Maria Andreeva (1868–1953) was an actress, a public and political figure. She began her stage career in 1894 at the Society of Art and Literature and from 1898 to 1905 was an actress of the Moscow Art Theatre, where she performed the roles of Irina in “Three Sisters”, Natasha in “The Lower Depths”, among others. She worked with Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. Later she appeared on stages in Moscow and Kyiv, including at the Theatre of Konstantin Nezlobin. Maria Andreeva was a close associate and life companion of Maxim Gorky and was actively involved in social and revolutionary activities. After 1917, she was appointed Commissar of Theatres and Public Entertainments in Petrograd and was among the founders of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre, where she performed from 1919 to 1926. From 1931 to 1948, she headed the Moscow House of Scientists. The collection of the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum includes photographs and postcards depicting Maria Andreeva both in everyday life and in her roles, as well as her letters and memoirs.