Ilya Shlepyanov was a Soviet theatre director and scenographer, Honored Artist of the RSFSR. Born in 1900 in Chernigov, he received his theatrical education at the State Higher Directing Workshops under the guidance of Vsevolod Meyerhold. While still a student, the artist designed the plays "D.E.", "Teacher Bubus," and "The Mandate" at the Meyerhold Theatre. From 1928 to 1937, he worked as the chief artist and director at the Revolution Theatre. Among his works from this period are the productions of Nikolai Pogodin's plays "Poem of the Axe" and "My Friend", as well as the staging of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", co-directed with Alexey Popov. Later in his career, Ilya Shlepyanov focused primarily on directing. From 1944 to 1951, he worked as the chief director of the Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Leningrad, where he staged the operas "The Maid of Orleans" by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and "The Family of Taras" by Dmitry Kabalevsky, both of which were awarded Stalin Prizes. He also directed William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and Alexander Ostrovsky's "Without a Dowry" at the Bolshoi Drama Theatre. The Bakhrushin Theatre Museum's online collection features drawings, caricatures, and sketches by Ilya Shlepyanov for performances at the Meyerhold Theatre.