The first Russian theatre was created in the Republic in the post-revolutionary period, is the Nikolaev academic art Russian drama theatre, which is located in the historical part of the city of Nikolaev, on crossing of streets Admiral's and lyagin. The building is a monument of architecture, which houses the theatre, was built in 1881 bourgeois Karl Ivanovich Monte by architect T. Brusnichnogo. The current creative team of the theater is one of the oldest theater groups in Ukraine, which was organized in 1922 in Lugansk Russian Director and actor G. Svobodin.

The rectangular building of the Nikolaev theatre is a structure with a dominant stage box volume. Its facade is made in a pseudo-Renaissance style. The main entrance stands a monumental hexastyle portico, which was erected in the postwar period.

At different times at the theater featured such artists as V. Komissarzhevskaya, M. Savina, P. Orlen, M. Dali, F. Chaliapin, Leonid Sobinov, V. Meyerhold, P. Saksaganskogo and M. Kropivnitsky.

In 1896, at the theatre held the first in the city of Nikolaev the movie session. For twelve years, the troupe had the status of a mobile theater Residence of Donbass". In 1927 the Moscow magazine "Modern theatre" noted "the Residence of Donbass" the most serious of Russian drama theatres of Ukraine. After some time, the team was granted the right to specify in their posters - "the Art theatre of Ukraine". In 1934-1935, the theatre has become fixed and settled in Nikolaev. In the period 1939 -1994, the theatre was called the pilot Chkalov.

The Nikolaev Art Russian drama theatre is steadily and surely working team that successfully solves all creative and production tasks, which rely on the excellent tradition of its predecessors.