Svetlov (Ivchenko) Valerian Yakovlevich (1860-1934) - journalist, historian, ballet critic. In 1910-16 - editor of the magazine "Niva." Since the 1890s in various periodicals published articles about domestic ballet, some of them were included in the collection "Terpsichore" (1906). An active supporter of the art of Isadora Duncan, the innovative searches of Mikhail Fokin, participated in the organization of the first "Russian Seasons." Svetlov's book "Contemporary Ballet" (1911) is devoted to these issues. After 1917, while living in Paris, he published a number of works on Russian ballet.