Alexander Vasilyevich Burdonsky (; October 14, 1941 – May 23, 2017) was a Russian theater and film director and grandson of

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. was the Party leader, leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, country's dissoluti ...

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. He directed more than 20 plays at The Moscow Theater, and also directed films including ''Playing On the Keys of The Soul'' and ''This Madman Platanov.'' In 1996, Burdonsky was awarded the People's Artist of Russia Award for his works.

Early life & education

Burdonsky was born on October 14, 1941, in Kuybyshev (now

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 ...

), during evacuation, to

Vasily Stalin Vasily Iosifovich Stalin Dzhugashvili ( ka, ვასილი იოსების ძე სტალინი ჯუღაშვილი, ; 21 March 1921 – 19 March 1962) was the youngest son of Joseph Stalin, born from his second wife, ...

and Galina Burdonskaya. At birth, he was given the surname Stalin, but during his school and college years, he used the surname Vasiliev. In adulthood, he adopted his mother's surname, Burdonsky. Four years after his birth, Burdonskaya left Vasily due to his lifestyle and habits such alcohol abuse, infidelity, and frequent scandals. After the separation, Vasily Stalin prevented Galina from seeing Alexander and his younger sister Nadezhda. The children returned to their mother only after Stalin’s death.

Theater career

In 1951, at his father’s insistence, Burdonsky was enrolled in the Kalinin

Suvorov Military School The Suvorov Military Schools () are a type of boarding school in the former Soviet Union and in modern Russia and Belarus for boys of 10–17. Education in these schools focuses on military related subjects. The schools are named after Alexander ...

, where he studied for two years. After completing seventh grade in 1955, he entered the Theatrical Art and Technical School to study stage design, while also participating in amateur performances at the Pioneer House on Tikhvin Lane. After graduating from the school in 1958, Burdonsky worked as a props artist in various Moscow theaters. In 1966, he enrolled at

GITIS The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) () is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, the school was founded on 22 September 1878 as the Shostakovsky Music School. It became the School of Mu ...

(the

Russian Institute of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) () is the largest and oldest independent drama school, theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, the school was founded on 22 September 1878 as the Shostakovsky Music School. It became the ...

) in the directing department, studying under Maria Knebel. Burdonsky was also accepted into the acting studio of the Sovremennik Theatre under Oleg Nikolayevich Yefremov. Upon graduating from GITIS in 1971, Burdonsky was invited by

Anatoly Efros Anatoly Vasilievich Efros (; July 3, 1925, Kharkiv – January 13, 1987, Moscow) was a Soviet theatre and film director. He was a leading interpreter of Russian classics during the Era of Stagnation and "received numerous awards for creative exce ...

to play the role of

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

in a

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

production at the Malaya Bronnaya Theatre. Three months later, Knebel invited him to the Central Theatre of the Soviet Army to direct the play

He Who Gets Slapped ''He Who Gets Slapped'' () is a play in four acts by Russian dramatist Leonid Andreyev; completed in August 1915 and first produced in that same year at the Moscow Art Theatre on October 27, 1915. Immensely popular with Russian audiences, the ...

Leonid Andreyev Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (, – 12 September 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian literature. He is regarded as one of the most talented and prolific ...

, featuring Andrei Popov and Vladimir Zeldin. After the production premiered in 1972, the theatre’s artistic director, Andrei Popov, offered Burdonsky a permanent position there.

Personal Life

Burdonsky was married to his classmate, (1940–2006), a

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

theatre director, Honored Art Worker of the Lithuanian SSR, and the chief director of the Lithuanian Youth Theatre who died in 2006. The couple had no children. Burdonsky died of cancer on May 23, 2017, at the age of 75.

References

External links

Биография на сайте Театра Российской армии

1941 births 2017 deaths Soviet theatre directors Russian theatre directors People's Artists of Russia Joseph Stalin Deaths from cancer in Russia Russian Academy of Theatre Arts alumni Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery Russian people of Georgian descent {{Russia-bio-stub