The history of the Shchukin Institute (or Shchuka, The Pike, as it is informally known) goes back to November 1913, when a group of Moscow art students formed their own studio and invited actor and director Evgeny Vakhtangov to become their leader. October 23, 1914, when the latter held his first class with the group (then called the Mansurova School, after the street it was standing on), is celebrated as the Vakhtangov Academy's official birthday. In the spring of 1917 the Studio was named the Moscow Evgeny Vakhtangov Drama School, in 1920 it became the Moscow Art Theatre’s Third Studio and in 1926 (after the death of Vakhtangov in 1922) it became part of the newly formed Vakhtangov Theatre, with Boris Zakhava at the helm (1926–1948, 1962–1967). In 1932 the Studio got the status of a secondary school, then in 1939 it was given the name of Boris Shchukin, Vakhtangov's best-loved student. In 1945 it received the status of a higher education institution and has been known since as the Shchukin Theatre College of Higher education. In 1986 the college's director became Vladimir Etush (still its Arts director). In 2002 the institute was granted the Academy status. In 2003 professor Evgeny Knyazev became its head.[1]
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