There have always been plenty of them—little Jewish boys with violins in their hands, nurtured by weighty, authoritative masters. But few have been able to rise so boldly, live so brightly, and die so lonely, leaving behind an immortal memory. In 1901, Jascha Heifetz was born in Vilnius, recognized as one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. Jascha Heifetz’s biography is divided into two parts: a small but outstanding early Russian period and a great overseas success. Europe and America could follow the mature violinist, but knew nothing about his childhood, which was impressive. Heifetz was literally made for biographers.

For Mark Rothko, one of the central figures (alongside Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning) in the Abstract Expressionist movement that dominated the world of art for decades after World War II, painting was connected with emotions and spiritual feelings.

The Riga Russian Theatre is named after Mikhail Chekhov. So who was this actor, director, and teacher of geniuses, born 132 years ago on August 17, 1891? What is he famous for? What is his contribution to the theatrical art of Latvia?

An outstanding Russian and American poet, prose writer, playwright, translator, entomologist, and literary scholar. He wrote with equal success in both Russian and English. Vladimir Nabokov was born in Saint Petersburg into a noble family. He received an excellent home education and continued his studies at the famous Tenishev School. His debut poetry collection was published even before the Bolshevik Revolution. After the revolution, the family had to move to Crimea, and then in April 1919 to the United Kingdom. After graduating from Cambridge University, Nabokov settled in Berlin in 1922, where he became known as the poet and prose writer Vladimir Sirin. In 1937, after the establishment of the Nazi regime in Germany, Nabokov moved to France. By then, he was already the most famous young émigré writer, the author of landmark novels such as *The Defense* (The Luzhin Defense), *Camera Obscura* (Laughter in the Dark), and *Invitation to a Beheading*. In 1940, the writer, along with his wife and son, moved to the United States. There, he lectured on literature at Wellesley, Cornell, and Harvard universities, worked in the entomology laboratory of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, and continued writing in English. In 1955, Nabokov published *Lolita*, which brought him worldwide fame.

Russian and American engineer and inventor in the field of television technology.

“What a biography they are making for our redhead, though!” — Anna Akhmatova joked grimly during the height of the trial against Joseph Brodsky. Besides the sensational trial, the poet’s contradictory fate included exile to the North and a Nobel Prize, less than eight years of formal education and a career as a university professor, 24 years outside his native linguistic environment, and the discovery of new possibilities of the Russian language.

In the USSR, Sergey Dovlatov worked as a journalist, literary secretary to the writer Vera Panova, and a tour guide at the Alexander Pushkin museum-reserve "Mikhaylovskoye." However, the writer became famous only in emigration in the USA, where his books "The Reserve," "The Zone," and "The Foreign Woman" were published in large editions.

Soviet and American ballet artist, choreographer, actor, collector, photographer, public figure. A "non-returnee" to the USSR, who stayed in Canada during a tour in 1974. Nominee for the Oscar and Golden Globe awards in the category "Best Supporting Actor" for the role in the film *The Turning Point* (1978). Commander of the Latvian Order of the Three Stars.

He went through the horrors of war, experienced the hostility of the authorities, and was forced to leave his homeland. Ernst Neizvestny created monumental works that can be seen today in various countries around the world — in Russia and Ukraine, the USA and Egypt, Sweden and the Vatican.

Ilya Repin became passionate about drawing in early childhood; he studied to be a topographer and was an apprentice to icon painters. Repin entered the Academy of Arts only on his second attempt, but later returned there as a teacher. His paintings were commissioned by famous St. Petersburg aristocrats and even Emperor Alexander III.