Leningrad Institute of Theater, Music, and Cinematography

founded in 1918 as the School of Acting. In the 1920’s and 1930’s it was a higher school and then a technicum; in 1939 it became a higher educational institution; and in 1948, the A. N. Ostrovskii Leningrad Institute of Theater. It has been known by its present title since 1962, when it merged with the Leningrad Scientific Research Institute of Theater, Music, and Cinematography. Those who have worked in the institute in its various forms have included L. S. Viv’en, V. E. Meyerhold, B. M. Sushkevich, N. V. Petrov, V. N. Solov’ev, B. V. Zon, N. P. Akimov, M. O. Shteinberg, A. V. Ossovskii, A. A. Gvozdev, V. N. Vsevolodskii-Gerngross, S. S. Danilov, S. S. Mokul’skii, K. N. Derzhavin, and A. I. Piotrovskii.

In 1973 the institute had departments training actors, directors, designers, theater scholars, and economists for drama, music, and puppet theater (as well as television directors in a correspondence department). It also had national actor’s studios, a graduate school, 13 subdepartments, a scientific-research division, a student theater, two libraries (more than 300,000 items), and a permanent exhibit of musical instruments, one of the world’s largest collections (more than 2,700 items).

In the 1972–73 academic year more than 1,000 students were enrolled at the institute. The faculty of nearly 300 teachers and research assistants includes professors L. F. Makar’ev, A. A. Muzil’, V. V. Merkur’ev, G. A. Tovstonogov, and I. E. Kokh and doctors of science A. Ia. Al’tshuller, A. A. Gozenpud, V. E. Gusev, N. V. Zaitsev, V. M. Krasovskaia, L. N. Raaben, and A. N. Sokhor. Over the years, the institute has trained more than 3,500 specialists, including 22 actors’ groups for the national theaters. Among its graduates are N. K. Cherkasov, N. K. Simonov, B. A. Smirnov, Iu. V. Tolubeev, A. I. Raikin, and B. P. Chirkov.