Nikolai Sinelnikov

Nikolai Nikolayevich Sinelnikov (; 12 February 1855 – 19 April 1939) was a Russian and Soviet stage actor, theatre director and entrepreneur.

Biography Born in Kharkov into a teacher's family, Sinelnikov debuted on stage in 1874, as a member of the Kharkov-based Nikolai Dyukov's troupe. He moved on to work in Zhitomir (1875–1877), Nikolayev (1877–1878), Stavropol (1878–1880), Vladikavkaz (1880–1881) and Kazan, where in 1882 he debuted as a stage director with The Wild Girl by Alexander Ostrovsky and Nikolai Solovyov. In 1909 he moved South again to work first in Odessa, then his native Kharkov, to make this city's theatre one of the best in Russia. He stayed with it after the 1917 Revolution up until 1925 when the troupe disbanded. For several years he worked in the province before returning to Kharkov in 1933 where he was appointed the head of the newly formed Russian Drama Theatre.

In 1934 Sinelnikov was awarded the People's Artist of the RSFSR title. In his later years he read drama at the Kharkov theatre college. He also wrote a book of memoirs called Sixty Years on Stage. Nikolai Sinelnikov died in Kharkov on 19 April 1939.