Mikhail Semyonovich Shchepkin (1788–1863), one of the pioneers of the Russian acting school, came from a family of serfs.

Mikhail Shchepkin made his stage debut in his youth at the home theater of Count Wolkenstein. In the autumn of 1821, at the age of 33, admirers of his talent raised funds and freed him from serfdom. Among the supporters of this initiative was Poltava Governor-General, Prince Nikolay Repnin, as well as his brother, Sergey Grigoryevich Volkonsky. On September 20, 1822, Shchepkin debuted in Moscow. He joined the troupe of Moscow Theater (known as the Maly Theater since 1824) on March 6, 1823, and remained with the company for the rest of his career.

In a letter written in 1836, Pushkin asked Nashchokin through Shchepkin to send the newly published edition of “Sovremennik” to Vissarion Belinsky, a young critic whom Pushkin had not had the opportunity to meet but who he seemingly intended to involve in his magazine.

The actor then continued writing in this notebook. Some excerpts from Shchepkin’s notes were featured in various Moscow publications in the 1850s. They were published in their entirety in 1864, through the efforts of Shchepkin’s son, Nikolay Mikhailovich. This publication also included 25 letters written by Shchepkin and an article by Sergey Timofeyevich Aksakov titled “A Few Words about M.S. Shchepkin”. Subsequently, this edition was supplemented with letters and memoirs of Shchepkin’s contemporaries.