[1] Born in Saint Petersburg to a well-off noble Oryol-based family with strong artistic traditions (his grandfather was a published playwright, father admired Italian opera and French comedy), Stakhovich made a successful career in the military and was a one-time adjutant for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia.

He started to appear in films in 1915 and two years later joined the Russian Provisional Government as the head of its Theatre Commission.

[2] Stakhovich, who taught 'high class manners' in the MAT school, "...was a gifted man who deeply understood art, but hardly a strong actor... a mere raw material, for he started too late, grasping instantly those technical methods he understood best," argued Prince Sergey Volkonsky.

His best part was that of Stepan Verkhovensky in Nikolai Stavrogin [based on Besy by Dostoyevsky], where he was just himself," theatre historian Vadim Shverubovich opined.

Marina Tsvetayeva described the effect this had upon the artistic circles of Moscow (and left an expressive portrait of the man) in her essay "The Death of Stakhovich".