Prominent Russians

Prominent Russians: Boris Chirkov.   The last century brought many remarkable actors, but few were as popular as Boris Chirkov. He was the most admired film celebrity in the Soviet Union during the 1930s and 1940s. Making his cinematic debut in 1927, he went on to play close to 40 roles. Chirkov first attained fame for the role of Maxim, a revolutionary worker from St. Petersburg, in “The Maxim Tr...

Prominent Russians: Patriarch Kirill.   Kirill I (secular name Vladimir Gundyaev) is the acting Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia. Russians’ attitudes towards him are ambiguous: the Orthodox Church has prospered under his leadership, though many people say this prosperity is based on corruption.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/prominent-russians--6677656/s...

Prominent Russians: Sergey Eisenstein.  A film director, scriptwriter and theorist and the “father of montage cinema,” Sergey Mikhailovich Eisenstein was one of the world’s most famous and prestigious film directors whose theories still remain the subject of great interest and debate today and whose works are still regarded as among the most significant in cinema history. Become a supporter of thi...

Prominent Russians: Anna Pavlova.   A fragile girl who was at first denied entry to the Russian Imperial Ballet School due to the delicacy of her constitution, Anna Pavlova became one of the most famous classical ballet dancers in history and was a mystery both during her lifetime and after her death. Her very birth was the first in a long line of myths connected with Anna Pavlova and her personal...

Prominent Russians: Maya Plisetskaya. Plisetskaya is renowned as one of the world's greatest and most charismatic ballerinas. Her slender physique combined with outstanding technique and effervescent personality have enabled her to steal the hearts of Indira Gandhi, Robert Kennedy and Mao Zedong alike. Plisetskaya has revolutionised the world of ballet once and for all, becoming a role model for m...

Prominent Russians: Aleksandr Borodin. Aleksandr Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian composer, chemist and public activist. His best-known work is the opera “Prince Igor” (“Knyaz Igor”). Borodin was born in St. Petersburg from an affair between the 62-year-old Georgian prince Luka Gedianov (or Gedianishvili) and a St. Petersburg commoner, Avdotya Antonova. He was registered as a son of the prince’s...

Prominent Russians: Nicholas II.Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia. Born 6 May 1868, Nicholas was the oldest son of Tsar Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna. His parents took particular trouble over his education. Nicholas was taught by outstanding Russian academics at home, he knew several languages and had a wide knowledge of history, and he also quickly grasped military science....

Prominent Russians: Rikhard Zorge. Rikhard Zorge was a Soviet spy in Japan, and was the first to warn Stalin about Hitler’s plan to attack the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Later that year he also informed the USSR that Japan had no intention to go to war with the Soviet Union. This allowed the USSR to divert military divisions from its eastern borders to fight Nazis in the western front, which u...

Prominent Russians: Boris Godunov. The ruler of Russia from 1587-1598 and Tsar from 1598 to 1605, Boris Godunov played an important role in Russian history. According to legend, Godunov’s family originated from the Tatar Prince Chet, who immigrated from the Golden Horde to Russia. Boris was the son of Fyodor Godunov, an average landowner. After his father’s death, he was brought up by his uncle Dm...

Prominent Russians: Aleksandr Nevsky. “Whoever comes to us with a sword, from a sword will perish…”  Every Russian student learned these famous words of Aleksandr Nevsky in primary school. He uttered the infamous sentence after accomplishing a series of crucial victories over German and Swedish invaders. The Grand Prince of Novgorod and Vladimir did a lot for his country during the most challengin...

Prominent Russians: Aleksandr Gorchakov. Aleksandr Gorchakov  was a State Chancellor of Russia. He dedicated his career to denouncing the Paris Treaty, and helped Russia earn the right to resume its naval presence in the Black Sea. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/prominent-russians--6677656/support .

Prominent Russians: Maria Spiridonova. Maria Spiridonova was a prominent revolutionary and political figure who helped bring about the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, but was later persecuted for her opposition to some aspects of Bolshevik ideology. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/prominent-russians--6677656/support .

Prominent Russians: Georgy Malenkov. Georgy Malenkov was born in Orenburg, in the Russian Empire. In 1919 he voluntarily joined the Red Army and was a political worker of the military forces. In a year Malenkov joined the Communist Party and soon became an active functionary. From 1920 Georgy Malenkov studied electrotechnics in the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and headed the commission...

Prominent Russians: Catherine II the Great #3. Recognized worldwide as a noteworthy historical figure, Catherine the Great was one of the most prominent rulers of Russia and a figure deserving of admiration. During her rule from 1762 to 1796 the Russian Empress Catherine II made such progress in political power that it is hard to find similar examples in world history. She expanded the territory o...

Prominent Russians: Catherine II the Great #2. Recognized worldwide as a noteworthy historical figure, Catherine the Great was one of the most prominent rulers of Russia and a figure deserving of admiration. During her rule from 1762 to 1796 the Russian Empress Catherine II made such progress in political power that it is hard to find similar examples in world history. She expanded the territory o...

Prominent Russians: Catherine II the Great #1. Recognized worldwide as a noteworthy historical figure, Catherine the Great was one of the most prominent rulers of Russia and a figure deserving of admiration. During her rule from 1762 to 1796 the Russian Empress Catherine II made such progress in political power that it is hard to find similar examples in world history. She expanded the territory o...

Prominent Russians: Peter I the Great #2. One of Russia’s greatest statesmen, Peter the Great – the Tsar and first Emperor of Russia - was a man of unwavering willpower, extraordinary energy and supreme vision. Having inherited a vast but backward state, he propelled Russia to the rank of a major European power, while his extraordinary personality and wide scale reforms have been an inspiration to...

Prominent Russians: Peter I the Great #1. One of Russia’s greatest statesmen, Peter the Great – the Tsar and first Emperor of Russia - was a man of unwavering willpower, extraordinary energy and supreme vision. Having inherited a vast but backward state, he propelled Russia to the rank of a major European power, while his extraordinary personality and wide scale reforms have been an inspiration to...

Prominent Russians: Leon Trotsky (Lev Bronstein). Described as a stirring public speaker, an efficient administrator and an untiring worker, Leon Trotsky arouses strong passions among historians. A figure loved by some and hated by others, he was one of the leaders of Russia’s October Revolution in 1917 and later the founder and commander of the Red Army. But after leading a failed struggle agains...

Prominent Russians: Lavrentiy Beria. Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was certainly one of the most vicious and mysterious figures of Stalin's era. He was born on March 29 (March 17 according to the Julian calendar), 1899, to a poor Megrel (an ethnic group of Georgians) family in the village of Merkheuli, Abkhazia. Drafted into the Russian Imperial Army, he briefly saw action during World War I at the Ro...

Prominent Russians: Aleksandr Pushkin #2. Aleksandr Pushkin is considered Russia's greatest poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. Pushkin was the first to use everyday speech in his poetry, fusing Old Slavonic with vernacular Russian. This blend gave his works their rich, melodic quality. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/prominent-russians--6677656/...

Prominent Russians: Aleksandr Pushkin. #1. Aleksandr Pushkin is considered Russia's greatest poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. Pushkin was the first to use everyday speech in his poetry, fusing Old Slavonic with vernacular Russian. This blend gave his works their rich, melodic quality. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/prominent-russians--6677656...

Prominent Russians: Fyodor Dostoevsky #2. Fyodor Dostoevsky was one of Russia’s greatest writers, one whose works are read and discussed all over the world. His writing is steeped in deep psychology and the exploration of human nature, while it also accurately depicts the Russian reality of his times.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/prominent-russians--6677656...

Prominent Russians: Fyodor Dostoevsky #1. Fyodor Dostoevsky was one of Russia’s greatest writers, one whose works are read and discussed all over the world. His writing is steeped in deep psychology and the exploration of human nature, while it also accurately depicts the Russian reality of his times.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/prominent-russians--6677656...

Prominent Russians: Ivan IV the Terrible. Ivan didn’t immediately become known as Terrible. Born near Moscow on August 25, 1530, Ivan was the long-awaited son of Vasily III. His father died when the boy was only three and Ivan was proclaimed the Grand Prince of Moscow. At first, his mother Yelena Glinskaya acted as a regent, but she died when Ivan was eight years old. Ivan saw her replaced by a gr...