17 January
Dates in History
1920Soviet Governament officially abolishes death penalty. But people are still being executed.
1863Constantine Stanislavsky, theatrical director, actor, is born. | Stanislavsky invents a new acting method, which involves actor psychologically putting him(her)self in place of his character. His method becomes classical within artistic circles throughout the world. But in Russia he is probably even more famed for his utterance “I don’t believe!”, which refers to an actor playing his part so bad that his character doesn’t resemble anything of the character in play or script.
1847Nikolay Zhukovsky, aircraft designer, is born. | In 1902 one of the first wind tunnels is created under his direction, and in 1904 the first European Institute of Aerodynamics is established also under his direction. In 1920 Institute of Red Air Forces Engineers is set up, which becomes Zhukovsky Air-Force Engineer Academy in 1922. |