Description of the attraction
Nikulin's Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard is one of the oldest in the country.
The building was specially built for the circus by the architect August Weber. The circus of Albert Salamonsky was opened on October 20, 1880. The performance was attended by the best gymnasts, acrobats, jugglers, riders, clowns - gymnasts, as well as Albert Salamonsky himself with trained stallions.
An unusual ballet was staged at the circus - the pantomime Life on a Winter Evening. The artists skated and sledged and took part in comic scenes. The circus hosted Christmas performances with round dances around the tree and dances, with gifts for all children. Salamonsky, for the first time began to arrange morning performances for children. In 1895, a pantomime ballet "The Fairy of the Dolls" was staged especially for children. All strata of society attended circus performances. The most affordable tickets were for the gallery.
Salamonsky tried to make the circus fun, to make people laugh. He attracted many clowns to his performances. World famous clowns performed on the arena of the Moscow circus: Tanti, Veldman, Bernardo, Kristov, as well as clowns Kozlov, Vysokinsky, Bim-Bom and others. Famous artists performed at the arena: Williams Truzzi, jumpers Sosiny, jockeys Herbert Cook and Vasily Sobolevsky. Salamonsky paid great attention to participation in the programs of trained animals.
Since 1919, the circus became the State Soviet circus. For many years, animal trainers Anatoly and Vladimir Durov performed on the arena of the Moscow circus. The audience's favorite for many years has been the illusionist Kio. Many famous artists worked in the circus: B. Vyatkin, D. Alperov, O. Popov, Yu. Nikulin, M. Shuydin and many others.
In 1946, after the war, Yuri Nikulin entered the school at the Moscow circus. He studied in a clownery studio. After graduation, he assisted the famous clown Pencil for two years. In subsequent years, he performed in the arena as a clown with his constant partner - the clown Mikhail Shuydin and with his wife Tatyana. From 1982 to 1997, he was the general director and artistic director of the Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. Since December 1996, the circus has been named “Nikulin's Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard”.
In September 2000, a monument to Yuri Nikulin was erected near the circus building on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. The author of the monument is the sculptor Rukavishnikov.
From 1985 to 1989, the circus building was reconstructed. The work was carried out by the Finnish company "Polar". Nikolai Ryzhkov helped Yuri Nikulin get the money for the reconstruction. The building and arena of the Moscow Nikulin Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard have the most modern equipment.
Nowadays, the work of Yuri Nikulin is continued by his son, Maxim Yuryevich Nikulin. In 1997, he was unanimously elected Director General of the circus, after the death of Yuri Nikulin. Maxim Nikulin came to work at the circus on Tsvetnoy at the invitation of his father. Since 1993, he has worked as a director-manager of the circus. He was in charge of all the administrative work of the organization. In addition, he oversaw all contacts with Russian and foreign partners of the circus. Under his leadership, many programs have been carried out in the circus, including: "Circus" (2008), "Power" (2009), "Time of the Clown" (2010), "Thank you, circus" (2011).
