Nikolay Akimov

Nikolay Pavlovich Akimov (16 April [O.S. 3 April] 1901 – 6 September 1968) was a Soviet experimental theatre director and scenic designer noted for his work with the Leningrad Comedy Theatre. His most notorious production was the cynical version of Hamlet (1932), with Ophelia as a drunken prostitute and the king's ghost as a clever mystification arranged by Hamlet. Akimov, who was the Comedy Theater director in 1935-1949 and 1956-1968, wrote several books, among them About Theater (О театре, 1962) and Not Just About Theater (Не только о театре, 1966), and was designated a People's Artist of the USSR in 1960.

Akimov was director of the New Theatre in Leningrad in the early 1950s.

The Saint Petersburg Comedy Theatre is named in his honour.