Vladislav Strzelchik was an actor of the Leningrad Academic Bolshoi Drama Theatre named after M. Gorky*, People's Artist of the USSR, participant of the Great Patriotic War. He served in the army throughout the entire war, taking part in army ensemble performances. As a talented artist, recognized by the front press, not only did he performed with the band, but also took part in combat operations, was a squad leader, and an assistant platoon commander.

Vladislav Ignatievich Strzelchik was born on 31 January 1921 in Petrograd, studied at the school on Dzerzhinsky Street (now Gorokhovaya Street), 20. He discovered his passion for theatre as a schoolboy. In 1938, without graduating from the 10th Grade, Vladislav Strzelchik enrolled in the Bolshoi Drama Theatre School (the course taught by the director and artistic director of the theatre B.A. Babochkin). He was almost immediately accepted into the troupe of an auxiliary cast, and a month later he was performing in the play Kuban Cossack.

Soon, the life of the young artist changed: in October 1940, Vladislav was called up for military service. He had to abandon the theatre school and his first roles. It was difficult to anticipate then that the return to the theatre would be only six years later, in 1946: a long and terrible war was ahead of him.
The Strzelchik's first duty station was the 24th Corps Artillery Regiment, which was part of the 23rd Army. The regiment was stationed near Vyborg, and it was here where a recent student, an actor of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre, and now a new recruit took the military oath on 23 February 1941. The regimental routine of military training has begun... It seemed that the theatre, the scene, had been left far behind. But life made an unexpected gift to Vladislav: with the permission of commanders, without leaving the army service, Vladislav Strzelchik starred in his first film role. He played a non-verbal role of a Finnish army officer in Y. Raizman's film Mashenka, produced at the Mosfilm Film Studio. In order to film the military episodes of the Soviet-Finnish War, which were depicted in the film, the production team came to Vyborg. One of the actors fell ill and Strzhelchik, an actor from Leningrad, was invited to replace him. The film was released in the spring of 1942, during the war, and immediately won the hearts of Soviet audiences.

There was another set of circumstances that played a decisive role in Vladislav Strzelchik's life. There was a group of young people who played symphonic jazz, composed of recent graduates from the Leningrad Conservatory. They underwent military training alongside Vladislav in the 24th Corps Artillery Regiment. In their time off from training, the ensemble would rehearse and give concerts. Vladislav joined the ensemble and stayed with them almost throughout the war. They were soon joined by young singers, drama, pop and ballet dancers who had been drafted into the army. Gradually the ensemble developed a strong professional line-up. Vladislav Strzelchik found his niche in the band as a performing reader and an emcee.

At the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, Vladislav Ignatyevich Strzelchik was a gun crew commander in the same regiment that took part in the defence of the Karelian Isthmus in the early days of the war and later fought near Leningrad. The group of actors and musicians was transformed into the Military Entertainment Unit of the Political Department of the 23rd Army.

The art director of the Unit was a composer G. N. Nosov, the musical director and chief conductor was a recent graduate of the Conservatory, G. A. Gausman. The heart and soul of the Unit, according to Gausman, was Nikolay Gleizarov - a talented poet, play writer and artist, the author of many songs and musical-dramatic compositions.
The Entertainment Unit of the 23rd Army collaborated with poets V. S. Shefner, M. A. Dudin, music composers G. N. Nosov, V. A. Maklakov, and other members of the group created music for the performances. Thanks to the participation of actors, reciters, musicians, singers, ballet dancers, choreographers, and a men's choir, the performances were diverse and exciting. The performances (there were more than two thousands of them during the war!) featured a rich variety of acts: poems and short novels, lyrical and humorous songs, sketches, dance and ballet pieces, classical music and texts. The ensemble's songs became known among combatants on other fronts.

Such artists as the ballet dancer N.B. Yastrebova, the singer G.V. Skopa-Rodionova, the singer L.G. Kostritsa became favourites of the public.
Performing for troops on the front line, in clubs and hospitals — wherever there was a need to boost soldiers’ morale and brighten their time away from battle — the ensemble quickly gained admiration and popularity. Their performances were often covered by army newspapers and Leningradskaya Pravda. Newspaper articles frequently referred to Vladislav as 'the gifted Red Army man Strzelchik': he was an emcee, acted as a reciter, and performed a variety of sketches and songs.

Since August 1942, V. I. Strzelchik served in the 164th Army Reserve Rifle Regiment of the 92nd Rifle Division. The ensemble gave concerts at the front line, in besieged Leningrad, on the Road of Life, in Kronstadt, at the Oranienbaum bridgehead. To reach every fighter and every dugout, they formed groups for greater mobility.

The actors constantly performed for wounded soldiers in medical units and hospitals. In December 1942, eight members of the ensemble were awarded the medal For Battle Merit. Almost all the reward recommendations included the following line: ‘Comrade Strzelchik repeatedly participated in concerts for the soldiers under enemy artillery and mortar fire’.
One of the performances in 1942 took place in besieged Leningrad, in a basement room at Smolny —by special invitation from the city's party leader A.A. Zhdanov. In 1943, Senior Sergeant Strzelchik, together with other members of the ensemble, was awarded the medal For the Defence of Leningrad.
Vladislav Ignatievich's parents remained in the besieged city until 1943. Once in a while, with the permission of the commanding officer, he managed to visit and help them with his combat rations. When he would come to Leningrad, Strzelchik would make an appearance on the radio programme. He read Jambyl Jabayev's poem Leningraders, My Children! and Egmont's monologue from Goethe's tragedy, accompanied by the Grand Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Radio Committee conducted by K.I. Eliasberg.

David Iosifovich Zolotnitsky, a participant in the Great Patriotic War and theatre historian, recalls Strzelchik's performances during the joyful period leading up to Victory Day:

In 1945 Vladislav Ignatievich Strzelchik reached Koenigsberg and celebrated Victory Day in Vyborg — the city where his military career had begun. At the end of the war, he was awarded the medals For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and For the Conquest of Koenigsberg. He was released from the military in June 1946, and until then, he had been serving in the Military Entertainment Unit of the Political Department of the Leningrad Front.