Nizhny Novgorod State Circus named after M. P. Nazarova — a circus in the Kanavinsky District of Nizhny Novgorod, at 38 Kommunisticheskaya Street, a five-minute walk from Moscow Railway Station. The building, which opened on 1 September 2007 after twenty-three years of reconstruction, is called the largest circus complex in Europe: thirty thousand square metres, a hall seating two thousand.[1] The circus is part of the Russian State Circus Company system and operates on touring programmes. The history of the circus in the city dates back to 1883, when the first permanent building was constructed here.[2]

The Nikitin Brothers' Circus

In the summer of 1879, Pyotr and Akim Nikitin — founders of the first Russian professional permanent circus — arrived in Nizhny Novgorod and received permission to build a fairground booth here.[3] In 1883 the booth was replaced by a permanent wooden building: the Nizhny Novgorod circus became the third permanent state circus in Russia.[2] The yarmarka newspaper responded to the opening the very next day.

Yesterday, the 28th of July, the Nikitin Brothers' circus opened; its construction and finish, given the brevity of the season, are quite decent; the circus is fairly spacious, and the seats are comfortable. As for the performers, they leave nothing to be desired for a yarmarka circus: there are excellent male and female riders, superbly trained horses, and passable clowns.

— Nizhny Novgorodskaya Yarmarka newspaper, 29 July 1883[4]

The Stone Circus of 1886

Three years later the Nikitins replaced wood with stone: the stone building seating two thousand was put into service on 26 July 1886,[3] and the 1887 season opened with a grand performance on 19 July.[2][1] The circus became the first building in Russia to be lit by incandescent electric lamps, and one of the first arenas in the country to stage performances on ice and on water.[2] The announcement of the premiere appeared in the same yarmarka newspaper.

The grand, luxuriously appointed stone circus of the Nikitin Bros. Today, 19 July, the circus opens. The first grand performance with a troupe of first-class artists and a corps de ballet; the troupe numbers up to 100 persons and 80 horses. The circus building, for the first time in Russia, is illuminated by electric incandescent lamps and large lanterns. Director — V. Sur, proprietors the Nikitin Bros.

— Nizhny Novgorodskaya Yarmarka newspaper, 20 July 1887[5]

From Nationalisation to the 1964 Building

In 1923 the circus passed into state ownership, and in 1925 the Nikitin building burned down.[2][1] A year later, in 1926, a new circus opened in Kanavino — one of the largest in the USSR at the time.[2][1]

In 1964 the troupe moved into a stone building seating 1,719 — the very one that residents of Gorky remember as the city circus.[2][1] Twenty years later, on 27 May 1984, it hosted a performance marking the centenary of the Nizhny Novgorod circus. The anniversary programme was staged and closed by People's Artist of the RSFSR Mstislav Zapashny with his act "Elephants and Tigers"; he handed a symbolic key to the future building to circus director I. P. Marinin with the words "we will open it soon."[1] It was the last performance in the old building.

Twenty-Three Years of Construction

The decision to reconstruct was made in 1981, work began in 1984 — and was almost immediately frozen due to lack of funds. The construction site stood idle for two decades and resumed only in 2005. The reconstruction cost approximately 506 million roubles.[1]

On 1 September 2007 the circus reopened. The city's residents had waited twenty-three years.

The Building and Its Layout

The complex covers approximately thirty thousand square metres.[1] The auditorium is built as an amphitheatre of eighteen rows seating two thousand, with designated spaces for wheelchair users. In addition to the main arena there is a stage connected to the ring by a retractable staircase; the hall is equipped with lighting, sound, and film and laser projection.

The acoustic volume of the main hall is 26,000 cubic metres, the diameter of the dome above the arena is 23.5 metres, and the height under the dome reaches 47.4 metres; seating is arranged across four tiers and two balconies.[6] The ring has the standard circus diameter of thirteen metres.

The facilities are designed for large animal programmes: a stable with thirty-seven stalls,[2][1] separate quarters for marine animals, predators, elephants, dogs, and monkeys, a veterinary clinic, and a covered service yard where animals can be unloaded in any weather. The circus also runs a studio school for future performers[2] and a café called "13 Metres," named after the diameter of the circus ring.

Next to the circus stands a hotel for visiting performers — a six-storey building dating from 1963 at 42 Kommunisticheskaya Street. In April 2026 Rosgostsirk announced a tender for its major overhaul costing nearly 550 million roubles under the federal project "Family Values and Cultural Infrastructure"; the work is due to be completed by 15 November 2028.[7]

The Name of Margarita Nazarova

Margarita Petrovna Nazarova — People's Artist of the RSFSR, tiger trainer, known throughout the country for the film Stripped Trip (Polyasty Reys). She worked in the circus from the 1960s and created the attraction "Water Fantasy," in which predators performed on water.[1] Nazarova spent her final years in Nizhny Novgorod and died here in 2005 at the age of seventy-eight; she is buried at the cemetery in Fyodyakovo.[8]

In November 2016 a memorial plaque was unveiled in her honour on the building at 26 Sovnarkomovskaya Street, and on 3 December 2017 the circus was officially named after Nazarova: a commemorative plaque was opened on the building and a celebratory performance was given in the arena.[8] The plaque reads: "The Nizhny Novgorod State Circus named after M. P. Nazarova is named in honour of People's Artist of the RSFSR, tiger trainer Margarita Petrovna Nazarova."[8]

How the Circus Operates Today

The circus has no permanent resident troupe of its own: it hosts programmes from Rosgostsirk and other promoters, providing the arena, hall, rehearsal spaces, animal enclosures, and accommodation for performers. The terms of contracts are set by the parent organisation, and receipts are divided between the circus and the programme's promoter.

The bill changes several times a year. In the 2026 season the arena featured "Sand Fairy Tale"[9] and "Italian Circus: Elephants and Tigers" by the Toni circus dynasty — a programme with elephants, tigers, camels, zebras, and ostriches.[10] In addition to performances, the circus hosts children's parties and birthday celebrations, backstage tours, and photo sessions with the animals.

See also

Sources

  1. nn.aif.ru — Argumenty i Fakty — Nizhny Novgorod — From the Yarmarka Fairground Booth: Interesting Facts about the Nizhny Novgorod Circus (archive)
  2. book-hall.ru — Centralised Library System of Kanavinsky District — The Nizhny Novgorod Circus (archive)
  3. circus-nnovgorod.ru — Nizhny Novgorod State Circus — History of the Circus (archive)
  4. Nizhny Novgorodskaya Yarmarka newspaper — No. 15, 29 July 1883, notice of the opening of the Nikitin Brothers' circus
  5. Nizhny Novgorodskaya Yarmarka newspaper — No. 6, 20 July 1887, announcement of the opening of the Nikitin Brothers' stone circus
  6. nngasu.ru — Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering — Acoustic Design of the Main Arena of the Nizhny Novgorod Circus (archive)
  7. nn.aif.ru — Argumenty i Fakty — Nizhny Novgorod — The Hotel at the Nizhny Novgorod Circus to Be Overhauled for 550 Million Roubles (archive)
  8. KP — Nizhny Novgorod — Komsomolskaya Pravda — The Nizhny Novgorod Circus Has Been Officially Named after Margarita Nazarova
  9. circus.ru — Russian State Circus Company — Nizhny Novgorod Circus listings
  10. circus-nnovgorod.ru — Nizhny Novgorod State Circus — Official Website: programme and listings