Irina Nikolayevna Bugrimova-Buslayeva[a][1] (March 13, 1910 – February 20, 2001, née Bugrimova) was the first female lion tamer in the Soviet Union.

Called a "circus legend" by sources such as the BBC,[2] Bugrimova was the first woman in Russia and the then-Soviet Union to work with lions, tigers, and ligers in a variety of performing acts,[3] and trained more than 70 big cats during her career.

[3] The daughter of a veterinarian and a ballet dancer, she excelled in athletics as a child, including as a champion speed skater.

[2] In 1929, Bugrimova transferred to the Moscow State Circus, and it was there she met the animal trainers Nikolai Gladilshchikov and Boris Eder, who taught her the practice.

[4] She made her debut ten years later in 1939, and designed many of her own tricks, such as lions tightrope walking, acts involving motorcycles, and a giant swing which she would leap from with a cat.