Vasily Semyonovich Lanovoy (16 January 193428 January 2021) was a

Soviet 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 ...

and Russian actor who worked in the

Vakhtangov Theatre The Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre () is a drama theatre in Moscow. It was founded in 1913 as the Student Drama Studio, headed by Yevgeny Vakhtangov. The official opening date of the 3rd Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT) is considered to ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He was also known as the President of

Artek Artek may refer to: *Arctic Technology Centre *Artek (camp), an international children center near Hurzuf, Crimea *Artek (company), a Finnish furniture manufacturer {{Disambiguation ...

Festival of Films for Children. Lanovoy's honours include the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

Prize, the

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

, and the title of

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

. In 2019, he received the title of

Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation () is a state award of Russia. The title is awarded to citizens of Russia for special services in labour to the state and its people associated with the achievement of outstanding results in public, social ...

Acting career

Lanovoy came to prominence through playing bold, dashing characters, combining heroic bravado with a sensitivity typical of Russian heroes, a tendency evident in many of his early features, such as '' Certificate of Maturity'' (1954) and ''

Pavel Korchagin Pavel Korchagin is the protagonist of the Soviet novel ''How the Steel Was Tempered ''How the Steel Was Tempered'' () or ''The Making of a Hero'', is a socialist realist novel written by Nikolai Ostrovsky (1904–1936). With 36.4 million cop ...

'' (1956). Lanovoy's many film roles from the 1960s include

Anatole Kuragin Anatole Vasilyevich Kuragin () is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace'', its various cinematic adaptations, and an operatic adaptation as well. Description Anatole is Hélène Kuragina's wild-living brother and a ...

Sergei Bondarchuk Sergei Fyodorovich Bondarchuk (25 September 192020 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor and filmmaker of Ukrainian origin who was one of the leading figures of Soviet cinema in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He is known for his sweeping p ...

's ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

'' and Count Vronsky in the screen version of ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

''. By this time, he has tried to create complex psychological portraits of his characters. However, he is best known for his roles in iconic 1970s

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 ...

-themed films. Lanovoy portrayed Ivan Varavva, one of the main characters in the 1971 saga ''

Officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

'' which became a life-affirming film for the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

officers. He also played a supporting role of SS General

Karl Wolff Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff (13 May 1900 – 16 July 1984) was a senior German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) officer who served as Chief of Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS (Heinrich Himmler) and an SS liaison to Adolf Hitler during World War II. He ende ...

in the cult spy thriller TV-series ''

Seventeen Moments of Spring ''Seventeen Moments of Spring'' () is a 1973 Soviet Union, Soviet twelve-part television series, directed by Tatyana Lioznova and based on the novel of the same title by Yulian Semyonov. The series portrays the exploits of Maxim Isaev, a Soviet ...

'' (1973). In 2000s, Lanovoy appeared primarily in the roles of Soviet-era party bosses, such as

Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov ( – 9 February 1984) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from late 1982 until his death in 1984. He previously served as the List of Chairmen of t ...

in the 2005 TV film ''

Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until his death in 1982 as well as the fourth chairman of the Presidium ...

''. In 2013, he played the role of Cardinal Richelieu in Russian movie ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

''.

Political views

In 2014, he signed a petition supporting the actions of

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

in the annexation of Crimea, for which he was banned from entering

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Crimea is since March 2014 under dispute by Russia and Ukraine. He was critical of the (late 2013 until early 2014) Ukrainian

Euromaidan Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...

demonstrations, claiming that the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

were using

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

for their own political gain.

Personal life

Lanovoy was born to a family of Ukrainian peasants. His parents, originally from the rural

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast (), also referred to as Odeshchyna (Одещина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative centre is the city of Ode ...

, escaped the famine to

. However, the

Nazi/

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

occupation caught little Vasily in southern Ukraine with his village relatives while his parents were evacuated to the Soviet rear as workers with a military-critical industrial company. Lanovoy was married to

Irina Kupchenko Irina Petrovna Kupchenko (; born 1 March 1948 in Vienna) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress. She rose to prominence after acting in Andrei Konchalovsky's 1969 movie adaptation of '' A Nest of Gentry''. She has performed in more than fo ...

, herself a famous Soviet actress educated 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, ...

. His first wife was another film star,

Tatiana Samoilova Tatiana Yevgenyevna Samoilova (; 4 May 1934 – 4 May 2014) was a Soviet and Russian film actress best known for her lead role in ''The Cranes Are Flying'' (1957). She received a number of awards for the film, including a special mention at the C ...

, best known for her leading part in ''

The Cranes Are Flying ''The Cranes Are Flying'' (, translit. ''Letyat zhuravli'') is a 1957 Soviet war drama film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov at Mosfilm, written by Viktor Rozov, and starring Aleksey Batalov and Tatiana Samoilova. It depicts the cruelty an ...

''. Lanovoy died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

at a hospital in Moscow on 28 January 2021, less than two weeks after his 87th birthday.

Honors and awards

:1968 –

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 ...

:1971 – Best Actor of the year, by a poll of the ''Sovetsky Ekran'' magazine (for the film ''Officers'') :1978 –

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 ...

:1980 –

- for participation in the documentary film ''The Great Patriotic War'' :1983 – KGB Award for the film "Fight at the crossroads" :1984 – Prize of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs - for the film ''Proceed to Eliminate'' :1985 –

:1994 –

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

- for merits in development of theatrical art :2001 – Order of Honour :2004 –

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

, 4th class - for his great contribution to the development of theatrical art :2004 –

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

, 3rd class (Ukraine) - for high professionalism and considerable contribution to the development of Russian-Ukrainian cultural relations :2008 – Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class - for his contribution to the development of domestic theatrical and cinematic arts, a multi-year social work :2008 – Special Prize of the President of Belarus "for preserving and developing traditions of spirituality in the cinema" :2009 – "Great Literary Prize of Russia" (Russian Writers' Union), the prize "For the benefit of Russia" for his outstanding contribution to the development of Russian culture :2010 – Tsarskoselskaya art prize :2013 –

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky () is an Order (distinction), order of merit of the Russia, Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious ser ...

:2014 – Order of Merit, 2nd class (Ukraine) - for a significant personal contribution to the socio-economic, scientific and technical, cultural and educational development of the Ukrainian state :2019 –

Selected filmography

* '' Certificate of Maturity'' (1954) *''

'' (1956) * '' Scarlet Sails'' (1961) * ''

Striped Trip ''Striped Trip'' () is a 1961 Soviet adventure comedy film directed by Vladimir Fetin, with the acclaimed tiger tamer Margarita Nazarova in the main role. The movie was seen by 45.8 mil. viewers on the year of release, becoming the Soviet box o ...

'' (1961) *''

Colleagues Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues, especially among peers, for example a fellow member of the same profession. Colleagues are those explicitly united in a common purpose and, at least in theory, respect each other's abilities t ...

'' (1962) * '' Going Inside a Storm'' (1965) * ''

'' (1966-1967) *''

'' (1967) *'' No Password Necessary'' (1967) * ''

Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...

'' (1968 TV film) *'' The Sixth of July'' (1968) * ''

'' (1971) * ''

'' (1973 TV series) *''

Sea Cadet of Northern Fleet ''Sea Cadet of Northern Fleet'' () is a 1973 Soviet World War II film directed by Vladimir Rogovoy. Plot The film takes place during the war. The film tells about four Soviet boys who go to the Solovetsky Islands to the Jung school, which beca ...

'' (1973) * ''

The Days of the Turbins ''The Days of the Turbins'' () is a four-act play by Mikhail Bulgakov that is based upon his novel '' The White Guard''. It was written in 1925 and premiered on 5 October 1926 in Moscow Art Theatre (MAT) and was directed by Konstantin Stanisla ...

'' (1976) * ''

Soldiers of Freedom ''Soldiers of Freedom'' () is a four-part 1977 film epic directed by Yuri Ozerov and starring Mikhail Ulyanov, Yevgeny Matveyev, Vasily Lanovoy. It is a World War II historical drama and the sequel to 1970-71's '' Liberation''. Plot The film ...

'' (1977) *'' A Strange Woman'' (1977) *'' Petrovka, 38'' (1980) *'' Ogaryova Street, Number 6'' (1980) *''

Start Liquidation ''Start Liquidation'' () is a 1983 Soviet crime action film directed by Boris Grigoryev. Plot The film takes place in the spring of 1945 in Western Belarus, where the brutal gang of Boleslav Kruk creates chaos. They kill, rob and set fire to co ...

'' (1983) *''

Black Square ''Black Square'' () is a 1915 oil on linen canvas painting by the Russian avant-garde artist and theorist Kazimir Malevich. There are four painted versions, the first of which was completed in 1915 and described by the artist as his breakthrou ...

'' (1992) * ''

Trifles of Life ''Trifles of Life'' () is the first Russian TV series. Broadcast on 1st channel Ostankino in 1992-1995 (first year) and on the Channel One Russia in 1995. Plot The married Kuznetsovs are experiencing a midlife crisis — Maria and Sergei do ...

'' (1992-1995 TV series) *''

The Aristocratic Peasant Girl ''The Aristocratic Peasant Girl'' () is a 1995 Russian romantic drama film directed by Aleksey Sakharov. It is loosely based on a tale with the same name from Pushkin's ''The Belkin Tales''. Plot A young master visits a neighboring estate. The ...

'' (1995) * ''Chivalric Romance'' (2000) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2013)

Notes

References

External links

* *
Vasily Lanovoy on the Vakhtangov Theatre webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanovoy, Vasily 1934 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors 21st-century Russian male actors Male actors from Moscow Academicians of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences "Nika" Honorary members of the Russian Academy of Arts Members of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Russian nationalists Russian people of Ukrainian descent Russian male film actors Russian male stage actors Russian male voice actors 20th-century Russian memoirists Soviet male film actors Soviet male stage actors Soviet male voice actors Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Recipients of the Golden Mask