
The Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre performs at Kaļķu iela 16 near Līvu Square. Its company traces its origins to 1883; the current building has its own history as a social and performance venue.
Guide preview
The Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre faces the activity around Līvu Square from its building at Kaļķu iela 16. Its history involves two timelines: a Russian-language company that traces its beginnings to 1883, and a building that became its home later. Keeping those dates apart helps explain how a theatre can move and still retain a history.
Continue exploring
Discover the full story
Keep reading with a travel pass and explore every full guide and tour.
UpgradeQuick facts
- The theatre traces the start of regular Russian-language performances in Riga to 1883.
- Mikhail Chekhov worked in Riga in the early 1930s.
- The present Kaļķu iela building reopened after reconstruction in 2010.
More places in Riga

10b Elizabetes Street
Elizabetes iela 10b is a 1903 Riga apartment building designed by Mikhail Eisenstein. Its blue upper façade, enormous sculpted faces and ornamental patterns show how published European design ideas were adapted into a distinctive Art Nouveau street front.

11 November Embankment
Riga’s 11 November Embankment follows the right bank of the Daugava beside Old Riga, combining a busy riverside route with a long history of trade and public gatherings.

1991 Barricades Museum
The 1991 Barricades Museum preserves objects, photographs and testimony from Latvia’s independence struggle. In Old Riga, its collection traces the volunteers who defended important sites and remembers those killed or injured during the January and August events.

4a Strēlnieku Street
The richly ornamented 1905 design at Strēlnieku iela 4a is associated with architect Mikhail Eisenstein. Originally combining a school and residences, it later housed a dormitory and now serves the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga.

AB Jetty
AB Jetty extends from the left bank of the Daugava in Riga, offering a walking route and views across the river towards the towers of the Old Town.

Āgenskalns Market
Āgenskalns Market is a neighbourhood food market on Riga’s left bank, centred on a red-brick hall designed by Reinhold Georg Schmaeling. Established at this site in 1898, it reopened its restored pavilion in 2022 with food sellers, cafés and community activities.