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1-50 of 146
- Actress
- Writer
Natalia Vodianova was born on 28 February 1982 in Gorkiy, Gorkovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhniy Novgorod, Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Russia]. She is an actress and writer, known for Clash of the Titans (2010), Belle du Seigneur (2012) and Together Forever. She is married to Antoine Arnault. She was previously married to Justin Portman.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Mark Eidelshtein was born on 18 February 2002 in Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia. He is an actor and director, known for Nado snimat filmy o lyubvi (2024), Strana Sasha (2022) and Anora (2024).- Ekaterina Vilkova was born on 11 July 1984 in Gorkiy, Gorkovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhniy Novgorod, Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Hipsters (2008), Black Lightning (2009) and The Three Musketeers (2013). She has been married to Ilya Lyubimov since 1 May 2011. They have two children.
- Anne Vyalitsyna was born on 19 March 1986 in Gorkiy, Gorkovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhniy Novgorod, Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Lullaby (2014), Maroon 5: Misery (2010) and Alanis Morissette: Out Is Through - Version 2 (2004).
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Sergei Rachmaninoff (also spelled Rachmaninov) was a legendary Russian-American composer and pianist who fled Russia after the Communist revolution of 1917, and became one of the highest paid concert stars of his time, and one of the most influential pianists of the 20th century.
He was born Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov on April 2, 1873, on a large estate near Novgorod, Russia. He was the fourth of six children born to a noble family, and lived in a family estate, where he enjoyed a happy childhood. Rachmaninoff studied music with his mother from age 4; continued at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and continued at the Moscow Conservatory with professors Arensky, Taneyev and Tchaikovsky. He graduated in 1892, winning the Great Gold Medal for his new opera "Aleko."
He was highly praised by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , who promoted Rachmaninov's opera to the Bolshoi Theater in 1893. But the disastrous premiere of his 1st Symphony, poorly conducted by A. Glazunov, coupled with his distress over the Russian Orthodox Church's pressure against his marriage, caused him to suffer from depression, which interrupted his career for three years until he sought medical help in 1900. He had a three-month treatment by hypnotherapist, Dr. Dahl, aimed at overcoming his writer's block. Upon his recovery, Rachmaninov composed his brilliant 2nd Piano Concerto, and made a comeback with successful concert performances. From 1904 to 1906 he was a conductor at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. From 1906 to 1909, Rachmaninoff lived and worked in Dresden, Germany. There he composed his 2nd Symphony.
In 1909, Sergei Rachmaninoff made his first tour of the United States having composed the 3rd Piano Concerto as a calling card. He appeared as a soloist with Gustav Mahler conducting the New York Philharmonic. His further work on merging Russian music with English literature culminated in his adaptation of a poem by Edgar Allan Poe into choral symphony, "The Bells," which Rachmaninov considered to be among the best of his works. In 1915 he wrote the choral masterpiece: "All-Night Vigil" (also known as the Vespres), fifteen anthems expressing a plea for peace at a time of war. The terror of Russian Revolution and the destruction of his estate forced him to emigrate. On December 23, 1917, Rachmaninov left Russia on an open sledge carrying only a few books of sheet music.
As a pianist, Sergei Rachmaninov made over a hundred recordings and gave over one thousand concerts in America alone between 1918 and 1943. His concert performances were legendary, and he was highly regarded as a virtuoso pianist with unmatched power and expressiveness. Rachmaninoff's technical perfection was legendary. His large hands were able to span a twelfth, that is an octave and a half or, for example, a stretch from middle C to high G. Rachmaninoff was highly regarded for accuracy on the piano keyboard, which he achieved through arduous practice by repeating difficult passages many times in a very slow tempo. In many of his original compositions, Sergei Rachmaninoff used musical allusions ranging from folk songs to oriental music and jazz. Unusually wide chords and deeply romantic melody lines were characteristic of his compositions. Besides his own music, he often performed pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin , Franz Liszt and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
In 1931, Rachmaninov signed a letter condemning the Soviet regime, that was published in the New York Times. There was retaliation immediately, and his music was condemned by the Soviets as "representative of decadent art." However, the official censorship in the Soviet Union could not stop the popularity of Rachmaninov's music in the rest of the world. During the 1930s and 1940s, he remained one of the highest paid concert stars.
During the 1930s, Rachmaninoff shared his time between Europe and America, because he was booked for numerous live performances in major cultural centers on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1932, Rachmaninoff with his family moved to his newly built Villa 'Senar' on Lake Luzern. There he replicated the layout of his estate that was destroyed by Russian revolution of 1917. The villa became a new home for the family and a center of cultural life, as Rachmaninoff was visited by notable musicians, such as Horowitz, writers, such as Bunin, and even Maharaja with family from India. For his guests, Rachmaninoff often played his music on the new concert grand piano that was presented to him by Hamburg Steinway company. Using that piano, Rachmaninoff composed his famous Rhapsody on the Theme of Paganini in 1934. In 1939, with the onset of World War 2, Rachmaninoff left Europe and moved to America for good.
At his home on Elm Drive in Beverly Hills, Rachmaninoff had two Steinway pianos which he played together with Vladimir Horowitz and other entertainers. His love of fast cars was second to music, and led him to occasional fines for exceeding the speed limit. Since he bought his first car in 1914, Rachmaninov acquired a taste for fast cars, buying himself a new car every year. His generosity was legendary. He gave away 5000 dollars to Igor Sikorsky to start an American helicopter industry. He paid for Vladimir Nabokov and his family relocation from Paris to New York. He sponsored Michael Chekhov and introduced him to Hollywood.
Sergei Rachmaninoff gave numerous charitable performances, and donated large sums of money to fighting against the Nazis during WWII. He became a US citizen in 1943, just a few weeks before his death. In his last recital, in February, 1943, Rachmaninov played Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, featuring the famous "Funeral march." The New York Times obituary of March 28, 1943, stated that Sergei V. Rachmaninoff, pianist, composer and conductor, who for fifty years had been a leader in the music world on two continents, died today at his Beverly Hills home of complications resulting from pneumonia and pleurisy, which twice had caused him to cancel recitals here this month.
Rachmaninoff was survived by his wife and two daughters who arranged for his burial in Kensico Cemetery, New York. Over the years, Soviet and Russian authorities made numerous claims to re-bury the composer in Moscow, Russia, but the Rachmaninoff family successfully opposed due to the fact that Sergei Rachmaninoff made his choice to be a citizen of the United States.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Natalya Kudryashova was born on 12 October 1978 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, USSR. She is an actress and director, known for Pionery-geroi (2015), The Man Who Surprised Everyone (2018) and Peterburg. Tolko po lyubvi (2016).- Writer
Maksim Gorky is a pseudonym of Aleksei Maksimovich Peshkov, who was born into a poor Russian family in Nizhnii Novgorod on Volga river. Gorky lost his father at an early age, he was beaten by his stepfather and became an orphan at age 9, when his mother died. He was brought up by his grandmother, who helped his development as a storyteller.
He was blessed with a brilliant memory, but failed to enter a University of Kazan. At age 19 he survived a suicide attempt, because the bullet missed his heart. After that Gorky traveled on foot for 5 years all over Central Russia, worked as a sailor on a Volga steamboat, then a salesperson, a railway worker, a salt miller, and a lawyer's clerk. At that time he was arrested for his public criticism of the Tsar and social injustices in Russia. He started writing for newspapers and published his first 'Sketches and Stories' in 1890s. Later he wrote an autobiographic book "My Universities" based on impressions from his travels and jobs. Gorky wrote with sympathy about the simple folks, the outcasts, the gypsies, the hobos and dreamers in the context of social decay in the Russian Empire. He became friends with Anton Chekhov and Lev Tolstoy. His play 'The Lower Depths' (1892) was praised by Chekhov and was successfully played in Europe and the United States. His political activism resulted in cancellation of his membership in the Russian Academy. Anton Chekhov and Vladimir Korolenko left the Academy in protest and solidarity with Gorky. He went to live in Europe and America in 1906-13. In America he started his classic novel, 'The Mother', about a Russian Christian woman and her imprisoned son, who both joined revolutionaries under the illusion that revolution follows Christ's messages.
After the Russian revolution in 1917, Gorky criticized Lenin and communists for their "bloody experiments on the Russian people". He wrote, 'Lenin and Trotsky are corrupted with the dirty poison of power. They are disrespectful of human rights, freedom of speech and all other civil liberties". Soon Gorky received a handwritten warning letter from Lenin. Later his friend Nikolai Gumilev, ex-husband of Anna Akhmatova was executed by communists. In 1921 Gorky emigrated to Europe and settled in Capri. He became careful in his critique of communism. In 1932 after a series of brief visits, he returned to Soviet Russia. He was placed in a rich Moscow mansion of the former railroad tycoon Ryabushinsky. His return from the fascist Italy was a victory for Soviet propaganda. He was made the Chairman of the Soviet Writer's Union, and a figurehead of "socialist realism" . After the murder of Kirov in 1934 Gorky was under a house arrest. His son died in 1935. The following year Gorki Gorky died suddenly at the Lenin's dacha in Moscow.- Aleksey Demidov was born on 24 August 1987 in Gorkiy, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia]. He is an actor, known for Sputnik (2020), Zaglyani emu v golovu (2024) and The Crimean Bridge. Made with Love! (2018). He is married to Elena Demidova. They have one child.
- Anna Nevskaya was born on 4 February 1977 in Velikiy Novgorod, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for Major Grom: Plague Doctor (2021), Aktrisy (2023) and Gosti iz proshlogo (2020). She has been married to Dimitri Klepatski since 12 January 2013.
- Pyotr Rykov was born on 30 December 1981 in Novgorod, Novgorodskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Velikiy Novgorod, Russia]. He is an actor, known for Rikoshet (2020), Litvyak and Lovets snov (2022).
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Evstigneev was born on October 9, 1926, in Gorky, Russia, USSR (now Nizhni Novgorod, Russia). His father, Aleksandr Mikhailovich Evstigneev, was a metal worker. His mother, Maria Ivanovna (nee Chernysheva), was an industrial metal-miller. Young Evstigneev also worked as an industrial metal-worker in the city of Gorky.
In 1946 Evstigneev made an effort to enter the Gorky Theatrical School. There he was criticized by one of the examiners and was rejected with a comment: "We do not need short, balding actor.s" He had to return to his industrial job. However, he was able to express his creativity through music performances. Evstigneev was fond of American jazz music: he played drums with a local jazz-band in the city of Gorky. There he was scouted by Vitali Lebsky, director of Gorky Theatrical School. Vitali Lebsky immediately noticed Evstigneev's bright smile and musical virtuosity, and was impressed with Evstigneev's radiant personality and stage presence. Lebsky admitted Evstigneev to his acting class without an entrance exams. From 1946-1951 Evstigneev studied acting and graduated from the Gorky Theatrical school in 1951. From 1951-1954 he worked with the Vladimir City Drama Theatre.
In 1954 Evstigneev came to Moscow in his pursuit of an acting career. At that time the cultural revival known as the "Thaw" was initiated by Nikita Khrushchev, which opened many new opportunities for talented people. From 1954-1956 Evstigneev studied at School of Acting of the legendary Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). There he became involved with the Moscow intellectual and artistic milieu. In 1955 Evstigneev joined Oleg Efremov, Oleg Tabakov, Igor Kvasha, Galina Volchek, and other student-actors to start an independent theatre company, named 'Studio of Young Actors'. In 1956, upon their graduation, Evstigneev and his fellow actors became co-founders of their own theatre company in Moscow which became known as "Sovremennik". In 1957 he married actress Galina Volchek, their son Denis Evstigneev was born in 1961.
Evstigneev shot to fame after he starred as Comrade Dynin in 'Dobro pozhalovat, ili postoronnim vkhod vospreshchen' (Welcome, or No Trespassing 1964) by director Elem Klimov. He made remarkable performances in films from such directors, as Grigoriy Chukhray, Eldar Ryazanov, Mikhail Shvejtser, Aleksandr Alov, Vladimir Naumov, Karen Shakhnazarov, Leonid Filatov, Stanislav Govorukhin, Vladimir Bortko, Yuriy Kara, and other Russian film directors. From 1971-1992 he was a permanent member of the troupe of Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). His stage partners were Anastasiya Georgievskaya, Oleg Efremov, Sergey Yurskiy, Aleksandr Kalyagin, Viktor Sergachyov, Evgeniy Kindinov, Boris Shcherbakov, and other notable Russian actors.
Evgeni Evstigneev was awarded the State Prize of the USSR (1974) for his theatrical work. He was designated People's Artist of the USSR (1983) and received numerous awards and recognitions for his acting works in film and on stage. Evstigneev suffered from a chronic heart condition and complications from a heart attack. He died while undergoing preparation for a heart surgery on March 4, 1992, in London, England, and was laid to rest in the Novodevichy Convent Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.- Artyom Bystrov was born on 19 March 1985 in Gorky, Gorky Oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia]. He is an actor, known for The Fool (2014), T-34 (2018) and Planeta.
- Lyudmila Khityaeva was born on 5 August 1930 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for The Night Before Christmas (1961), Ekaterina Voronina (1957) and Evdokiya (1961).
- Vasilina Yuskovets was born on 19 September 2001 in Velikiy Novgorod, Russia. She is an actress, known for Vne igry (2018), Zhizn po vyzovu (2022) and Pokhishchenie.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Rimsky-Korsakov was a navy officer but soon discovered his love for music. Since 1861 he belonged to the group of Balakirew but later he returned to the traditional way of composing. He combined uniquely the Russian folk songs with the music of the Orthodox Church. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the first Russian symphony and Igor Strawinsky was one of his students.- Vladimir Vikhrov was born on 17 January 1954 in Gorky, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Krasnye dipkurery (1977), Ekipazh mashiny boevoy (1983) and Den svadby pridyotsya utochnit (1980). He died on 6 September 2010 in Moscow, Russia.
- Ekaterina Travova was born on 10 September 1985 in Arzamas, Gorky Oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Sklifosovsky (2012), Black Cat (2016) and The Baloon Will Come Back (2015).
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Igor Maslennikov was born on 26 October 1931 in Nizhny Novgorod, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was a director and writer, known for Sentimentalnyi Roman (1976), Pisma k Elze (2002) and Zimnyaya vishnya 2 (1990). He died on 17 September 2022 in St. Petersburg, Russia.- Natalya Pavlenkova was born on 7 September 1960 in Gorky, Gorky Oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Zoology (2016), Conference (2020) and Kontakty (2023).
- Yevgeniy Yegorov was born on 30 July 1999 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. He is an actor, known for Mira (2022), Guests (2019) and The North Wind (2021).
- Natalya Vladimirovna Bochkaryova was born in Gorky, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia]. Her parents died in the 2000's. She has one younger sister.
She graduated from Nizhny Novgorod Theatre School in 2000, and from Moscow Art Theatre School in 2002.
She started her career in 1999, when she played a small role in movie called "Chinese service".
Since 2006, she has played the main role of Darya Bukina in the TV series "Happy Together" which is an adaptation of TV series "Married ... With Children".
She has been a Moscow Art Theater's actress since 2002.
Since 2010, she has also been a television presenter.
She has been married to lawyer Nikolai Borisov since 2007, they have two children and live in Moscow, Russia. - Ilya Alekseev was born on 27 September 1980 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, USSR. He is an actor, known for Dark World (2010), Devushka na million (2022) and Olya + Kolya (2007).
- Natalya Surkova was born on 14 March 1967 in Gorkiy, Gorkovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhniy Novgorod, Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Russia]. She is an actress, known for The Fool (2014), Svoi (2004) and The Arena (2001).
- Elena Khlibko is a Russian TV actress. Elena began her career at age 16 in Russia as a model. She was doing commercials and print work as a model and as an actor. Elena is crowned Beauty Queen: in Miss Nizhny Novgorod she took "Cover Girl" beauty title, and in Miss Fa Nizhny Novgorod she took the 1-st place and she presented the city in International pageant "Miss Fa Russia & CIS". More recently, Elena has been taking acting classes and building her acting resume. Beginning with several televisions appearances on the court shows, Elena quickly made the transition into feature films and popular TV Series. Her film credits include: Sled, Sledaki, SashaTanya among others. Elena has also appeared on a variety of reality television programs, including Okhotniki Za Privideniami, Zhenshini Ne Proshaut, Otkrovenniy Razgovor. Elena is good in playing different emotions: for her there is no problem starting to cry, laugh and showing aggression, ability to dance and perform intense and action scenes.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Michael Panaieff was born on 24 January 1909 in Novgorod, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for Lady, Let's Dance (1944), Gaby (1956) and The Wild Wild West (1965). He died on 7 February 1982 in Los Angeles, California, USA.