Igor Leonidovich Kirillov (, 14 September 1932 – 29 October 2021) was a Soviet and Russian news presenter, announcer and actor. He was a news anchor for Soviet Central Television (CT USSR) and announcer for the CT USSR news program ''

Vremya ''Vremya'' (, lit. "Time") is the main evening newscast in Russia, airing on Channel One Russia (Russian: , Pervy kanal) and previously on Programme One of the Central Television of the USSR (CT USSR, Russian: ). The programme has been on th ...

'' for 30 years. He was awarded the

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 1988.

Early life and education

Kirillov was born in Moscow. His father, Leonid Mikhailovich Kirillov (1904–1979), was an engineer, and his mother, Revekka Veniaminovna Kirillova (1902–1995), was a librarian. He planned to become a director, but was admitted to the

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, officially the S. A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography (, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov''), a.k.a. VGIK, is a film school in Moscow, ...

to study acting. He left after one year and graduated from the Mikhail Shchepkin Higher Theatre School.

Career

After graduation, he worked at the Moscow Drama and Comedy Theatre. Two years later, in 1957, he won an audition to become a newsreader for Soviet Central Television. For 30 years he co-anchored the network's prime time news broadcast ''

'', with Nonna Bodrova and Anna Shatilova as co-anchors during his tenure. He was known for his slow delivery, which he told an interviewer was a Russian preference, and also said was for the benefit of Soviet citizens with native languages other than Russian. During his tenure, Kirillov was the anchor for all of the Soviet Union's pivotal events, covering the annual celebrations of state occasions, the death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev and his successors

Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov ( – 9 February 1984) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from late 1982 until his death in 1984. He previously served as the List of Chairmen of t ...

and

Konstantin Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko ( – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1984 until his death a year later. Born to a poor family in Siberia, Chernenko jo ...

, and as well as

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...

's orbit of the earth in 1961, the Soviet government's decision to invade Afghanistan in 1979, and the

Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

the following year. Kirillov also accompanied Soviet leaders on their official visits to foreign countries to report on location. He also made

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

s in some Russian films, and in Sting's 1985 hit "

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

", and was host of the Russian TV

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

show and the annual '' Песня года'' (Song of the Year). He retired as a newsreader in 1988, joining CT USSR (later Ostankino TV, then ORT). He retired in 1996, but he occasionally appeared as an emcee for some concerts and the annual Red Square Victory Day parade.

Personal life and death

He married his first wife, Irina Vsevolodovna Kirillova, a sound engineer, while they were both students; she died in 2004. Their daughter, Anna, is a professional pianist; their son died in 2011. He nursed his wife's sister, Natalya, during a two-year illness that ended with her death also in 2011. He later remarried to Tatyana Aleksandrovna Kirillova. Kirillov died on 29 October 2021, at the age of 89, the last surviving news announcer to have been made a

. He had been hospitalized for circulatory problems in September and died after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Awards and honours

* Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1968) *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

(1977) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(1980) * People's Artist of the RSFSR (1982) *

(1988) *

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

, 4th class (2006)Decree of the Russian President Vladimir Putin issued on November 27, 2006 honouring Kirillov
* Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class (2011) * Order of Honour (2018) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" () is a commemorative medal of the Russian Federation created to denote the 850th anniversary of the city of Moscow. It was established on 26 February 1997 by Presidential Decree � ...

References

External links

Жизнь артиста: Игорь Кириллов
ТК-Інтер (video)

journs.ru {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirillov, Igor 1930 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors 21st-century Russian male actors Male actors from Moscow Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Honorary members of the Russian Academy of Arts Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Radio and television announcers Russian male journalists Russian male film actors Russian male stage actors Russian male voice actors Russian television journalists Russian television presenters Soviet journalists Soviet male film actors Soviet male stage actors Soviet male voice actors Soviet television presenters Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery