Vasily Andreev-Burlak (real surname: Andreev) was a Russian actor, reciter, and writer. Vasily was born in the city of Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk) into a noble family. Andreev-Burlak was educated at the Simbirsk Gymnasium. During his studies he took part in amateur theatrical productions and performed as a reciter at concerts. It was in Simbirsk that his brilliant talent for improvisation and imitation first became evident. For some time, the young man attended Kazan University as a non-degree student. In 1863, he left his studies and entered service in the commercial fleet on the Volga — first as assistant captain of the tugboat "Burlak" (this is how his stage pseudonym emerged; according to another version, the actor’s and writer’s pseudonym is connected with the work of Nikolay Nekrasov), and later as captain of a passenger steamer. This period of Andreev-Burlak’s life was later reflected both in his literary work (the collection of novellas and short stories "On the Volga," 1881) and in surviving albums of drawings, in which the artist skillfully captured the picturesque banks of the Volga as well as images of peasants, townspeople, and merchants. In 1867, Vasily Nikolaevich made his stage debut at a theatre in Simbirsk, and in 1870 he devoted himself fully to a professional acting career by joining Grigory Valyano’s troupe in Rostov-on-Don. Although throughout his life the actor performed repeatedly on the stages of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the main part of his creative career unfolded in the Russian provinces. He traveled around virtually the entire country and performed on many different stages, calling provincial theatre the “cradle of true talents.” In 1880, on Andreev-Burlak’s initiative, the first private Moscow dramatic theatre was opened (the "Pushkinsky Theatre"). In 1883, together with the actor Modest Pisarev, he founded the "First Association of Russian Actors" (also known as the "Association of the Pushkinsky Theatre Actors"). Vasily began as a comic actor, later performed in dramas as well, but gained his greatest fame as a master of artistic recitation. He created outstanding portrayals of the officials Marmeladov (in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s "Crime and Punishment") and Poprishchin (in Nikolai Gogol’s "Diary of a Madman"). There is an album published by the photographer Shapiro in which Burlak is captured in the role of Poprishchin, and the artist Ilya Repin, inspired by the performer’s acting, painted the work "Poprishchin." Among other roles, Andreev-Burlak was particularly successful in plays by Alexander Ostrovsky: Derugin in "It Shines but Does Not Warm" and Schastlivtsev in "The Forest," among others. The collection of the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum includes photographs of Vasily Nikolaevich both in roles and in everyday life, as well as his letters, albums, and other materials related to the actor’s life and work.