Top 150 Russian/Soviet Actresses
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- Elsa Krueger was born in 1893 in Russia. She was an actress, known for Border Patrol (1934), Mute Witnesses (1914) and Die Villa im Tiergarten (1927). She died in 1941 in Germany.
- Dora Tschitorina is known for Sorvanets (1914), Mute Witnesses (1914) and Eyo geroyskiy podvig (1914).
- Varvara Yanova was born in 1890 in the Russian Empire. She was an actress, known for Portret Doryana Greya (1915), Kak khoroshi, kak svezhi byli rozy (1913) and Razbitaya vaza (1913). She died in 1943 in France.
- Vera Karalli was a Russian silent film actress and ballerina of Bolshoi Theatre and the "Ballets Russes" (Russian Ballet) led by Sergei Diaghilev.
She was born Vera Alekseevna Karalli on July 27, 1889, in Moscow, Russia. In 1906 she graduated as a ballerina from the ballet class of Alexander Gorsky at Moscow Theatre School. From 1906 - 1909 she was member of the troupe at Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and made appearances in ballets by Mikhail Fokin and Aleksandr Gorsky. In 1909 Karalli performed in Paris with the "Russian Seasons" and "Ballets Russes" (Russian Ballet) led by impresario Sergei Diaghilev. Then she returned to Russia and was member of the troupe at Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. During the 1910s, she appeared as a lead dancer in such productions as "Swan Lake" by composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and in "Life for the Tsar" by composer Mikhail Glinka staged at Bolshoi Theatre.
In 1914 Vera Karalli made her film debut at the Moscow film studio of Aleksandr Khanzhonkov co-starring as Elena opposite Ivan Mozzhukhin and Pyotr Chardynin in Ty pomnish' li? (1914), by director Pyotr Chardynin. She also co-starred in War and Peace (1915), the first adaptation of the Lev Tolstoy's classic novel "War and Peace" by directors Vladimir Gardin and Yakov Protazanov. Karalli shot to international fame with her role as Gizella, the mute dancer in Umirayushchiy lebed (1917) (aka.. Mad Love) by director Yevgeny Bauer, among her other film works.
During the 1910s, Vera Karalli was a mistress of Grand Prince Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov. She was also co-conspirator in the Feliks Yusupov's plot and murder of Grigory Rasputin in December of 1916. Karalli was present at the Yusupov's Moika Palace and allegedly she was there to act as a substitute bait for Rasputin, instead of Yusupov's wife Irina, who was initially shown to the lusty Rasputin as the main bait to lure him into the trap before he was killed. Karalli was chosen for the plot to murder Rasputin, because he knew of her as an actress, she was very pretty and was already a well known film star, who appeared in about twenty silent films in Russia. However, later some of her films were lost or destroyed during the chaos of Communist Revolution and the Russian Civil War of 1917 - 1921.
After the Communist Revolution, Vera Karalli emigrated from Russia, and worked in Paris for the Diaghilev's Ballete Russes. She also taught dance in Kaunas, Lithuania, during the 1920s, and was the ballet mistress for the Bucharest Opera in Romania during the 1930s. Later she taught dance and lived in Austria, and died there on November 16, 1972. - Actress
- Costume Designer
Nathalie Lissenko was born in 1886 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress and costume designer, known for Kean (1924), Le brasier ardent (1923) and A Narrow Escape (1920). She was married to Ivan Mozzhukhin. She died on 7 January 1969 in Paris, France.- Has performed regularly in different theatrical groups in Yerevan and Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia). In 1916 was invited to play in Armenian Drama Union in Tbilisi. Has performed in other troupes as well. Has been worked in Armenia since 1920. At first she led a National theatrical troupe in Dilijan, since 1921 was a leading actress in the Sundukyan Drama Theatre of Yerevan. Has performed many classical roles in theatre and cinema.
- Vera Baranovskaya was born on 7 March 1885 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Mother (1926), Takový je zivot (1930) and Konets Sankt-Peterburga (1927). She died on 7 December 1935 in Paris, France.
- Anna Zemtsova was born in 1893 in the Russian Empire. She was an actress, known for Mother (1926), Konets Sankt-Peterburga (1927) and Sliakot bulvarnaia (1918). She was married to Vsevolod Pudovkin. She died in 1966 in the USSR.
- Actress
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Aleksandra Khokhlova was born on 4 October 1897 in Berlin, Germany. She was an actress and assistant director, known for By the Law (1926), Luch smerti (1925) and Incident on a Volcano (1941). She was married to Lev Kuleshov and Konstantin Khokhlov. She died on 22 August 1985 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Actress
- Additional Crew
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Born in Russian Empire to a Ukrainian father and a Swedish mother, Anna Sten studied at the Russian Film Academy and joined the Moscow Art Theater. Strikingly beautiful, she went on to appear in a number of Russian silent films, but it was in the German film Der Mörder Dimitri Karamasoff (1931) that Anna gained notice. Samuel Goldwyn saw a picture of Anna in the paper and rushed to view the film. After the first reel he sent word to sign her, hoping to develop her into a star of the magnitude of Greta Garbo or Marlene Dietrich. His agent signed Anna to a contract but forgot to mention the fact that she didn't speak a word of English, which made her appearance in sound pictures questionable. She spent a year studying English every day and working out makeup and acting. Goldwyn publicity called her "The Passionate Peasant" and sold her image to papers all over America. However, her first American picture, Nana (1934), even though almost completely rewritten and re-shot from the original, didn't bring audiences into the theaters. While Anna was looked great, the script and picture were average. Her second film, We Live Again (1934), marginally better suited to her style, also died within weeks at the box office. After her third film for Goldwyn, The Wedding Night (1935), also flopped, she and Goldwyn parted company after it became known around Hollywood as "Goldwyn's Last Sten." Anna made a few more movies, but by the end of the decade she was forgotten.- Ada Voytsik was born on 1 August 1905 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Sorok pervyy (1927), The Day the Earth Froze (1959) and Anna (1936). She died on 2 September 1982 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Maria Tenazi was born on 1 May 1903 in Baku, Russian Empire. She was an actress, known for Shuquras saidumloeba (1925), Metskhre talga (1926) and Grubelta tavshesapari (1928). She died on 1 May 1930 in Kobuletti, Georgia, USA.
- Vera Petrovna Maretskaya was born on July 31, 1906, in Barvikha, a suburb of Moscow, Russian Empire (now Moscow, Russia). Young Maretskaya helped her father, named Petr Maretsky, who was a candy bar vendor at Moscow Circus. Maretskaya was auditioned by Vakhtangov and Zavadsky, and studied at Vakhtangov Theatre School, from which she graduated as a actress in 1924. That same year she became permanent member of Theatre-Studio led by Yuri Zavadsky. She soon married her teacher Yuri Zavadsky, and they had one son. They remained life-long friends and stage partners, even after the end of their brief marriage. In 1925 she made her film debut in 'Zakroischik is Torzhka' (Tailor of Torzhok 1925). She played roles in fifteen silent films.
In 1937 Maretskaya suffered from political execution of her two brothers, journalists Dmitri and Gregori, who were the followers of opposition politician Nikolai Bukharin. Maretskaya appealed to the Soviet government, but her appeal was ignored. Her brothers were executed by gunshots during the purges of the "Great Terror" under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. Soon Maretskaya lost her second husband, a young actor, named Georgi Troitsky, who was killed in action in 1941, during the Second World War. She took care of her own two children, and also adopted the children of her executed brothers. She was supported by Yuri Zavadsky.
By 1940, she was made one the faces of Soviet propaganda films. She shot to fame after the leading role in 'Chlen pravitelstva' (Member of the Government 1940) by directors Aleksandr Zarkhi and Iosif Kheifits. For that role she was awarded the Stalin's Prize. At that time the Zavadsky's Theatre-Studio merged with the Theatre of Mossoveta, and in 1940, Maretskaya became permanent member of the Mossoveta Theatre. There her stage partners were such actors as Yuri Zavadsky, Faina Ranevskaya, Lyubov Orlova, Nikolai Mordvinov, Osip Abdulov, Rostislav Plyatt, Georgi Zhzhyonov, and other notable Russian actors.
Maretskaya was famous among actors for her culinary talent, which was legendary. At her Moscow home she once hosted the French actor Jean Marais, who was a well-known connoisseur of gourmet food, and also watched his weight too. Maretskaya made the Russian-style dinner with such dishes as "Blini and caviar", "Blintzes with fish", and various choices of Vodka. Mr. Jean Marais politely stated that he must limit himself to only one small piece of "Blini and Caviar", but he could not stop eating all night long.
Vera Maretskaya suffered from breast cancer during the last ten years of her life, and was later diagnosed with brain cancer, but she continued her acting career on Moscow Radio. At that time she created popular radio shows based on her adaptations of 'Woman Without Love' and 'The Art of Living' by the French writer André Maurois. Her radio show was her last memorable acting job. In 1976 Maretskaya was designated the Hero of Socialist Labor. She was awarded the Stalin's Prize four times (1942, 1946, 1948, 1951) and was made the People's Artist of the USSR (1949). Maretskaya died on August 17, 1978, and was laid to rest in Novodevichy Convent Cemetery in Moscow, Russia. - Kira Andronikashvili was born on 16 June 1908 in Tiflis, Russian Empire [now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia]. She was an actress, known for Zvigenis kbili (1959), Udabno (1932) and Caucasian Love (1928). She died on 24 February 1960 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia].
- Marfa Lapkina was born on 17 September 1898 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Old and New (1929). She died on 1 January 1936 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
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- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yuliya Solntseva was born on 7 August 1901 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was a director and actress, known for Chronicle of Flaming Years (1961), Aelita, the Queen of Mars (1924) and Poem of the Sea (1958). She was married to Aleksandr Dovzhenko. She died on 29 October 1989 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Yelena Maksimova was born on 23 November 1905 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Shans (1984), Vysota (1957) and Earth (1930). She died on 23 September 1986 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Born Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova, one of six children of Vladimir Baklanoff and his wife Alexandra, later billed as the Russian Tigress in her early talking films, was born August 19, 1893. She graduated from the Cherniavsky Institute in Moscow prior to her selection in 1912 at age 19 to apprentice at the Moscow Art Theatre. During her early years at M.A.T. (1914-1918) she appeared in perhaps 18 films bringing her into contact with Tourjansky, Boleslawski and M. Chekov among others. Her last Russian film, Bread (1918) was the first communist agitprop vehicle. From 1917 she appeared in the "classics" on the parent stage and at the M.A.T. First Studio. Her mentor, Nemirovich-Danchenko, showcased her in avant-garde productions of the newly created M.A.T. Musical Studio from 1920-1925. She was honored with the Worthy Artist Of The Republic by the Soviet regime.
Eight months after her M.A.T. New York debut in December 1925, she declined to return with the M.A.T. company to Russia and subsequently defected. She was noticed by the Hollywood studios while performing on stage in Los Angeles in The Miracle in the role of the nun. Her film debut was a bit in The Dove (1927). Her dramatic Portrayals in The Man Who Laughs (1928), Street of Sin (1928), The Docks of New York (1928) and Forgotten Faces (1928) brought her critical acclaim in 1928. Her subsequent vamp/tramp roles in early Paramount and Fox talking films nearly destroyed her promising start. Stagey mannerisms and a heavy accent relegated her to supporting roles. She appeared to advantage in three films at MGM including the infamous Freaks (1932) with an unrestrained and legendary performance.
After appearing in west coast stage productions in 1931-32, she permanently left for the Broadway stage in 1933 following one last film at Paramount. From 1933 to 1943 she starred in various Broadway productions and then toured in road companies of Cat And The Fiddle, Twentieth Century, Grand Hotel and Idiot's Delight. She debuted on the London stage in 1936 in Going Places. One last big role in Claudia (1943) kept her busy for two years (1941-1943). She returned to Hollywood in 1943 to recreate her stage role. Some summer stock and occasional night club appearances followed as she moved into retirement.
During the mid-1960s Olga was interviewed by Richard Lamparski, Kevin Brownlow and John Kobal who all recognized her unique contributions in the performing arts. Her death occurred at Vevey, Switzerland on September 6, 1974 after a period of declining health. - Actress
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Yelena Kuzmina was born on 17 February 1909 in Tiflis, Russian Empire [now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia]. She was an actress, known for Girl No. 217 (1945), Russkiy vopros (1948) and Sekretnaya missiya (1950). She died on 15 October 1979 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lyubov Orlova was a Russian film star of the 1930s who enjoyed the sympathy of Joseph Stalin.
She was born Lyubov Petrovna Orlova on January 29, 1902 in Zvenigorod, a suburb of Moscow, Russia. Her father, Petr Orlov, was an officer in the Russian Imperial Army, her mother, Evgenia Sukhotina, belonged to Russian Landed Gentry. Through her parents, Orlova was a descendant from the old Russian aristocratic family of Prince Orlov, and was also related to Count Lev Tolstoy, for whom she sang along with the popular Russian basso Feodor Chaliapin Sr. in 1909. From 1919 to 1922 Orlova studied piano and singing at the Moscow Conservatory, but she did not graduate. From 1922-1926, Orlova studied dancing and choreography at the Moscow Theatre College. Then she worked on stage with director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko at the Moscow Musical Theatre of Stanislavsky.
In 1926 Orlova married Andrei Berezin, a prominent Soviet opposition politician. He was arrested in 1930, and was imprisoned for many years; this tragedy caused Orlova a severe depression and she had problems with alcohol. Orlova was seen on stage by many influential people in Moscow. After losing her husband she had other relationships before she met director Grigoriy Aleksandrov. He was looking for an actress to co-star opposite Leonid Utyosov in 'Moscow laughs'. The film became a big success in the 30s Soviet Union. Orlova became Aleksandrov's mistress. Eventually Alrksandrov divorced from his wife and married Orlova, who became the leading star of the Soviet film industry before the Second World War.
Joseph Stalin liked Orlova very much and promoted her to the title of Honorable Actress of Russian Federation in January of 1935. Stalin was probably in a good mood, when he offered Orlova to make her wish come true. She asked about the fate of her first husband. Stalin was surprised. Soon Orlova was called to visit the Lubyanka office of NKVD (KGB). There she was told that her ex-husband is alive in prison and that she may see him, and even join him in his cell. She was scared and humbled and left quietly. Later, in 1949 her ex-husband was diagnosed with cancer, released from prison and died in Lithuania at the home of his mother.
Stalin made Orlova the regular guest at his lavish drinking parties in Moscow. She became addicted to alcohol and was severely criticized by the official paper 'Sovetskoe Iskusstvo' (The Soviet Art). Director Aleksandrov managed to save his wife from her alcohol addiction by threatening to abort her film career. She obeyed and quit drinking. Her films 'Tsirk' (aka.. Circus 1936), 'Volga-Volga' (1938), and 'Svetly Put' (aka.. The Shining Path 1940, aka.. Tanya) were hugely successful. 'Svetly Put' was originally titled 'Cinderella' by the author Viktor Ardov, but Stalin ordered the title to be changed to 'The Shining Path'. Stalin's control over the Soviet film industry was absolute. For her leading roles in 'Volga-Volga' and 'Svetly Put' Orlova was personally awarded by Joseph Stalin with the State Stalin Prize.
At the beginning of the Nazi invasion of Russia during the Second World War, both Orlova and Aleksandrov were filming in Riga, Latvia. They narrowly escaped from the advancing Nazi armies and rushed to Moscow. There Aleksandrov served at the regular night watch during Luftwaffe air raids and bombings. He was severely wounded by a bomb explosion in September of 1941, and suffered from spinal trauma for the rest of his life. In the fall of 1941 Orlova and Aleksandrov were evacuated from Moscow to Baku, Azerbaijan. There they made a film 'Odna Semya' (A Family 1943) which was banned by the Soviet Censorship Committee. The official reason for banning the innocent film was its lacking of propaganda about the fight of the Soviet people against the Nazi invasion.
Orlova was known to be immune from gossips and rumors. She was also known as a faithful wife to Aleksandrov. Though she worked mainly in his films, she also occasionally worked in films made by other directors. She was never allowed by her director-husband Aleksandrov to be kissed in a film, with one exception made for actor Andrey Tutyshkin in 'Volga-Volga'. Her characters were sexy in a way acceptable by the rigid Soviet censorship under Stalin. One scene from the film 'Vstrecha na Elbe' (Meeting on the Elbe 1949) was ordered by Stalin to be deleted, because Stalin criticized the half-naked girls dancing to American Jazz music while celebrating the Victory. However, Stalin kept the uncensored original for himself, and later Stalin showed this scene at his home theatre to Aleksandrov and other guests. Stalin liked the scene, but banned it from being seen by millions of viewers in the Soviet Union.
From 1930 to the end of her life, Orlova has a rare medical problem - she suffered from sensitivity to daylight, which she developed after the stressful arrest of her first husband. She also suffered from severe insomnia and depended on various medications. She was spending much time at her home behind shielded windows. Her later work with Aleksandrov, such as in 'Russki suvenir' (Russian Souvenir 1960) was a flop. Her last stage performance was in Leningrad, in 1963, after that she was not seen on stage. Her last film with Aleksandrov, 'Skvorets i Lira' (1973), was not released upon Orlova's insistence, because she was shocked with her own looks in the film.
Lyubov Orlova was the first Russian film star to use plastic surgeries in her later years. At that time she refused to be photographed, and was hiding from public. She died of pancreatic cancer on January 26, 1975, and three days later, on her 73rd birthday, she was laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Varvara Myasnikova was born on 5 October 1900 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Cinderella (1947), Fragment of an Empire (1929) and Inzhener Yelagin (1928). She was married to Sergey Vasilev. She died on 25 April 1978 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Actress
- Writer
Faina Ranevskaya was born Faina Georgievna Feldman in Taganrog. Her father was the head of the local synagogue. Her family eventually left the country, but Faina stayed in the Soviet Union and went on to become one of the country's most acclaimed stage and screen actresses. One of her most famous movie roles was as the stepmother in a 1947 musical adaptation of "Cinderella" (called "Zolushka" in Russian). After her death, Ranevskaya was buried in the Donskoye Cemetery. Post-Soviet Russia issued a stamp bearing her likeness. The Ranevskaya Monument was unveiled in 2008 in front of her birth house.- Yelena Yegorova was born on 22 January 1905 in Kiev, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Katerina Izmailova (1927), Na dalnem beregu (1927) and Krasnyy tyl (1924). She died on 1 August 1971 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Varvara Osipovna Massalitinova was born on July 29, 1878, in Yelets, Lipetsk province, Russian Empire (now Yelets, Russia). She began acting at an amateur theatre club in the Siberian city of Tomsk, then moved to Moscow and studied acting under A. Lensky at Moscow Theatrical school from which she graduated in 1901, as an actress.
From 1901-1945 Varvara Massalitinova was a permanent member of the legendary troupe at Maly Academic Theatre in Moscow. There she worked on stage with such actors as Ermolova, Yelena Gogoleva, A. Yablochkina, Vera Pashennaya, Aleksandr Yuzhin, Aleksandr Ostuzhev, Vladimir Davydov, Konstantin Zubov, Stepan Kuznetsov, Nikolai Annenkov, Mikhail Tsaryov, Igor Ilyinsky and many other notable Russian actors. She became famous in 1902 after her powerful stage performances as Korobochka in Nikolay Gogol's classic drama 'Dead Souls'. Among her best known stage roles were such classic parts, as the officer's widow in the 1903 staging of 'Revizor' (Inspector General), Merchutkina in 'Jubiley' (1904), based on a play by Anton Chekhov, and Kukushkina in the 1911 staging of 'Dokhodnoe Mesto'. Over the course of her stage career Massalitinova established herself as one of the best performers in the classic plays by Aleksandr Ostrovskiy.
In 1922 Massalitinova made her film debut in a small role in a silent movie 'Polikushka'. Then she worked with director Yakov Protazanov in the first Russian Sci-Fi experiment, Aelita, the Queen of Mars (1924), where she appeared alongside Mikhail Zharov and Igor Ilyinsky among other fellow actors from the Maly Theatre. In 1939 Massalitinova received a state award for her portrayal of the grandmother of writer Maxim Gorky in the 1938 classic film trilogy by director Mark Donskoy based on Gorky's autobiographical books. Her best known role was the mother of the Russian folk hero Buslai in the acclaimed film Alexander Nevsky (1938) by director Sergei Eisenstein, starring Nikolay Cherkasov and Nikolai Okhlopkov.
Varvara Massalitinova was designated People's Artist of Russia and was awarded for her performances on stage and in film. She died on October 20, 1945, in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union and was laid to rest in Novodevichi Cemetery in Moscow. - Elizaveta Alekseeva was born on 9 June 1901 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Gorky 1: The Childhood of Maxim Gorky (1938), Doroga k schastyu (1925) and 10000 malchikov (1962). She died on 18 February 1972 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Alla Konstantinovna Tarasova was born on February 6, 1898, in Kiev, Russian Empire, into an aristocratic family. Her father, named Konstantin Tarasov, was a military doctor in Kiev. Tarasova's sister was married to Russian Prince Svyatopolk-Mirsky. From 1910-1914 Young Tarasova studied at the Private Gymnasium of Titarenko on Fundukleevskaya street in Kiev. She was fond of theatre and attended the performances of Moscow Art Theatre on tour in Kiev. In 1914 she moved to Moscow and took acting class with Nikolai Massalitinov at the Acting School of Moscow Art Theatre.
In 1916 Tarasova became a permanent member of the 2nd company of the Moscow Art Theatre. At the age of 18, she shot to fame with a leading role of Finochka in "Zelenoe Koltso", a play by Zinaida Gippius. She married Alexei Kuzmin, who fought in the Russian Civil War in the White Army and then emigrated from Russia. During the 1922 tour with Moscow Art Theatre in New York, Tarasova defected and joined her husband. She tried an acting career on Broadway, but failed because of her poor English. She worked as a waitress at her husband's café and was not planning to go back to Russia. At the end of 1924 Tarasova was convinced to go back by the letter from Stanislavsky, who insisted on her return to Moscow Art Theatre. She returned to Moscow, but had no serious roles for a few years. In 1931 she married the leading actor Ivan Moskvin and her career took off again. Tarasova became the undisputed leading actress of the Moscow Art Theatre under directors Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. She made her best stage works in classical plays of Maxim Gorky and Anton Chekhov that were staged by director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko during the 1930's. Her most resounding success was a title role in staging of "Anna Karenina" in 1937. The same theatrical production was recorded on film in 1953, when Tarasova and her partners were much older than at the time of their legendary premiere.
Tarasova was received with mixed reviews by the Russian intellectuals émigrés during her international tours. At the same time she was the favorite actress of Joseph Stalin, who frequently attended her performances at the Moscow Art Theatre. Tarasova was made the "first official actress" of the Soviet Union. In 1937 she became the first actress to be designated the People's Artist of the Soviet Union. She was five times awarded the State Stalin's Prize, in 1941, 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1949. She received numerous awards and decorations and was also twice awarded the Order of Lenin and was made the Hero of Socialist Labor. However, her film career was limited to only a few roles, mainly in the films of director 'Vladimir Petrov' (I). She died on April 5, 1973, in Moscow. Tarasova left a peculiar will about her burial arrangements: instead of being buried at the prestigious Novodevichy Cemetery, she was laid to rest next to her mother at the Vvedenskoe Cemetery in Moscow, Russia. - Irina Zarubina was born on 22 April 1907 in Kazan, Kazan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Republic of Tatarstan, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Avariya (1965), Three Women (1936) and Bezumnyy den (1956). She was married to Aleksandr Rou. She died on 20 May 1976 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Valentina Kibardina was born on 30 May 1907 in Vitebsk, Vitebsk uyezd, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire [now Vitebsk Oblast, Belarus]. She was an actress, known for Ne zabud... Stantsiya Lugovaya (1967), Barer neizvestnosti (1962) and Yunost Maksima (1935). She died in October 1988 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia].
- Yelizaveta Lilina was born on 27 April 1882. She was an actress, known for Istrebiteli (1939), U tikhoi pristani (1958) and Gorky 2: My Apprenticeship (1939). She died on 1 January 1960.
- Valentina Karavayeva was born on 21 May 1921 in Vyshny Volochyok, Vyshnevolotsky uyezd, Tver Governorate, RSFSR [now Tver Oblast, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Mashenka (1942), Boyevoy kinosbornik 13: Nashi devushki (1942) and Povest o pervoy lyubvi (1957). She died on 25 December 1997 in Moscow, Russia.
- Vera Shershnyova was born on 17 September 1906 in Odessa, Odessa uyezd, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire [now Odessa Oblast, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Two Soldiers (1943), Shturmovye nochi (1931) and Pravo ottsov (1931). She died on 18 November 1978 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Serafima Birman was born on 10 August 1890 in Kishinyov, Russian Empire [now Chisinau, Moldova]. She was an actress, known for Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944), Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot (1958) and The Girl with the Hat Box (1927). She died on 11 May 1976 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Natalya Uzhviy was born on 8 September 1898 in Lyuboml, Volhynian Governorate, Russian Empire [now Liuboml, Volyn Oblast, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for The Rainbow (1944), Zemlya (1954) and Taras Tryasylo (1927). She died on 29 July 1986 in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, USSR [now Ukraine].
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lyudmila Tselikovskaya was a Russian film and stage actress, and unofficial sex symbol in the 1940s Soviet Union. She was loved by general public, but was censored under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin.
She was born Lyudmila Vasilyevna Tselikovskaya on September 8, 1919, in Astrakhan, Russia. Her father, Vasili Tselikovsky, was an orchestra conductor, her mother was an opera singer. Young Tselikovskaya studied piano at the Gnesin School of Music in Moscow, then, from 1937 to 1941 she studied acting at the Shchukin Theatrical School of the Vakhtangov Theatre, graduating in 1941 as an actress.
From 1941 to 1992 Lyudmila Tselikovskaya was a member of the troupe at Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. There her stage partners were such actors as Mikhail Ulyanov, Ruben Simonov, Boris Zakhava, Mikhail Astangov, Varvara Popova, Vasiliy Lanovoy, Irina Kupchenko, Yuliya Borisova, Lyudmila Maksakova, Marianna Vertinskaya, Nina Ruslanova, Nikolai Plotnikov, Yuriy Yakovlev, Vladimir Etush, Vyacheslav Shalevich, Andrei Abrikosov, Grigori Abrikosov, Boris Babochkin, Nikolai Gritsenko, Nikolai Timofeyev, Evgeni Fedorov, Aleksandr Grave, Vladimir Koval, Viktor Zozulin, Evgeniy Karelskikh, Sergey Makovetskiy, and Ruben Simonov, among others. Tselikovskaya gave memorable performances in the classic Shakespeare's plays, such as Juliet in 'Romeo and Juliet', and Beatrice in 'Mnogo shuma is nichego' (aka.. Much Ado about Nothing).
At the beginning of her film career, Tselikovskaya gave a stellar performance in Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944) by director Sergei Eisenstein. However, Joseph Stalin canceled her nomination for Stalin's Prize, and as a consequence, Tselikovskaya did not have any official support for the rest of her career. During the Second World War Lyudmila Tselikovskaya entertained the Red Army troops at the front-lines together with her husband, actor Mikhail Zharov. However, after the war, she and Zharov were censored by the Soviet officials, and both became virtually unemployed.
In 1948 Tselikovskaya married Karo Alabyan, a prominent architect, but soon he was falsely accused of anti-Soviet activity, was fired from all government projects, became depressed, and later died of cancer. For the next 15 years, Tselikovskaya lived in a civil union with director Yuriy Lyubimov, and their home in Moscow was a meeting place for such cultural figures as Boris Pasternak, Petr Kapitsa, Vladimir Vysotskiy, Fedor Abramov, Yevgeniy Yevtushenko, and other Russian intellectuals. At the same time, Tselikovskaya did not have new roles to play, she was ignored by official Soviet critics, and was rarely mentioned in the Soviet press. However, she was still loved by general public, and was eventually designated People's Actress of Russia. She died of cancer on July 2, 1992, in Moscow, Russia.- Elena Tyapkina was born on 10 May 1900 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for War and Peace (1965), Anna Karenina (1967) and War and Peace, Part I: Andrei Bolkonsky (1965). She died on 9 November 1984 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Valentina Ivashova was born on 12 July 1915. She was an actress, known for Alexander Nevsky (1938), Sluchainaya vstrecha (1936) and The Rainbow (1944). She died on 5 July 1991 in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, USSR [now Ukraine].
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Anna Lisyanskaya was born on 1 November 1917 in Nikolayev, Kherson Governorate, Russia [now Mykolaiv, Ukraine]. She was an actress and writer, known for Dvenadtsataya noch (1955), Lenin in Poland (1966) and Dostoyanie respubliki (1972). She died on 2 December 1999 in Arad, Israel.- Actress
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Tamara Makarova was born on 13 August 1907 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress and writer, known for The New Teacher (1939), The Vow (1946) and Maskarad (1941). She was married to Sergey Gerasimov. She died on 18 January 1997 in Moscow, Russia.- Yekaterina Derevshchikova was born on 18 May 1926 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Timur i yego komanda (1940), The Stone Flower (1946) and Tsentr napadeniya (1947). She died on 19 October 2006 in Moscow, Russia.
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Sofiya Giatsintova was born on 4 August 1895 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress and director, known for The Vow (1946), Neokonchennaya povest (1955) and Zhukovsky (1950). She died on 12 April 1982 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Lia Laats was born on 17 February 1926 in Tallinn, Estonia. She was an actress, known for Elu tsitadellis (1947), Veealused karid (1959) and Siin me oleme! (1979). She was married to Harry Karro and Kalju Vaha. She died on 26 April 2004 in Tallinn, Estonia.
- Inna Makarova is a Soviet and Russian actress. People's Artist of the USSR (1985).
She was born in the city Tayga, Tomsk District of the Siberian Territory in a family of workers of the Novosibirsk Radio Committee Vladimir Makarov and Anna German. Inna spent her childhood and youth in Novosibirsk. The family lived in the House of Writers. In 1943-1948 she studied at VGIK in the workshop of Sergey Gerasimov and Tamara Makarova. During her studies, she played the role of Carmen in the play of the same name staged by Tatyana Lioznova. During her studies, she met her future husband Sergey Bondarchuk, who came to the course after the front.
The significant role in the movie was Katya Petrashen in the film "Height" (1957), then - Varvara in the film "My Dear Man" (1958). Both main roles, according to Makarova, were written specifically for her with Alexey Batalov, and the actors were approved without samples. During the filming, she decided to divorce Bondarchuk. The separation was difficult, after this Makarova did not marry for a long time.
Later she performed vivid and memorable roles in the films "Girls", "The Marriage of Balzaminov", "Women", "Russian Field". In the late 1980s, she began to act less frequently, and then completely disappeared from the screens, devoting herself to concert activities. In the mid-2000s, she returned to her acting career, playing in various television series. - Lyudmila Shagalova was born on 6 April 1923 in Rogachev, Gomel Governorate, RSFSR, USSR [now Rahachow, Gomel Oblast, Belarus]. She was an actress, known for The Young Guard (1948), Treasure Island (1972) and Duel (1961). She was married to Vyacheslav Shumsky. She died on 13 March 2012 in Moscow, Russia.
- Marina Kovalyova was born on 1 January 1923. She was an actress, known for The Fall of Berlin (1950), Timur i yego komanda (1940) and Poem of the Sea (1958). She died on 30 May 2007 in Moscow, Russia.
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Marina Ladynina was born on 24 June 1908 in Skotinino, Smolensk Governorate, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Cossacks of the Kuban (1950), They Met in Moscow (1941) and Six P.M. (1944). She was married to Ivan Pyrev. She died on 8 March 2003 in Moscow, Russia.- Natalya Medvedeva was born on 18 December 1915. She was an actress, known for Chelovek menyaet kozhu (1960), The Sword and the Dragon (1956) and Vasili's Return (1953). She died on 12 August 2007 in Moscow, Russia.
- Izolda Izvitskaya was born on 21 June 1932 in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhegorodskiy kray, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Russia]. She was an actress, known for The Forty-First (1956), Ottsy i deti (1959) and Po tonkomu ldu (1966). She was married to Eduard Bredun. She died on 1 March 1971 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- She repatriated to Armenia in 1946. She finished the studio of Leninakan Dramatical Theater (now Gyumri, Armenia), then worked in the same theater. Since 1958 she has been one of the leading actresses of the Sundukyan Drama Theatre of Yerevan.
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Leila Abashidze was born on 1 August 1929 in Tiflis, Georgian SSR, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR [now Tbilisi, Georgia]. She was an actress and writer, known for Tbilisi, Parizi, Tbilisi (1980), Shekhvedra mtashi (1966) and Maia Tskneteli (1959). She died on 8 April 2018 in Tbilisi, Georgia.- Tatiana Samoilova (Tatyana Samojlova) is a Russian film actress known for the leading roles in The Cranes Are Flying (1957) and Anna Karenina (1967).
She was born Tatiana Evgenievna Samoilova on May 4, 1934, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia. Her father, Evgeniy Samoylov, was a notable Russian actor, Her mother, Zinaida Ilyinichna, was Jewish. Young Samojlova studied music under the tutelage of her mother. During the Second World War, she escaped from the siege of Leningrad with her parents, and moved to Moscow. There she studied ballet and graduated from the Ballet School of Stanislavsky Theatre. She was invited by Maya Plisetskaya to join the ballet school of Bolshoi Theatre, but she chose to be a dramatic actress. From 1953-1956 she studied at Shchukin Theatrical School, then at State Institute of Theatrical Art (GITIS), graduating in 1962, as actress. While a student, Samojlova made her film debut in Meksikanets (1955).
Samojlova shot to fame with the leading role as Veronika in Letyat Zhuravli (The Cranes are Flying 1957) by director Mikhail Kalatozov. In spite of the initial cold reception by the Soviet officialdom, the film was loved by public in Russia and internationally. It became the first and only Russian film to be awarded the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958. Samojlova won a Special Mention at Cannes and was nominated for Best Foreign Actress BAFTA Film Award in 1959. She received many offers internationally, and was invited to work in Hollywood, but the Soviet government forced her to decline any jobs outside the Soviet Union.
During the 60s, her career stagnated due to overall stagnation in the USSR under Leonid Brezhnev. In 1960 Samojlova lost her job with Mayakovsky Theatre in Moscow, and was practically unemployed for several years. Her next success came with the title role in Anna Karenina (1967), an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Lev Tolstoy by director Aleksandr Zarkhi. Samojlova starred as Anna Karenina opposite her ex-husband Vasiliy Lanovoy.
During the 80s and 90s, Tatiana Samojlova had a lengthy pause in her film career. She made a comeback in several TV series in the 2000s. She was married four times, and has one son. Samojlova was designated People's Actress of Russia (1993). She is living in Moscow, Russia. - Vera Donskaya was born on 6 January 1929 in Tomilino, Russia, USSR. She was an actress, known for Naimychka (1964), Dorogoy tsenoy (1957) and The Anna Cross (1954). She died on 22 December 1984 in the USSR.
- Svetlana Grigoreva was born on 20 May 1927 in Leningrad, USSR. She was an actress, known for Don Kikhot (1957), Dublyor nachinaet deystvovat (1984) and Master i Margarita (2005). She died on 10 May 2020 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
- Olga Petrova was born on 20 December 1920. She was an actress, known for When the Trees Were Tall (1962), Dorogoy tsenoy (1957) and Trudnoe schaste (1958). She died on 8 August 1999.
- Maria Pastukhova was born on 22 July 1918 in Melitopol, Aleksandrovsk Governorate, Ukrainian State [now Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Andzamb tchanachum em (1958), Rasskazy o Lenine (1958) and Prolog (1956). She was married to Nikolay Kryuchkov. She died on 25 October 2003 in Moscow, Russia.
- Zhanna Prokhorenko was born on 11 May, 1940, in Poltava, Ukraine, Soviet Union (now Poltava, Ukraine). Her father, Trofim Prokhorenko, an Air Force officer, was killed in WWII, when she was a one-year-old baby. She was brought up by single mother and went to school in Leningrad. Young Zhanna Prokhorenko studied acting at the acting studio of Leningrad Palace of Pioneers. There she was scouted by Moscow Art Theatre and moved to Moscow. At age nineteen, she was cast by director Grigoriy Chukhray in Ballad of a Soldier (1959) opposite Vladimir Ivashov. The movie won Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, and Zhanna Prokhorenko shot to international fame. In 1960, she toured the USA presenting the film to American audiences. At that time, Moscow Art Theatre had a strict policy against stage actors who switch to movies, so Zhanna Prokhorenko was fired. She took the acting class of Sergey Gerasimov at Soviet State Institute of Cinema (VGIK), graduating in 1964 as film actress.
Zhanna Prokhorenko was married twice. Her first husband was director Evgeniy Vasilev and the couple had one daughter, Yekaterina Vasilyeva, and granddaughter, Maryana Spivak. Her second husband, writer Artur Makarov, was killed by burglars in her lavish Moscow apartment in 1995, while Zhanna Prokhorenko was away. The murderer was never found. Zhanna Prokhorenko suffered from depression and went into seclusion in a small village away from Moscow. She died of a chronic illness, on 1 August, 2011, in a Moscow hospital, and was laid to rest in Khovanskoe Cemetery in Moscow, Russia. - Antonina Maksimova was born on 7 November 1916 in Tula, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Othello (1956), Ballad of a Soldier (1959) and Mayakovsky itskeboda ase... (1958). She died on 4 October 1986 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
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Zinaida Kirienko was born on 9 July 1933 in Makhachkala, Dagestan ASSR, RSFSR, USSR [now Republic of Dagestan, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Quiet Flows the Don (1957), Kazaki (1961) and Tikhiy Don II (1958). She was married to Valery Alekseevich Tarasevsky. She died on 12 February 2022 in Moscow, Russia.- Actress
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Nina Alisova was born on 16 December 1918 in Kiev, Ukraine. She was an actress, known for The Rainbow (1944), Dursun (1941) and Without Dowry (1937). She died on 12 October 1996 in Moscow, Russia.- Iya Savvina is a Soviet and Russian actress of Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT).
She was born Iya Sergeevna Savvina on March 2, 1936, in Voronezh, Russia, Soviet Union (now Russia). From 1954 - 1958 she studied Journalism at Moscow University, graduating in 1958 as a journalist. While a student, Savvina was active in student drama club of Moscow University. There she was spotted by casting directors from Lenfilm studios and made her film debut in Leningrad: Savvina shot to fame with the leading role opposite Aleksey Batalov in The Lady with the Dog (1960) by director Iosif Kheifits. From 1960 - 1977 Iya Savvina was member of the Mossoveta theatre in Moscow. There her stage partners were such actors as Rostislav Plyatt, Georgi Zhzhyonov, and Aleksandr Lazarev among others.
Since 1977 Iya Savvina has been a permanent member of the troupe at Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). There her stage partners were such renown Russian actors as Olga Androvskaya, Angelina Stepanova, Mark Prudkin, Anastasiya Georgievskaya, Vasili Toporkov, Mikhail Bolduman, Pavel Massalsky, and the next generation of MKhAT actors - Oleg Efremov, Tatyana Doronina, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Oleg Tabakov, Alla Pokrovskaya, Kira Golovko, Tatyana Lavrova, Iya Savvina, Nina Gulyaeva, Elena Panova, Darya Moroz, Olga Litvinova, Natalya Rogozhkina, Ekaterina Semyonova, Olga Yakovleva, Raisa Maksimova, Irina Miroshnichenko, Evgeniya Dobrovolskaya, Kristina Babushkina, Anastasiya Voznesenskaya, Andrey Myagkov, Stanislav Lyubshin, Vladimir Kashpur, Vladlen Davydov, Viktor Sergachyov, Vyacheslav Nevinnyy, Evgeniy Kindinov, Vladimir Krasnov, Sergei Desnitsky, Dmitriy Nazarov, Sergey Sazontev, Avangard Leontev, Igor Vasilev, Igor Vernik, Sergei Sosnovsky, Mikhail Porechenkov, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Valeri Khlevinsky, Aleksei Agapov, Valeriy Troshin, Mikhail Trukhin, Eduard Chekmazov, Aleksey Kravchenko, and Evgeniy Mironov among others. In the 1970s - 1990s Savvina made her best known stage appearances in Anton Chekhov's classic plays. She shone as Anfisa in 'Tri Sestry' (aka.. The Three Sisters), and as Sharlotta in 'Vishnevy sad' (aka.. The Cherry Orchard). She also made acclaimed performances as Sofia opposite Natalya Tenyakova in 'Rozhdestvenskie grezy' (aka.. Christmas dreams) by director Pyotr Shteyn, and as Khlestova in Aleksandr Griboyedov's 'Gore ot Uma' (aka.. Woe From Wit).
Iya Savvina was designated People's Actress of the USSR. She was awarded the State Prize of the USSR twice (1983, 1990), and received numerous awards from the Soviet and Russian government. - Tatiana Lavrova was born Tatiana Evgenyevna Andrikanis, on June 7, 1938, in Moscow, USSR (now Moscow, Russia). Her father, Evgeni Andrikanis, was a cameraman and film director. From 1955 - 1959, Lavrova studied acting at Studio of Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT), graduating as an actress in 1959. That same year she became a member of the troupe at MKhAT. There she made her stage debut as Nina Zarechnaya in Chaika (aka.. The Seagull), a classic play by Chekhov. From 1961 - 1978 she was a member of the troupe at Sovremennik Theatre in Moscow, but then she eventually returned to MKhAT. Lavrova shot to fame with her film debut as Lyolya, a female lead in Nine Days of One Year (1962) by director Mikhail Romm. Her stage performances were marked with passion and control, making her one of the most acclaimed performers in classic plays by Anton Chekhov. Tatiana Lavrova was designated People's Artis of Russia (1988). She died of natural causes on May 16, 2007, in Moscow, Russia.
- Elza Radzina was born on 10 February 1917 in Kharkov, Russian Empire [now Kharkiv, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Teatris (1978), King Lear (1970) and Tayna chyornykh drozdov (1983). She died on 18 August 2005 in Riga, Latvia.
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Lidiya Smirnova was born on 13 February 1915 in Tobolsk, Russian Empire [now Tyumen Oblast, Russia]. She was an actress and writer, known for U nikh est Rodina (1950), Moya lyubov (1940) and White Sun of the Desert (1970). She died on 25 July 2007 in Moscow, Russia.- Lyudmila Savelyeva is a Russian actress known as Natasha Rostova in epic film War and Peace (1965), a powerful adaptation of the eponymous masterpiece by Lev Tolstoy.
She was born Lyudmila Mikhailovna Savelyeva on 24 January 1942, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), while the city suffered the heroic Siege of Leningrad during WWII. From 1950 to 1962 she studied acting and ballet at the prestigious Vaganovoy Academy of Russian Ballet, graduating in 1962 as ballerina. That same year she became member of the Kirov Ballet at Mariinsky Theatre in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). She made her film debut in Sleeping beauty (1964).
Savelyeva shot to fame as Natasha Rostova in epic film War and Peace (1965) by director Sergey Bondarchuk. The eight-hour epic became the most expensive film ever made, War and Peace (1965) was produced over seven years, from 1961 to 1968, at an estimated cost of $100,000,000 (about one billion dollars adjusted for inflation in 2010). The film set several records, such as involving over three hundred professional actors from several countries and also tens of thousands extras from the Red Army in filming of the two-hour-long episode about the historic Battle of Borodino against the Napoleon's invasion, making it the largest battle scene ever filmed.
Savelyeva's natural beauty and effortless style won her numerous accolades form international critics. She was chosen by the Soviet Union's communist government to represent the country at various film festivals across the world. In 1969, Savelyeva was sent to the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood to represent War and Peace (1965) which won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. A few days later, when Savelyeva brought the Oscar back to Moscow, she was met by members of the Soviet government who took the Oscar away from the filmmakers.
After co-starring in a few less successful movies, Savelyeva disappeared form public view during the 90s. She re-emerged after a ten-year hiatus appearing in Nezhnyy vozrast (2000) and later appeared as Countess Scherbatskaya in _"Anna Karenina" (2009 TV mini-series)_.
Outside of her acting career, Lyudmila Savelyeva is known as a collector of rare books, having amassed a significant private library. She has been married to fellow actor Aleksandr Zbruev, and the couple is living in Moscow, Russia. - Actress
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Larisa Kadochnikova was born on 30 August 1937 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress and director, known for Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965), Vechir na Ivana Kupala (1968) and Mechtat i zhit (1975). She was previously married to Yuri Ilyenko.- Tatyana Bestayeva was born on 13 June 1937 in Stalinir, South Ossetian AO, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Tskhinval, South Ossetia]. She was an actress, known for Matros s Komety (1958), Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) and Roman i Francheska (1961). She was married to Kirill, Aleksei Gabrilovich and Evgeny Stolyarov. She died on 23 October 2021.
- Natalya Arinbasarova was born on 24 September 1946 in Frunze, Kirghiz SSR, USSR [now Bishkek, Chuy, Kyrgyzstan]. She is an actress, known for The First Teacher (1965), Jamilya (1969) and Ulan (1977).
- Darkul Kuyukova was born on 29 October 1919 in Tokoldosh, Pishpek uyezd, Semirechye Oblast, Turkestan ASSR, RSFSR [now Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan]. She was an actress, known for Dzhura (1964), Jamilya (1969) and Heat (1963). She died on 20 March 1997 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
- Marianna Vertinskaya is a Russian stage and film actress.
She was born Marianna Aleksandrovna Vertinskaya, on July 28, 1943, on a train going to Shanghai, China. Her father, Aleksandr Vertinskiy was a legendary White Russian émigré, who was a popular actor, singer and songwriter. Her mother, Lidiya Vertinskaya (née Lidia Vladimirovna Tsirgvava), was also a Russian émigré who was born into a Georgian-Russian family in Kharbin, and her junior sister, Anastasiya Vertinskaya, was born in 1944, in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union.
Young Marianna Vertinskaya had a happy childhood together with her sister, Anastasia. She was brought up in a multi-lingual family where she enjoyed an intellectually stimulating environment, and a highly cultural atmosphere of her parents circle. Marianna Vertinskaya was fond of her father, who invested much of his talent and energy in his daughter's education. Her famous father died when Marianna was 15, and she suffered from emotional trauma that cast influence on her youth. From 1962 - 1966 she studied acting under A. Borisov at the Shchukin Theatrical School of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow, graduating in 1966, as an actress.
Since 1966 Marianna Vertinskaya has been a member of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. There her stage partners were such actors as Mikhail Ulyanov, Ruben Simonov, Vladimir Etush, Varvara Popova, Irina Kupchenko, Natalya Tenyakova, Yuliya Borisova, Lyudmila Maksakova, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Nina Ruslanova, Ekaterina Raykina, Darya Peshkova, Elena Dobronravova, Nikolai Gritsenko, Vasiliy Lanovoy, Yuriy Yakovlev, Vyacheslav Shalevich, Andrei Abrikosov, Grigori Abrikosov, Nikolai Timofeyev, Aleksandr Grave, Evgeniy Karelskikh, and Sergey Makovetskiy among others.
Marianna Vertinskaya shone in the title role in the legendary 1963 re-creation of Vakhtangov's production of Carlo Gozzi's comedy 'Princess Turandot'. She also made memorable appearances in Dostoevsky's 'Idiot', in Moliere's 'Meshchanin vo dvoryansyve', and in other plays at the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. Marianna Vertinskaya was designated Honorable Actress of Russia. She is living and working in Moscow, Russia. - Marina Kartsivadze is known for Falling Leaves (1966), Once Upon a Time There Was a Singing Blackbird (1970) and Brigands-Chapter VII (1996).
- Mayya Bulgakova was an Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1969), People's Artist of the RSFSR (7.01.1977). The parents named the girl Mayya because she was born on May 19. Her father was a military man. Besides her, there were three children in the family - two brothers and a sister. Mayya's happy childhood ended on June 22, 1941. Grigory Bulgakov went to the front, followed by his eldest son Boris. They died almost simultaneously, in August of the 41st. The family experienced all the horror of the first days of the war. Fleeing from the Nazis, the Bulgakov family reached Kramatorsk. Here lived Mayya's aunt, who worked at the plant. The Germans were very close, the plant was urgently evacuated to Siberia. With the factory workers, the Mayya's family also went to the evacuation to remote Irkutsk. Siberia warmed the evacuees, did not let to die, but as soon as the Soviet troops liberated Kramatorsk, the Bulgakovs returned to their homeland. There, Mayya graduated from high school. Mayya decided to try her luck to become an actress. She came to Moscow and entered VGIK (workshop of Boris Bibikov and Olga Pyzhova). In 1955 she received a diploma with honors and in the same year she received an offer by director Grigory Roshal to appear in the film "Volnitsa". About Bulgakova talked as about a gifted actress. She did not have to suffer without roles. Maya Bulgakova worked easily, with enthusiasm, the directors were always happy with her, but one by one they invited Bulgakov ... to an episode. Actress, starring mainly in small roles, waited for her time and in full power revealed her talent in Larisa Shepitko's film "Wings." She died after a car accident on October 7, 1994. She was buried in the 6th section of the Rakitki cemetery (Moscow), next to her husband, whom she survived only for three months.
- Nonna Mordyukova, one of the foremost actresses of the Soviet Cinema, was frequently cast as a Russian peasant woman.
She was born Noyabrina (Nonna) Viktorovna Mordyukova on the 25th of November 1925 into a Cossack family in Konstantinovka settlement, Donetsk province, Ukraine, Soviet Union (now Ukraine). Her father was Viktor Konstantinovich Mordyukov. Her mother was Irina Petrovna Mordyukova. Young Nonna Mordyukova was fond of movies and had a dream of becoming an actress. In the 1930s she moved to Krasnodar province in Southern Russia, where her mother worked as chairwoman of kolkhoz - a collective farm. There Nonna Mordyukova survived the Nazi occupation during the Second World War.
From 1945 to 1950 she studied acting at Soviet State Institute of Cinema (VGIK) under Boris Bibikov and Olga Pyzhova. While studying in Moscow she made her film debut as Ulyana Gromova, the female lead in The Young Guard (1948), a patriotic movie about children in anti-fascist resistance. Mordyukova became instant celebrity in the Soviet Union and was awarded the State Stalin's Prize for the role. In the following string of movies she became typecast as a peasant woman, and eventually established herself as an epitome of strong willed Russian woman.
After having two decades of stellar career in Soviet propaganda films, Mordyukova starred as Klavdia Vavilova in Komissar (1967), a Red Army cavalry commissar, who is waylaid by an unexpected pregnancy. She stays with a Jewish family to give birth and is softened somewhat by the experience of family life. Made in 1967, the film was censored for 20 years, and director Aleksandr Askoldov was prosecuted by the Soviet communist party. Only during Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost the film was released to public and won several international awards, such as the Silver Bear at the Berlinale 1988. The reason for the Soviet censorship was strictly political: this is a pro-semitic film based on the story by Vasiliy Grossman that shows the unofficial view on communist occupation of Ukraine.
Mordyukova gained much acclaim for the supporting role as Superintendant Barbara Plyushch in The Diamond Arm (1969), the most popular Russian comedy of all time. In it, Mordyukova satirized a typical Soviet-style apartment manager, a woman of small mind, but with a big voice. Her other works of interest include: Prostaya istoriya (1960), Predsedatel (1964), War and Peace (1965) by director Sergey Bondarchuk, and Russkoye pole (1972), by director Nikolai Moskalenko, where she co-starred opposite her son, Vladimir Tikhonov.
During the 70s and 80s, she remained one of the most popular actresses in the Soviet Union. In 1992, she was included in the top ten actresses of the 20th century according to the British Cinema Encyclopedia "Who is who." After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mordyukova had a slowdown in her career. During the last 15 years of her life, she was cast only in three films : Luna Park (1992), Shirli-Myrli, and her last work in Mama (1999). At that time, she wrote the book of memoirs "Ne plach, kazachka" (Don't Cry, Cossack Woman). In the course of her film career that lasted over 50 years, she played over 60 leading and supporting roles in Soviet film and television productions.
Nonna Mordyukova was designated People's actress of the USSR (1974). She was awarded the State Prizes of the USSR and Russia, and received numerous decorations from the Soviet and Russian governments. She was married to her classmate, actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov and the couple had one son, Vladimir Tikhonov. Nonna Mordyukova died of a hear failure and lung disease on July 6, 2008, in a Moscow hospital, and was laid to rest in Kuntsevskoe cemetery, Moscow, Russia. - Sofiko Chiaureli was born on 21 May 1937 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. She was an actress, known for The Color of Pomegranates (1969), Rats ginakhavs, vegar nakhav (1965) and Chveni ezo (1956). She was married to Giorgi Shengelaia and Kote Makharadze. She died on 2 March 2008 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
- Valentina Telichkina was born on 10 January 1945 in Krasnoe, Arzamasskiy rayon, Gorkovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Russia]. She is an actress, known for The Seagull (1972), Bolshoy (2017) and It Can't Be! (1975). She is married to Vladimir Gudkov. They have one child.
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Inna Mikhailovna Churikova was born on October 5, 1943, in Belebey, near Ufa, Bashkiria Republic, Russia (at that time USSR). Her parents were from peasant families. Her father, Mikhail Kuzmich Churikov, was a veteran of the Second World War, he worked at Academy of Agriculture. Her mother, Elisaveta Zakharovna (nee Mantrova), was a Ph.D in Biochemistry. Young Inna Churikova was brought up in Moscow by her mother. During her school years she was fond of theatre and attended an acting class at Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow. From 1960 - 1965 she attended Schepkin Theatrical School at Maly Theatre, graduating in 1965 as an actress.
In 1961 Churikova made her big screen debut in 'Tuchi nad Borskom', then she played bit parts in 'Ya shagayu po Moskve' and in several other films. She shot to fame with the leading role as Tanya Tetkina in _V ogne broda net (1968)_ by director Gleb Panfilov. Churikova's next role in The Beginning (1970), as Pasha Stroganova, a provincial amateur actress who is invited to play Joan of Arc in a big film, was arguably her best work in film. After having a big success with 'Nachalo', Churikova and her husband, director Gleb Panfilov, worked on development of an epic film about Joan of Arc, but their work on the project was obstructed by the Soviet officials. However, Churikova continued her successful film career. In 1984 she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival for the leading role as Vera in 'Voenno-polevoy roman', by director Petr Todorovsky. She starred as Vera in 'God Sobaki', and as Asya in Ryaba, My Chicken (1994), among her other film works.
Since 1974 Inna Churikova has been a member of the troupe at Lenkom Theatre in Moscow under directorship of Mark Zakharov. There her stage partners were such actors as Nikolay Karachentsov, Gennadi Khazanov, Oleg Yankovskiy, Leonid Bronevoy, Aleksandr Abdulov, Armen Dzhigarkhanian, Aleksandr Zbruev, and other notable Russian actors. Among Churikova's most memorable stage performances were such roles as Sara in 'Ivanov' and as Arkadina in 'Seagull', both plays by Anton Chekhov. She also appeared as Ophelia in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', and as Commissar in Vishnevsky's 'Optimisticheskaya tragedia', among her other stage works.
Inna Churikova has been loved by the public and earned critical acclaim for her range and effortless style. Churikova was designated Peoples Artist of the USSR (1991) and People's Artist of Russia. She was awarded the Golden Mask, and also received the State Prize of Russia (1985) and the Stanislavsky Prize for her contribution to theatre and film. She is residing in Moscow, Russia.- Irine Jandieri was born on 10 November 1940. She is an actress, known for Once Upon a Time There Was a Singing Blackbird (1970).
- Zinaida Maksimovna Sharko was born on May 14, 1929, in Rostov-na-Donu, Russia, Soviet Union. Her father, named Maksim Sharko, was a firefighter. From 1947-1951 she studied acting under Boris Zon and graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinematography. From 1951-1956 she worked as an actress with various theatre companies in Leningrad. Sharko made her film debut in 1954, in 'My s vami gde-to vstrechalis' (We've Met Before Somewhere) as a partner of a famous Russian comedian Arkady Raykin.
Since 1956 Zinaida Sharko has been a permanent member of the legendary troupe of Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) under directorship of Georgi Tovstonogov. Sharko worked with Tovstonogov for 33 years. After the death of Tovstonogov, Sharko continued her work with an outstanding ensemble of actors at BDT. There her stage partners were such stars as Oleg Basilashvili, Tatyana Doronina, Alisa Freyndlikh, Lyudmila Makarova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Valentina Kovel, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Sergey Yurskiy, Kirill Lavrov, Oleg Borisov, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Yefim Kopelyan, Evgeniy Lebedev, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Pavel Luspekayev, Nikolay Trofimov, Georgiy Shtil, and many other remarkable Russian actors. Among Sharko's best known stage works are her roles in "Tri sestry" (The Three Sisters) by Anton Chekhov (1968), "Kholstomer" (Story of a Horse) by Lev Tolstoy, and "Revizor" (Inspector-General) by Nikolay Gogol.
Zinaida Sharko continues a busy acting career on stage and in film. Her latest film work was in 'Teatralny Roman', a TV series based on the eponymous book by Mikhail A. Bulgakov. Sharko was honored with the title of People's Artist of the USSR. She received numerous awards and decorations for his works on stage and in film. Her filmography includes over 30 roles, she also played over 100 roles on stage. Sharko is living in St. Petersburg, Russia. - Actress
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Natalya Bondarchuk was born on 10 May 1950 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress and director, known for Solaris (1972), Odna lyubov dushi moyey (2007) and Krasnoe i chernoe (1976). She is married to Nikolay Burlyaev. They have one child.- Lidiya Fedoseeva-Shukshina was born on 25 September 1938 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Twelve Chairs (1977), Pozovi menya v dal svetluyu (1978) and Little Tragedies (1980). She has been married to Bari Alibasov since 20 November 2018. She was previously married to Marek Mozejewski, Mikhail Agranovich, Vasiliy Shukshin and Vyacheslav Voronin.
- Mariya Skvortsova was born on 4 April 1911 in Turino, Tula Governorate, Russian Empire [now Tula Oblast, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Esli by znat... (1993), Ekipazh (1980) and Odinokim predostavlyaetsya obshchezhitiye (1984). She died on 1 December 2000 in Moscow, Russia.
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Margarita Terekhova is a popular Russian actress best known for her roles in Mirror (1975) by director Andrei Tarkovsky and in the popular TV series 'The Dog in the Manger' (1977) and 'D'Artanyan i tri mushketyora' (1978).
She was born Margarita Borisovna Terekhova on August 25, 1942, in Turinsk, Sverdlovsk region, USSR (now Russia). From 1959 - 1961 she studied at Tashkent State University, then studied acting at Shchukin Theatrical School of Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow, graduating in 1964 as an actress. Since 1964 Margarita Terekhova has been member of the troupe at Theatre of Mossoveta in Moscow. There her stage partners were such actors as Faina Ranevskaya, Vera Maretskaya, Valentina Talyzina, Olga Ostroumova, 'Larisa Kuznetsova', Rostislav Plyatt, Yuri Zavadsky, Georgi Zhzhyonov, Leonid Markov, Mikhail Kozakov, Sergey Yurskiy, Valentin Gaft, Georgiy Taratorkin, Anatoliy Adoskin, 'Gennadi Bortnikov', Evgeniy Steblov and other notable Russian actors.
Margarita Terekhova is living in Moscow, Russia.- Evgeniya Glushenko was born on 4 September 1952 in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Vlyublyon po sobstvennomu zhelaniyu (1982), Unfinished Piece for the Player Piano (1977) and Live and Remember (2008).
- Antonina Nikolaevna Shuranova was born on April 30, 1936, in Sevastopol, Crimea, USSR (now in Crimea, Ukraine). She was one of three sisters raised by a single mother. Her father, named Nikolai Shuranov, was a Navy officer; he died when she was 3 years old. Her mother moved with three daughters to Leningrad just before the beginning of the siege of Leningrad during the Second World War. The Shuranovs were lucky because they were evacuated out of Leningrad at the very beginning of the siege. They returned to Leningrad after the end of WWII.
Young Shuranova was fond of art. She studied painting at children's studio at the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). There she had her first acting experience at the Hermitage Theatre. During the 1950's she studied at Leningrad Horticultural College; after graduation she worked at the Leningrad Department of Parks and Gardens for three years. From 1958-1962 Shuranova studied at the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinematography with professor Tatiana Soinikova, and graduated with honors as an actress.
From 1962-1988 she was a permanent member of the Bryantsev Theatre for Young Audience in St. Petersburg. There she worked with the renown theatrical director Zinovi Korogodsky. During the 1960's and 1970's she was at the height of her film career. In 1976, Shuranova left her husband, a medical doctor, and married her stage partner actor Aleksandr Khochinsky. Their home at Pokrovsky area in St. Petersburg was an informal meeting place for the St. Petersburg cultural milieu.
Shuranova shot to fame in 1966 after her film debut as Princess Mariya opposite Anatoli Ktorov in War and Peace (1965) by director Sergey Bondarchuk. She made a remarkable performance as Nadezhda von Mekk opposite Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy in _Chaikovskiy (1969)_. Shuranova was designated the title of People's Artist of Russia (1980). She was awarded the "Golden Seashell" for her role in Unfinished Piece for the Player Piano (1977). She played over 20 roles in film and television, and also played over 50 roles on stage.
From 1995-2003 Shuranova was a permanent member of the troupe at Theatre of Satire on Vasilevsky in St. Petersburg. Her last work on stage was her remarkable performance in the role of Vassa Zheleznova in the eponymous play by Maxim Gorky. Antonina Shuranova died on February 5, 2003, in St. Petersburg, Russia and was laid to rest in Serafimovskoe Cemetery in st. Petersburg, Russia. - Actress
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Lyudmila Gurchenko was a popular actress in the Soviet Union during the 1950s - 1980s, she was best known for Carnival Night (1956), Five Evenings (1979) and Siberiade (1979).
She was born Lyudmila Markovna Gurchenko on 12 November 1935, in Kharkov, Ukrainian Soviet Republic of the USSR. She studied acting at the VGIK (Soviet State Institute for CInema), graduating from the class of Sergey Gerasimov in 1956. That same year she shot to fame in the Soviet Union, aftr delivering a stellar performance as singer Lenochka Krylova in Carnival Night (1956), by director Eldar Ryazanov.
Gurchenko's film partners were such Russian stars, as Oleg Borisov, Sergei Shakurov, Aleksandr Abdulov, Oleg Basilashvili, Mikhail Boyarskiy, Igor Ilyinsky, Yuriy Nikulin, Armen Jigarhanian, Oleg Tabakov, Stanislav Lubshin, Andrey Mironov and Aleksandr Mikhaylov among others.
Lyudmila Gurchenko was married five times and had one daughter with her first husband, Boris Andronikashvili. She died of a pulmonary failure on 30 March 2011, at age 75, and was laid to rest in Moscow, Russia.- Actress
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Alisa Brunovna Freindlikh was born on December 8, 1934, in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). Her father, named Bruno Frejndlikh, was a notable actor. Alisa Freindlikh graduated from Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinematography in 1957.
From 1961-1983 Alisa Freindlikh was a permanent member of the Leningrad Theatre of Lensovet under directorship of her husband Igor Vladimirov. She was the leading star of that theatre and her stage partners were such actors as Georgi Zhzhyonov, Aleksey Petrenko, Sergey Migitsko, Anatoliy Ravikovich, Mikhail Devyatkin, Mikhail Boyarskiy, Larisa Luppian, Galina Nikulina, Vera Ulik, Leonid Dyachkov, Valeri Kuzin, Yefim Kamenetsky, Leila Kirakosian, Aleksandr Estrin, Petr Shelokhonov, and other notable Russian actors.
Alisa Freindlikh made a stellar film career in collaboration with director Eldar Ryazanov. She also brilliantly played a supporting role in A Cruel Romance (1984), a Ryazanov's adaptation of the 19th century story by Aleksandr Ostrovskiy. In 1983 Alisa Freindlikh was designated the People's Artist of the USSR. That same year she divorced from her husband Igor Vladimirov, and soon left the Theatre of Lensovet.
Since 1984 Alisa Freindlikh has been a permanent member of Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) under directorship of Georgi Tovstonogov. There her stage partners were such stars as Kirill Lavrov, Oleg Basilashvili, Lyudmila Makarova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Zinaida Sharko, Valentina Kovel, Sergey Yurskiy, Nikolay Trofimov, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Evgeniy Lebedev, Georgiy Shtil, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Vadim Medvedev, Yuriy Demich, Leonid Nevedomsky, Gennadiy Bogachyov, Andrey Tolubeev, and many other notable Russian actors.
In 2004, on her 70th birthday, Alisa Freindlikh was visited in her home by the Russian president Vladimir Putin. She was decorated for her achievements as an actress in film and theatre. Alisa Freindlikh is residing in St. Petersburg, Russia.- Actress
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Natalya Andreychenko was born on 3 May 1956 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress and writer, known for Wartime Romance (1983), Meri Poppins, do svidaniya (1984) and Ledi Makbet Mtsenskogo uezda (1989).- Larisa Kuznetsova was born on 25 August 1959. She is an actress, known for Close to Eden (1991), Five Evenings (1979) and Oci ciornie (1987).
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Elena Solovey is a Russian-American film and stage actress best known for her works with director Nikita Mikhalkov.
She was born Elena Yakovlevna Solovey on February 24, 1947, in Neustrelitz, East Germany. Her parents met in Berlin at the end of the Second World War. Her father, Yakov Solovey, was an artillery officer in the Red Army. Her mother was a medical nurse. Young Elena Solovey lived in Germany until the age of 4, then moved to Novosibirsk, Siberian Russia, where her father continued his military career, then moved to Moscow.
Elena Solovey had a dream of becoming an actress. She was fond of art, music, films and theatre, and attended a school of music in addition to her high school. Eventually she became a music teacher at a Moscow school, after failing to enter the Soviet State Institute of Cinema (VGIK). However, she was persistent and determined in pursuit of her dream, and a year later, she was admitted to VGIK, studied at the acting class of Boris Babochkin, graduating in 1970 as an actress.
Elena Solovey made her film debut in short films during the 1960s, while a VGIK student. In 1969 she played her first serious role as Clarice in Korol-olen (1970) by director Pavel Arsyonov. In 1970 she was invited to the troupe of Maly Theatre in Moscow. There Solovey was cast as Nina in "The Seagull" by Chekhov, albeit she followed her heart and married a Leningrad artist, Yuri Pugach, and the couple settled in Leningrad. There Solovey worked at Lenfilm Studios.
During the 1970s Solovey played her best known roles, such as Olga Vosnesenskaya (alluding to Vera Kholodnaya), opposite Rodion Nakhapetov in A Slave of Love (1976), as Sofia opposite Aleksandr Kalyagin in Unfinished Piece for the Player Piano (1977), and as Olga opposite Oleg Tabakov in A Few Days from the Life of I.I. Oblomov (1980), all films by director Nikita Mikhalkov.
From 1983 - 1991 Elena Solovey was member of the troupe at Theatre of Lensoveta in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia. There she appeared in leading and supporting roles in Russian and international stage production. Her last work on stage in St. Petersburg was the acclaimed production of "Foto-finish" written and directed by Peter Ustinov. There director Peter Ustinov cast Elena Solovey as a co-star opposite Petr Shelokhonov as the male lead, supported by Anna Aleksakhina, Roman Gromadsky, and other notable Russian actors.
In the fall of 1991, Solovey emigrated from Russia, and settled in New Jersey with her husband, two children and a grand-daughter. She appeared in Russian films, worked for Russian radio in New York and played in several stage productions of "Bluzhdayushcie zvezdy" (aka.. "Wandering stars") troupe at the Russian area of Brighton Beach. In 2007 she appeared in supporting role as Kalina in We Own the Night (2007), a criminal drama about the Russian mafia.
Elena Solovey was designated People's Actor of Russia. Since 1990s she has been teaching children of Russian emigrants at "Etude" acting school in New Jersey, USA.- Zeinab Botsvadze was born on 13 August 1944. She was an actress, known for Erti tsis kvesh (1961), Repentance (1984) and Gandzi (1961). She died on 6 July 1994.
- Ia Ninidze was born on 8 September 1960 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR [now Republic of Georgia]. She is an actress, known for Heavenly Swallows (1976), Repentance (1984) and The First Swallow (1975).
- Larisa Guzeeva was born on 23 May 1959 in Burtinskoe, Belyaevskiy rayon, Orenburgskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Graffiti (2006), Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Twentieth Century Approaches (1987) and A Cruel Romance (1984). She has been married to Igor Bukharov since 1999. They have one child. She was previously married to Ilya and Kakha Tolordava.
- Olga Mironova is known for Come and See (1985) and The Story of the Film 'Come and See' (1985).
- Nina Ruslanova was born on 5 December 1945 in Bogodukhov, Kharkovskaya oblast, Ukrainskaya SSR, USSR. She was an actress, known for Brief Encounters (1967), Nastroyshchik (2004) and Kitayskaya babushka (2010). She was married to Dmitriy Rudakov. She died on 21 November 2021 in Moscow, Russia.
- Queen of Soviet theater. Although Veriko (she was always called by her first name) acted in dozens of films, she did not get the same success as Nato Vachnadze. But she was first on the stage, from her twenties till her death. Her part from Monanieba (1987) by Abuladze became a cult favorite. 'Is this way to the temple?' her character asks a victim of the Soviet regime. These words were later taken as a motto of Perestrojka.
- Tamari Tsitsishvili was born on 19 December 1908. She was an actress, known for Dariko (1936), Qadjeti (1937) and Dagvianebuli sasidzo (1940). She died on 1 September 1988.
- Dudukhana Tserodze was born on 8 November 1918. She was an actress, known for Magdana's Donkey (1955), Dakarguli samotkhe (1937) and Mamluqi (1958). She died in 2000.
- Natalya Negoda was born on 12 November 1963 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Little Vera (1988), Buben, baraban (2009) and Back in the U.S.S.R. (1992).
- Lyudmila Zaytseva was born on 21 July 1946 in Vostochny, Krasnodar Krai, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Little Vera (1988), Zdravstvuy i proshchay (1973) and Letuchiy gollandets (1990). She was previously married to Gennadi Voronin.
- Maria Klenskaja was born on 29 January 1951 in Tartu, Estonian SSR, USSR [now Estonia]. She was an actress, known for Varastatud kohtumine (1989), Doktor Stockmann (1989) and Keskea rõõmud (1987). She was married to Aarne Üksküla. She died on 6 January 2022 in Estonia.