Sergey Vladimirovich Obraztsov (russian: Серге́й Влади́мирович Образцо́в, 5 July ( O.S. 22 June), 1901 – 8 May 1992) was a

Soviet 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 nation ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n puppeteer who is credited by the

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with "establishing puppetry as an art form in the Soviet Union." Puppet theaters in many countries owe their establishment to Obraztsov's influence. His collection of exotic puppets was the largest in

and one of the largest in the world.Sergey Vladimirovich Obraztsov

Obraztsov was born on 22 June 1901 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

into the family of a schoolteacher and a railroad engineer. Between 1922 and 1931, he worked as an actor with

Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (russian: Владимир Иванович Немирович-Данченко; , Ozurgeti – 25 April 1943, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer an ...

in one of the studios of the Moscow Art Theatre. During this period, he staged several

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

-style

puppet show Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performan ...

s before going on to set up the State Central Puppet Theatre in

in 1931. His theatre toured more than 350 cities in the USSR and 90 cities in foreign countries. During his numerous tours abroad, Obraztsov helped to popularize artistic puppetry in the

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, and other countries. One of his best known shows, '' An Unusual Concert'' (1946), satirized bad performers. Besides more than 70 plays for children and grown-ups that he staged in his theatre, Obraztsov also directed the first short-length puppet film under the title ''Looking at a Polar Sunset Ray'' in 1938, and also a number of documentaries. In his later years, Obraztsov became enthusiastic about

finger puppet A finger puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by one or more fingers that occupy the interior of the puppet. Finger puppets are generally very simple, consisting of a sheath that the person wearing the puppet (the puppeteer) inserts eith ...

s. He was also skilled in puppeteering with his bare hands. Sergey Obraztsov was the President of the International Union of Puppeteers (1976–1984, and from 1984 the President Emeritus), a teaching professor of the

Russian Academy of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, ...

(from 1973), and a member of the Writers’ Union of the USSR. Obraztsov authored an autobiography and a monograph on Chinese puppet theatre. He was awarded the

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

in 1946, named People's Artist of the USSR in 1952, and a Hero of Socialist Labour in 1971.Сергей Владимирович Образцов
Obraztsov Puppet Theatre Obraztsov died on 8 May 1992 and was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery. The Obraztsov Foundation, established in 1998 by his family members and the Obraztsov Puppet Theatre, was aimed at preserving his rich creative legacy. In September 2001, the Sergey Obraztsov Theatre (Moscow State Puppet Theatre named after Obraztsov)Se
Information about Sergey Obraztsov Theatre
- puppet.ru hosted a week-long centennial celebration which included an international array of performers.

Books by Obraztsov

* ''My Profession'' (1950) Foreign Languages,

. Translated from the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

by Ralph Parker and Valentina Scott. Contains many

sepia Sepia may refer to: Biology * ''Sepia'' (genus), a genus of cuttlefish Color * Sepia (color), a reddish-brown color * Sepia tone, a photography technique Music * ''Sepia'', a 2001 album by Coco Mbassi * ''Sepia'' (album) by Yu Takahashi * " ...

plates of puppets plus a biography of Sergei Obraztsov.Further reprints can be found o
Amazon
/ref> * ''IMPRESSIONS OF LONDON: On What I Saw, Learned and Understood During Two Visits to London'' (1957) Sidgwick & Jackson, London * ''The Chinese Puppet Theatre'' (1961) Faber & Faber Limited, UK.

References

External links

Obraztsov's site

Biography of Sergey Obraztsov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obraztsov, Sergey Soviet male actors Russian male actors People's Artists of the USSR Heroes of Socialist Labour UNIMA presidents Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery 1901 births 1992 deaths Russian puppeteers