Elina Avraamovna Bystritskaya[a] (4 April 1928 – 26 April 2019) was a Soviet and Ukrainian-born Russian stage and film actress and theater pedagogue.[1] She is regarded as one of the most prominent actresses in the Soviet and Russian film industry. Her career spanned six decades.

Elina Bystritskaya
Элина Быстрицкая
Bystritskaya in 1964
Born(1928-04-04)April 4, 1928
Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
DiedApril 26, 2019(2019-04-26) (aged 91)
Moscow, Russia
Resting placeNovodevichy Cemetery
EducationKiev National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University
OccupationActress
Years active1950–2018

Biography

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Elina Avramovna Bystritskaya was born on April 4, 1928, in Kyiv into a Jewish family. Her father was a physician. During World War II, she was evacuated to Astrakhan, where she studied a nursing course. From the age of 13, she worked as a nurse and laboratory assistant in front-line mobile evacuation hospital No. 3261, first in Aktyubinsk, then in Stalino and Odessa, where she lived with her mother (who worked in the same hospital).[2][3]

Later she studied at the Karpenko-Karyi Theater Institute in Kyiv and was hired by the Russian Drama Theater in Vilnius upon graduation in 1953. In 1958, Bystritskaia joined the troupe of Maly Theatre in Moscow where she soon became one of the leading actors.[1]

One of her earliest roles was in Sergei Bondarchuk's and Fridrikh Ermler's Unfinished Story (1955), an archetypal Socialist Realist film. Bystritskaya was personally chosen by Soviet writer Mikhail Sholokhov to play the role of Aksinya in the film adaptation And Quiet Flows the Don (1958), over several other distinguished candidates, notably Nonna Mordyukova. In the 1960s, Bystritskaya concentrated on theatre work in the Maly Theatre and her appearances on screen grew sporadic. She was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1978.[4]

She was President of the USSR and Russian rhythmic gymnastics Federation from 1975 to 1992.[5][6] 1958-1985, she was married to Nikolay Kuzminsky, employee of the USSR Ministry for Foreign Trade.[7]

She died on 26 April 2019 after a long illness.[8][9]

Filmography

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  • 1951: In Peaceful Time as Lena Alekseyenko
  • 1951: Taras Shevchenko
  • 1954: Bogatyr idyot v Marto as radistka Yevgeníya Sergeyevna
  • 1955: Unfinished Story as Yelizaveta Muromtseva
  • 1957: Don Silencioso as Aksiniya
  • 1958: And Quiet Flows the Don as Aksinya
  • 1958: Volunteers as Olga Teplova
  • 1960: Russian Souvenir as Pandora Montezi, Italian spy
  • 1963: All Remains to People as Ksenia Rumyantseva
  • 1964: Negasimoye plamya as Glasha
  • 1966: Summer Residents as Julia Filippovna
  • 1967: Dachniki as Yulia Filippovna
  • 1967: Nikolay Bauman as Maria Andreyeva
  • 1973: Ostrovsky's House (TV Movie) as Glafira
  • 1991: Seven Days After The Murder as Kira Alexandrovna
  • 1992: Farewell Tour as train passenger
  • 1993: Brave Guys as Nadezhda
  • 2005: Saga of the Ancient Bulgars (part 1, 2) as Olga of Kiev
  • 2006: Muhtar's Return as Alina Stanislavovna

Honours and awards

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  • Order "For Merit to the Fatherland";
    • 1st class (4 April 2008) – for outstanding contributions to the development of domestic theatrical and cinematic arts, many years of creative activity
    • 2nd class (1 April 1998) – for outstanding contribution to the development of national culture and art
    • 3rd class (11 October 2018) – for outstanding contribution to the development of national culture and art, many years of productive activity
 
Elina Bystritskaya receives the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" I degree from Vladimir Putin in 2008

Notes

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  1. ^
    • Russian: Элина Авраамовна Быстрицкая, romanizedElina Avraamovna Bystritskaya
    • Ukrainian: Еліна Авраамівна Бистрицька, romanizedElina Avraamivna Bystrytska

References

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  1. ^ a b Peter Rollberg (2009). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8.
  2. ^ Сабурова, Ольга (4 April 2013). "Биография Элины Быстрицкой" [Biography of Elina Bystritskaya]. РИА Новости (in Russian). online. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  3. ^ Сабурова, Ольга (8 May 2015). "Быстрицкая: Обидно за подозрения о лжи про участие в войне" [Bystritskaya: Hurt by Suspicion about Participation in the War]. Собеседник (in Russian). online. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  4. ^ Правительство РФ вручило награды лауреатам премии в области культуры за 2006 год // Channel One Russia
  5. ^ Как актриса сделала художественную гимнастику олимпийским видом спорта // Argumenty i fakty
  6. ^ Элина Быстрицкая: «Выше достоинства для меня привилегий нет» Archived 26 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine // izbrannoe.com
  7. ^ "Elina Bystritskaya". 20 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Prominent Russian Actress Elina Bystritskaya Is Dead At 91". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Golos-ameriki" Умерла актриса Элина Быстрицкая. Voice of America (in Russian). Retrieved 26 April 2019.
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