Ruslan Kudashov is the Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Puppet Theatre (since 2006), participant and winner of numerous awards at the prestigious international festivals, winner of the Russian National Theatre Award THE GOLDEN MASK, Master Teacher of the students of acting (2006–2011) and directing (2016–2021), who were admitted by BTK together with the Department of Puppet Theatre at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts (RGISI, formerly known as SPbGATI).
As of today, Ruslan Kudashov has directed over 40 productions in various cities and countries. The majority of them are synthetic productions, combining diverse systems of puppet theatre with the method of openly operating the puppet. The philosophical parable is a genre, which the director approaches most often: it allows speaking to the audience on the level of eternal values and universal human categories, as well as approaching the fundamental questions of being.
When Ruslan Kudashov came to BTK, a new stage in the life of this theatre started: the company of young actors was formed, and the repertoire was revamped almost completely. The theatre began to offer all kinds of productions both for children and adults – movement-based, musical, drama, visual, puppet. The theatre started touring extensively across Russia and abroad. In 2014 the international festival BTK-FEST: Contemporary Puppet Theatre was organized, in 2017 BTK-LAB: Laboratory for young directors dedicated to new children’s literature took place for the first time. Today BTK offers behind-the-scenes tours, organizes performances, lectures, and meetings with the audience, gradually increasing the professional level and prestige of the art of puppet theatre in Russia.