Nikolay Gubenko
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Nikolai Nikolaevich Gubenko (, ; 17 August 1941 – 16 August 2020) was a Soviet and Russian actor,
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
and
theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
,
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 ...
, founder of the Community of Taganka Actors theatre. His movie '' Wounded Game'' was entered into the
1977 Cannes Film Festival The 30th Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 27 May 1977. Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini served as jury president for the main competition. Italian filmmakers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top priz ...
. He was named
People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, actors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achiev ...
in 1985.Cinema: Encyclopedia Dictionary, main ed.
Sergei Yutkevich Sergei Iosifovich Yutkevich (, 28 December 1904 – 23 April 1985) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He was a People's Artist of the USSR (1962) and a Hero of Socialist Labour (1974). Life and career He began work as a teen do ...
(1987). — Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, p. 108 Gubenko was also active in politics. He served as the last Minister of Culture of the USSR (1989–1991) and as the Russian
State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
deputy between 1995 and 2003. From 2005 on he acted as the
Moscow City Duma The Moscow City Duma (, commonly abbreviated to ) is the Regional parliaments of Russia, regional parliament (city duma) of Moscow, a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject and the capital city of Russia. As Moscow is one of Federal cities ...
deputy.Anna Kisselgoff
The New Minister Of Soviet Culture Takes Truth as Task
article at
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, 27 December 1989


Early life

Nikolai Gubenko was born in the
Odessa Catacombs The Odesa catacombs are a labyrinth-like network of tunnels located under the city of Odesa and its outskirts in Ukraine, that are mostly (over 90%) the result of stone mining, particularly coquina.Bachynska, O. Odessa Catacombs (ОДЕСЬКІ К ...
during the Defence of Odessa, the youngest of five children.
, 2011 (in Russian) His mother was
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
and his father – a native Ukrainian; both of them died in 1942 during the
Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...
. His father joined the
Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...
before Nikolai was born and was killed in action near
Voroshilovgrad Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...
. His mother, a chief designer at one of the local plants, was interrogated during the
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
-
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n occupation of Odessa and killed after she refused to collaborate; her body was returned to Nikolai's grandfather "with traces of hanging"., 2009 (in Russian) All of Gubenko's siblings were adopted, while he was left with his grandparents who sent him to the Odessa
orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...
after the war. Then he joined a special
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
with a focus on English language. Upon graduation he was supposed to enter the Military Institute of Foreign Languages, but it was closed in 1955 following
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...
's war reform. After that, in 1958 he joined the Odessa
Young Spectator's Theatre Young Spectator's Theatre (Театр Юного Зрителя, ТЮЗ) was a standard name of a professional theatre for children and youth in many cities of the Soviet Union, usually referred to by this abbreviation: тюз, TYuZ (sometimes t ...
to work as a
stagehand A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work includes setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General ...
and an extra., the course led by Sergei Gerasimov and Tamara Makarova which he finished in 1964. During the studies he met his future wife, actress Zhanna Bolotova. As a student he performed in one of the leading roles in the cult Soviet movie ''
I Am Twenty ''I Am Twenty'' (, translit. ''Mne dvadtsat let'') is a 1965 drama film directed by Marlen Khutsiev. It is Khutsiev's most famous film and considered a landmark of 1960s Soviet cinema. The film was originally entitled ''Zastava Iliycha'' (k ...
'' (originally titled ''Ilyich's Gate'') directed by
Marlen Khutsiev Marlen Martynovich Khutsiev (4 October 192519 March 2019) was a Georgian-born Soviet and Russian filmmaker best known for his cult films from the 1960s, which include '' I Am Twenty'' and '' July Rain''. He was named a People's Artist of the US ...
. It had a long, troubled production history. Finished in 1962, it was screened at the
Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...
and greatly angered Nikita Khrushchev who compared it to an ideological diversion and criticized it for "ideas and norms of public and private life that are entirely unacceptable and alien to Soviet people". The final cut was released only in 1965, when Gubenko had already graduated. He played
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
in his diploma play based on
Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...
's ''
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui ''The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'' (), subtitled "A parable play", is a 1941 play by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht. It chronicles the rise of Arturo Ui, a fictional 1930s Chicago mobster, and his attempts to control the cauliflower ra ...
''. As Gubenko later recalled, he invested all his hate towards the man responsible for the deaths of his parents into the role. His performance turned so powerful that
Yuri Lyubimov Yuri Petrovich Lyubimov (; 5 October 2014) was a Soviet and Russian stage actor and director associated with the internationally renowned Taganka Theatre, which he founded in 1964. He was one of the leading names in the Russian theatre world. ...
who visited the play immediately made him an offer to join the
Taganka Theatre Taganka Theatre (, Театр драмы и комедии на Таганке, "Таганка") is a theater located in the Art Nouveau building on Taganka Square in Moscow. History The Drama and Comedy Theater was founded in 1946. The head di ...
, even though Gubenko had studied to be a film actor. He served there from 1964 until the end of the 1960s when he decided to dedicate himself to cinema and entered director's courses at VGIK, also led by Gerasimov and Makarova, which he finished in 1970. Between 1971 and 1988 Gubenko directed six movies. The first, ''A Soldier Returns from the Front'', was awarded the
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 (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) in 1965. Three Vasilyev Brothers prizes were awarded annually from 1966 unti ...
. His 1976 '' Wounded Game'' (or ''Podranki'') was based on his own original screenplay. The story covered the lives of orphans in the post-war
Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
. According to Gubenko, it was 50/50 autobiographical and included many personal details. Fifteen leading roles were performed by real orphans — he had watched thousands of children from orphanages and boarding schools all over the country. The film was seen by 20.3 million people and was entered into the
1977 Cannes Film Festival The 30th Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 27 May 1977. Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini served as jury president for the main competition. Italian filmmakers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top priz ...
. It was also awarded the bronze Hugo prize at the 1977
Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
. In 1987 Gubenko returned to the
Taganka Theatre Taganka Theatre (, Театр драмы и комедии на Таганке, "Таганка") is a theater located in the Art Nouveau building on Taganka Square in Moscow. History The Drama and Comedy Theater was founded in 1946. The head di ...
following the death of
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 ...
. He headed it, started resurrecting old plays and at the same time used all his influence to help
Yuri Lyubimov Yuri Petrovich Lyubimov (; 5 October 2014) was a Soviet and Russian stage actor and director associated with the internationally renowned Taganka Theatre, which he founded in 1964. He was one of the leading names in the Russian theatre world. ...
return to the USSR.''
Leonid Filatov Leonid Alekseyevich Filatov ( rus, Леонид Алексеевич Филатов, p=lʲɪɐˈnʲit əlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ fʲɪˈlatəf, a=Lyeonid Alyeksyeyevich Filatov.ru.vorb.oga; 24 December 1946 – 26 October 2003) was a Soviet an ...
(2007)''. Direct Speech. — Moscow: AST, pp. 180—187 Maria Sedykh
The Taganka dead end
article at Itogy magazine №14, 8 April 2013 (in Russian) As soon as Lyubimov's citizenship was restored, he left the director's chair, but remained in the theatre as an actor. He was also offered the seat of the Minister of Culture of the USSR, becoming the first Soviet arts professional to hold a similar post since
Anatoly Lunacharsky Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (, born ''Anatoly Aleksandrovich Antonov''; – 26 December 1933) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Soviet People's Commissariat for Education, People's Commissar (minister) of Education, as well ...
in 1917. He served from 1989 to 1991 when the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
occurred, and so he was the last Soviet Minister of Culture. In 1992 a split happened at Taganka following Lyubimov's contract being sent to the Moscow mayor Gavrill Popov for signature, where he basically suggested that the theatre should be privatized by attracting "foreign colleagues", and move to the contract system. This would have allowed him to hire or fire actors at any time, while all the inner conflicts would be resolved at the International Court.Sergei Samoshin
Taganka Theatre decided to abolish Yuri Lyubimov
article at
Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...
, 20 January 1992 (in Russian) Lyubimov himself spent most of his time abroad and refused to talk with the actors. At one point he attended a meeting and got into an argument with Gubenko who took the side of the protesters and was fired. Yet he continued acting in the play ''Vladimir Vysotsky'' based around
Vladimir Vysotsky Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky (25 January 193825 July 1980) was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor who had an immense and enduring effect on Soviet culture. He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which ...
's songs. Lyubimov then sought the help of
OMON OMON is a system of military special police units within the Armed Forces of Russia. It previously operated within the structures of the Soviet and Russian Ministries of Internal Affairs (MVD). Originating as the special forces unit of the So ...
to ban him from entering and canceled the play. After that Gubenko left along with 35 other actors and founded his own non-state theatre – the Community of Taganka Actors which he managed until his death, taking part as an actor, stage director and playwright. In 2008 it received state status.Resolution № 947-ПП from 14 October 2008
at the Moscow Portal (in Russian)


Selected filmography


References


Literature

*''Nikolai Gubenko (2014)''. Theatre of the Absurd. Plays on the Political Scene. — Moscow: Algorythm, 256 pages *''Evgeny Gromov (2012)''. Nikolai Gubenko. Director and Actor. — Moscow: Algorythm, 288 pages


External links

*

article at
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, 6 December 1990
Monologue in 4 Parts. Nikolai Gubenko
documentary by
Russia-K Russia-K ( "Russia - Culture") is a Russian nationwide not-for-profit television channel that broadcasts shows regarding arts and culture. It belongs to the state-controlled VGTRK group. History The creation of ''Kultura'' channel was authoris ...
, 2018 (in Russian)
Nikolai Gubenko. I accept the fight
documentary by TV Centre, 2011 (in Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gubenko, Nikolai 1941 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors 21st-century Russian male actors 21st-century Russian politicians Academicians of the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Russia Male actors from Odesa Communist Party of the Russian Federation members Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography alumni Russian male screenwriters People's Artists of the RSFSR Culture ministers of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR Soviet theatre directors Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian male stage actors Russian male voice actors Russian people of Ukrainian descent 20th-century Russian screenwriters 20th-century Russian male writers Soviet film directors Soviet male film actors Soviet male stage actors Soviet male voice actors Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters Russian actor-politicians Film people from Odesa Members of the Moscow City Duma Second convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Third convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Russian theatre directors Members of the Central Committee of the 28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union