Vladimir Davydov was an actor, director, and teacher. He was born in Novomirgorod in the Kherson province into a modest noble family. During his gymnasium years, he took part in amateur performances. After graduating from the Tambov Gymnasium in 1866, he moved to Moscow, where he became interested in theatre and began studying acting under Ivan Samarin. From 1867 to 1880, he performed in provincial theatres in various Russian cities. In 1880, he joined the Alexandrinsky Theatre, where he worked for more than forty years. He played a wide range of roles—from comic and vaudeville parts to tragic ones—and appeared in plays by Ostrovsky and Chekhov. Beginning in the early 1880s, he was also active as a teacher, instructing students at the St. Petersburg Theatre School and mentoring many well-known actors, including Vera Komissarzhevskaya and Leonid Vivien, among others. In the final years of his life, he served at the Maly Theatre in Moscow. The Bakhrushin Theatre Museum collection holds photographs of Vladimir Davydov both in his roles and in everyday life, as well as numerous notes, letters, and other archival documents related to his career.