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1-50 of 58
- 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.- Mikhail Kuznetsov was born on 25 February 1918 in Bogorodsk, Moscow Governorate, RSFSR [now Noginsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Taras Shevchenko (1951), Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944) and Sinyaya tetrad (1964). He died on 23 August 1986 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Tatyana Okunevskaya was born on 3 March 1914 in Zavidovo, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Tver Oblast, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Davit Guramishvili (1946), Boule de suif (1934) and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1986). She was married to Boris Gorbatov and Dmitri Varlamov. She died on 15 May 2002 in Moscow, Russia.- Actor
- Writer
Sergey Stolyarov was born on 1 November 1911 in village Bezzubovo, Venyov uyezd, Tula Governorate, Russian Empire [now Serebryano-Prudsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor and writer, known for Far from Moscow (1950), Sadko (1953) and The Sword and the Dragon (1956). He died on 9 December 1969 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Vera Orlova was born on 27 May 1894 in Kukovo village, Ryazan Governorate, Russian Empire [now Moscow oblast, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Queen of Spades (1916), Nikolay Stavrogin (1915) and Tsar Nikolay II (1917). She died on 28 September 1977 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Igor Talankin was born on 3 October 1927 in Bogorodsk, Moscow Governorate, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Noginsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was a writer and director, known for Serge (1960), Vstuplenie (1963) and Tchaikovsky (1970). He was married to Lilia Mikhailovna. He died on 24 July 2010 in Moscow, Russia.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Nina Sazonova was born on 7 January 1917 in Konstantinovo, Vladimir Governorate, Russian Empire [now Moscow Oblast, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Prostaya istoriya (1960), Women (1966) and Zhivyot takoy paren (1964). She died on 1 March 2004 in Moscow, Russia.- 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. - Director
- Writer
- Animation Department
Vladimir Polkovnikov was born on 10 June 1906 in Teryayeva Sloboda, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Teryayevo, Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was a director and writer, known for Political Satire Magazine #1 (1938), Peacock's Tail (1946) and Little Gray Neck (1948). He died on 21 August 1982.- Ivan Ryzhov was born on 25 January 1913 in Zelyonaya Sloboda, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Kashchei the Immortal (1945), Ekipazh (1980) and Skaz pro to, kak tsar Pyotr arapa zhenil (1976). He died on 16 March 2004 in Moscow, Russia.
- Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw heavy combat during the Battle of Stalingrad in the Second World War.
Born to a peasant family near Tula, Chuikov earned his living as a factory worker from the age of 12. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, he joined the Red Army and distinguished himself during the Russian Civil War. After graduating from the Frunze Military Academy, Chuikov worked as a military attach and intelligence officer in China and the Russian Far East. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Chuikov commanded the 4th Army during the Soviet invasion of Poland, and the 9th Army during the Winter War against Finland. In December 1940, he was again appointed military attach to China in support of Chiang Kai-she and the Nationalists in the war against Japan.
In March 1942, Chuikov was recalled from China to defend against the German invasion of the Soviet Union. By September, he was assigned command of the 62nd Army in defense of Stalingrad. Tasked with holding the city at all costs, Chuikov adopted keeping the Soviet front-line positions as close to the Germans as physically possible. This served as an effective countermeasure against the Wehrmacht's combined-arms tactics, but by mid-November 1942 the Germans had captured most of the city after months of slow advance. In late November Chuikov's 62nd Army joined the rest of the Soviet forces in a counter-offensive, which led to the surrender of the German 6th Army in early 1943. After Stalingrad, Chuikov led his forces into Poland during Operation Bagration and the Vistula-Oder Offensive before advancing on Berlin. He personally accepted the unconditional surrender of German forces in Berlin on 2 May 1945.
After the war, Chuikov served as Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (1949-53), commander of the Kiev Military District (1953-60), Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of Defense (1960-64), and head of the Soviet Civil Defense Forces (1961-72). Chuikov was twice awarded the titles Hero of the Soviet Union (1944 and 1945) and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by the United States for his actions during the Battle of Stalingrad. In 1955, he was named a Marshal of the Soviet Union. Following his death in 1982, Chuikov was interred at the Stalingrad memorial at Mamayev Kurgan, which had been the site of heavy fighting. - Igor Gouzenko is popularly known as the man who 'started the Cold War'. He was a cypher clerk working in the Russian Embassy in Ottawa Canada when he defected on September 5, 1945. He lived the rest of his life in ambiguous obscurity in Ontario, living in fear of reprisals by Stalin's KGB. His identity and location could never be revealed. He appeared several times on television; notably on the Canadian programs THIS HOUR HAS SEVEN DAYS and FRONT PAGE CHALLENGE. He was introduced to the public during a radio interview with American Drew Pearson. In these public 'appearances ', he would always wear a pillowcase or a hood over his head.
- Nikolai Smirnov was born on 4 January 1924 in Baranovo, Mozhaysk uyezd, Moscow Governorate, RSFSR, USSR [now Ruzsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Quiet Flows the Don (1957), Tikhiy Don II (1958) and Ishchite i naydyote (1969). He died on 20 April 1994 in Russia.
- Anna Komolova was born on 31 January 1911 in Khvostovo, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Dmitrovsky Raion, Moscow Oblast, Russia]. She was an actress, known for The Snow Queen (1957), Shumi, gorodok (1940) and Staryy naezdnik (1941). She died on 13 May 2001 in Moscow, Russia.
- Director
- Writer
- Location Management
Ilya Kopalin was born on 2 August 1900 in village Pavlovskaya, Zvenigorod uyezd, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Istrinsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was a director and writer, known for Na Dunae (1940), Osvobozhdennaya Chekhoslovakiya (1945) and Den pobedivshey strany (1948). He died on 12 June 1976 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Actress
- Soundtrack
Yevgeniya Khanayeva was born on 2 January 1921 in Bogorodsk, Moscow Governorate, RSFSR [now Noginsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Rozygrysh (1977), Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980) and Staryy novyy god (1981). She died on 8 November 1987 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Konstantin Tyrtov was born on 6 March 1922 in Kalistovo, Moscow Governorate, RSFSR [now Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor, known for The Diamond Arm (1969), Private Ivan (1955) and Granitsa na zamke (1938). He died on 9 February 1998 in Moscow, Russia.
- Pyotr Lyubeshkin was born on 15 January 1913 in Lapino, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Po tonkomu ldu (1966), Afonya (1975) and Pozovi menya v dal svetluyu (1978). He died on 5 August 1990.
- Nikita Kondratyev was born on 29 December 1915 in Pavlovsky Posad, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Volga - Volga (1938), The Sound of Life (1961) and Proshchay, Amerika! (1949). He died on 16 August 1986 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Actor
- Director
Ivan Voronov was born on 19 January 1915 in village Milet, Bogorodsk uyezd, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Novyy Milet, Balashikhinsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor and director, known for The Day the Earth Froze (1959), Ekipazh (1980) and V kvadrate 45 (1956). He died on 6 August 2004 in Moscow, Russia.- Galina Sergeyeva was born on 2 February 1914 in village Nizhnie Kotly, Moscow uyezd, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Moscow, Russia]. She was an actress, known for Boule de suif (1934), Aktrisa (1943) and Myach i serdtse (1935). She was married to Ivan Kozlovsky. She died on 1 August 2000 in Moscow, Russia.
- Director
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Vladimir Kochetov was born on 11 June 1906 in Troparyovo, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was a director and actor, known for Svet v okne (1960), Im bylo devyatnadtsat (1960) and Chudak-chelovek (1962). He died on 12 February 1980.- Elena Dmitrievna Ponsova is Soviet actress and teacher. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1957).
She made her debut on stage in 1925. She graduated from the Theater School named after B.V. Shchukin (1928), since 1934 she taught there. Throughout life, Ponsova was the actress of MADT named after E. B. Vakhtangov. In 1936 she made her film debut, in addition to a number of characteristic roles, she worked a lot on sounding animated films. Acted in films. The most notable roles in the animation: Fox Alice (The Adventures of Pinocchio, 1959), Fairy Watchman (The Key, 1961), The Witch, Crow and Old Woman (Wild Swans, 1962), The Mouse (Thumbelina, 1964) .
In marriage with the artist Viktor Stanitsyn, was born her daughter Olga Stanitsyna-Geze, subsequently the leading actress of the Stanislavskiy Drama Theater. - Yuriy Medvedev was born on 1 April 1920 in Mytishchi, Moscow Governorate, Russian SFSR [now Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Plokhoy khoroshiy chelovek (1973), Amphibian Man (1961) and The Lady with the Dog (1960). He died on 19 July 1991 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fyodor Filippov was born on 14 June 1911 in Yegoryevsk, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire [now Moscow Oblast, Russia]. He was a director and assistant director, known for Khleb i rozy (1960), Pozdnyaya yagoda (1978) and Chelkash (1957). He died in 1988.