Aleksey Vladimirovich Batalov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Влади́мирович Бата́лов; 20 November 1928 – 15 June 2017) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, film director, screenwriter and pedagogue acclaimed for his portrayal of noble and positive characters. He was named a

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significa ...

in 1976 and a Hero of Socialist Labour in 1989.

Life and career

Batalov was born on 20 November 1928 in Vladimir, into a family associated with the theatre. His uncle

Nikolai Batalov Nikolai Petrovich Batalov (russian: Николай Петрович Баталов; 6 December 1899 in Moscow – 10 November 1937 in Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. He performed in a number of notable films between 1924 an ...

starred in

Vsevolod Pudovkin Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin ( rus, Всеволод Илларионович Пудовкин, p=ˈfsʲevələt ɪlərʲɪˈonəvʲɪtɕ pʊˈdofkʲɪn; 16 February 1893 – 30 June 1953) was a Russian and Soviet film director, screenwriter ...

's classic ''Mother'' (1926). The Modernist poet

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; uk, А́нна Андрі́ївна Горе́нко, Ánna Andríyivn ...

was a family friend, and he painted a well-known portrait of her in 1952. Batalov joined the Moscow Art Theatre in 1953 but left three years later to concentrate on his career in film. During the

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...

he was one of the most recognizable actors in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. ''

The Cranes Are Flying ''The Cranes Are Flying'' (russian: Летят журавли, translit. ''Letyat zhuravli'') is a 1957 Soviet film about the Second World War. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage done to the Soviet psyche as a result of war, which ...

'' (1957) is his best-regarded film of the period, and the one which won the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

. He also starred in Mikhail Romm's ''

Nine Days of One Year ''Nine Days in One Year'' (russian: Девять дней одного года) is a 1962 Soviet black-and-white drama film directed by Mikhail Romm about nuclear particle physics, physicists and their relationships. The film is based on true eve ...

'' (1962). In 1967 he was a member of the jury of the

5th Moscow International Film Festival The 5th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 5 to 20 July 1967. The Grand Prix was shared between the Soviet film '' The Journalist'', directed by Sergei Gerasimov and the Hungarian film ''Father'', directed by István Szabó. The fe ...

. In 1973 he was a member of the jury at the

8th Moscow International Film Festival The 8th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 10 to 23 July 1973. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Soviet film '' That Sweet Word: Liberty!'' directed by Vytautas Žalakevičius and the Bulgarian film ''Affection'' directed by L ...

. During the 1960s and 1970s, Batalov became known for his fastidious approach towards choosing roles for himself. He appeared mostly in film adaptations of Russian classics, including

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career a ...

's''

The Lady with the Dog "The Lady with the Dog" (russian: Дама с собачкой, translit=Dama s sobachkoy) is a short story by Anton Chekhov. First published in 1899, it describes an adulterous affair between an unhappily married Moscow banker and a young married ...

'' (1960) and Bulgakov's'' The Flight'' (1970). He also directed screen versions of

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

's ''

The Overcoat "The Overcoat" (russian: Шине́ль, translit. Shinyél’; sometimes translated as "The Cloak") is a short story by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story has had a great influence on Russian literature. Eugène-Me ...

'' (1960) and

Yuri Olesha Yury Karlovich Olesha (russian: Ю́рий Ка́рлович Оле́ша, – 10 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet novelist. He is considered one of the greatest Russian novelists of the 20th century, one of the few to have succeeded in wri ...

's ''Three Fat Men'' (1966). In the 1970s he concentrated on a professorship at the

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, meaning ''All-Russian State Institute of Cinemat ...

. In 1979, Batalov was invited to play Gosha, a mill machinist, in the melodrama ''

Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears ''Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears'' (russian: Москва слезам не верит, Moskva slezam ne verit) is a 1980 Soviet romantic drama film made by Mosfilm. It was written by Valentin Chernykh and directed by Vladimir Menshov. The lead ...

''. After many hesitations, Batalov brilliantly played his part in the movie, which won him the

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

. The role was central to the film's Soviet message. As one character says in the picnic scene: "Seventy percent of my doctorate was due to Gosha's mechanical genius". After that, he effectively retired from acting and devoted his time to coaching new generations of film actors.

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

presented the Lifetime Achievement

Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. History The award was established ...

to him in 2002. Batalov was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation (2005). In 2007, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the

29th Moscow International Film Festival The 29th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 21 to 30 June 2007. The Golden George was awarded to the Russian film '' Travelling with Pets'' directed by Vera Storozheva. Jury * Fred Schepisi (Australia – Chairman of the Jury) * A ...

. In March 2014, he signed a letter in support of the position of the President of Russia

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime m ...

on Russia's military intervention in Ukraine. Batalov died on 15 June 2017 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

from complications of a fall, which resulted in a hip fracture, at the age of 88.

Honours and awards

;Awards of Russia and the USSR: * Hero of Socialist Labour (1989) *

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by ...

: **2nd class (20 November 2008) – for outstanding contribution to the development of national culture, for his many years of creative and educational activities **3rd class (10 November 1998) – for outstanding contributions to the development of national cinematography *

Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR The Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR was an annual State Prize established by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR in 1965. Three Vasilyev Brothers prizes were awarded annually from 1966 until 1990 for cinematographic works of all kinds ( ...

(1966) – for his role in the movie ''Nine Days in One Year'' *Two

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

(1967, 1989) *

Lenin Komsomol Prize Lenin Komsomol Prize () was a Soviet annual award for the best works in science, engineering, literature or art carried out by young authors of age not exceeding 33 years. Komsomol was the abbreviated name of The Communist Union of Youth (Russi ...

(1967) *

Honored Artist of the RSFSR Honored Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Zasluzhenny artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achievements in the ...

(1964) *

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orches ...

(1969) *

(1976) *

(1981) – for his role in the movie ''Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears'' * State Prize of the Russian Federation (2005) * Russian Presidential Prize in Literature and Art in 1999 (17 February 2000) ;Foreign awards: * Order of St. Cyril and Methodius (Bulgaria) ;Community Awards: * Order of Peter the Great (Academy of Security, Defence and Law Enforcement, 2003) * Juno Award (1997) * Idol Award (2002) – ''For high service to art'' * Commemorative Medal for the 150th anniversary of Anton Chekhov, by the Moscow Art Theatre (2005)

Filmography

Actor

*'' Zoya'' (Зоя, 1944) as Alyosha Batalov, Zoya's classmate (uncredited) *'' A Big Family'' (1954) as Aleksey Ilich Zhurbin *''Mikhaylo Lomonosov'' (1955) as Muzhik *''

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ge ...

'' (1955) as Pavel Vlasov *''

The Rumyantsev Case ''The Rumyantsev Case'' (russian: Дело Румянцева) is a 1955 Soviet crime film directed by Iosif Kheyfits. Plot Young truck-driver Sasha Rumyantsev, trying to avoid running over a child, has an accident, his car crashes into a brick wa ...

'' (Дело Румянцева, 1956) as Sasha Rumyantsev *''

'' (1957) as Boris *''Dorogoy moy chelovek'' (1958) *''Shinel'' (1959) (uncredited) *''

'' (1960) as Dmitri Dmitrievich Gurov *''

'' (Девять дней одного года, 1962) as Dmitri Gusev *''A Day of Happiness'' (1963) as Alexander Nikolaevich Beryozkin *''Svet dalyokoy zvezdy'' (1965) as Lukashov *''

Three Fat Men ''Three Fat Men'' (Три толстяка) written in 1924, by Yury Olesha, was published in 1928. It was the first revolutionary fairy tale in Soviet literature. The critical reaction at first was varied. V. Boichevsky in an article "How Storie ...

'' (1966) as Tibul *''V gorode S.'' (1967) as Shergov *''

The Seventh Companion ''The Seventh Companion'' (russian: Седьмой спутник, translit=''Sed'moy sputnik'') is a 1967 Soviet drama film set in Petrograd in the years following the Russian Revolution. The film marked the directorial debut of Russian director ...

'' (Седьмой спутник, 1968) as commissar *''

The Living Corpse ''The Living Corpse'' (russian: Живой труп, italic=yes, link=no) is a Russian play by Leo Tolstoy. Although written around 1900, it was only published shortly after his death—Tolstoy had never considered the work finished. An immediate ...

'' (Живой труп, 1968) as Fyodor Protasov *''Vnimanie, cherepakha!'' (1970) *'' The Flight'' (Бег, 1971) as Sergei Pavlovich Golubkov *''Vozvrata net'' (1974) as Aleksey Vladimirovich Yegorov *''

A Very English Murder ''A Very English Murder'' (russian: Чисто английское убийство, Chisto angliyskoe ubiystvo) is a 1974 cinema of the Soviet Union, Soviet teleplay directed by Samson Samsonov, based on the 1951 novel ''An English Murder'' by ...

'' (1974) as Dr. Botwink *''Nezabytaya pesnya'' (1975) as Mikola *'' The Captivating Star of Happiness'' (Звезда пленительного счастья, 1975) as

Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy Prince Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy (russian: Серге́й Петро́вич Трубецко́й; 29 August 1790 – 22 November 1860) was one of the organizers of the Decembrist movement. Close to Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov in his views, h ...

*''Rikki-Tikki-Tavi'' (1979) *''

'' (Москва слезам не верит, 1980) as Georgy Ivanovich "Gosha" *''

Speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quantity ...

'' (Скорость, 1983) as Igor Vladimirovich Lagutin *''O lyudyakh atomakh'' (1983) *'' Time for rest from Saturday to Monday'' (Время отдыха с субботы до понедельника, 1984) as Pavel *''Dose cheloveka v 'Mersedese (1986) *''Zontik dlya novobrachnykh'' (1987) as Dmitriy Pavlovich Kraskov *''

Stalin's Funeral ''Stalin's Funeral'' (russian: Похороны Сталина, Pokhorony Stalina) is a 1990 Soviet drama film written and directed by the famous poet, Yevgeni Yevtushenko. The film stars the British actress, Vanessa Redgrave. Plot 1953, USSR. M ...

'' (Похороны Сталина, 1990) as Eugene's father *''Poltergeyst-90'' (1991) *''...Pervaya lyubov'' (1995) (voice) *''Rokovye yaytsa'' (1996) *''Malenkaya printsessa'' (1997) *''Karnavalnaya noch 2, ili 50 let spustya'' (2007) (final film role)

Director

*''

'' (1959) *''

'' (1966) *''The Gambler'' (1972)

Voice

*''

Hedgehog in the Fog ''Hedgehog in the Fog'' ( rus, Ёжик в тумане, r=Yózhik v tumáne, p=ˈjɵʐɨk f tʊˈmanʲɪ) is a 1975 Soviet animated film directed by Yuri Norstein and produced by the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow. The Russian script was written ...

'' (1975) as Narrator *'' The Adventures of Lolo the Penguin'' (1988) as Narrator

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Batalov, Aleksey 1928 births 2017 deaths People from Vladimir, Russia Russian male film actors Soviet male film actors Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor winners People's Artists of the USSR Heroes of Socialist Labour State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the USSR State Prize Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Academicians of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences "Nika" Moscow Art Theatre School alumni Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography faculty Academicians of the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Russia Soviet male voice actors Russian male voice actors Accidental deaths from falls