DUSHANBE, March 4, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Internationally known Sergey Obraztsov’s Puppet Theatre is expected to arrive in Tajikistan for guest performances in April.

According to Kenja Ibrohimov, the director of the Dushanbe Puppet Theatre, Sergey Obraztsov’s Puppet Theatre will show three performances in Dushanbe from April 10 to April 20: An Unusual Concert; Aladdin and His Magic Lamp; and By a Wave of the Magic Wand.

Ibrohimov noted that an agreement on the Sergey Obraztsov’s Puppet Theatre guest performances in Tajikistan was reached on sidelines of an international festival of puppet theatres that was held in Moscow last October under the auspices of Sergey Obraztsov’s Puppet Theatre.

Sergey Obraztsov (1901-1992) was a Russian puppet master who is credited by the Encyclopedia Britannica with "establishing puppetry as an art form."  Rod theatres in many countries of the world owe their establishment to Obraztsov''s influence.  His collection of exotic puppets was the largest in Russia and one of the largest in the world.

Obraztsov was born on June 22, 1901 in Moscow into the family of a high-profile railroad engineer.  Between 1922 and 1931, he worked with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko in the Moscow Art Theatre and one of its studios as an actor.  At that period he staged several vaudeville-style puppet shows before setting up the State Central Puppet Theatre in Moscow in 1931.