Kirill Lavrov
Encyclopedia
Kirill Yuryevich Lavrov was a well-known Soviet and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

.

Childhood

Kirill Yuryevich Lavrov was born on September 15, 1925, in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...

, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

). He was baptized by the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

 of St. John the Divine in Lavrushinskoe Podvorie Monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 in Leningrad. Young Kirill Lavrov was brought up in Leningrad, in a family with deep roots in St. Petersburg society. He was fond of literature and theatre from his young age, and was exposed to a highly stimulating inellectual environment in his family. He was also a good sportsman: he took gymnastics, fencing, and was a member of the youth football (soccer) team at "Spartak" sports club in Leningrad.

Family

His maternal grandmother, Olga Leonidovna Lykoshina, was related to writer Aleksandr Griboyedov and belonged to Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

 Nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

. His grandfather, Sergei Vasilyevich Lavrov, was Director of Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

 of the Imperial Humanitarian Society in St. Petersburg; he emigrated to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

 after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and died there in 1934. Kirill Lavrov's paternal grandmother, Elizaveta Akimovna, refused to emigrate and stayed home in Petrograd with her children. In 1919, his father, Yuri Sergeevich Lavrov
Yuri Sergeevich Lavrov
Yuri Sergeevich Lavrov was a well-known Soviet Russian film and theatre actor designated People's Artist of the USSR.-Childhood in St. Petersburg:...

, became an actor at the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg where his stage costumes were designed by the legendary theatrical artist Alexandre Benois
Alexandre Benois
Alexandre Nikolayevich Benois , an influential artist, art critic, historian, preservationist, and founding member of Mir iskusstva , an art movement and magazine...

. His mother, Olga Ivanovna Gudim-Levkovich, was also an actress in Leningrad. Both Lavrov's parents worked together at various theaters in Leningrad, they married in 1924, in Leningrad.

Under Stalin


In the 1930s Leningrad was shocked by a series of high-level political murders and Great Purges under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

. In 1934, the popular governor of Leningrad, Sergei Kirov was brutally murdered in his office. Joseph Stalin targeted Leningrad for the purpose of degrading the superior reputation of the former Russian capital by destruction of its culture and society through extermination of intellectuals. Soon the director of BDT Aleksei Dikij was arrested and imprisoned. After the most dangerous year of 1937, the family of Lavrovs managed to escape from Leningrad amidst the heat of the Stalinist repressions. The Lavrovs were at risk, because of their grandfather's Imperial past and emigration with the White Russians
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...

. In 1938 the family moved from Leningrad to Kiev, where Kirill's father, Yuri Lavrov, became a permanent member of the troupe at Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

 State Russian Drama Theatre named after Lesya Ukrainka
Lesya Ukrainka
Larysa Petrivna Kosach-Kvitka better known under her literary pseudonym Lesya Ukrainka , was one of Ukraine's best-known poets and writers and the foremost woman writer in Ukrainian literature. She also was a political, civil, and female activist....

.

War


During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Kirill Lavrov was evacuated to Kirov
Kirov, Kirov Oblast
Kirov , formerly known as Vyatka and Khlynov, is a city in northeastern European Russia, on the Vyatka River, and the administrative center of Kirov Oblast. Population: -History:...

, then to Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...

 in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

. There he worked as a metal worker at a military-industrial plant. In the beginning of 1943, then 17-year-old Lavrov applied to join the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 to fight the Nazis. He was sent for training to Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...

 at Technical School
Technical school
Technical school is a general term used for two-year college which provide mostly employment-preparation skills for trained labor, such as welding, culinary arts and office management.-Associations supporting technical schools:...

 of Aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

, from which he graduated in 1945. Then he served as an aircraft technician in the Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...

, he was stationed at an Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...

 Base on the Kuril island of Iturup
Iturup
Iturup is the largest island of the South Kuril Islands. It is the northernmost island in the southern Kuril/Chishima islands, and though it is presently controlled by Russia, Japan also claims this island...

 until 1950. There he was also involved in acting with an amateur troupe at a local army club. In 1950 he was discharged from the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 and reunited with his parents in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

.

Kiev


Kirill Lavrov did not have any theatrical training, he did not matriculate from a high school, so he was not accepted at any acting school in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, when he tried to apply there. Frustrated Lavrov left Moscow for Kiev, and settled with his parents. In Kiev he became an actor of Russian Drama Theatre named after Lesya Ukrainka
Lesya Ukrainka
Larysa Petrivna Kosach-Kvitka better known under her literary pseudonym Lesya Ukrainka , was one of Ukraine's best-known poets and writers and the foremost woman writer in Ukrainian literature. She also was a political, civil, and female activist....

, where his father was among leading actors at that time. Father and son Lavrovs were involved in several stage productions together. The artistic director of Kiev Russian Drama, Konstantin Khokhlov became Lavrov's mentor, and soon invited Lavrov to move from Kiev to Leningrad, where Khokhlov was appointed artistic director of BDT. In 1955, upon Khokhlov's invitation, Kirill Lavrov moved to Leningrad and joined the troupe of BDT.

Leningrad


From 1955 to 2007 Kirill Lavrov was a permanent member of the legendary troupe at BDT in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). From 1956 to 1989, Lavrov worked under directorship of Georgi Tovstonogov. During those 33 years with Tovstonogov, Lavrov ascended to stardom in theatre and film. After the death of Tovstonogov, Lavrov continued his work as the leader of an outstanding ensemble of actors at BDT. There his stage partners were such stars as Oleg Basilashvili
Oleg Basilashvili
Oleg Valerianovich Basilashvili is a well-known Soviet/Russian film and theatre actor of Georgian and Polish origin, as well as political figure in the former Soviet Union and in the new Russia.-Childhood:...

, Tatyana Doronina, Alisa Freindlich
Alisa Freindlich
Alisa Brunovna Freindlich is a Soviet and Russian actress, People's Artist of the USSR.-Biography:Alisa Freindlich was born into the family of Bruno Freindlich, a prominent actor and People's Artist of the USSR. She is of German and Russian ancestry. Her father and paternal relatives were ethnic...

, Lyudmila Makarova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Zinaida Sharko, Valentina Kovel, Innokenti Smoktunovsky, Sergei Yursky
Sergei Yursky
Sergei Yurievich Yursky is a Soviet/Russian stage and film actor, theatre director and screenwriter. His most notable role in the cinema is Ostap Bender in The Little Golden Calf.-Biography:...

, Nikolai Trofimov, Oleg Borisov
Oleg Borisov
Oleg Ivanovich Borisov was a Russian film and theatre actor whose honors included the title of People's Artist of the USSR , two USSR State Prizes as well as the Volpi Cup .-Childhood and Youth:...

, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Yefim Kopelyan
Yefim Kopelyan
Yefim Zakharovich Kopelyan was a Soviet actor of theater and cinema, one of the legendary masters of the Bolshoi Theatre of Drama . He performed the bright characteristic roles in the films The Elusive Avengers, Intervention, Eternal call, Straw cap, read author's text in the television series...

, Yevgeni Lebedev, Georgi Shtil, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Pavel Luspekayev
Pavel Luspekayev
Pavel Borisovich Luspekayev was a Ukrainian-Russian-Armenian actor who is best known for his role of Vereschagin in the classic Russian movie White Sun of the Desert....

, Vadim Medvedev, Yuri Demich, Leonid Nevedomsky, Gennadi Bogachyov, Andrei Tolubeyev
Andrei Tolubeyev
Andrei Yurevich Tolubeyev was a Soviet/Russian theatrical and cinema actor, People's Artist of Russia , Chairman of the Board of the Union of theatrical figures of Russia . He was born in Leningrad, Soviet Union and died in St...

, and many other notable Russian actors.

Film career


In 1955, Kirill Lavrov made his film debut in Vasyok Trubachev I ego tovarishchi, directed by Ilya Frez. In 1964 Lavrov shot to fame with his leading role as Sintsov in The Alive and the Dead
The Alive and the Dead
The Alive and the Dead is a 1964 Soviet film directed by Aleksandr Stolper based on the eponymous novel by Konstantin Simonov.-Cast:* Kirill Lavrov - Ivan Sinzov* Viktor Avdyushko* Anatoli Papanov - General Serpilin* Aleksei Glazyrin - Malinin...

, a war drama by director Aleksandr Stolper
Aleksandr Stolper
Aleksandr Borisovich Stolper – 12 January 1979, Moscow) was a Russian/Soviet film director and screenwriter. He directed 14 films between 1940 and 1977...

. Kirill Lavrov received international acclaim for the leading role as Ivan Karamazov in an Oscar-nominated film The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov (1969 film)
The Brothers Karamazov is a 1969 Soviet film directed by Kirill Lavrov, Ivan Pyryev and Mikhail Ulyanov. It is based on the eponymous novel by the famous Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky...

(1969), which he also directed together with his co-star, Mikhail Ulyanov
Mikhail Ulyanov
Mikhail Alexandrovich Ulyanov was a Soviet and Russian actor who was one of the most recognizable persons of the post-World War II Soviet theatre and cinema. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1969 and received a special prize from the Venice Film Festival in 1982.Mikhail Alexandrovich...

, after the death of the original film director Ivan Pyryev
Ivan Pyryev
Ivan Aleksandrovich Pyryev , served as Director of the Mosfilm studios and was, for a time, the most influential man in the Soviet motion picture industry.Pyryev was born in Kamen-na-Obi, now Altai Krai, Russia...

. Among Lavrov’s other achievements were his roles in such films as Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky (film)
Tchaikovsky is a 1969 Soviet film directed by Igor Talankin. It featured Innokenty Smoktunovsky in the role of the famous Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky...

(1969), Doverie, and Taming of the Fire
Taming of the Fire
Taming of the fire is a 1972 film, directed by Daniil Khrabrovitsky and starring Kirill Lavrov.).- Awards and recognition :The State Prize of Russia was awarded to actor Lavrov for his performance in the leading role...

(Ukroshcheniye ognya).

His last works in film were supporting roles in TV series Master and Margarita (2005) and in war drama Leningrad (2007).

Recognition


In 1989, Kirill Lavrov was unanimously elected the Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg. He managed to preserve the artistic tradition established by the great Russian director Georgi Tovstonogov, and to rename BDT after G. A. Tovstonogov. Kirill Lavrov was awarded the State Prizes of the USSR (1974) for his work in the film Taming of the Fire. He was also awarded the State Prize of Russia for his works on stage and in film. He received numerous decorations from the State of the USSR as well as from the State of Russia, and was designated People's Actor of the USSR (1972). He was elected representative to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and later was also an active political and cultural figure in the new Russia. From 1992 to 2006 Lavrov was President of the International Confederation of Theatrical Unions.

Kirill Lavrov was honorary citizen of St. Petersburg. He was co-chairman, with Dmitry Likhachev
Dmitry Likhachev
Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachov was an outstanding Soviet Russian scholar who was considered the world's foremost expert in Old Russian language and literature. He has been revered as "the last of old St Petersburgers", "a guardian of national culture", and "Russia's conscience".-Biography:Likhachov...

, of the St. Petersburg Council for Culture and Arts. He died of a heart failure, aged 81, on April 27, 2007, in St Petersburg. His burial service was held at the Bolshoi Drama Theatre, and then at the same Russian Orthodox Church of St. John the Divine where he was baptized as a child. Kirill Lavrov was laid to rest next to his wife in Bogoslovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Actor

  • 1956 The Quarrel in Lukashi
  • 1964 The Alive and the Dead
    The Alive and the Dead
    The Alive and the Dead is a 1964 Soviet film directed by Aleksandr Stolper based on the eponymous novel by Konstantin Simonov.-Cast:* Kirill Lavrov - Ivan Sinzov* Viktor Avdyushko* Anatoli Papanov - General Serpilin* Aleksei Glazyrin - Malinin...

     
    as Sintsov
  • 1969 The Brothers Karamazov
    The Brothers Karamazov (1969 film)
    The Brothers Karamazov is a 1969 Soviet film directed by Kirill Lavrov, Ivan Pyryev and Mikhail Ulyanov. It is based on the eponymous novel by the famous Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky...

    as Ivan
  • 1969 Tchaikovsky
    Tchaikovsky (film)
    Tchaikovsky is a 1969 Soviet film directed by Igor Talankin. It featured Innokenty Smoktunovsky in the role of the famous Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky...

    as Pakhulsky
  • 1970 Lyubov Yarovaya  as Shvanda
  • 1972 Taming of the Fire
    Taming of the Fire
    Taming of the fire is a 1972 film, directed by Daniil Khrabrovitsky and starring Kirill Lavrov.).- Awards and recognition :The State Prize of Russia was awarded to actor Lavrov for his performance in the leading role...

    as Andrei Bashkirtsev
  • 1974 Ocean
  • 1976 Trust as Lenin
  • 1978 A Hunting Accident
    A Hunting Accident
    A Hunting Accident is a 1978 Soviet drama film directed by Emil Loteanu. It was entered into the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. It is adapted from Anton Chekhov's "The Shooting Party."-Cast:* Galina Belyayeva as Olga...

    as Count Karneyev
  • 1981 20 December as Lenin
  • 1982 Journey to Another Town
  • 1983 Magistral  as Urzhumov
  • 1986 Red Arrow as Kropotov
  • 1988 Bread is a proper noun (aka.. Khleb - Imya suschestvitelnoe) as Communist Shabatin
  • 2000 Uboynaya sila
  • 2005 The Master and Margarita as Pontius Pilate
  • 2007 Leningrad as Radio host

Stage works

  • Ocean
  • Uncle Vanya
  • The Three Sisters
  • Boris Godunov
  • And Quiet Flows The Don
  • Before Sunset
  • The Quartet

External links

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