Top 70 most important and famous people from Russia

One of the greatest medieval painters of Orthodox Christian icons and frescos

Painter of The Last Day of Pompeii

Painter considered one of the greatest masters of marine art

Painter of Barge Haulers on the Volga and Religious Procession in Kursk Province

Painter the most important artist in Russian Symbolist tradition and a pioneering figure of Modernist art

Painter credited as one of the pioneers of abstraction in western art

Russian-French painter, early modernist, he was associated with several major artistic styles

Novelist, author of Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov

Writer, author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina

The greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature, author of Boris Godunov

Playwright one of the key figures in the birth of early modernism

Writer, author of A Sportsman's Sketches, a milestone of Russian realism and Fathers and Sons

Writer, author of The Master and Margarita

Writer, known for his hard science fiction stories

Writer, author of Doctor Zhivago, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1958

Novelist, author of And Quiet Flows the Don, winner of Nobel Prize in literature in 1965

Female poet, author of Requiem, her tragic masterpiece about the Stalinist terror

Writer, the greatest figure in Russian Romanticism

Writer, author of The Gulag Archipelago

Writer, author of Lolita

Philosopher, played a significant role in the development of Russian philosophy and poetry at the end of the XIX century and in the spiritual renaissance of the early XX century

Philosopher, utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism

Philosopher, the father of Russian Marxism

Philosopher and revolutionary who advocated anarcho-communism

King, considered the unifier of Russia

The First Tsar, who launched the Massacre of Novgorod

Tsar, key figure of the modernisation of the country, transforming it into a European power

Empress, key figure of renaissance of culture and sciences, and led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres

Tsar of the emancipation of Russia's serfs in 1861, for which he is known as the Liberator

The last Tsar

Prime Minister from 1906 to 1911, considered the greatest reformer of Russian society and economy, his reforms caused unprecedented growth of the Russian state, which was stopped by his assassination

Leader of the Revolution, head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1924

Leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1939 to 1949

Leader of Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 who stunned the communist world with his denunciation of his predecessor Joseph Stalin's crimes

Final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991

First president of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1999

President from 2000 to 2008 and since 2012

President from 2008 to 2012

Opposition leader and activist against current government

Field Marshal who defeated Napoleon using attrition warfare in the Patriotic war of 1812

Prince of the Russian Empire and the last Generalissimo of the Russian Empire, considered one of the greatest military commanders in Russian history and one of the great generals of the early modern period

Marshal who organized the defense of Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad. He participated in planning several major offensives, including the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of Berlin

Polymath of XVIII century who made important contributions to literature, education and science. His famous discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of mass in chemical reactions

Mathematician known primarily for his work on hyperbolic geometry

Chemist known for formulating the Periodic Law and creating a version of the periodic table of elements

Physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs, winner of Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1904

Scientist, one of the founding fathers of modern rocketry and astronautics

The first human to journey into outer space

The first woman to journey into outer space

Nuclear physicist, dissident and activist for nuclear disarmament, peace, and human rights. Winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 1975

Miner became a celebrity in 1935 as part of a campaign intended to increase worker productivity and to demonstrate the superiority of the socialist economic system

Director of the Ivan's Childhood, Solaris, Mirror and Stalker

Actor famous for his roles in The Ten Commandments, Anastasia and The Magnificent Seven. Winner of Academy Award in 1957

Composer of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker

Composer of Flight of the Bumblebee and Scheherazade

Composer of In the Steppes of Central Asia and Prince Igor

Composer and one of the best pianists of early XX century

One of the most important and influential composers of the XX century and a pivotal figure in modernist music

Composer known for the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as one of the greatest composers of XX century

Composer of The Love for Three Oranges, Lieutenant Kijé, the ballet Romeo and Juliet and Peter and the Wolf

The main Russian Symbolist composer and a major representative of the Russian Silver Age

Tennis player, winner of US Open in 2021

Female tennis player, winner of 5 Grand Slam titles

Footballer, goalkeeper who won the Ballon d'Or in 1963

Two times winner of Olympic gold medal, considered the greatest female pole-vaulter of all time

Ice hockey player of Washington Capitals, one of the greatest goal scorers of all time

Gymnast, he held the record for men for the most Olympic medals at 15 until Michael Phelps surpassed him

One of the greatest female ballet dancers of all time

Mystic and self-proclaimed holy man known for having befriended with the royal family of the last Emperor of Russia

Oligarch and politician. The former owner of Chelsea