Academic theater is an honorary title awarded to the biggest and oldest state theaters.''Theatrical Encyclopedia''. Ed. Mokulsky, S. Vol.1. "Soviet Encyclopedia (A - Globus)". Moscow, 1961.Definition of academic theater
/ref> Established in the Soviet Russia, it was adopted by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union the title was adopted by the former country members of the Union. The title was established in 1919 and was given to six oldest theaters of the Soviet Union:

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

Maly Theatre The Maly Theatre, or Mali Theatre, may refer to one of several different theatres: * The Maly Theatre (Moscow), also known as The State Academic Maly Theatre of Russia, in Moscow (founded in 1756 and given its own building in 1824) * The Maly Thea ...

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 ...

Alexandrinsky Theatre The Alexandrinsky Theatre (russian: Александринский театр) or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Alexandrinsky Theatre was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg (Imperial trou ...

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

, and

Mikhaylovsky Theatre The Mikhailovsky Theatre (russian: Миха́йловский теа́тр) is one of Russia's oldest opera and ballet houses. It was founded in 1833 and is situated in a historical building on 1, Arts Square in Saint Petersburg. It is named a ...

. All academic theaters in 1920 were organized into one association that existed only for a year. During the 1920s, 1930s the number of theaters with the title increased significantly.

References

Honorifics Honorary titles {{USSR-stub