Modest Pisarev

Born Feb. 2 (14), 1844, in Kashira; died Sept. 30 (Oct. 13), 1905, in St. Petersburg. Russian actor, educator, and critic.

Pisarev was the husband of the Russian actress P. A. Strepetova and was influential in developing her talent. He graduated from the law faculty of Moscow University in 1865. As early as 1859 he appeared in amateur productions. He began his professional stage career in 1867 in Simbirsk. Pisarev acted in Orenburg and in the cities of the Volga Region and the Urals. He later acted in the Moscow theaters owned by A. A. Brenko and Korsh. Beginning in 1885 he acted in the Aleksandrinskii Theater in St. Petersburg.

Pisarev was an outstanding performer of such dramatic roles as Rusakov and Neschastlivtsev in Ostrovskii’s Don’t Get Into Another Man’s Sledge and The Forest and Ananii Iakovlev in Pisemskii’s A Hard Lot.

One of the best-educated actors of his time, Pisarev agreed with the aesthetic views of V. G. Belinskii, N. A. Dobroliubov, and N. A. Nekrasov. His critical articles supported Ostrovskii’s realistic trend. Pisarev also edited the first complete edition of Ostrovskii’s works (St. Petersburg, 1904–05).