The First Professional Theatre in Russia
Obverse
a relief image of the National Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation, above it along the rim the inscription in a semicircle ‘РОССИЙСКАЯ ФЕДЕРАЦИЯ’ (RUSSIAN FEDERATION) framed with paired diamonds on both sides, under the coat of arms are the chemical symbol and fineness of the metal on the left and fine metal content and the mint mark on the right, at the bottom centre in three lines are the inscription ‘БАНК РОССИИ’ (BANK OF RUSSIA), the coin denomination ‘3 РУБЛЯ’ (3 RUBLES), and the year of issue ‘2025 г.’ (2025).
Reverse
relief images of the building of the Russian State Academic Drama Theatre named after Fyodor Volkov and the allegorical sculptural group decorating its facade, a relief inscription ‘ПЕРВЫЙ РУССКИЙ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНЫЙ ТЕАТР’ (THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL THEATRE IN RUSSIA) at the top around the circumference, and an inscription ‘ОСНОВАН В 1750 ГОДУ В ЯРОСЛАВЛЕ Ф.Г. ВОЛКОВЫМ’ (FOUNDED IN 1750 IN YAROSLAVL BY FYODOR VOLKOV) in three lines on the left at the bottom, laser treated for matte finishing.
Authors
Designers: E.V. Kramskaya (obverse), A.D. Schablykin (reverse).
Sculptors: A.A. Dolgopolova (obverse), A.D. Schablykin (reverse).
Mint: Saint Petersburg Mint (СПМД).
Edge: 300 corrugations.
Discover more
The history of the first Russian public theatre goes back to a group of enthusiastic actors headed by a merchant’s son Fyodor Volkov.
By 1750, he had created a professional theatre in Yaroslavl, which was no longer an amateur group of actors. That was a repertory theatre with a permanent troupe, an extensive list of plays, and a building specially equipped for the performance of tragedies and comedies with a capacity of up to 1,000 people. The list of plays staged by the Volkov theatre included spiritual dramas of Metropolitan Demetrius of Rostov, tragedies of Racine and Sumarokov, and comedies of Molière. Volkov’s desire to popularise his theatre and make it open to the public was extremely important for the development of the Russian theatrical art.
Source: https://volkovteatr.ru