Borisas Dauguvietis

Borisas Dauguvietis (26 March 1885 – 13 July 1949) was a Lithuanian actor, playwright, writer, poet, and theater director. He is the brother of pianist Lidija Dauguvietytė, and father of actresses Galina Dauguvietytė, Elena Dauguvietytė-Kudabienė, and Ksana Dauguvietytė-Šniukštienė. The Borisas Dauguvietis Earring Award is named after him, and is given to people who significantly contribute to Lithuanian theater.

Biography Early life Borisas Dauguvietis was born on 26 March 1885 in the village of the Russian Empire. According to Dauguvietis, his ancestors were Don Cossacks. and Jelgava. After briefly studying engineering in Riga, Dauguvietis enrolled in the Imperial Theatrical School in St. Petersburg, which he graduated from in 1909. From 1909 to 1913 he acted at the St. Petersburg Literary and Artistic Society Theatre. From 1914 to 1920 he continued his acting career in Nizhny Novgorod and Penza, and also headed an enterprise in Grodno.

Later years During Nazi Germany's war with the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, Dauguvietis lived in the Joniškis District. After the war, Dauguvietis himself wrote several plays: Nauja vaga (1945), Uždavinys (1946), and Žaldokynė (1947). From 1947 Dauguvietis was the manager of art and director at the Lithuanian National Drama Theater. Additionally, he was a deputy of the Supreme Council of the USSR and chairman of the Playwrights Section of the Theater Society and the Writers' Union.