Solomon Mikhoels was a Soviet actor and director of Jewish theatre, a theatre teacher, and a public figure. He was born in Dünaburg into the family of a merchant and spent his childhood in Riga. He received a traditional Jewish education, later studied at a real school, and then attended the Kyiv Commercial Institute and Petrograd University. In 1918-1919, he studied at the Jewish School of Performing Arts in Petrograd and soon began performing on the stage of the Jewish Theatre Studio under the stage name Mikhoels. In 1920, he moved to Moscow with the troupe. The studio was later transformed into the Moscow State Jewish Theatre (GOSET), where Mikhoels became one of the leading actors and, from 1929, its artistic director and chief stage director. He also taught at the theatre school affiliated with GOSET. During the Great Patriotic War, the theatre was evacuated to Tashkent. In 1942, Mikhoels became head of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee and traveled to the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom to support the Soviet war effort. The Bakhrushin Theatre Museum collection holds photographs of Solomon Mikhoels both in his roles and in everyday life, as well as letters, playbills, and other materials related to his acting and directing work.