Notable Alumni of Russian State Institute of Performing Arts [Sorted List]

1. Lev Shekhtman

1951-. (aged 75)

editing staff theatrical director presenter actor radio personality

Lev Shulimovich Shekhtman is an American theatre director and actor.

2. Katerina Ksenyeva

1975-. (aged 51)

singer composer journalist

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....

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3. Tatiana Kudryavtseva

1953-. (aged 73)

actor

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.

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4. Liza Morozova

1973-. (aged 53)

painter installation artist performance artist psychologist

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.

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5. Alek Rapoport

1933-1997 (aged 64)

painter

Alek Rapoport was a Ukrainian Nonconformist artist, art theorist, and teacher.

6. Zinaida Vorkul

1909-1994 (aged 85)

actor

Zinaida Venediktovna Vorkul was a Soviet stage and film actress. She is known for playing character roles, usually as a mother or grandmother.

7. Pyotr Sobolevsky

1904-1977 (aged 73)

actor

Pyotr Stanislavovich Sobolevsky was a Soviet actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1926 and 1973.

8. Saule Iskakova

1972-. (aged 54)

dub actor singer

Saule Sabitovna Iskakova is a Kazakhstan-born Russian actress (voice).

9. Ekaterina Semenova

1786-1849 (aged 63)

actor

Ekaterina Semenova was a Russian actress.

10. Jonas Vaitkus

1944-. (aged 82)

actor director film director

Jonas Vaitkus is a Lithuanian theatre and film director, and academic.

11. Mikhail Novitsky

1963-. (aged 63)

composer songwriter

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...

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12. Borisas Dauguvietis

1885-1949 (aged 64)

actor

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.

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13. Anatoly Gunitsky

1953-2025 (aged 72)

prose writer writer journalist playwright poet

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.

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14. Evgeniya Berkovich

1985-. (aged 41)

theatrical director

Evgenia Borisovna "Zhenya" Berkovich is a Russian theatre director, playwright, and poet. She is a member of Kirill Serebrennikov's ‘Seventh Studio’.

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15. Viktor Khokhryakov

1913-1986 (aged 73)

drama teacher actor theatrical director

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.

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16. Kama Ginkas

1941-. (aged 85)

drama teacher theatrical director director

Kama Mironovich Ginkas is a Russian and Soviet theatre director.

17. Dmitry Isayev

1973-. (aged 53)

actor television actor

Dimitri Alekseyevich Isayev is a Russian actor. He had prominent roles in film and television.

18. Tatyana Moskvina

1958-2022 (aged 64)

opinion journalist film critic writer theatre critic actor

Tatyana Vladimirovna Moskvina was a Russian columnist, novelist, actress, radio and television journalist, and host, and leading theatre and film critic.

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19. Elena Shvarts

1948-2010 (aged 62)

poet writer translator

Elena Andreyevna Shvarts was a Russian metarealist poet.

20. Anatoly Iksanov

1952-. (aged 74)

theatre critic theatrical director

Anatoly Gennadyevich Iksanov was the General Director of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia between 2000 and July 2013. His successor was Vladimir Urin.

21. Aleksandra Skochilenko

1990-. (aged 36)

musician guitarist writer peace activist poet

Aleksandra Yuryevna Skochilenko, also known as Sasha Skochilenko, is a Russian artist, musician, poet, and former political prisoner.

22. Sergey Dreyden

1941-2023 (aged 82)

visual artist actor

Sergey Simonovich Dreyden, also credited as Sergey Dontsov (Russian: Серге́й Донцо́в), was a Russian actor and star of Alexander Sokurov's Russian Ark.

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23. Elena Vorobey

1967-. (aged 59)

stand-up comedian presenter actor television presenter director

Elena Yakovlevna Vorobey is a Russian actress and stand-up comedian.

24. Aleksey Morozov

1979-. (aged 47)

actor film actor

Aleksey Valentinovich Morozov is a Russian theatre actor and film director. He appeared in over 40 films.

25. Sergey Migitsko

1953-. (aged 73)

actor television actor

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).

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26. Yuri Tolubeyev

1906-1979 (aged 73)

actor

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).

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27. Leonid Kmit

1908-1982 (aged 74)

actor film actor

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.

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28. Oleg Zhakov

1905-1988 (aged 83)

actor

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).

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29. Nikolai Simonov

1901-1973 (aged 72)

film actor actor theatrical director

Nikolay Konstantionovich Simonov was a Soviet film and stage actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1950).

30. Gennady Orlov

1945-. (aged 81)

journalist

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.

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31. Avdotya Panaeva

1820-1893 (aged 73)

salonnière editor writer

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...

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32. Irina Zarubina

1907-1976 (aged 69)

actor

Irina Petrovna Zarubina was a Soviet and Russian actress. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1951).

33. Zoya Buryak

1966-. (aged 60)

actor

Zoya Yurievna Buryak is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actress.

34. Lev Dodin

1944-. (aged 82)

drama teacher theatrical director director

Lev Abramovich Dodin is a modern Russian theater director, the leader of Saint Petersburg Maly Drama Theater.

35. Stevo Žigon

1926-2005 (aged 79)

actor television actor writer film actor stage actor

Štefan "Stevo" Žigon was a Yugoslav actor, theatre director, and writer.

36. Valentina Petrovna Telegina

1915-1979 (aged 64)

actor film actor

Valentina Petrovna Telegina was a Soviet and Russian actress.

37. Aleksey Devotchenko

1965-2014 (aged 49)

actor film actor

Alexei Valerievich Devotchenko was a Russian actor and activist.

38. Boris Chirkov

1901-1982 (aged 81)

actor pedagogue politician

Boris Petrovich Chirkov was a Soviet and Russian actor and pedagogue.

39. Mariya Kapnist

1913-1993 (aged 80)

film actor actor stage actor

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.

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40. Sergey Martinson

1899-1984 (aged 85)

actor

Sergey Aleksandrovich Martinson was a Soviet and Russian stage, film and voice actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1964).

41. Eugene Yelchin

1956-. (aged 70)

writer children's writer

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...

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42. Oleg Pogudin

1968-. (aged 58)

television actor guitarist actor singer

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.

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43. Pavel Kadochnikov

1915-1988 (aged 73)

theatrical director film screenwriter university teacher film director actor

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.

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44. Sergey Rost

1965-. (aged 61)

television presenter radio personality presenter television actor actor

Sergey Rost is a Russian actor, screenwriter, television and radio.

45. Aristarkh Livanov

1947-. (aged 79)

actor television actor

Aristarkh Yevgenyevich Livanov is a Soviet and Russian theater actor. People's Artist of Russia (1999). The older brother of actor Igor Livanov.

46. Nikolay Cherkasov

1903-1966 (aged 63)

stage actor actor film actor politician

Nikolay Konstantinovich Cherkasov was a Soviet and Russian actor. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1947.

47. Tamara Makarova

1907-1997 (aged 90)

screenwriter lecturer animator pedagogue actor

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).

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48. Elena Kondulainen

1958-. (aged 68)

singer actor

Yelena Ivanovna Kondulainen is a Russian Ingrian actress, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (2002), and pop singer.

49. Yevgeny Leonov-Gladyshev

1952-. (aged 74)

actor television actor film director

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).

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50. Bruno Freindlich

1909-2002 (aged 93)

actor

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.

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51. Dmitry Astrakhan

1957-. (aged 69)

actor television actor theatrical director presenter film director

Dmitry Hananovich Astrakhan is a Russian film director and actor. Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (2009).

52. Mikhail Kalatozov

1903-1973 (aged 70)

filmmaker screenwriter cinematographer camera operator film director

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...

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53. Sergei Gerasimov

1906-1985 (aged 79)

playwright film director actor pedagogue teacher

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.

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54. Yuri Galtsev

1961-. (aged 65)

humorist television actor stand-up comedian clown voice actor

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.

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55. Ilya Reznik

1938-. (aged 88)

entrepreneur lyricist songwriter poet actor

Ilya Rahmielevich Reznik is a Russian poet and songwriter, People's Artist of Russia (2003). Honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts.

56. Darya Yurgens

1968-. (aged 58)

actor film actor

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.

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57. Maxim Leonidov

1962-. (aged 64)

presenter television presenter film actor actor poet

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.

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58. Larisa Luppian

1953-. (aged 73)

television presenter actor presenter

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.

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59. Vasili Merkuryev

1904-1978 (aged 74)

theatrical director drama teacher actor university teacher

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).

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60. Alexander Vasilyev

1969-. (aged 57)

singer songwriter singer-songwriter composer poet

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.

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61. Viktor Bychkov

1954-. (aged 72)

television presenter actor presenter

Viktor Nikolayevich Bychkov is a Russian actor. He won a 2002 Golden Eagle Award and a 2004 State Prize of the Russian Federation.

62. Nikolay Olyalin

1941-2009 (aged 68)

actor television actor screenwriter film actor stage actor

Nikolay Vladimiriovich Olyalin was a Soviet-Ukrainian actor of Russian ethnicity.

63. Georgiy Zhzhonov

1915-2005 (aged 90)

prose writer memoirist literary scholar public figure actor

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.

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64. Yan Tsapnik

1968-. (aged 58)

actor

Yan Yurevich Tsapnik is a Soviet and Russian theatre and film actor. Yan has appeared in more than 200 films.

65. Olga Medynich

1981-. (aged 45)

Instagram blogger actor impressionist

Olga Vladimirovna Medynich is a Russian theater, parody, and film actress.

66. Egor Druzhinin

1972-. (aged 54)

choreographer theatrical director film director drama teacher television presenter

Egor Vladislavovich Druzhinin is а Russian actor, film director and choreographer. Laureate of the Golden Mask.

67. Ville Haapasalo

1972-. (aged 54)

presenter television presenter entrepreneur actor

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.

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68. Vadim Demchog

1963-. (aged 63)

screenwriter director television actor actor radio personality

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...

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69. Yuliya Aug

1970-. (aged 56)

screenwriter film director actor theatrical director

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.

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70. Kirill Pletnev

1979-. (aged 47)

television actor manufacturer actor film producer film editor

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).

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71. Igor Sklyar

1957-. (aged 69)

singer actor guitarist

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.

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72. Arkady Raikin

1911-1987 (aged 76)

comedian conferencier theatrical director film director humorist

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.

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73. Mikhail Boyarsky

1949-. (aged 77)

stage actor sports fan guitarist film actor keyboardist

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.

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74. Kseniya Rappoport

1974-. (aged 52)

stage actor film director actor film actor

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.

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75. Larisa Guzeyeva

1959-. (aged 67)

television presenter actor presenter

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.

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76. Zara

1983-. (aged 43)

public figure singer actor

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...

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77. Aleksandra Yakovleva

1957-2022 (aged 65)

actor railway worker businessperson politician film director

Aleksandra Yakovleva was a Soviet and Russian actress and, later, a Russian rail transport executive.

78. Elizaveta Boyarskaya

1985-. (aged 41)

actor

Elizaveta Mikhailovna Boyarskaya is a Russian stage and film actress. Honored Artists of the Russian Federation (2018).

79. Anna Kovalchuk

1977-. (aged 49)

stage actor actor

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.

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80. Marina Neyolova

1947-. (aged 79)

actor film actor

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.

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81. Nikolai Fomenko

1962-. (aged 64)

manufacturer singer screenwriter racing automobile driver showman

Nikolay Vladimirovich Fomenko is a Russian musician, comic actor, professional motor racer, former president of Marussia Motors and former engineering director of Marussia F1.

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82. Emmanuil Vitorgan

1939-. (aged 87)

actor

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.

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83. Danila Kozlovsky

1985-. (aged 41)

stage actor model actor television actor director

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.

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84. Konstantin Khabensky

1972-. (aged 54)

stage actor actor television actor film actor public figure

Konstantin Yurievich Khabensky, PAR is a Russian actor of stage and film, director and philanthropist.

85. Ivan Urgant

1978-. (aged 48)

television producer presenter humorist television presenter radio personality

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...

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86. Dmitriy Nagiev

1967-. (aged 59)

television presenter radio personality disc jockey television actor singer

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.

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87. Yelena Drapeko

1948-. (aged 78)

actor politician

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.

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88. Eugene Kozlovsky

1946-2023 (aged 77)

screenwriter theatrical director writer journalist playwright

Yevgeniy Antonovich Kozlovsky was a Russian writer, journalist, theatre director and film director.