Vainshtein Emil Abramovich (1923-1995)

Vainshtein (Weinstein) Emil Abramovich (1923, Kyiv, Ukraine – 1995, [?]) – theatre director, Honoured Artist of Russia (1967).

Emil Vainshtein studied at the Lunacharsky State Institute of Theatre Arts (Kyiv) in the acting faculty, later transferring to the directing faculty. He worked as a director at the Dzerzhinsky Drama Theatre (Gorky Oblast) and the Omsk Youth Theatre (TYuZ). From 1954, he was the chief director of the Daugavpils Russian Drama Theatre. Between 1959 and 1969, he served as the chief director and artistic director of the Altai State Drama Theatre.

His notable productions included The Story of One Love and The Fourth by K. Simonov, Crime and Punishment based on F. Dostoevsky, Between Showers by A. Shtein, Virgin Soil Upturned and And Quiet Flows the Don by M. Sholokhov, The Irkutsk Story, Tanya and A Little House on the Outskirts by A. Arbuzov, Traditional Gathering by V. Rozov, Honour Thy Father by V. Lavrentyev, Ivan Polzunov by M. Yudalevich, The Cook by A. Safronov, The Power of Darkness based on L. Tolstoy, The Corner and the Oval by L. Kvin, Heading into the Storm based on D. Granin, The Ward by S. Alyoshin, and The Last Ones by M. Gorky.

For The Last Ones, he was awarded a First Degree Diploma at the All-Russian Festival commemorating the 100th anniversary of M. Gorky’s birth (1968).

Emil Vainshtein also collaborated with the amateur Jewish drama collective in Daugavpils (exact years unknown), and led the drama club of the Daugavpils Pedagogical Institute.

After Daugavpils, he served as chief director at the regional theatres in Barnaul and Kaliningrad.