Eldar Aleksandrovich Ryazanov (; 18 November 1927 – 30 November 2015) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n film director, screenwriter, poet, actor and pedagogue whose popular comedies, satirizing the daily life of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and Russia, are celebrated throughout the former Soviet Union and former

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

countries.

Biography

Eldar Aleksandrovich Ryazanov was born in

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

. His father, Aleksandr Semyonovich Ryazanov, was a diplomat who worked in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. His mother, Sofya Mikhailovna (née Shusterman), was of Jewish descent. In 1930, the family moved to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, and soon his parents divorced. He was then raised by his mother and her new husband, Lev Mikhailovich Kopp. In 1937 his father was arrested by the Stalinist government and subsequently served 18 years in the correctional labour camps. Ryazanov began to create films in the early 1950s. In 1955, Ivan Pyryev, then a major force in the Soviet film industry, suggested to him to begin work on his film Carnival Night. At first, Ryazanov refused, as he wanted to make "serious films", but then was convinced to begin, as Pyryev believed that "anybody could shoot a melodrama, but only a few can create good comedy." He won instant success, and began to release more films. He was named a

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

in 1984, and received the USSR State Prize in 1977. He won the Nika Award for Best Director in 1991 for the film '' Promised Heaven''. Among his most famous films are '' Carnival Night'' (1955), '' Hussar Ballad'' (1962), '' Beware of the Car'' (1966), '' The Irony of Fate'' (1975), '' Office Romance'' (1977), '' The Garage'' (1980), '' Station for Two'' (1982) and '' A Cruel Romance'' (1984). Ryazanov's main genre was

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

Illness and death

Ryazanov had an acute ischemic stroke in November 2014. He was admitted to a Moscow hospital on 21 November 2015 due to shortness of breath. He died around midnight on 30 November 2015, of heart and lung failure, at the age of 88.

Legacy

Ryazanov was one of the most successful film directors of the Soviet Union, and his films are still well-known in the post-USSR landscape. ''The Irony of Fate'' is still aired every December 31 in most post-USSR countries, except for Ukraine since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. A street in Moscow was named after him in 2017, and a museum and memorial dedicated to his memory was opened on the site of his childhood home in Samara.

Criticism

In his book "Nepoladki v russkom dome" Sergey Kara-Murza wrote that "Ryazanov and the artists close to him, consumed by

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism or anti-Soviet sentiment are activities that were actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the Soviet Union. Three common uses of the term include the following: * Anti-Sovietism in inter ...

feeling, lovingly reflected and thereby in many ways created a certain social and spiritual world - and this world turned out to be possible only when it was surrounded and protected by the crude structures of the Soviet way of life."''Кара-Мурза С. Г., Телегин С. А.'
Неполадки в русском доме
. — : Алгоритм. — Серия «Горячая линия». — 443 с. — 3000 экз. — ISBN 5-699-09616-7. In Russian

Honours and awards

* Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"; **2nd class (3 July 2008) – for outstanding contribution to the development of national cinema and many years of creative activity **3rd class (20 June 1996) – for services to the state, an outstanding contribution to the development of national cinema and culture * Order of the Red Banner of Labour, twice (1969, 1977) * Order of Friendship of Peoples (1987) *Order of the "Key of Friendship" (Kemerovo Region, 2007) *Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (France) *Commander of the Order of Honour (Georgia) (2008) * People's Artist of the RSFSR (1974) *

(1984) * USSR State Prize (1977) (for the film "Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!") * Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR (1979) (for the film "Office Romance") *Winner of the All-Union Film Festival in the "First Prize among the comedies" for 1958 *Winner of the All-Union Film Festival in the "Special Award" for 1983 * Nika awards; **Best Director (1991) **Best Fiction Film (1991) **Honour and dignity (2006) *Winner of

Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian House of Romanov, imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the Pushkin, Saint Peter ...

Art Prize (2005) *The

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

4258 Ryazanov is named after him.

Filmography

*1950 ''They are Studying in Moscow'' (), documentary – author (in co-operation with Zoya Fomina) *1951 ''The Way Named October'' (''Дорога имени Октября''), documentary – director (in co-operation with Liya Derbysheva) *1952 ''On the World Chess Championship'' (''На первенство мира по шахматам''), documentary – director *1953 ''Your Books'' (''Твои книжки''), documentary – director (in co-operation with Zoya Fomina) *1953 ''Near Krasnodar'' (''Недалеко от Краснодара''), documentary – director *1954 ''Island of Sakhalin'' (''Остров Сахалин''), documentary – director (in co-operation with Vasily Katanyan) *1955 '' Spring Voices'' (''Весенние голоса''), documentary – second director *1956 '' Carnival Night'' (''Карнавальная ночь'') – director *1957 '' The Girl Without Address'' (''Девушка без адреса'') – director *1961 '' How Robinson Was Created'' (''Как создавался Робинзон'') – director *1961 '' The Man from Nowhere'' (''Человек ниоткуда'') – director *1962 '' Hussar Ballad'' (''Гусарская баллада'') – director / screenwriter *1965 '' Give me a complaints book'' (''Дайте жалобную книгу'') – director / actor: chief editor *1966 '' Beware of the Car'' (''Берегись автомобиля'') – director / screenwriter *1968 '' Zigzag of Success'' (''Зигзаг удачи'') – director / screenwriter *1971 '' Grandads-Robbers'' (''Старики-разбойники'') – director / screenwriter / actor: the passer-by *1974 '' Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia'' (''Невероятные приключения итальянцев в России'') – director / screenwriter / actor: doctor *1975 '' The Irony of Fate'' (''Ирония судьбы или с легким паром!'') – director / screenwriter / actor: airplane passenger *1977 '' Office Romance'' (''Служебный роман'') – director / screenwriter / actor: bus passenger *1979 '' The Garage'' (''Гараж'') – director / screenwriter / actor: sleeping Man *1981 '' Say a Word for the Poor Hussar'' (''О бедном гусаре замолвите слово'') – director / screenwriter / actor: confectioner *1982 '' Station for Two'' (''Вокзал для двоих'') – director / screenwriter / actor: railroad supervisor *1984 '' A Cruel Romance'' (''Жестокий романс'') – director / screenwriter *1987 '' Forgotten Melody for a Flute'' (''Забытая мелодия для флейты'') – director / screenwriter / actor: astronomer *1988 '' Dear Yelena Sergeyevna'' (''Дорогая Елена Сергеевна'') – director / screenwriter / actor: neighbour *1991 '' Promised Heaven'' (''Небеса обетованные'') – director / screenwriter / actor: man in diner *1993 ''

Prediction A prediction (Latin ''præ-'', "before," and ''dictum'', "something said") or forecast is a statement about a future event or about future data. Predictions are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge of forecasters. There ...

'' (''Предсказание'') – director / screenwriter *1996 '' Hello, Fools!'' (''Привет, дуралеи!'') – director / screenwriter / actor: manager of the bookshop *2000 '' Old Hags'' (''Старые клячи'') – director / screenwriter / actor: judge *2000 '' Still Waters'' (Тихие омуты) – Director / Screenwriter / Actor: Radiologist / Producer *2003 '' The Key of Bedroom'' (''Ключи от спальни'') – director / screenwriter / actor: police constable / producer *2006 '' Carnival Night 2'' (TV) – director / actor ( сameo appearance) *2006 '' Andersen. Life Without Love'' – director / screenwriter (with Irakly Kvirikadze) / actor: mortician / producer *2007 '' The Irony of Fate 2'' – actor (сameo appearance)

References

;Additional sources *David MacFadyen, ''The Sad Comedy of Elʹdar Riazanov: An Introduction to Russia's Most Popular Filmmaker,'' McGill-Queen's Press: 2003,

External links

* * *
Russian fan site

Сайт киноклуба «Эльдар»
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryazanov, Eldar 1927 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Russian male actors 20th-century Russian poets 21st-century Russian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Russian male actors 21st-century Russian poets Writers from Samara, Russia Academicians of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences "Nika" Knights of the Legion of Honour Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Academic staff of High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Nika Award Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Honor (Georgia) Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Recipients of the Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR Russian people of Jewish descent Soviet people of Jewish descent Russian documentary filmmakers Russian dramatists and playwrights Russian film directors Russian male film actors Russian male poets 20th-century Russian screenwriters Russian comedy film directors Russian male screenwriters 20th-century Russian male writers Russian television presenters Soviet documentary film directors Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet film directors Soviet male film actors Soviet male poets Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters Soviet television presenters Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Actors from Samara, Russia Russian satirists Satirical film directors