Leopold Sulerzhitsky

As a schoolboy he was involved in decorating St Volodymyr's Cathedral, working under the likes of Mikhail Vrubel and Viktor Vasnetsov.

In 1890 he joined the Stroganov Art School in Moscow but dropped out four years later, due to his "anti-government escapades."

Sulerzhitsky, always a colourful personality, turned his attention to theatre and soon became a fixture of Moscow artistic life.

Sulerzhitsky grew fascinated with Leo Tolstoy's ideas of pacifism and anarchism and decided to dedicate his life to their dissemination.

He was well versed in Eastern-influenced religious practices, informing Stanislavski about yoga, meditation and the nature of Prana.