Rudolf Furmanov was born on October 22, 1938 in Leningrad. His parents divorced early. In 1940, his mother died from tuberculosis. Furmanov, who was brought up by his aunt, managed to survive the 1941-1944 siege of Leningrad.

Furmanov began to star in films at an early age. In 1948, he starred in the film, "First Grade Student Girl" at the age of ten. He subsequently starred in "Dirk" (1954) and "Alyosha Ptitsyn Develops His Character" (1957). Furmanov subsequently graduated from the Northwestern Polytechnic Institute. In 1962-1964, he studied at the theatre critics faculty of the Ostrovsky Leningrad Theatre Institute.

Furmanov has played more than 40 roles in theatre productions and films, including such films "Dog on a Haystack," "The Big Game," "The Circus Has Burned Down, and the Clowns Have Run Off," as well as such TV series as "National Security Agent" and "4 Liteiny Prospekt." Since the late 1950s, he has performed in numerous concerts and has served as impresario of the best national actors.

In 1988, he founded the Andrei Mironov "Russkaya Antrepriza" Theatre in St Petersburg. This became the first Russian theatre to hire personnel on contract.

Furmanov is the artistic director of the Andrei Mironov "Russkaya Antrepriza" Theatre in St Petersburg.

In 2008, he received the title of People's Artist of Russia.