The Bolshoi Theatre started out as a private theatre of the provincial prosecutor, Prince Pyotr Urusov. On March 28, 1776, Empress Catherine II signed off on giving the prince the privilege of "being the owner of all theatrical performances in Moscow" for a ten-year period. This date is considered the founding day of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre. The privileged position did not relieve the prince of his duties: he had to build a stone theatre "with such external decoration so that it could serve as decoration for the city within five years." The maintenance of theatrical performances was financially burdensome, and Prince Urusov shared his "privilege" with the Russianized Englishman Michael Medox, an engineer, mechanic and a successful theatrical entrepreneur.
