Petrushka

Russian puppet character

Also known as: Petrouchka

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Also spelled:: Petrouchka

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Petrushka, main character of Russian folk puppet shows (see puppetry), first noted in 17th-century accounts and popular well into the 20th century. Petrushka was typically depicted as a smiling young boy with a large, hooked nose and often was humpbacked. The character was made internationally famous by the ballet Petrushka (1911), with music by Igor Stravinsky, libretto by Alexandre Benois, and choreography by Michel Fokine for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.