Nikolai Batalov

Nikolai Petrovich Batalov was born on December 6, 1899, in Moscow, Russia, into the family of a clerk. From 1910-1915 he studied at the Moscow Mercantile School named after the Czar Aleksander III. His interest in theatre and literature was supported by his grandmother, who encouraged his voracious reading. In 1916, he started his acting career at the Moscow Art Theatre under Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. At the same time he worked at the MKhAT-2, where his partner and artistic director was Michael Chekhov. Nikolai Batalov's first stage work was the role of 'Petia-the bookbinder' in the play 'Zelenoe Koltso' (The Green Ring 1916) by Zinaida Gippius. He made his film debut in silent film as Gusev in Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924) directed by Yakov Protazanov, then as Pavel Vlasov in Mother (1926) directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin, an adaptation of the eponymous book by Maxim Gorky.