Anna Ivanivna Borisoglebskaya (; 1868–1939) was a Ukrainian actress and

People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR People's Artist of Ukraine () is an honorary title awarded by the government of Ukraine. It is the highest title awarded to outstanding performing artists whose merits are exceptional in the sphere of the development of the performing arts, inc ...

(1936).

Early years

Anna Borisoglebskaya was born on 1868, in the city of

Sebezh Sebezh () is a town and the administrative center of Sebezhsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in a picturesque setting between Lakes Sebezhskoye and Orono south of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: His ...

in the

Vitebsk Governorate Vitebsk Governorate (, ) was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting Belarusian Governorate and existed until 1924. Today most ...

(present-day

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

). Borisoglebskaya spent her childhood in the city of

Izium Izium or Izyum (, ; ) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine that serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion and Izium urban hromada. It is about southeast of the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative cen ...

in the

Kharkov Governorate Kharkov Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire founded in 1835. It embraced the historical region of Sloboda Ukraine. From 1765 to 1780 and from 1796 to 1835 the governorate was called Sloboda Uk ...

and received her education at the Charity Society School in Kharkov. In 1886, she took an exam to become a teacher at

Kharkov University The V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (), also known as Kharkiv National University or Karazin University, is a public university in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It was founded in 1804 through the efforts of Vasily Karazin, becoming the second old ...

and began teaching in the village of Novoselovka in the

Izyumsky Uyezd Izyumsky Uyezd (; ) was one of the subdivisions of the Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southeastern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Izium (Izyum). Demographics At the time of the Russian Em ...

that same year. Borisoglebskaya died on September 29, 1939, in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. She was buried in

Baikove Cemetery Baikove Cemetery () is a historic cemetery memorial in Holosiivskyi District of Kyiv, Ukraine. It is a National Historic Monument of Ukraine and is known as a necropolis of distinguished people. History The cemetery was established in 1833 a ...

in Kyiv, and her grave is maintained by the Ukrainian Theater Actors Union.

Career

From her childhood, Borislebskaya showed interest in the theater. She stepped onto the professional stage in 1888 with invitation of

Marko Kropyvnytskyi Marko Lukych Kropyvnytskyi (; – ) was a Ukrainian writer, dramaturge, composer, theatre actor and director. Over his career Kropyvnytskyi wrote 40 plays, played in over 500 roles of various repertoire, as well as wrote several songs.Kropyv ...

. Borislebskaya worked with Kropivnitskyi's troupe until 1902, then spent four years with Panas Saksahansky and Ivan Karpenko-Karyi's troupe. In 1906–1907, she toured with the Shchepkin and Kolesnichenko troupes. From 1907 to 1917, she worked at the stationary theater led by Nikolay Sadovsky in Kyiv. She created a rich gallery of vivid stage characters in the theater: Rindichka, Teklya, Gapka, Varvara ("During the Inspection," "Until the Sun Rises, Dew Eats Eyes," "Zaydigolova," "Chmyr" by Kropyvnytskyi), Sekleta, Vustya ("Chasing Two Hares," "Oh, Grits, Don't Go..." by Starytskyi), Hanna ("Talented" by Karpenko-Karyi), Mother (in the plays "Sueta" by Karpenko-Karyi and "The Forest Song" by

Lesya Ukrainka Lesya Ukrainka (, ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, ; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active political, civil, and feminist activist. Among her best-known works are ...

), Stekha ("Nazar Stodolya" by Shevchenko), Shkandybiha ("Limerivna" by Panas Myrnyi), Mazaylikha ("Mina Mazaylo" by Mykola Kulish). In 1919, Borisoglebskaya became one of the founders of the First State Ukrainian Drama Theater named after T. G. Shevchenko (now in the city of Dnipro — Taras Shevchenko Dnipro Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theatre). From 1920 to 1925, she was in

Western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine (, ) refers to the western territories of Ukraine. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries, but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions ( oblasts) of Chernivtsi, I ...

, where she performed with various theater troupes, especially with Orel-Stepnyak. From 1925 until the end of her life, she worked at the Ivan Franko Theater in Kyiv. Here she created characters in plays such as: Oryna ("97" by Kulish), Klara ("Fear" by Afanasyev), Marfa, Varvara ("Truth," "Bohdan Khmelnytsky" by Korniychuk).

References

{{Authority control Ukrainian actors 1868 births 1939 deaths Burials at Baikove Cemetery Soviet silent film actresses Ukrainian silent film actresses 20th-century Ukrainian actresses Soviet actresses by medium