for this specific purpose. Until 2017 was promoted and produced by in the United Kingdom by The European Events Corporation. Since 1995, individual artistes have been able to take advantage of new post-Soviet freedoms to agree to terms and travel abroad. The current production, which began touring in April 2011, is entitled Babushkin Sekret ('Grandmother's secret') and is themed around the Russian story of The Twelve Chairs. There is a cast of twenty-seven performers, including clowns, acrobats and jugglers, and the show features a wide variety of acts that involve perch pole, static trapeze, aerial silk, chinese pole, and high wire techniques. The show climaxes with a spectacular chair balancing act involving a tower of chairs approximately 10 metres high. ==Australia==

The Great Moscow Circus has been touring Australian country towns for 50 years, made up of International performers and Australian performers and crew. The Australian 'Great Moscow Circus' went into liquidation on 14 March 2017, stranding international performers in Australia. ==See also==