Karl Theodor Kazimir Meyerhold was born on January 28, 1874, in Penza and died on February 2, 1940, in Moscow. He was a director and actor who received the title of People's Artist of the Republic in 1923. Meyerhold came from a merchant family and was baptized according to Lutheran tradition, receiving three names.

From an early age, his parents instilled in him a love for theater and music, which significantly influenced his artistic tastes. During his studies at the 2nd Men's Gymnasium in Penza, which he graduated from in 1895, his interest in theater only grew. Meyerhold actively participated in amateur performances, notably playing Kuteikin in Fonvizin's "The Minor" in 1892.

In the Penza Dramatic Circle under the guidance of D. S. Volkov, he performed under the pseudonym Ukhtomski, as gymnasium students were prohibited from attending evening performances. In the production of "Woe from Wit," he played the role of Repetyilov and was the assistant director.

After graduating from gymnasium, due to complicated family relations, Karl converted to Orthodoxy and chose the name Vsevolod in honor of the writer Garshin. He also renounced his German citizenship and changed his surname to Meyerhold in his Russian passport.

Enrolling in Moscow University, he did not sever ties with Penza. In 1896, he married O. M. Munt in the Penza Cathedral. During this time, he became close to exiled socialists, including A. M. Remizov. Leaving the university, he entered the Musical and Dramatic School of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, and in 1898 he was subjected to a police interrogation in Penza. That same year, he joined the troupe of the Moscow Art Theater, where he played 18 roles.

From 1902, Meyerhold headed the "Society of New Drama." In the summer of 1904, his theater toured in Penza, presenting several performances. This was his last visit to his hometown.

From 1902 to 1905, he staged 170 performances, including plays by Chekhov, Ibsen, Hauptmann, Maeterlinck, Shakespeare, and Gorky. His artistic program began to take shape during this time and was most fully realized at the Petersburg Theater of V. F. Komissarzhevskaya, where he became the chief director in 1906.

In 1908, Meyerhold was invited to the directing staff of the Petersburg Imperial Theaters, where he worked for 10 years. During this period, he created the masterpiece "Masquerade" by Lermontov.

From 1908, he engaged in theatrical-pedagogical work, teaching stage movement techniques and other disciplines in his studio. After the 1917 revolution, he actively participated in the work of the Theater Department of the People's Commissariat of Education and joined the RCP(b) in 1918. In 1921, he organized the State Higher Director's Workshops, which in 1922 became the basis for GITIS.

From 1934 to 1937, Meyerhold staged numerous performances based on plays by Russian and Soviet playwrights. In 1934, his production of "The Lady of the Camellias" became a significant event in theatrical life.

In 1915, he directed the film "The Portrait of Dorian Gray," and in 1928, the film "The White Eagle" was released, in which he played the role of a senator.

Meyerhold also worked in musical theater, staging Gluck's "Orpheus and Eurydice" and Tchaikovsky's "The Queen of Spades."

In 1938, the State Theater of Musical Comedy was closed, and Meyerhold worked at the State Opera Theater named after K. S. Stanislavsky. On June 20, 1939, he was arrested and executed in Butyrka prison on the night of February 2-3, 1940. He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1955.

In 1984, the V. E. Meyerhold Museum of Stage Art opened in Penza, and in 1999, a monument to the director was erected on its grounds.