Mikhail Yanshin was a Russian actor of Moscow Art Theatre. He was born Mikhail Mikhailovich Yanshin on November 2, 1902, in Yukhnov, Smolensk province, Russian Empire (now Kaluga province, Russia). His father, Mikhail Yanshin, was a banking clerk. From 1909-1916 Yanshin studied at private Olkhovsky School in Moscow.