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brother Vasili (1848-1936) was a prolific and
popular author of historical narratives, Vladimir
Nemirovich-Danchenko became one of the cen-
tral figures in the development of 20th-century
Russian and Soviet drama. Born in Georgia,
Nemirovich-Danchenko studied at Moscow Uni-
versity from 1876 to 1879, developing a reputa-
tion as an amateur actor and critic. Under the
influence of his friend Anton
CHEKHOV
, he began
to write novels and plays, but his signal contri-
bution to Russian drama would come from a dif-
ferent source. In 1898 he joined forces with
Konstantin
STANISLAVSKY
to found the Moscow
Arts Theater (MkhAT), which quickly became an
important force in Russia's cultural life. Blending
Stanislavsky's directorial genius and Nemirovich-
Danchenko's abilities as a producer, the Moscow
Arts Theater contributed immensely to the devel-
opment of Russian drama through its produc-
tions of Chekhov's works and its promotion of an
influential new style of acting, as developed by
Stanislavsky. During the early Soviet period
Nemirovich-Danchenko and Stanislavsky further
consolidated the identity of the Moscow Arts
Theater as a venue for producing Russian classi-
cal works. Nemirovich-Danchenko also orga-
nized an operatic school within the Moscow Arts
Theater, which sought to train opera artists as
singers and actors. The school was later renamed
the Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Drama
Theater, and in 1939 it grew further by incorpo-
rating the Ballet Collective of the Moscow Art
Ballet. During the final decade of his life,
Nemirovich-Danchenko's work became more
conservative, in line with the harshly conformist
Stalinist cultural politics of those years.
troops of the Manchu Qing dynasty that had
ruled China since 1644. Negotiations were con-
ducted in the town of Nerchinsk, which the Rus-
sians had established in 1654, and the treaty was
signed on August 27, 1689. According to the
treaty, China recognized Russian possession of
the region east of Lake Baikal, up to the Argun
River, with the Stanovoi Mountains serving as
the boundary north of the Amur River. In turn,
Russia recognized Chinese control of the Amur
River valley. Russian commercial caravans also
received the long-sought right to enter the Chi-
nese capital, Peking (Beijing). With some minor
revisions in 1727, the Nerchinsk agreement
remained the basis of Sino-Russian relations
until 1858. In that year, with a greatly weakened
Chinese Empire, the Treaty of Aigun gave the
left bank of the Amur River to Russia, while the
Treaty of Peking (1860), established the new
Sino-Russian boundary along the Amur and
Ussuri Rivers, giving Russia about 400,000
square miles of Chinese land.
Nicholas I
(1796-1855)
(Nikolai Pavlovich)
czar
Known as the “Iron czar,” Nicholas was the third
son of Emperor
PAUL I
, who became emperor in
1825 when his older brother, Emperor
ALEXAN
-
DER I
, died childless in Taganrog. Nicholas was
born in Tsarskoe Selo, the imperial suburb out-
side St. Petersburg. Not expected to become ruler,
Nicholas received a purely military education
instead, to which scholars attribute the passion
for order and discipline that became evident once
he became czar. In 1817 he married Alexandra of
Hohenzollern, a Prussian princess. Together they
had seven children—four sons and three daugh-
ters. Nicholas's reign began with the suppression
of the
DECEMBRIST
revolt, which had been initi-
ated by reform-minded officers who sought to
take advantage of the public confusion sur-
rounding the succession to the throne after
Alexander's death by declaring their allegiance to
his brother Constantine, the presumed heir.
Nerchinsk, Treaty of
(1689)
The first diplomatic agreement between Russia
and China, the Treaty of Nerchinsk was a politi-
cal and commercial pact that also established the
boundaries between the two empires. The treaty
was a result of growing incidents of armed con-
frontation in the
AMUR RIVER
region between
Russian settlers and
COSSACKS
on one side and
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