Ivan Ivanovich Okhlobystin (; born 22 July 1966) is a Russian actor, director,
screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
, and former Orthodox priest. He was defrocked by the Russian Orthodox Church and barred from performing priestly rites because of the roles he played in movies deemed "unworthy of the priestly dignity". He is the creative director of the company Baon.
Tula Oblast
Tula Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an Oblasts of Russia, oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in European Russia and is administratively part of the Central Federal District, covering an area of . It has a ...
,
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
,
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 ...
), where his father, Ivan Ivanovich Okhlobystin, was a military doctor, and a participant in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He was then 62 years old, and worked as the head physician at Polenovo. His mother, Albina Ivanovna Stavitskaya, (Okhlobystina by her first marriage) (maiden name Belyaeva), was an engineer-economist. She was then a 19-year-old student. His mother remarried to Anatoly Stavitsky, and Ivan had a half-brother Stanislav Stavitsky. For some time the family lived in a village near Maloyaroslavets in the
Kaluga Oblast
Kaluga Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Kaluga. The Russian Census (2021), 2021 Russian Census found a population o ...
, afterwards they all moved to Moscow.
After graduation, he entered the directing faculty at
VGIK
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, ...
Rashid Nugmanov
Rashid Nugmanov (also written Rachid Nougmanov; ; born March 19, 1954, in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan) is a Kazakhs, Kazakh film director, dissent, dissident, political activistDruker, Jeremy, (2003-11-17) "Creative Editing and Other Obstacles for the Kaz ...
and others. On the parallel course (at the screenwriting faculty)
Renata Litvinova
Renata Muratovna Litvinova (born 12 January 1967) is a Russian actress, film director, and screenwriter.
Biography
Was born in Moscow to Volga Tatars, Volga Tatar father Murat Aminovich Vergazov and a Russians, Russian mother, Alisa Mikhailo ...
, Roman Kachanov and others were studying at that time. Subsequently, Ivan continued the friendship and cooperation which began at the institute with many of them.
Without graduating, he was drafted into the army. After serving in the rocket forces in
Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...
, he reinstated himself at the institute. There he completely immersed himself in public work and was elected secretary of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR. In 1992 he graduated from the directing department of VGIK (workshop of
Igor Talankin
Igor Vasilyevich Talankin () (3 October 1927 – 24 July 2010) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. His film ''Splendid Days'' (1960, co-directed with Georgiy Daneliya) won the Crystal Globe (Karlovy Vary International Film Fes ...
).
Career
1990s — present day
Okhlobystin's career began with the picture "The Leg" by Nikita Tyagunov, which was released on the screens in 1991, he received the prize as best actor at the festival "Molodost-1991" (because of superstitious reasons he was credited under the pseudonym of Ivan Chuzhoy). His feature directorial debut, ''Arbiter'' with a soundtrack by the bands Piknik and "Obermaneken", was awarded the
Kinotavr
Kinotavr (), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival was an open film festival held in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991, until it was cancelled in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At the same time Okhlobystin took part in theatrical productions. On February 16, 1996, in the Moscow Art Theater premiered a theatre piece based on his play "The Villain, or Cry of the Dolphin" staged by Mikhail Efremov. In the same Moscow Art Theater, a second theatre piece of Okhlobystin was staged: "Maximilian the
Stylite
A stylite ( () "pillar dweller", derived from () "pillar" and ()) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who lives on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites believe that the mortification of their bodies would help ensure ...
", in 1999 the director Roman Kachanov adapted the play about the new-born seer for film and released it under the title of "Maximilian". In the late 1990s, Ivan wrote for the magazine "Stolitsa" but soon left the publication, because as he said, it turned into a "brothel", then worked in the staff of the weekly "Vesti".
Work in the cinema continued in 2000 with the cult film '' Demobbed'', the script to which Okhlobystin wrote in co-authorship with the film's director Kachanov; the plot of the film was partly based on Okhlobystin's own memories of service in the army.
Political and religious views
Okhlobystin became popular in the late 1990s but, following a religious conversion, withdrew to a monastery and became a
Russian Orthodox
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
. Patriarch Kirill removed Okhlobystin from the priesthood in February 2010, banning him wearing priestly vestments and the cross. In early 2010, Ivan resumed his entertainment career. Later that year he was named the
creative director
A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...
of Euroset, Russia's largest handset retailer.
On 5 September 2011 he announced that he would run for President of Russia in 2012 through the "Sky Coalition", but later gave up the idea, citing the opinion of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Appearing in RTVi's (
Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow () was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local radio stations), and via the Internet. From 1996 its editor- ...
's)'' Without Fools'' broadcast on 2 December 2012, Okhlobystin declared himself to be a "national-patriot" and claimed to "know" that "in the year when the head of State and the head of Church in Russia will both die", he will become the next President of the new Russian Empire. Saying "the Russian people will vote for me, and the Russian Church will anoint me," he stated that he would immediately put up a new Iron Wall around Russia and start a campaign of "cleansing" in order to "rebuild the Russian nation."
Okhlobystin is known for his
homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
views. In December 2013, he said that he wanted to "burn homosexuals alive," describing them as a "constant threat to his children," and that he could not watch this "
Sodom and Gomorrah
In the Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah () were two cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Sodom and Gomorrah are repeatedly invoked throughout the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical texts, and the New Testament as symbols of sin, di ...
" any longer.
In July 2014, a "creative evening" with Okhlobystin in the Ukrainian city of
Kharkiv
Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
was cancelled "due to anti-Ukrainian statements by Okhlobystin." In November 2014, Okhlobystin visited
Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
and declared his support for Novorussia. He said he was banned entry to Ukraine but considered Donetsk to be part of Novorussia. He is also banned from entering
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
and
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
, and all films and TV series which feature him are banned in Ukraine. In June 2024 Okhlobystin was sanctioned by the European Union.
Personal life
He has been married since 1995 to actress Oksana Okhlobystina (née Arbuzova) and has six children.
Selected filmography
As actor
* ''
Leg
A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element cap ...
Down House
Down House is the former home of the English Natural history, naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theory of evolution by natural selection, which he had conceived in London befor ...
'' (2001)
* ''
Tsar
Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
Serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...
The Snow Queen
"The Snow Queen" () is an 1844 original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in ''New Fairy Tales. First Volume#New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection, New Fairy Tales. First Vo ...
Down House
Down House is the former home of the English Natural history, naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theory of evolution by natural selection, which he had conceived in London befor ...