88 Notable Alumni of Russian State Institute of Performing Arts

Dmitriy Nagiev

Born in: Russia
Years: 1967-.. (age 59)
Occupations: television presenterradio personalitydisc jockeytelevision actorsinger
Biography: Dmitry Vladimirovich Nagiyev is a Russian actor, TV-host, musician, showman and radio host. In 1991, graduated from the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinema.

Danila Kozlovsky

Born in: Russia
Years: 1985-.. (age 41)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 2007
Occupations: stage actormodelactortelevision actordirector
Biography: Danila Valeryevich Kozlovsky is a Russian actor and director. His most famous roles in films include Vampire Academy and Soulless, as well as the TV series Vikings. During his career he achieved international popularity in Eastern European countries.

Konstantin Khabensky

Born in: Russia
Years: 1972-.. (age 54)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1990-1996
Occupations: stage actoractortelevision actorfilm actorpublic figure
Biography: Konstantin Yurievich Khabensky, PAR is a Russian actor of stage and film, director and philanthropist.

Ivan Urgant

Born in: Russia
Years: 1978-.. (age 48)
Occupations: television producerpresenterhumoristtelevision presenterradio personality
Biography: Ivan Andreyevich Urgant is a Russian show host, presenter and actor. His best known roles in film are Boris in the Yolki series and as Danila in Lucky Trouble. Between 2012 and 2022 he hosted Evening Urgant, a late-night talk show, but was suspended in February 2022 following his public rejection of the war in Ukraine. According to the 2008 and 2011 surveys, Urgant is Russia's most popular TV presenter. He is the chairman of the board of trustees of the Friends Charitable Foundation.

Mikhail Boyarsky

Born in: Russia
Years: 1949-.. (age 77)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1972
Occupations: stage actorsports fanguitaristfilm actorkeyboardist
Biography: Mikhail Sergeyevich Boyarsky is a Russian actor and singer. He is best known for playing swashbucklers in historical adventure films; the role of d'Artagnan in the 1978 Soviet adaptation of Alexander Dumas' Three Musketeers elevated Boyarsky to the nationwide fame.

Kseniya Rappoport

Born in: Russia
Years: 1974-.. (age 52)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 2000
Occupations: stage actorfilm directoractorfilm actor
Biography: Kseniya Aleksandrovna Rappoport is a Russian actress. She graduated in 2000 from Saint Petersburg Academy of Theatrical Arts and was immediately invited to join the Maly Drama Theatre. She played Nina Zarechnaya in The Seagull, Elena in Uncle Vania, and Sonia in La doppia ora.

Larisa Guzeyeva

Born in: Russia
Years: 1959-.. (age 67)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1984
Occupations: television presenteractorpresenter
Biography: Larisa Andreyevna Guzeyeva is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actress and television host. She is a Meritorious Artist of Russia and honored artist of the Russian Federation in 1994. She is a member of the public organization "Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation". She was awarded the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation in 2011.

Zara

Born in: Russia
Years: 1983-.. (age 43)
Occupations: public figuresingeractor
Biography: Zarifa Pashaevna Mgoyan, known as Zara (За́ра), is a Russian pop singer, actress, and social activist of Yezidi-Kurdish ethnicity. She was awarded the title of Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in 2016. She has recorded ten studio albums, and received several Golden Gramophone Award, and diplomas of the Pesnya goda Russian TV festival. As an actress, Zara is known for her roles in the "Streets of Broken Lights" (2001), "Spetsnaz 2" (2004), and "Favorsky" (2005) TV series, and the feature films "Pushkin. The Last Duel" (2006), and "White Sand" (2011).

Aleksandra Yakovleva

Born in: Russia
Years: 1957-2022 (aged 65)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1978
Occupations: actorrailway workerbusinesspersonpoliticianfilm director
Biography: Aleksandra Yakovleva was a Soviet and Russian actress and, later, a Russian rail transport executive.

Elizaveta Boyarskaya

Born in: Russia
Years: 1985-.. (age 41)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 2007
Occupations: actor
Biography: Elizaveta Mikhailovna Boyarskaya is a Russian stage and film actress. Honored Artists of the Russian Federation (2018).

Anna Kovalchuk

Born in: Germany
Years: 1977-.. (age 49)
Occupations: stage actoractor
Biography: Anna Leonidovna Kovalchuk is a Russian actress known for her roles in film, television, and theater. She gained widespread recognition for her performances in popular Russian television series and the critically acclaimed miniseries adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, The Master and Margarita.

Marina Neyolova

Born in: Russia
Years: 1947-.. (age 79)
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Marina Mstislavovna Neyolova is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress. She has appeared in 37 films since 1969. She was awarded the People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1987.

Nikolai Fomenko

Born in: Russia
Years: 1962-.. (age 64)
Occupations: manufacturersingerscreenwriterracing automobile drivershowman
Biography: Nikolay Vladimirovich Fomenko is a Russian musician, comic actor, professional motor racer, former president of Marussia Motors and former engineering director of Marussia F1.

Emmanuil Vitorgan

Born in: Azerbaijan
Years: 1939-.. (age 87)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1961
Occupations: actor
Biography: Emmanuil Gedeonovich Vitorgan is a Soviet, Russian film and theater actor, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1990). People's Artist of Russia (1998). He acted in over a hundred films.

Kirill Pletnev

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1979-.. (age 47)
Occupations: television actormanufactureractorfilm producerfilm editor
Biography: Kirill Vladimirovich Pletnyov is a Russian theater and film actor, film director, screenwriter, producer. Winner of the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival (2015) and Golden Eagle Award (2017).

Igor Sklyar

Born in: Russia
Years: 1957-.. (age 69)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1979
Occupations: singeractorguitarist
Biography: Igor Borisovich Sklyar is a Russian actor and singer. He has appeared in over 30 films since 1974. He starred in the 1994 film, The Year of the Dog, which won the Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.

Arkady Raikin

Born in: Latvia
Years: 1911-1987 (aged 76)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1935
Occupations: comedianconferenciertheatrical directorfilm directorhumorist
Biography: Arkady Isaakovich Raikin was a Soviet stand-up comedian, stage and film actor, theater director, screenwriter and satirist. He led the school of Soviet and Russian humorists for about half a century. He is the father of Konstantin Raikin.

Georgiy Zhzhonov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1915-2005 (aged 90)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1932-1935
Occupations: prose writermemoiristliterary scholarpublic figureactor
Biography: Georgiy Stepanovich Zhzhonov, was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor and writer. He is known for playing the spy Mikhail Tulyev in the "Resident" quartet of films, Beware of the Car (1966), The Hot Snow (1973), and many others, and was a popular actor. He was appointed People's Artist of the USSR in 1980.

Yan Tsapnik

Born in: Russia
Years: 1968-.. (age 58)
Occupations: actor
Biography: Yan Yurevich Tsapnik is a Soviet and Russian theatre and film actor. Yan has appeared in more than 200 films.

Olga Medynich

Born in: Russia
Years: 1981-.. (age 45)
Occupations: Instagram bloggeractorimpressionist
Biography: Olga Vladimirovna Medynich is a Russian theater, parody, and film actress.

Egor Druzhinin

Born in: Russia
Years: 1972-.. (age 54)
Occupations: choreographertheatrical directorfilm directordrama teachertelevision presenter
Biography: Egor Vladislavovich Druzhinin is а Russian actor, film director and choreographer. Laureate of the Golden Mask.

Ville Haapasalo

Born in: Finland
Years: 1972-.. (age 54)
Occupations: presentertelevision presenterentrepreneuractor
Biography: Ville Juhana Haapasalo is a Finnish stage and film actor who has worked in Finland and Russia. His acting career started in 1995, after he finished his studies in St. Petersburg. In 2003, he was honored with the State Prize of the Russian Federation for his role of Veikko in the film The Cuckoo directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin.

Vadim Demchog

Born in: Estonia
Years: 1963-.. (age 63)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1984
Occupations: screenwriterdirectortelevision actoractorradio personality
Biography: Vadim Viktorovich Demchog is a Russian theater and film actor, candidate of psychological sciences, teacher, creator of author projects on radio, television, the Internet and in the theater. He gained fame as a host of Frankie Show on the Silver Rain Radio. The author of more than 300 scenarios (part in co-authorship). He is the author of five books, the creator of the concept of Self-liberating Game, which unites the theory and practice of the world theater with transpersonal psychology. Currently, he directs the theatrical project Harlequinada. The most famous role of the venereologist Kupitman in the comedy series Interns. Vadim Demchog also became the voice of the character of the animated web series Mr. Freeman. Permanent speaker of the Summer Campus of the Presidential Academy in Tatarstan.

Yuliya Aug

Born in: Russia
Years: 1970-.. (age 56)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1993
Occupations: screenwriterfilm directoractortheatrical director
Biography: Yuliya Arturovna Aug is a Soviet and Russian actress. Her film credits include The Student, Ekaterina and Leto. Aug is part of the Gogol Center (theater of Kirill Serebrennikov) troupe.

Yuri Galtsev

Born in: Russia
Years: 1961-.. (age 65)
Occupations: humoristtelevision actorstand-up comedianclownvoice actor
Biography: Yuri Nikolayevich Galtsev is a Russian entertainer and clownery, TV presenter, parodist, singer, theater, film and television actor and Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (2003). Art Director of the Raikin Variety Theater in Saint Petersburg.

Ilya Reznik

Born in: Russia
Years: 1938-.. (age 88)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1962
Occupations: entrepreneurlyricistsongwriterpoetactor
Biography: Ilya Rahmielevich Reznik is a Russian poet and songwriter, People's Artist of Russia (2003). Honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts.

Darya Yurgens

Born in: Russia
Years: 1968-.. (age 58)
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Darya Georgievna Jurgens is a Russian actress most noted for her role in the film Brother 2 as prostitute Marilyn / Dasha. Until 2003, she was known as Darya Lesnikova. She has had a long career, both in stage, television, and film.

Maxim Leonidov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1962-.. (age 64)
Occupations: presentertelevision presenterfilm actoractorpoet
Biography: Maxim Leonidovich Leonidov is a Soviet and Russian musician, singer, actor, songwriter and TV presenter. He is known as one of the founders and members of the beat-quartet Sekret, and subsequently as a solo artist. In 1997, he won the Golden Gramophone Award.

Larisa Luppian

Born in: Uzbekistan
Years: 1953-.. (age 73)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1974
Occupations: television presenteractorpresenter
Biography: Larisa Reginaldovna Luppian is a Russian stage and film actress. She was awarded People's Artist of Russia in 1999. She has served as the artistic director of the Lensovet Theatre in St Petersburg since 2019.

Vasili Merkuryev

Born in: Russia
Years: 1904-1978 (aged 74)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1926
Occupations: theatrical directordrama teacheractoruniversity teacher
Biography: Vasili Vasilyevich Merkuryev was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, theater director and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1960). Stanislavsky State Prize of the RSFSR (1979 – posthumously).

Alexander Vasilyev

Born in: Russia
Years: 1969-.. (age 57)
Occupations: singersongwritersinger-songwritercomposerpoet
Biography: Alexander Georgievich Vasilyev is a singer, songwriter, and frontman of the Russian rock group "Splean". Vasilyev also released one solo album, and sometimes assisted other groups and artists.

Viktor Bychkov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1954-.. (age 72)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1982
Occupations: television presenteractorpresenter
Biography: Viktor Nikolayevich Bychkov is a Russian actor. He won a 2002 Golden Eagle Award and a 2004 State Prize of the Russian Federation.

Nikolay Olyalin

Born in: Russia
Years: 1941-2009 (aged 68)
Occupations: actortelevision actorscreenwriterfilm actorstage actor
Biography: Nikolay Vladimiriovich Olyalin was a Soviet-Ukrainian actor of Russian ethnicity.

Sergei Gerasimov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1906-1985 (aged 79)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1928
Occupations: playwrightfilm directoractorpedagogueteacher
Biography: Sergei Apollinariyevich Gerasimov was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. The oldest film school in the world, the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK), bears his name.

Yelena Drapeko

Born in: Kazakhstan
Years: 1948-.. (age 78)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1972
Occupations: actorpolitician
Biography: Yelena Grigoryevna Drapeko is a Russian theatre and film actress. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television shows since 1972. She is also a member of the State Duma since 2000.

Pavel Kadochnikov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1915-1988 (aged 73)
Occupations: theatrical directorfilm screenwriteruniversity teacherfilm directoractor
Biography: Pavel Petrovich Kadochnikov was a Soviet and Russian actor, film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1979 and Hero of Socialist Labour in 1985.

Sergey Rost

Born in: Russia
Years: 1965-.. (age 61)
Occupations: television presenterradio personalitypresentertelevision actoractor
Biography: Sergey Rost is a Russian actor, screenwriter, television and radio.

Aristarkh Livanov

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1947-.. (age 79)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1969
Occupations: actortelevision actor
Biography: Aristarkh Yevgenyevich Livanov is a Soviet and Russian theater actor. People's Artist of Russia (1999). The older brother of actor Igor Livanov.

Nikolay Cherkasov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1903-1966 (aged 63)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1926
Occupations: stage actoractorfilm actorpolitician
Biography: Nikolay Konstantinovich Cherkasov was a Soviet and Russian actor. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1947.

Tamara Makarova

Born in: Russia
Years: 1907-1997 (aged 90)
Occupations: screenwriterlectureranimatorpedagogueactor
Biography: Tamara Fyodorovna Makarova was a Soviet and Russian film actress and pedagogue. She was awarded the title to the People's Artist of the USSR (1950) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1982).

Elena Kondulainen

Born in: Russia
Years: 1958-.. (age 68)
Occupations: singeractor
Biography: Yelena Ivanovna Kondulainen is a Russian Ingrian actress, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (2002), and pop singer.

Yevgeny Leonov-Gladyshev

Born in: Lithuania
Years: 1952-.. (age 74)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1973
Occupations: actortelevision actorfilm director
Biography: Yevgeny Borisovich Leonov-Gladyshev is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor, and film director. He was awarded Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (1993) and People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2007).

Bruno Freindlich

Born in: Russia
Years: 1909-2002 (aged 93)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1931-1934
Occupations: actor
Biography: Bruno Arturovich Freindlich was a Soviet and Russian actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1974). His daughter Alisa Freindlich is also a famous actress.

Dmitry Astrakhan

Born in: Russia
Years: 1957-.. (age 69)
Occupations: actortelevision actortheatrical directorpresenterfilm director
Biography: Dmitry Hananovich Astrakhan is a Russian film director and actor. Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (2009).

Mikhail Kalatozov

Born in: Georgia
Years: 1903-1973 (aged 70)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1933
Occupations: filmmakerscreenwritercinematographercamera operatorfilm director
Biography: Mikhail Konstantinovich Kalatozov, born Mikheil Kalatozishvili, was a Soviet film director of Georgian origin who contributed to both Georgian and Russian cinema. He is known for his films The Cranes Are Flying and I Am Cuba, winning the Palme d'Or for the former at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. Kalatozov received the State Stalin Prize in 1951. In 1969, he was named a People's Artist of the USSR.

Boris Chirkov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1901-1982 (aged 81)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1926
Occupations: actorpedagoguepolitician
Biography: Boris Petrovich Chirkov was a Soviet and Russian actor and pedagogue.

Mariya Kapnist

Born in: Russia
Years: 1913-1993 (aged 80)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1934
Occupations: film actoractorstage actor
Biography: Maria Rostyslavivna Kapnist, née Marietta Rostyslavivna Kapnist-Sirko, Russian: Мариэ́тта Ростисла́вовна Капни́ст-Серко́ (9 (22) March 1913, St. Petersburg – 25 October 1993, Kyiv) was a Ukrainian actress, and an Honored Artist of the Ukrainian SSR (1988). During her nearly forty-year acting career, from 1956 to 1993, she played more than a hundred roles.

Sergey Martinson

Born in: Russia
Years: 1899-1984 (aged 85)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1923
Occupations: actor
Biography: Sergey Aleksandrovich Martinson was a Soviet and Russian stage, film and voice actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1964).

Eugene Yelchin

Born in: Russia
Years: 1956-.. (age 70)
Occupations: writerchildren's writer
Biography: Eugene Yelchin is a Russian-American artist best known as an illustrator and writer of books for children and young adults. Yelchin is a National Book Award finalist for The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge co-authored with M. T. Anderson and the recipient of Newbery Honor for Breaking Stalin's Nose. He received Sydney Taylor Award for The Genius Under the Table, Golden Kite Award for The Haunting of Falcon House, Crystal Kite Award for illustrating Won Ton, National Jewish Book Award for illustrating The Rooster Prince of Breslov, and Tomie DePaola Award from the Society of Children Books Writers and Illustrators. His books were named Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, People Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Horn Book, USA Today, Amazon, NPR, School Library Journal, and others.

Oleg Pogudin

Born in: Russia
Years: 1968-.. (age 58)
Occupations: television actorguitaristactorsinger
Biography: Oleg Evgenevich Pogudin is a Russian singer, TV presenter and actor. He is noted for his vocal and artistic style of interpretation of Russian romances and traditional folk songs.

Zoya Buryak

Born in: Russia
Years: 1966-.. (age 60)
Occupations: actor
Biography: Zoya Yurievna Buryak is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actress.

Lev Dodin

Born in: Russia
Years: 1944-.. (age 82)
Occupations: drama teachertheatrical directordirector
Biography: Lev Abramovich Dodin is a modern Russian theater director, the leader of Saint Petersburg Maly Drama Theater.

Stevo Žigon

Born in: Slovenia
Years: 1926-2005 (aged 79)
Occupations: actortelevision actorwriterfilm actorstage actor
Biography: Štefan "Stevo" Žigon was a Yugoslav actor, theatre director, and writer.

Valentina Petrovna Telegina

Born in: Russia
Years: 1915-1979 (aged 64)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1937
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Valentina Petrovna Telegina was a Soviet and Russian actress.

Aleksey Devotchenko

Born in: Russia
Years: 1965-2014 (aged 49)
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Alexei Valerievich Devotchenko was a Russian actor and activist.

Sergey Dreyden

Born in: Russia
Years: 1941-2023 (aged 82)
Occupations: visual artistactor
Biography: Sergey Simonovich Dreyden, also credited as Sergey Dontsov (Russian: Серге́й Донцо́в), was a Russian actor and star of Alexander Sokurov's Russian Ark.

Elena Vorobey

Born in: Belarus
Years: 1967-.. (age 59)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1993
Occupations: stand-up comedianpresenteractortelevision presenterdirector
Biography: Elena Yakovlevna Vorobey is a Russian actress and stand-up comedian.

Aleksey Morozov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1979-.. (age 47)
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Aleksey Valentinovich Morozov is a Russian theatre actor and film director. He appeared in over 40 films.

Sergey Migitsko

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1953-.. (age 73)
Occupations: actortelevision actor
Biography: Sergey Grigorievich Migitsko is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, TV presenter, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1991), People's Artist of Russia (1998).

Yuri Tolubeyev

Born in: Russia
Years: 1906-1979 (aged 73)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1929
Occupations: actor
Biography: Yuri Vladimirovich Tolubeyev was a Soviet theatrical and cinema actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1956). Winner of the Lenin (1959) and Stalin Prize (1947). Hero of Socialist Labour (1976).

Leonid Kmit

Born in: Russia
Years: 1908-1982 (aged 74)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1931
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Leonid Aleksandrovich Kmit was a Soviet and Russian actor. In 1931 he graduated from Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy (SPbGATI), where he studied in the acting class of Yevgeny Chervyakov. In 1936 he was invited to join the Russian Army Theatre's company. In 1957 he became an actor of the Screen Actors Theater in Moscow.

Oleg Zhakov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1905-1988 (aged 83)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1929
Occupations: actor
Biography: Oleg Petrovich Zhakov was a Soviet and Russian film actor who was born in Sarapul, Vyatka Governorate. He performed in more than sixty films between 1927 up to 1988. People's Artist of the USSR (1969). Winner of USSR State Prize (1971) and the Stalin Prize of the second degree (1946).

Nikolai Simonov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1901-1973 (aged 72)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1922-1924
Occupations: film actoractortheatrical director
Biography: Nikolay Konstantionovich Simonov was a Soviet film and stage actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1950).

Gennady Orlov

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1945-.. (age 81)
Occupations: journalist
Biography: Gennady Sergeyevich Orlov is a Russian sports journalist and a former Soviet footballer. He has lived in Leningrad since 1966 and has been a commentator since 1974. Orlov is best known for being a football commentator on Leningrad Television and, subsequently, Petersburg – Channel 5 for many years.

Avdotya Panaeva

Born in: Russia
Years: 1820-1893 (aged 73)
Occupations: salonnièreeditorwriter
Biography: Avdotya Yakovlevna Panaeva, née Bryanskaya (August 12 [O.S. July 31] 1820 – April 11 [O.S. March 30] 1893), was a Russian novelist, short story writer, memoirist and literary salon holder. She worked closely with writers Ivan Panaev, Nikolay Nekrasov, and Vissarion Belinsky to run the literary journal Sovremennik. She was a frequent contributor to The Contemporary (Sovremennik) and published much of her work under the male pseudonym N. Stanitsky. Her fiction sheds light on social injustice and the emancipation of women. Her best known work is her novel The Talnikov Family (1848), published in English in 2024 by Colombia University Press.

Irina Zarubina

Born in: Russia
Years: 1907-1976 (aged 69)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1929
Occupations: actor
Biography: Irina Petrovna Zarubina was a Soviet and Russian actress. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1951).

Anatoly Gunitsky

Born in: Russia
Years: 1953-2025 (aged 72)
Occupations: prose writerwriterjournalistplaywrightpoet
Biography: Anatoly Avgustovich Gunitsky, also known as George and Old Rocker (Старый рокер), was a Russian writer, journalist and poet. He was one of the founders of the band Aquarium.

Evgeniya Berkovich

Born in: Russia
Years: 1985-.. (age 41)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 2007
Occupations: theatrical director
Biography: Evgenia Borisovna "Zhenya" Berkovich is a Russian theatre director, playwright, and poet. She is a member of Kirill Serebrennikov's ‘Seventh Studio’.

Viktor Khokhryakov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1913-1986 (aged 73)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1933
Occupations: drama teacheractortheatrical director
Biography: Viktor Ivanovich Khokhryakov was a Soviet Russian film actor, theater actor and director. He played the composer Alexander Glazunov in the 1954 film Rimsky-Korsakov.

Kama Ginkas

Born in: Lithuania
Years: 1941-.. (age 85)
Occupations: drama teachertheatrical directordirector
Biography: Kama Mironovich Ginkas is a Russian and Soviet theatre director.

Dmitry Isayev

Born in: Russia
Years: 1973-.. (age 53)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1996
Occupations: actortelevision actor
Biography: Dimitri Alekseyevich Isayev is a Russian actor. He had prominent roles in film and television.

Tatyana Moskvina

Born in: Russia
Years: 1958-2022 (aged 64)
Occupations: opinion journalistfilm criticwritertheatre criticactor
Biography: Tatyana Vladimirovna Moskvina was a Russian columnist, novelist, actress, radio and television journalist, and host, and leading theatre and film critic.

Elena Shvarts

Born in: Russia
Years: 1948-2010 (aged 62)
Occupations: poetwritertranslator
Biography: Elena Andreyevna Shvarts was a Russian metarealist poet.

Anatoly Iksanov

Born in: Russia
Years: 1952-.. (age 74)
Occupations: theatre critictheatrical director
Biography: Anatoly Gennadyevich Iksanov was the General Director of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia between 2000 and July 2013. His successor was Vladimir Urin.

Aleksandra Skochilenko

Born in: Russia
Years: 1990-.. (age 36)
Occupations: musicianguitaristwriterpeace activistpoet
Biography: Aleksandra Yuryevna Skochilenko, also known as Sasha Skochilenko, is a Russian artist, musician, poet, and former political prisoner.

Zinaida Vorkul

Born in: Russia
Years: 1909-1994 (aged 85)
Occupations: actor
Biography: Zinaida Venediktovna Vorkul was a Soviet stage and film actress. She is known for playing character roles, usually as a mother or grandmother.

Eugene Kozlovsky

Born in: Russia
Years: 1946-2023 (aged 77)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1970
Occupations: screenwritertheatrical directorwriterjournalistplaywright
Biography: Yevgeniy Antonovich Kozlovsky was a Russian writer, journalist, theatre director and film director.

Pyotr Sobolevsky

Born in: Russia
Years: 1904-1977 (aged 73)
Enrolled in Russian State Institute of Performing Arts: Studied in 1932
Occupations: actor
Biography: Pyotr Stanislavovich Sobolevsky was a Soviet actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1926 and 1973.

Saule Iskakova

Born in: Kazakhstan
Years: 1972-.. (age 54)
Occupations: dub actorsinger
Biography: Saule Sabitovna Iskakova is a Kazakhstan-born Russian actress (voice).

Ekaterina Semenova

Years: 1786-1849 (aged 63)
Occupations: actor
Biography: Ekaterina Semenova was a Russian actress.

Jonas Vaitkus

Born in: Lithuania
Years: 1944-.. (age 82)
Occupations: actordirectorfilm director
Biography: Jonas Vaitkus is a Lithuanian theatre and film director, and academic.

Mikhail Novitsky

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1963-.. (age 63)
Occupations: composersongwriter
Biography: Mikhail Valentinovich Novitsky is a Russian actor, singer/songwriter and guitarist, who fronts the rock band "SP Babai " (Saint Petersburg), which he formed in 1993 from the remnants of his first band, "Avtobus". He is also the organizer of the Vladimir Vysotsky singer-songwriter festival "Lampushka" since 2001. Apart from music, he is an active member of his preservationist group "Green Wave", which he set up to protect St. Petersburg parks and lakes.

Borisas Dauguvietis

Years: 1885-1949 (aged 64)
Occupations: actor
Biography: Borisas Dauguvietis was a Lithuanian actor, playwright, writer, poet, and theater director. He is the brother of pianist Lidija Dauguvietytė, and father of actresses Galina Dauguvietytė, Elena Dauguvietytė-Kudabienė, and Ksana Dauguvietytė-Šniukštienė. The Borisas Dauguvietis Earring Award is named after him, and is given to people who significantly contribute to Lithuanian theater.

Tatiana Kudryavtseva

Born in: Russia
Years: 1953-.. (age 73)
Occupations: actor
Biography: Tatyana Kudryavtseva is a Russian and, until 1991, a Soviet stage and screen actor. Among her many awards, since 1996 she has been an Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation.

Liza Morozova

Born in: Russia
Years: 1973-.. (age 53)
Occupations: painterinstallation artistperformance artistpsychologist
Biography: Líza Morózova is a Russian female artist (performance art, installation art, body art), psychologist (Candidate of Sciences, PhD Level), art therapist and columnist. Participant of more than 150 international art exhibitions and biennale in 17 countries. She lives in Moscow.

Alek Rapoport

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1933-1997 (aged 64)
Occupations: painter
Biography: Alek Rapoport was a Ukrainian Nonconformist artist, art theorist, and teacher.

Lev Shekhtman

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1951-.. (age 75)
Occupations: editing stafftheatrical directorpresenteractorradio personality
Biography: Lev Shulimovich Shekhtman is an American theatre director and actor.

Katerina Ksenyeva

Born in: Russia
Years: 1975-.. (age 51)
Occupations: singercomposerjournalist
Biography: Katerina Yuryevna Ksenyeva is a Russian actress, singer, composer and journalist. Since 2013, Ksenyeva works in New York City. She sings in English and Hebrew. She was the leading actress in the film Don't Think About White Monkeys and in the TV series Grim Tales From Russia. She also produced a vocal album Lullaby for a Man with her ballads. She is daughter of film director Yuri Mamin.