Visual arts Architects •
Aloisio da Milano, builder of the
Kremlin towers and
Terem Palace •
Aloisio the New, builder of the
Archangel Cathedral •
Gavriil Baranovsky, builder of
Elisseeff Emporium and the
Buddhist Temple in
St Petersburg •
Vasily Bazhenov, architect of the
Tsaritsyno Park and the
Russian State Library •
Joseph Bové, chief architect of Moscow after the
Fire of 1812 •
Vincenzo Brenna, court architect of
Paul I of Russia •
Alexander Brullov, builder of the
Pulkovo Observatory •
Charles Cameron, architect of
Tsarskoye Selo and
Pavlovsk Palace •
Alberto Cavos, builder of the
Bolshoi Theatre and the
Mariinsky Theatre •
Alexey Dushkin, inventor of the first
deep column station •
Yury Felten, mover of the
Thunder Stone, maker of the
Summer Garden grille, builder of
St Petersburg embankments •
Aristotile Fioravanti, builder of the
Dormition Cathedral in Moscow •
Ivan Fomin, master of
Russian neoclassical revival and
postconstructivism •
Moisei Ginzburg, master of
Constructivist architecture, founder of the
OSA Group •
David Grimm, builder of the
Church of Maria Magdalene and
Chersonesus Cathedral •
Boris Iofan, grandmaster of
Stalinist architecture •
Matvei Kazakov, builder of the
Kremlin Senate •
Roman Klein, builder of the
Pushkin Museum and
TsUM •
Alexander Kokorinov, builder of the
Imperial Academy of Arts •
Fyodor Kon, builder of the
Smolensk Kremlin and Moscow's
Bely Gorod •
Nikolai Ladovsky, leader of
rationalist architecture of
ASNOVA •
Nikolay Lvov, polymath scientist and artist, adapted
rammed earth technology for northern climate, pioneered
HVAC technology, built
Priory Palace in
Gatchina •
Georg Johann Mattarnovy, architect of
Kunstkamera •
Auguste de Montferrand, builder of
Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the
Alexander Column •
Arkady Mordvinov, architect of
the tallest hotel in Europe •
Nikolai Nikitin, engineer of the largest Soviet structures:
Moscow State University,
Luzhniki Stadium,
The Motherland Calls and
Ostankino Tower (once
the world's tallest) •
Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky, architect of the
All-Russia Exhibition Centre and
Hotel Ukraina (Moscow) •
Petrok Maly, builder of the
Kitai-gorod Wall and the Ascension Church in
Kolomenskoye •
Anatoly Polyansky, architect of the
Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow •
Alexander Pomerantsev, builder of the
GUM and the
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia •
Giacomo Quarenghi, builder of the
Hermitage Theatre and
Smolny Institute •
Bartolomeo Rastrelli, grandmaster of
Russian baroque, builder of
Peterhof Palace,
Saint Andrew's Church in Kiev,
Smolny Convent,
Catherine Palace,
Winter Palace •
Antonio Rinaldi, architect of
Oranienbaum and
Tsarskoye Selo, builder of the
Marble Palace •
Carlo Rossi, architect of the neoclassical ensembles of
St Petersburg, author of the
Russian Museum,
Alexandrinsky Theater,
General Staff Building in St. Petersburg •
Lev Rudnev, builder of
Stalinist skyscrapers •
Marco Ruffo, builder of
Kremlin towers and the
Palace of Facets •
Fyodor Schechtel, master of
Art Nouveau, builder of
Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal •
Vladimir Shchuko, builder of the
Lenin Library, master of
Stalinist architecture •
Aleksey Shchusev, builder of
Lenin's Mausoleum on
Red Square and the
Hotel Moskva (Moscow) •
Vladimir Sherwood, builder of the
State Historical Museum •
Vladimir Shukhov, engineer-
polymath, inventor of breakthrough
industrial designs(
hyperboloid structure,
thin-shell structure,
tensile structure,
gridshell), builder of
Shukhov Towers and multiple other structures •
Pietro Antonio Solari, builder of the
Spasskaya tower and the
Palace of Facets •
Vasily Stasov, inventor of the
Russian Revival style, builder of the
Moscow Triumphal Gates and
Narva Triumphal Gates •
Andrei Stackenschneider, builder of the
Mariinsky Palace and
Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace •
Ivan Starov, builder of the
Tauride Palace •
Vladimir Tatlin, author of
Tatlin's Tower project •
Konstantin Thon, builder of the
Grand Kremlin Palace,
Kremlin Armoury and the
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (the world's
tallest Orthodox church) •
Domenico Trezzini, the first architect of
St Petersburg, builder of the
Peter and Paul Fortress,
Summer Palace of Peter the Great,
Twelve Collegia and
Peter and Paul Cathedral (the world's
tallest Orthodox belltower) •
Vesnin brothers, leaders of
constructivist architecture •
Andrey Voronikhin, builder of the
Kazan Cathedral and
Saint Petersburg Mining Institute •
Postnik Yakovlev, builder of
Saint Basil's Cathedral on
Red Square •
Andreyan Zakharov, builder of the
Russian Admiralty •
Mikhail Zemtsov, architect of
Catherinethal •
Pyotr Baranovsky, preservationist of ancient Russian architecture, notable for saving
Saint Basil's Cathedral from destruction by the Soviet authorities in the 1930s.
Sculptors and jewellers •
Mikhail Anikushin, monumentalist, author of celebrated statues of
Pushkin •
Mihail Chemiakin, author of
Children Are the Victims of Adult Vices •
Peter Clodt, famous for equestrian statues, author of the
Anichkov Bridge Horse Tamers •
Vasily Demut-Malinovsky, author of the chariot groups on the
Narva Triumphal Gates and the
General Staff Building in St. Petersburg •
Peter Carl Fabergé, jeweller, creator of the
Fabergé Eggs •
Naum Gabo, sculptor, pioneer of
kinetic art •
Mikhail Gerasimov, forensic sculptor, reconstructed the appearance of
Tamerlane,
Yaroslav the Wise,
Rudaki and many other historical figures •
Ilya Kabakov, conceptual installation artist •
Vyacheslav Klykov, author of the monuments to
Marshal Zhukov,
Saints Cyril and Methodius, the
Battle of Kursk •
Sergey Konenkov, sculptor, "the Russian
Rodin" •
Mikhail Kozlovsky, neoclassical sculptor, author of the
Samson fountain in
Peterhof and monument to
Suvorov the Mars •
Ivan Martos, author of the
Monument to Minin and Pozharsky on
Red Square •
Mikhail Mikeshin, author of the
Millennium of Russia, the monument to
Catherine II in
St Petersburg, the monument to
Bohdan Khmelnytsky in
Kyiv •
Vera Mukhina, sculptor, inventor of
welded sculpture, author of the
Worker and Kolkhoz Woman •
Andrei Molodkin (born 1966), sculpture and installation •
Ernst Neizvestny, author of the
Lotus Flower at the
Aswan Dam in
Egypt •
Alexander Opekushin, author of early monuments to
Pushkin,
Lermontov,
Aleksandr II •
Boris Orlovsky, author of the statues of
Kutuzov and
Barclay de Tolly in front of
Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg •
Avenir Sumin, competitor of Fabergé •
Nikolai Tomsky, author of multiple
Lenin statues and the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Moscow) •
Zurab Tsereteli, author of the
Peter the Great Statue,
To the Struggle Against World Terrorism,
St. George statues at the
Moscow War Memorial and the
Freedom Monument (Tbilisi) •
Yevgeny Vuchetich, author of the
Soviet War Memorial in Berlin,
Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares in the New York
UN garden, and
The Motherland Calls in
Volgograd Painters •
Ivan Aivazovsky, author of
The Ninth Wave and over 6000 paintings, mostly
seascapes •
Fyodor Alekseyev, prominent
landscapist, "the Russian
Canaletto" •
Ivan Argunov, major 18th-century portraitist •
Léon Bakst, stage and costume designer for the
Ballets Russes, author of the
Terror Antiquus •
Alexandre Benois, artist and art critic, influential stage designer, author of the celebrated illustrations to
Pushkin's
Bronze Horseman •
Ivan Bilibin, painter and stage designer, famous for illustrations of
Slavic mythology and
sets for
Russian fairy tale-based
Russian operas •
Alexey Bogolyubov, landscape and seascape painter •
Victor Borisov-Musatov,
Post-Impressionist painter, creator of
Russian Symbolism •
Vladimir Borovikovsky, famous portraitist at the turn of the 19th century •
Karl Briullov, neoclassical painter, author of
The Last Day of Pompeii •
Marc Chagall,
polymath-artist, pioneer of
modernism and
figurative art, author of famous
stained glasses •
Pavel Chistyakov, history and portrait painter, tutor of many celebrated artists •
Alexander Deyneka, master of
socialist realism, author of the mosaics at
Mayakovskaya (Moscow Metro) •
Dionisy, medieval
icon painter,
frescoes in the
Ferapontov Monastery • Julia Dolgorukova, painter, landscapist, famous for works on stage, costume designer and new synthetic technologies in painting •
Andrey Esionov, painter •
Vladimir Favorsky, graphic artist, famous for
woodcut illustrations of classic books •
Pavel Fedotov, realist painter, "the Russian
Hogarth" •
Nikolai Ge, realist painter, famous for works on historical and religious motifs •
Feofan Grek, medieval
fresco and icon-painter in
Byzantine Empire and Russia •
Alexander Ivanov, neoclassical painter, author of
The Appearance of Christ before the People •
Sergey Ivanov, author of famous illustrations of
Russian history •
Wassily Kandinsky, inventor of pure
abstract art, founder of
Der Blaue Reiter •
Orest Kiprensky, romantic painter and portraitist •
Konstantin Korovin, leading Russian
Impressionist painter •
Ivan Kramskoi, painter and art critic, author of the
Christ in the Desert and the
Unknown Woman •
Boris Kustodiev, author of famous portraits, holiday scenes and "Kustodiev's women" (''
The Merchant's Wife, Bathing, The Russian Venus'') •
Mikhail Larionov,
avant-garde painter, inventor of
rayonism •
Alexei Leonov, cosmonaut and painter, made some of his works in
outer space •
Isaac Levitan, landscapist, author of the
Over Eternal Peace •
Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky, Peredvizhniki artist and court photographer to the Romanov dynasty •
El Lissitzky,
avant-garde painter, typographer, author of
Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge •
Konstantin Makovsky, famous for idealized history paintings •
Kazimir Malevich, inventor of
suprematism, author of the
Black Square •
Sergey Malyutin, painter and folk artist, designed the first
matryoshka doll •
Vladimir Mayakovsky,
futurist poet and
propaganda artist, author of the
Rosta Windows agitprop •
Sergey Miloradovich, historical painter •
Mikhail Nesterov, religious symbolist painter, portraitist, author of
The Vision of the Youth Bartholomew •
Ivan Nikitin, famous
Petrine era portraitist •
Vasily Perov, realist painter, author of the
Troika and
The Hunters at Rest •
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, symbolist painter, author of the
Bathing of a Red Horse •
Vasily Polenov, landscape painter, author of
A courtyard in Moscow and ''
Grandma's garden'' •
Ilya Repin, archetypical Russian painter, famous for his portraits and history scenes, author of the
Barge Haulers on the Volga and the
Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks •
Alexander Rodchenko,
avant-garde artist, graphic designer and
constructivist painter •
Nicholas Roerich, artist, scientist, traveler, public figure, initiator of the international
Roerich Pact, author of over 7000 paintings •
Andrei Rublev, most famous Russian
icon-painter, author of the
Trinity •
Andrei Ryabushkin, history painter, works devoted mostly to 17th-century Russia •
Alexei Savrasov,
landscape painter, creator of the
lyrical landscape style •
Zinaida Serebriakova, the most prolific woman painter of Russia, famous for female portraits and
nudes •
Valentin Serov,
impressionist painter, portraitist, author of
The Girl with Peaches and
The Kidnapping of Europe •
Taras Shevchenko, romantic poet and painter •
Ivan Shishkin, author of the most celebrated Russian landscapes: the
Morning in a Pine Forest,
Rye Fields, the
Rain in an Oak Forest •
Konstantin Somov, prominent
Russian literature illustrator •
Vasily Surikov, author the famous
Russian history paintings ''
The Morning of Streltsy's Execution, Boyarynya Morozova, The March of Suvorov through the Alps'' •
Vasily Tropinin, romantic and realist portraitist •
Israel Tsvaygenbaum, painter •
Simon Ushakov, prolific late 17th-century
icon painter,
Saviour Not Made by Hands •
Feodor Vasilyev, lyrical landscape painter •
Apollinary Vasnetsov,
Russian history illustrator, many works devoted to Moscow •
Viktor Vasnetsov, famous for Russian history and
Slavic mythology images, inventor of
budenovka, author of the
Flying Carpet,
Tsar Ivan The Terrible, the
Bogatyrs •
Alexey Venetsianov, prominent genre painter, founder of the "Venetsianov school" •
Vasily Vereshchagin, battle painter, author of
The Apotheosis of War and the
Blowing from Guns in British India •
Romanov Viktor (born 1959), painter •
Mikhail Vrubel, leader of the
Russian Symbolism, author of
The Demon Sitting and
The Swan Princess •
Nikolai Yaroshenko, realist genre painter and portraitist •
Pyotr Zakharov-Chechenets, portrait painter of
Chechen origin •
Leon Zernitsky, illustrator and artist •
Karp Zolotaryov, late 17th-century
icon painter, notable for realistic style
Literature Novel and short story authors •
Chinghiz Aitmatov,
Kyrgyz and Russian writer, author of
Jamilya •
Vasily Aksyonov, author of the Moscow
saga Generations of Winter •
Boris Akunin, famous for his
detective fiction, author of
The Diamond Chariot •
Sholem Aleichem, important
Russian Jewish writer, the famous musical
Fiddler on the Roof was based on Aleichem's story
Tevye the Dairyman •
Isaac Babel, well-known
Russian Jewish writer, author of
The Odessa Tales •
Andrei Bely, author of the novel
Petersburg, poet •
Alexander Belyayev, major science fiction writer, author of
Amphibian Man and
Ariel •
Valery Bryusov, important
symbolist writer, author of the novel
The Fiery Angel •
Mikhail Bulgakov, author of
The Master and Margarita, which
The Times of London has called one of the masterpieces of the 20th century •
Kir Bulychev, author of the science fiction anthology
Half a Life •
Ivan Bunin, short story writer and poet, first Russian to be awarded the
Nobel Prize for Literature •
Anton Chekhov, famous for his short stories and plays; author of
The Lady with the Dog,
The Black Monk •
Nikolai Chernyshevsky, influential revolutionary writer, author of
What Is to Be Done? •
Fyodor Dostoevsky, author of
Crime and Punishment,
The Idiot,
The Possessed,
The Brothers Karamazov •
Sergei Dovlatov, Russian writer who
emigrated to the US, author of the novel
Affiliate •
Dmitry Glukhovsky, author of the
post-apocalyptic novel Metro 2033 •
Nikolai Gogol, considered the "father" of Russian
realism, author of
The Overcoat,
The Nose,
Dead Souls •
Ivan Goncharov, author of
Oblomov •
Maxim Gorky, founder of
socialist realism, author of
Twenty-six Men and a Girl •
Vasily Grossman, author of
Life and Fate, described by
Le Monde as "the greatest Russian novel of the twentieth century" •
Ilf and Petrov popular satirists, authors of
The Twelve Chairs •
Nikolai Karamzin, prominent
sentimentalist writer and major historian, author of
Poor Liza •
Valentin Katayev, author of the industrial novel
Time, Forward! •
Veniamin Kaverin, author of the social and adventure novel
The Two Captains •
Daniil Kharms, Soviet
surrealist and
absurdist writer •
Mikhail Lermontov, author of
A Hero of our Time, poet •
Nikolai Leskov, author of
Lefty and
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk •
Sergey Lukyanenko, most popular contemporary Russian
sci-fi writer, author of the
Night Watch •
Vladimir Nabokov, author of
Lolita, which was ranked at #4 on the list of the
Modern Library 100 Best Novels •
Nikolay Nosov,
children's writer, author of the popular
Neznaika series •
Vladimir Obruchev, geologist and explorer, author of the
science fiction and travel novels
Plutonia and
Sannikov Land •
Yuri Olesha, author of the innovative novel
Envy •
Nikolai Ostrovsky,
socialist realist writer, best known for his novel
How the Steel Was Tempered •
Boris Pasternak, author of
Doctor Zhivago, poet and translator,
Nobel Prize winner (was forced to decline the prize) •
Viktor Pelevin,
postmodernist writer, author of the short novel
Omon Ra •
Andrei Platonov, author of
The Foundation Pit •
Aleksandr Pushkin, the greatest Russian poet, novelist, author of ''
The Captain's Daughter'' •
Alexander Radishchev,
radical writer, author of
Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow •
Ayn Rand, creator of
Objectivism, author of
The Fountainhead, and
Atlas Shrugged •
Varlam Shalamov,
Gulag survivor, author of
Kolyma Tales •
Mikhail Sholokhov,
Nobel Prize for Literature, author of
And Quiet Flows the Don •
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn,
Nobel Prize for Literature, author of
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich •
Vladimir Sorokin, one of the most popular writers in modern Russian literature •
Boris and Arkady Strugatsky,
collaborative duo of Soviet science fiction writers •
Tatyana Tolstaya, writer,
TV host,
publicist, novelist, and
essayist from the
Tolstoy family •
Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy,
Soviet writer, best known for his works of
science fiction, author of
Aelita •
Leo Tolstoy, widely considered to be one of the world's greatest novelists, author of
War and Peace,
Anna Karenina, and
The Death of Ivan Ilyich •
Ivan Turgenev, author of ''
A Sportsman's Sketches'', which had an influence on the abolition of
serfdom in Russia •
Yury Tynyanov, important member of the
Russian Formalist school, author of
Lieutenant Kijé •
Eduard Uspensky, children's writer known for his fictional characters
Gena the Crocodile and
Cheburashka •
Vladimir Voinovich, author of the well-known novel
The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin •
Ivan Yefremov, paleontologist and science fiction writer, founder of
taphonomy, author of
The Land of Foam,
Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale and
Thais of Athens •
Yevgeny Zamyatin, author of the
dystopian novel
We, which influenced
George Orwell's
Nineteen Eighty-Four, and
Ayn Rand's
Anthem Philosophers and critics •
Mikhail Bakhtin, philosopher, literary critic,
semiotician, and scholar who worked on literary theory, ethics, and the philosophy of language •
Mikhail Bakunin, well-known
revolutionary and theorist of
collectivist anarchism •
Vissarion Belinsky, influential critic, and editor of two major literary magazines:
Otechestvennye Zapiski, and
Sovremennik •
Nikolai Berdyaev, religious and political philosopher •
Helena Blavatsky, founder of
Theosophy and the
Theosophical Society •
Alexander Bogdanov,
physician, philosopher, science fiction writer, and a key figure in the early history of the
Bolsheviks •
Nikolay Chernyshevsky, famous for his philosophical novel
What is To Be Done?, he was the leader of the revolutionary democratic movement of the 1860s, and an influence on
Vladimir Lenin •
Nikolay Danilevsky,
naturalist,
economist,
ethnologist, philosopher, historian, and
ideologue of the
pan-Slavism and
Slavophile movements •
Sergei Diaghilev, art critic and impresario •
Nikolay Dobrolyubov,
literary critic,
journalist, and
revolutionary democrat •
Pavel Florensky,
Orthodox theologian, philosopher, mathematician,
electrical engineer, and
inventor •
Leonid Grinin, important modern
sociologist and philosopher of history •
Alexander Herzen, highly influential proponent of
populism,
socialism, and
collectivization •
Mikhail Katkov, conservative journalist and literary critic influential during the reign of
Alexander III •
Ivan Kireyevsky, literary critic and philosopher, co-founder of the
Slavophile movement •
Aleksey Khomyakov, religious poet and philosopher, co-founder of the
Slavophile movement, coined the term
sobornost •
Peter Kropotkin, naturalist, geographer and one of the world's foremost
anarcho-communists •
Pyotr Lavrov, prominent Russian philosopher, publicist, sociologist, and
theorist of
narodism •
Konstantin Leontiev,
conservative,
monarchist reactionary philosopher •
Aleksei Losev, one of the most prominent figures in Russian philosophical and religious thought of the 20th century •
Nikolay Novikov, writer and philanthropist, a man of
Russian Enlightenment, often considered to be the first Russian
journalist •
Peter D. Ouspensky,
esoteric philosopher, author of
In Search of the Miraculous •
Dmitri Pisarev,
radical writer and social critic whose works had an important influence on
Lenin •
Ayn Rand,
Objectivist philosopher, best known for her novels
The Fountainhead and
Atlas Shrugged •
Lev Shestov, influential Ukrainian/Russian
existentialist philosopher, author of the well-known works
Penultimate Words and
All Things are Possible •
Vladimir Solovyov, philosopher, poet, pamphleteer, and literary critic, who played a significant role in the development of Russian philosophy and poetry at the end of the 19th century •
Vladimir Stasov, preeminent 19th-century
art critic in Russia •
Leo Tolstoy,
Christian anarchist and
pacifist, whose ideas and social writings were the basis of the
Tolstoyan movement •
Leon Trotsky,
Bolshevik, and
Marxist, one of the leaders of the
Russian Revolution of 1917 Playwrights •
Leonid Andreyev, author of many popular plays, including
He Who Gets Slapped •
Hizgil Avshalumov, soviet novelist, poet and playwright •
Mikhail Bulgakov, popular Soviet writer, author of the play
Flight •
Anton Chekhov, famous for his short stories and plays, author of
The Cherry Orchard,
Uncle Vanya,
Three Sisters,
The Seagull •
Denis Fonvizin, known chiefly for his famous play
The Minor •
Nikolai Gogol, author of the great
satirical play
The Government Inspector •
Maxim Gorky, author of
The Lower Depths, a hallmark of
socialist realism •
Aleksandr Griboyedov, author of the popular play
Woe from Wit •
Mikhail Lermontov, author of the play
Masquerade •
Vladimir Mayakovsky, one of the foremost representatives of
Russian Futurism •
Alexander Ostrovsky, known for his plays dealing with the
merchant class, most notably
The Storm •
Aleksey Pisemsky, realist writer, author of the well-known play
A Bitter Fate, considered to be the first Russian realistic tragedy •
Alexander Pushkin, Russia's national poet, also known for his plays, including
Boris Godunov and
The Stone Guest •
Alexander Sumarokov, poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia •
Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, author of historical dramas, including
The Death of Ivan the Terrible and
Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich •
Leo Tolstoy, one of the greatest Russian writers, author of the plays
The Power of Darkness,
The Fruits of Enlightenment, and
The Living Corpse •
Ivan Turgenev, author of the well known play
A Month in the Country Poets •
Zharaskan Abdirash, Soviet-era Kazakh poet •
Anna Akhmatova,
modernist poet, author of
Requiem •
Bella Akhmadulina, Soviet and Russian poet who has been cited by
Joseph Brodsky as the best living poet in the Russian language •
Innokenty Annensky, poet, critic, and translator, representative of the first wave of
Russian Symbolism •
Konstantin Balmont,
symbolist poet, one of the major figures of the
Silver Age of Russian Poetry •
Evgeny Baratynsky, lauded by
Alexander Pushkin as the finest Russian elegiac poet, rediscovered by
Anna Akhmatova and
Joseph Brodsky as a supreme poet of thought •
Konstantin Batyushkov, an important precursor of
Alexander Pushkin •
Andrey Bely,
symbolist poet, namesake of the important
Andrei Bely Prize •
Alexander Blok, leader of the
Russian Symbolist movement, author of "
The Twelve" •
Joseph Brodsky, winner of the 1987
Nobel Prize in Literature •
Korney Chukovsky, one of the most popular children's poets in the
Russian language •
Denis Davydov, guerilla fighter and soldier-poet of the
Napoleonic Wars, invented a genre of
hussar poetry noted for its hedonism and bravado •
Gavrila Derzhavin, one of the greatest Russian poets before
Alexander Pushkin •
Aleksandr Drakokhrust, Soviet poet •
Gabriel El-Registan, one of the writers of the
National Anthem of the Soviet Union •
Afanasy Fet, had a profound influence on the
Russian Symbolists, especially
Annensky and
Blok •
Nikolay Gumilyov, founded the
acmeism movement •
Vyacheslav Ivanov, poet and playwright associated with the
Russian Symbolism movement •
Antiochus Kantemir, Russian poet-satirist, activist of early
Russian Enlightenment •
Velimir Khlebnikov, influential member of the
Russian Futurist movement, regarded by his contemporariesas as "a poet's poet" •
Ivan Krylov, Russia's best known
fabulist •
Yuri Kublanovsky, poet, essayist, critic and art historian •
Mikhail Lermontov, most important Russian poet after
Alexander Pushkin's death, his influence on later
Russian literature is still felt in modern times •
Osip Mandelstam,
Acmeist poet, author of
Tristia •
Vladimir Mayakovsky, among the most important representatives of early 20th-century
Russian Futurism •
Apollon Maykov, his lyrical poems often showcase images of Russian villages, nature, and Russian history •
Nikolai Nekrasov, one of Russia's most popular poets, author of the long poem Who is Happy in Russia? •
Boris Pasternak, author of the influential poem "My Sister Life",
Nobel Prize winner (was forced to decline the prize) •
Nikolai Ogarev, known to every Russian, not only as a poet, but as the fellow-exile and collaborator of
Alexander Herzen on
Kolokol, a newspaper printed in England and smuggled into Russia •
Yakov Polonsky, leading
Pushkinist poet •
Symeon of Polotsk, academically trained
Baroque Belarusian born Russian poet •
Alexander Pushkin, greatest Russian poet, author of
Eugene Onegin •
Ilya Selvinsky, leader of the
Constructivist movement •
Igor Severyanin, Russian lyrical poet who presided over the circle of the so-called Ego-Futurists •
Boris Slutsky, one of the most important representatives of the
War generation of Russian poets •
Fyodor Sologub, influential
symbolist poet and writer •
Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, popular poet and dramatist, known for his humorous and satirical verse •
Vasily Trediakovsky, helped lay the foundations of classical
Russian literature •
Marina Tsvetaeva, known primarily for her lyric poetry, widely admired by her fellow poets •
Aleksandr Tvardovsky, chief editor of
Novy Mir for many years, author of
Vasili Tyorkin •
Fyodor Tyutchev,
romantic poet, author of
The Last Love •
Maximilian Voloshin,
Symbolist poet, famous
freemason •
Pyotr Yershov, author of the famous fairy-tale poem
The Humpbacked Horse •
Sergei Yesenin, one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century •
Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Soviet/Russian poet, director of several films •
Nikolay Zabolotsky, one of the founders of the
Russian avant-garde absurdist group
OBERIU •
Vasily Zhukovsky, credited with introducing the
Romantic Movement to
Russian literature Performing arts Actors •
Vera Alentova, known for her leading role in the famous 1980 Soviet drama
Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears •
Sergei Bodrov, Jr., played lead roles in several popular movies, son of playwright, actor, director and producer
Sergei Bodrov •
Sergei Bondarchuk, acted in and directed the Academy Award-winning 1966–67 film production of
War and Peace •
Yul Brynner, won the Academy Award for best actor in the 1956 film
The King and I •
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, played in more than 170 films, founded his own theater in Moscow •
Leonid Filatov, received many awards, including the
Russian Federation State Prize and
People's Artist of Russia in 1996 •
Milla Jovovich, actress, model, and musician, best known for her role in the widely popular
Resident Evil movies •
Lila Kedrova, winner of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1964 for the role of Mme Hortense in
Zorba the Greek •
Nikita Mikhalkov, co-wrote, directed and acted in the Academy Award-winning film
Burnt by the Sun •
Helen Mirren, British actress born to Russian father and English mother •
Lubov Orlova, theatre actress and gifted singer, the first recognized star of Soviet cinema •
Marina Orlova, host of the most popular
YouTube guru channel,
HotForWords •
Arkady Raikin,
stand-up comedian who led the school of Soviet and Russian humorists for about half a century •
Tatiana Samoylova (1934–2014), actress •
Alexander Slastin, actor, best known for his role as Soviet general
Vasily Chuikov in the 2004 film
Downfall •
Georgy Vitsin, comic actor, best known for his comic roles such as
Trus (
Coward), a member of an
antihero comic trio in a series of films by
Leonid Gaidai •
Fyodor Volkov, 18th-century actor and founder of the first permanent Russian theater •
Tanya Weinstein, stage director, actress, and tutor •
Natalie Wood, three-time Academy Award nominee, winner of the Golden Globe Award for her role in the TV series
From Here to Eternity •
Vladimir Zharikov, actor, stuntman, cinematographer
Theatre directors •
Michael Chekhov, Russian-American actor, director, author, and theatre practitioner, nephew of
Anton Chekhov •
Anatoly Efros, famous Russian and Soviet theatre director, collaborated with the stage director
Yury Lyubimov •
Yury Lyubimov, Soviet and Russian stage actor and director associated with the
Taganka Theatre which he founded •
Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer, and co-founder of the
Moscow Art Theatre •
Konstantin Stanislavski, famous actor, theatre director, creator of a widely used
system of acting, and co-founder of the
Moscow Art Theatre •
Yevgeny Vakhtangov, friend and mentor of Michael Chekhov, founded the
Vakhtangov Theatre •
Fyodor Volkov, actor and founder of the first permanent Russian
theater Film directors and animators •
Lev Atamanov, animation director of
Soyuzmultfilm, best known for
The Snow Queen •
Fyodor Bondarchuk, director of the acclaimed film
The 9th Company, son of
Sergei Bondarchuk •
Grigori Chukhrai, Academy Award nominee for Best Original Screenplay for the film
Ballad of a Soldier •
Pavel Chukhrai, Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film for
The Thief •
Alexander Dovzhenko, often cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers •
Sergei Eisenstein, his work profoundly influenced early filmmakers owing to his innovative use of and writings about
montage •
Vasily Goncharov, directed the first Russian feature film
Defence of Sevastopol •
Leonid Gaidai, his movies broke theatre attendance records and are still some of the top-selling DVDs in Russia •
Roman Kachanov, one of the founders and leaders of Russian
stop-motion animation •
Andrei Konchalovsky, director of popular movies including
Runaway Train and
Tango & Cash •
Fjodor Khitruk, one of the most influential Russian animators and animation directors •
Elem Klimov, best known for his film
Come and See •
Grigori Kozintsev, known for his silent films and adaptations of Shakespeare •
Lev Kuleshov, taught at and helped establish the world's first film school (the Moscow Film School) •
Aleksandr Petrov, won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film for
The Old Man and the Sea •
Yakov Protazanov, one of the founding fathers of
Russian cinema •
Aleksandr Ptushko, referred to as "the Soviet Walt Disney", due to his prominent early role in animation in the Soviet Union •
Mikhail Romm, director and teacher, known for his film
Nine Days in One Year •
Eldar Ryazanov, Soviet/Russian director famous for his comedies •
Karen Shakhnazarov, chairman of
Mosfilm, one of the largest and oldest film studios in Russia •
Vasily Shukshin, actor, writer, screenwriter and movie director who specialized in rural themes •
Alexander Sokurov, critically acclaimed director, a regular at the Cannes Film Festival •
Olga Sukhorukova, famous youtuber, most known for her contributions towards lost monkeys, also known as Olya. •
Ladislas Starevich, Russian and French stop-motion animator who used insects and animals as his protagonists •
Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-American animator best known for ''
Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Star Wars: Clone Wars'' •
Andrei Tarkovsky, internationally renowned director and
film theorist •
Dziga Vertov, pioneering documentary film director and writer
Ballet dancers and choreographers •
Irina Baronova, ballerina, choreographer •
Mikhail Baryshnikov, ballet dancer •
Sergei Diaghilev, ballet
impresario •
Irina Dvorovenko, ballet dancer •
Michel Fokine, choreographer, dancer •
Elizaveta Gerdt, ballerina •
Pavel Gerdt, dancer •
Alexander Godunov, ballet dancer •
Tamara Karsavina, ballerina •
Mathilde Kschessinska, prima ballerina •
Natalia Makarova, ballerina •
Vaslav Nijinsky, ballet dancer, choreographer •
Ivan Novikoff, ballet master •
Rudolf Nureyev, ballet dancer •
Valery Panov, ballet dancer, choreographer •
Anna Pavlova, ballerina •
Maya Plisetskaya, ballerina •
Olga Preobrajenska, ballerina •
Tatiana Riabouchinska, ballerina •
Yuri Soloviev, ballet dancer •
Galina Ulanova, ballerina •
Agrippina Vaganova, ballet teacher •
Svetlana Zakharova, ballerina •
Maria Khoreva, ballet dancer
Classical composers and musicians •
Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov, composer •
Anton Arensky, composer •
Mily Balakirev, composer •
Alexander Borodin, composer •
Sergei Bortkiewicz, composer •
Valeri Brainin, composer, musical scientist •
César Cui, composer •
Maria Eklund, conductor •
Michael L. Geller, composer, viola player •
Valery Gergiev, pianist, conductor •
Emil Gilels, pianist •
Alexander Glazunov, composer •
Mikhail Glinka, composer of
Russlan and Ludmilla •
Nikolai Golovanov, conductor •
Alexander Gretchaninoff, composer •
Vladimir Horowitz, pianist •
Dmitry Kabalevsky, composer •
Aram Khachaturian, composer •
Tikhon Khrennikov, composer •
Leonid Kogan, violinist •
Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov, composer •
Sergei Lyapunov, composer •
Nikolai Medtner, composer, pianist •
Modest Mussorgsky, composer of
Boris Godunov,
Pictures at an Exhibition •
Nikolai Myaskovsky, composer •
Natasha Paremski, pianist •
Gregor Piatigorsky, composer •
Mikhail Pletnev, pianist •
Sergei Prokofiev, composer, pianist and conductor •
Sergei Rachmaninoff, pianist, composer, conductor •
Vadim Repin, violinist •
Sviatoslav Richter, pianist •
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composer •
Mstislav Rostropovich, cellist and conductor •
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, conductor •
Nikolai Rubinstein, pianist, conductor and composer •
Alexei Rumiantsev, pianist, composer •
Vasily Ilyich Safonov, composer and music educator •
Alfred Schnittke, composer •
Alexander Scriabin, composer and pianist •
Alexander Serov, composer •
Rodion Shchedrin, composer •
Vissarion Shebalin, composer •
Dmitri Shostakovich, composer and pianist •
Regina Spektor, musician •
Igor Stravinsky, composer •
Georgy Sviridov, composer •
Aleksandr Taneyev, composer •
Sergey Taneyev, composer •
Mikael Tariverdiev, composer •
Boris Tchaikovsky, composer •
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composer •
Alexander Tcherepnin, composer •
Galina Ustvolskaya, composer •
Aleksander Vakoulsky, conductor •
Maxim Vengerov, violinist
Opera and choir singers •
Nikolay Baskov, opera singer •
Evgeny Belyaev, singer •
Feodor Chaliapin, opera singer •
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, opera singer •
Anna Netrebko, opera singer •
Vladimir Rosing, singer, director •
Elizabeth Sandunova, opera singer
Modern musicians, singers and bands •
Yuri Antonov, composer, singer •
Sasha Argov (1914–95), composer •
Dima Bilan, composer, Eurovision winner •
Polina Gagarina, Singer, Eurovision runner-up •
Lena Katina, singer of musical duo
t.A.T.u. •
Eduard Khil (1934–2012), singer •
Philipp Kirkorov, pop singer •
Sergey Lazarev, vocalist •
Origa, singer, performs theme songs for various
anime series •
Natalia O'Shea, linguist, songwriter, musician (
Irish harp,
guitar), vocalist and leader of the bands
Melnitsa (
folk-rock) and
Clann Lir (traditional
Celtic folk) •
Aleksandra Pakhmutova, composer •
Alla Pugacheva, singer and composer •
Second Hand Band, musical group from Moscow •
Andrey Shibko (born 1975), pianist •
Regina Spektor, musician •
Valery Leontiev, singer •
Viktor Tsoi, poet, composer, musician, actor in the 1980s •
Julia Volkova, singer of musical duo
t.A.T.u. •
Vladimir Vysotsky (1938–80), poet, composer, musician, actor in the 1970s •
KREC, rap band from St. Petersburg •
Alyona Shvets, pop singer
Radio and TV people •
Joe Adamov, journalist and presenter on
Radio Moscow and its successor the
Voice of Russia for over 60 years •
Dinara Sadretdinova, TV presenter •
Nikolai Fomenko, musician, comic actor, showman and motor racer, president of
Marussia Motors company which produces the first Russian
supercar,
Marussia •
Maxim Galkin,
parodist, singer and host for the Russian adaptations of
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 2001 to 2008, and
The Million Pound Drop •
Igor Kirillov, for 30 years a
news anchor of the
Soviet Central Television's prime time news program
Vremya •
Mikhail Leontyev,
political pundit on national TV
Channel One, host and author of the program
Odnako •
Vladislav Listyev, arguably the most renowned Russian journalist and TV anchor in the 1980s and 1990s, the first director of the
Channel One, founder of the
Pole Chudes and other popular TV shows •
Alexander Maslyakov, for over 45 years the host for the humour
game show KVN •
Yevgeny Petrosyan, popular stand-up comedian and host of a number of humour TV shows •
Vladimir Posner, political pundit and host on radio and TV, for many years working in the United States, Soviet Union and Russia •
Yuri Senkevich, participant of
Thor Heyerdahl's voyages, anchorman of the ''Travelers' Club'' show for the record 30 years •
Margarita Simonyan, journalist, editor-in-chief of
RT (Russia Today) •
Kseniya Sobchak, TV celebrity, host for a number of popular programs, Russia's "
It girl" and "Russia's
Paris Hilton" •
Roman Trakhtenberg, actor, popular host of humour shows on radio and TV, an expert on
Russian jokes •
Vladimir Turchinsky,
bodybuilder, TV and radio presenter, actor and singer •
Ivan Urgant, showman and actor, host of many popular Russian TV shows and ceremonies, such as
Projectorparishilton and
2009 Eurovision Song Contest •
Tatiana Vishnevskaya, presenter and media entrepreneur •
Vladimir Voroshilov, author, producer and anchorman of the intellectual game show
What? Where? When? from 1975 to 2000 •
Leonid Yakubovich, actor and TV anchorman, the host for the
Pole Chudes show for 20 years •
Anatoly Wasserman, erudite, journalist and political pundit, a frequent winner of intellectual TV games such as
What? Where? When? and
Svoya Igra (Russian version of
Jeopardy!) •
Mikhail Zadornov, stand-up comedian and writer, particularly famous for his satirical comparisons of Russians and nationals of other countries, especially Americans
Fashion models •
Alena Shishkova,
Miss Russia 2012 runner up •
Irina Antonenko,
Miss Russia 2010 •
Oxana Fedorova,
Miss Universe •
Ksenia Kahnovich •
Tatiana Kovylina •
Irina Kulikova •
Elena Melnik •
Sasha Pivovarova •
Natasha Polevshchikova •
Vlada Roslyakova •
Anna Selezneva •
Irina Shaykhlislamova •
Katya Shchekina •
Tatiana Sorokko •
Natasha Stefanenko, model and actress •
Daria Strokous •
Natalia Vodianova •
Anne Vyalitsyna •
Inna Zobova ==Sportspeople==