The Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre ( lv, Mihaila Čehova Rīgas Krievu teātris, russian: Рижский русский театр имени Михаила Чехова), colloquially referred to as the Russian Theatre ( lv, Krievu teātris, russian: Русский театр) or the RRT, is a Russian-language theatre in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Latvia. It is located on 16 Kaļķu iela, Riga. The Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre (known before 2006 as Riga Russian Drama Theatre) was founded in 1883, making it the oldest Russian-language drama theatre outside

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The original troupe consisted of sixteen actors. The theatre grew during the 19th century and had something of a golden age during the leadership of K.N. Nezlobin, prior to the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

. The theatre continued to operate after Latvia became an independent country following the Latvian War of Independence (1918–20). During the subsequent Soviet occupation of Latvia, the theatre continued to operate, but had to adapt to the political censorship of the day. It did not put on any performances during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Following the dissolution of 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 ...

and the re-establishment of Latvian independence, the theatre can once more offer a mix of classical plays and new, innovative plays. In 2006, it was named after

Michael Chekhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Chekhov (russian: Михаил Александрович Чехов; 29 August 1891 – 30 September 1955), known as Michael Chekhov, was an American actor, director, author and theatre practitioner. He was a nephew o ...

, who spent two years in Riga (1932-1934) and influenced the Latvian theatre and performing arts. Since the 8 January 2018, the theatre has been led by Dana Bjorka, general manager and member of the board.

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 56, 56, 56.23, N, 24, 06, 34.77, E, type:landmark_region:LV, display=title Theatres in Riga