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Margarita Levieva is an American actress. Born in Leningrad, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (now Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation), at age three she began the rigorous training program of a competitive rhythmic gymnast. Levieva continued to train for the next 13 years, winning competitions in Russia and eventually going on to compete in the United States after emigrating. When she was 11, Levieva's mother moved her and her twin brother to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in New York City. She attended high school in Secaucus, New Jersey. Levieva majored in economics at NYU and worked as a fashion buyer. Her continuing interest in acting led her to be accepted into the Meisner Training Program at the William Esper Studio. In 2005, New York Magazine featured her as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in New York.

Anton Yelchin was an American actor, known for playing Bobby in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), Chekov in the Star Trek (2009) reboot, Charlie Brewster in the Fright Night (2011) remake, and Jacob in Like Crazy (2011).

He was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, USSR, to a Jewish family. His parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, were a successful pair of professional figure skaters in Leningrad, and his grandfather was also a professional sportsman, a soccer player. Anton was a six-month-old baby when he immigrated to the United States, where his parents settled in California and eventually developed coaching careers. He demonstrated his strong personality from the early age of four, and declined his parents' tutelage in figure skating because he was fond of acting and knew exactly what he wanted to do in his life.

Yelchin attended acting classes in Los Angeles, and eventually was noticed by casting agents. In 2000, at the age of 10, he made his debut on television, appearing as Robbie Edelstein in the medical drama ER (1994). At the age of 11, he shot to fame as Bobby Garfield, co-starring opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), and earning himself the 2002 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film as Leading Young Actor. Over the course of his acting career, Yelchin has already played roles in more than 20 feature films and television productions, including Pavel Chekov in the hugely successful reboot Star Trek (2009), and its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).

Outside of his acting profession, Anton loved reading, and was also fond of playing chess. He wrote music and performed with a band, where he also played piano and guitar.

Anton lived in Los Angeles, California, until his death on the evening of June 19, 2016, outside his LA home, when his parked Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled backward on his steep driveway, pinning him against a brick pillar and security fence. This was due to badly designed shifter that indicated park when it was in neutral. This death, along with reports of other near-misses, resulted in a recall of that model.

Oksana Akinshina was born on 19 April 1987 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Lilya 4-Ever (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and Hipsters (2008). She was previously married to Archil Gelovani and Dmitriy Litvinov.

George Sanders was born of English parents in St. Petersburg, Russia. He worked in a Birmingham textile mill, in the tobacco business and as a writer in advertising. He entered show business in London as a chorus boy, going from there to cabaret, radio and theatrical understudy. His film debut, in 1936, was as Curly Randall in Find the Lady (1936). His U.S. debut, the same year, with Twentieth Century-Fox, was as Lord Everett Stacy in Lloyd's of London (1936). During the late 1930s and early 1940s he made a number of movies as Simon Templar--the Saint--and as Gay Lawrence, the Falcon. He played Nazis (Maj. Quive-Smith in Fritz Lang's Man Hunt (1941)), royalty (Charles II in Otto Preminger's Forever Amber (1947)), and biblical roles (Saran of Gaza in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949)). He won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as theatre critic Addison De Witt in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950). In 1957 he hosted a TV series, The George Sanders Mystery Theater (1957). He continued to play mostly villains and charming heels until his suicide in 1972.

She was born in Leningrad, former Soviet Union. Her parents moved with her from Russia to New York when she was 17 years old, and she continues to reside in New York.

While working as a hairdresser at a salon, she was discovered by Luc Besson, the co-writer of Transporter 3, in New York, when she crossed a street. He gave her acting lessons and cast her as the female lead in Transporter 3.

Greta Onieogou was born on 14 March 1991 in St. Petersburg, Russia. She is an actress, known for Fever Pitch (2005), Miss Sloane (2016) and Undercover Grandpa (2017).

Victoria Haralabidou was born on 23 October 1971 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Brides (2004), Psyhi vathia (2009) and The Tourist (2022).

Paulina Andreeva was born on 12 October 1988 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress and writer, known for Plachu s vami (2019), The Method (2015) and Better Than Us (2018). She was previously married to Fedor Bondarchuk.

Tom Conway played "The Falcon" in ten of that series' entries. He starred in three Val Lewton horror classics. He appeared in comedies, musicals, two Tarzan films and even science fiction films.

He was early television's Detective Mark Saber, but Conway will probably be best remembered as George Sanders' brother.

Born into a wealthy family in pre-Bolshevik Revolution Russia, Thomas Charles Sanders might have followed his father as a rope manufacturer and inherited several estates. Had the family not been forced to flee to England, the brothers Sanders may never have added their names to the Hollywood saga.

But the Russian Revolution came, and Tom (age 13), George (age 11), sister Margaret (age 5), together with their parents, fled to England, leaving most of their wealth in the hands of the Bolsheviks.

The brothers attended Dunhurst and Bedales, private schools, and eventually Brighton College.

After college, Tom went to Northern Rhodesia where he worked in gold, copper and asbestos mines and even attempted ranching. Frustrated and "pretty well fed up to the teeth" with his failures, he borrowed passage home. In England, Conway worked as an engineer in a carburetor company and later sold safety glass.

He was discovered by a representative from a little theater group who persuaded him to join them. Conway eventually worked for the Manchester Repertory Company and toured with them in over twenty-five plays. He also appeared in BBC radio broadcasts.

Brother George persuaded him to come to Hollywood. To prevent confusion on the part of the public, they tossed a coin to see who would have to change his name. Tom lost, thereby becoming Tom Conway.

Conway began work at MGM, eventually appearing as a contract player in twelve films there, including a bit part in Mrs. Miniver (1942).

Brother George, tiring of B-film appearances in RKO's Falcon series and with better roles at two studios looming on the horizon, offered Tom his first big break. In The Falcon's Brother (1942), George was conveniently eliminated by a Nazi sniper so that Tom, as Tom Lawrence, could inherit the role. Conway played the role with even greater success than that of his brother in the next ten installments, concluding with The Falcon's Adventure (1946).

During those years, he also appeared in Val Lewton's Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and The Seventh Victim (1943). These led to two major film appearances, Universal's One Touch of Venus (1948), with Ava Gardner and Eve Arden and Warner Brothers' Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951).

Amidst the collapse of the studio system, Tom found his opportunities shrinking. There were to be no further major roles for him. His next film was Bride of the Gorilla (1951).

Alert to new possibilities for work, he accepted the part of homicide detective Mark Saber in the television series, Mark Saber (1951). Conway also made several mystery films in England during the same period. He played a cameo role as a bearded and be-wigged Sir Kay in Prince Valiant (1954) with two brief lines.

Back in the states, there were guest appearances on TV's Rawhide (1959), Adventures in Paradise (1959), and Perry Mason (1957).

In October, 1957, Tom turned in a brilliant performance as ventriloquist Max Collodi in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) chilling tale "The Glass Eye". He appeared regularly as the boyfriend on the The Betty Hutton Show (1959).

Conway also lent his voice to One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). His final appearance was an uncredited part, in What a Way to Go! (1964).

Failing eyesight and prolonged bouts with alcohol took their toll on Conway in his last years. His second wife, Queenie Leonard divorced him in 1963. George Sanders broke off all contact with him over his drinking.

Conway underwent cataract surgery during the winter of 1964/65. In September of 1965 Tom briefly returned to the headlines when he was discovered living in a $2-a-day room in a Venice, California flophouse. Gifts, contributions and offers of aid poured in - for a time. Conway, still standing tall and trim, his hair now white, peered owl-like through thick-lensed glasses at the newspaper cameras.

His last years were marked with further visits to the hospital. It was there that former sister-in-law Zsa Zsa Gabor visited him one day and gave him $200. "Tip the nurses a little bit so they'll be good to you," she told him. The following day, the hospital called her to say that Conway had left with the $200, gone to his girlfriend's and died in her bed.

Anton Narinskiy was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is the middle child of Andrey Narinskiy and Svetlana Narinskiy. When Anton was seven years old, his parents left Russia and moved to Cleveland, Ohio.

Anton excelled both academically and athletically at Kenston High School in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He graduated Magna Cum Laude, with a 4.0 GPA and was a nationally-ranked wrestler and football player. He received over a dozen full scholarships to colleges across the country. However, Anton accepted a full scholarship to play football in the Big Ten at the University of Iowa while playing football for a nationally ranked team.

Anton was drawn towards acting from an early age. Being the middle child of immigrant parents who were always working, Anton had a propensity for attention. This was the seed of his acting career as he always enjoyed the stage. Though football was the primary focus throughout college, he took a few classes in theater. After graduation, however, while working in Detroit, Michigan, Anton began taking acting classes at the Actor's Workshop. He quickly got involved with the acting scene in Detroit, working on several independent films and regional commercials. It did not take long for Anton to pursue his passion for acting full-time. After working for a year as an actor in Detroit, he decided to make the full-time move to Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, Anton has had the opportunity to work on numerous films, shows, and national commercials. He has worked on shows such as Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, and Days of Our Lives. He has worked with many great directors, such as Craig Gillespie, James Franco, Peter Berg, Ruben Fleischer, Christopher Riggert, Matthijs Van Heijningen, and many others. Furthermore, Anton continues to train and take classes in scene study, on-camera work, and improvisation with teachers such as Scott Caan, James Franco, Val Lauren, Jim Parrack, Robert Carnegie, and many others. He continues to keep extremely fit and excels in sports and martial arts.

A Russian-born stage and screen actor who usually plays a military man in lots of spy thrillers and war films, Alexander Molchanoff was born in Petrograd in 1921. He was the eldest son of Colonel Paul Molchanoff, of the Semionovsky regiment. In 1924 his family left Russia via Finland and Germany finally ending up in London,where Alexander's grandmother had a house in Harley Street. Alexander was educated in Monmouth School. After that he became an assistant to the Russian tenor Vladimir Rosing at Covent Garden. Later he joined the RAF and after being invalided out he turned into Richard Marner and started his long career as a stage and film actor.

His first success was a title role in a stage version of Dracula where he made a memorable performance. He went on with his work in theatre but he started appearing in films as well. A small part in The African Queen (1951) was one of his first. He continued with roles in plenty of films where he usually played German or Russian officers. He acted in classic films such as The Dirty Dozen and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and also had a part in James Bond's You Only Live Twice.

While working as an actor he supplemented his income by working as a sales agent for a costume jewellery manufacturer. In the 1980s Marner played the part of Colonel Von Strohm in the British comedy classic "Allo Allo" which was his most famous and loved performance as an actor. His last film was The Sum of All Fears where he played the Russian president.

Born in 7 October 1952 is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has been serving as the president of Russia since 2012, and previously between 2000 and 2008. He also served as the prime minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012.

Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel (podpolkovnik), before resigning in 1991 to begin a political career in Saint Petersburg. He moved to Moscow in 1996 to join the administration of president Boris Yeltsin. He briefly served as director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and secretary of the Security Council, before being appointed as prime minister in August 1999. After the resignation of Yeltsin, Putin became acting president and, less than four months later, was elected outright to his first term as president. He was reelected in 2004. As he was constitutionally limited to two consecutive terms as president at the time, Putin served as prime minister again from 2008 to 2012 under Dmitry Medvedev. He returned to the presidency in 2012 in an election marred by allegations of fraud and protests and was reelected in 2018. In April 2021, following a referendum, he signed into law constitutional amendments including one that would allow him to run for reelection twice more, potentially extending his presidency to 2036.

During his first tenure as president, the Russian economy grew on average by seven percent per year, following economic reforms and a fivefold increase in the price of oil and gas. He also led Russia during a war against Chechen separatists, reestablishing federal control of the region. As prime minister under Medvedev, he oversaw military reform and police reform, as well as Russia's victory in its war against Georgia. During his third term as president, Russia annexed Crimea and sponsored a war in eastern Ukraine with several military incursions made, resulting in international sanctions and a financial crisis in Russia. He also ordered a military intervention in Syria against rebel and jihadist groups.[16] During his fourth term as president, he presided over a military buildup on the border of Ukraine. Putin accused the Ukrainian government of committing atrocities against its Russian-speaking minority, and in February 2022, he ordered a full-scale invasion of the country, resulting in numerous atrocities and leading to widespread international condemnation, as well as expanded sanctions and calls for Putin to be pursued with war crime charges.

Under Putin's leadership, Russia has experienced democratic backsliding and a shift to authoritarianism. Putin's rule has been characterised by endemic corruption, the jailing and repression of political opponents, the intimidation and suppression of independent media in Russia, and a lack of free and fair elections. Putin's Russia has scored poorly on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, and Freedom House's Freedom in the World index. Putin is the second-longest currently serving European president after Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus.

Leonid Kinskey, originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, performed across Europe and much of Latin America before his arrival in the United States. By 1932 he landed a small role as a radical in Ernst Lubitsch's comedy, Trouble in Paradise (1932). The next year he played an agitator in Duck Soup (1933). He went on to play small parts, nearly always foreigners and often comedic, in over sixty films, including Genflou in Les Misérables (1935), the snake charmer in the well-known scene from The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), an Arab in The Garden of Allah (1936), Ivan in The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938), and Pierre in That Night in Rio (1941). His final film role was Dominiwski in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Kinskey's most famous role was as Sascha, the humorous bartender at Rick's Cafe Americaine, in Casablanca (1942). The part had originally been given to Leon Mostovoy; Kinskey replaced him because (1) he was funnier than Mostovoy, and (2) by his own testimony, he was a drinking buddy of the star Humphrey Bogart. His contract guaranteed him two weeks at $750 a week. He died on 8 September 1998, in Fountain Hills, Arizona, aged 95.

Tatiana Samoilova (Tatyana Samojlova) is a Russian film actress known for the leading roles in The Cranes Are Flying (1957) and Anna Karenina (1967).

She was born Tatiana Evgenievna Samoilova on May 4, 1934, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia. Her father, Evgeniy Samoylov, was a notable Russian actor, Her mother, Zinaida Ilyinichna, was Jewish. Young Samojlova studied music under the tutelage of her mother. During the Second World War, she escaped from the siege of Leningrad with her parents, and moved to Moscow. There she studied ballet and graduated from the Ballet School of Stanislavsky Theatre. She was invited by Maya Plisetskaya to join the ballet school of Bolshoi Theatre, but she chose to be a dramatic actress. From 1953-1956 she studied at Shchukin Theatrical School, then at State Institute of Theatrical Art (GITIS), graduating in 1962, as actress. While a student, Samojlova made her film debut in Meksikanets (1955).

Samojlova shot to fame with the leading role as Veronika in Letyat Zhuravli (The Cranes are Flying 1957) by director Mikhail Kalatozov. In spite of the initial cold reception by the Soviet officialdom, the film was loved by public in Russia and internationally. It became the first and only Russian film to be awarded the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958. Samojlova won a Special Mention at Cannes and was nominated for Best Foreign Actress BAFTA Film Award in 1959. She received many offers internationally, and was invited to work in Hollywood, but the Soviet government forced her to decline any jobs outside the Soviet Union.

During the 60s, her career stagnated due to overall stagnation in the USSR under Leonid Brezhnev. In 1960 Samojlova lost her job with Mayakovsky Theatre in Moscow, and was practically unemployed for several years. Her next success came with the title role in Anna Karenina (1967), an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Lev Tolstoy by director Aleksandr Zarkhi. Samojlova starred as Anna Karenina opposite her ex-husband Vasiliy Lanovoy.

During the 80s and 90s, Tatiana Samojlova had a lengthy pause in her film career. She made a comeback in several TV series in the 2000s. She was married four times, and has one son. Samojlova was designated People's Actress of Russia (1993). She is living in Moscow, Russia.

Konstantin Khabenskiy is a Russian actor known in the West for his working the horror flicks Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006). He is also co-starring opposite Angelina Jolie in Wanted (2008).

He was born Konstantin Yurevich Khabenskiy on January 11, 1972, in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). His father, Yuri Aronovich Khabenskiy, and his mother, Tatiana Gennadievna (nee Nikulina), were hydrological engineers. Young Konstantin studied electronics at the Leningrad Technical School of Aviation Electronics and Automatics. He dropped out after three years of studies after deciding that electronics was not for him.

He then played guitar on Leningrad's famous main street, Nevsky Prospekt, as a struggling street musician, and also worked as stage technician at the Theater-Studio "Subbota". From 1990 to 1995 he studied acting at the St. Peterburg Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography, renamed in 1991 when the city of Leningrad was renamed St. Petersburg. There his classmates were [link=nm0691717 Andrey Zibrov, and Mikhail Trukhin. In 1995, Konstantin graduated from the class of Veniamin Filshtinsky, as an actor. He had a five-month stint at the Raikin Theater of Satire in Moscow, but could not obtain any serious work there, so he returned to St. Petersburg.

Konstantin made his film debut in Na kogo Bog poschlet (1994). He shot to fame in Russia after co-starring in Uboynaya sila (2000), a popular series about crime in St. Petersburg, Russia. He ascended to international fame with the leading role as Anton Gorodetsky in the popular Russian vampire franchise, Night Watch (2004), and the second installment, Day Watch (2006), both by director Timur Bekmambetov and based on the books by Sergey Lukyanenko. He further advanced his film career appearing as Exterminatior in the horror film Wanted (2008).

From 1996 to 2003 Konstantin was a member of the troupe at the St. Petersburg Theater of Lensovet. There he worked together with his former classmates Mikhail Porechenkov, Mikhail Trukhin, and Andrey Zibrov, under the directorship of Yuri Butusov. In 2003 Khabenskiy and Porechenkov were invited by Oleg Tabakov to work with the world famous Moscow Arts Theater (MXAT). There Konstantin played the leading role in"White guard", a classic play by Mikhail A. Bulgakov. He also appeared as Claudius in a Russian adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet",directed by Yuri Butusov. Konstantin also made appearances on stage at the St. Petersburg Theatre of Lensovet in the leading role in a contemporary play 'V ozhidanii Godo', and as Kaligula in a Russian adaptation of the play by Albert Camus.

Outside of his acting profession, Konstantin Khabenskiy enjoys a Russian-style rural life in his country home near Moscow. He moved back to Russia after a few years of living in Los Angeles. He was married to radio-journalist Anastasiya Khabenskaya from January 12, 2000, until her untimely death at age 35 from a brain tumor on December 3, 2008. He has one son by her, Ivan Konstantinovich, who was born in Moscow on September 25, 2007. In 2013 he married actress Olga Litvinova and June 3, 2016 she gave birth to their daughter.

Konstantin Khabenskiy was designated Honorable Actor of Russia (2006) and also received numerous awards and decorations for his works on stage and in the movies. He has homes in both Russian capitals: Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Lila Kedrova was a Russian actress, who spend most of her career as an expatriate. For her role as widowed courtesan Madame Hortense in Zorba the Greek (1964), Kedrova won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was the first Russian actress to win the award, and this was her only Academy Award nomination.

Kedrova was born in Petrogad, Russia (modern Saint Petersburg). She claimed to have been born in 1918, but she may have older by several years. She wanted to appear younger than she was. Her father was opera singer and liturgical music composer Nikolay Kedrov Sr. (1871-1940). Her mother was opera singer Sofia Gladkaya (1875-1975) was a singer at the Mariinsky Theatre and a teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris. Kedrova's older brother was composer Nikolay Kedrov Jr. (c. 1904-1981). Her sister, Irene Kedroff (real name: Irina Nikolayevna Kedrova) was a soprano.

The Kedrov family left the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic c. 1922, before the formation of the Soviet Union. They settled in Berlin , in the Weimar Republic. In 1928, the family moved to France (during the Third French Republic), where her parents were able to find better jobs.

Kedrova made her theatrical debut in 1932, appearing with the Moscow Art Theatre touring company, the foremost state-supported theatre of the Soviet Union. She made her film debut in the World War I-themed historical drama Ultimatum (1938). She appeared exclusively in French theatre and film until 1964. "Zorba the Greek" was her first appearance in an English-language film.

Kedrova's next notable role was that of Polish noblewoman Countess Kuchinska in the political thriller Torn Curtain (1966). She found some success in American theatre, playing Fraulein Schneider in the West End stage production of "Cabaret" (1968). She shared the stage with Judi Dench.

Kedrova appeared in Hollywood films for several years, mostly typecast in the role of an either eccentric or outright insane woman. Her last film appearance was a maternal role in the international co-production La prossima volta il fuoco (1993). She retired from acting as she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

In February 2000, Kedrova died in her residence in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, The cause of death was pneumonia. She was cremated, and her ashes were buried in the Kedrov family grave at the Russian cemetery in Paris.

As a teenager, she graduated from the modeling school. In secondary school her studies were mediocre, but for the last few years learning everything caught up due to coaching. Because of this, Elizaveta acquired two foreign languages - English and German. The graduating class decided to enter the branch of "Public relations" of the Faculty of Journalism at Saint Petersburg State University. Visiting the opening of the academic theater "On Mokhovoy" and several productions Theatre Lensoveta, Elizaveta decided to enter the Theatre Institute. As she later recalled Boyarskaya, parents did not dissuade her from such a choice, but warned "About all the undercurrents".

Since 2006 - the actress of the Maly Drama Theatre (Theatre of Europe) in St. Petersburg.

Elizaveta a few months to prepare for entry into the Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy under Lev Dodin's mastery. He received the Presidential Scholarship. Graduated SPbGATI in 2007.

Viktoriya Agalakova was born on 30 August 1996 in St. Petersburg, Russia. She is an actress, known for Identity, The Bride (2017) and Mermaid: The Lake of the Dead (2018).

Palina Rojinski is a Russian-German television presenter, actress, and DJ known for her dynamic presence in the German entertainment industry. She began her career co-hosting "MTV Home" on MTV Germany from 2009 to 2011 and later hosted various music programs on VIVA Germany. Rojinski has also appeared in films such as "Welcome to Germany" (2016) and "Nightlife" (2020). In addition to her television and film work, she performs as a DJ under the name "Palina Power" and has ventured into fashion with her astrology-themed label, "Astrolinski." Rojinski resides in Berlin with her two French Bulldogs and has a deep interest in astrology, which inspired her to author the book "Folge deinen Sternen."

Mischa Auer, the American screen's supreme exponent of the "Mad Russian" stereotype so dear to Yankee hearts before and after World War II, was born Mischa Ounskowsky on November 17, 1905, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the grandson of violinist Leopold Auer, whose surname he took when he became a professional actor in the U.S. during the 1920s. Mischa's father, an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, died in the Russo-Japanese War while was he was still a baby, which wiped the family out financially. After the November 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, the Ounskowsky family disintegrated and Mischa became a "street Arab", living with homeless youths and barely scraping by in appalling poverty. He eventually was reunited with his mother, who had nursing experience and became a caregiver in the nascent Soviet Union. But Vladimir Lenin's socialist dream wasn't for her, and she fled to Turkey with Mischa.

In Constantinople Mischa's mother contracted typhus from the patients she was tending and died. The young boy had to dig a grave with his own hands to bury her. He then began wandering, and was in Italy when Leopold Auer, his mother's father, discovered his whereabouts. Subsequently, young Ounskowsky emigrated to the United States to join Auer, who lived in New York.

Leopold encouraged his grandson to become a musician, and Mischa matriculated at New York City's Ethical Culture School to please his grandfather. He became an accomplished musician, able to play multiple instruments, including the violin and piano. However, young Mischa soon became smitten with acting and, through his grandfather's contacts, was able to turn professional in the 1920s. Mischa Auer made his Broadway debut on February 24, 1925, in a walk-on role as an elderly guest in the Actors Theatre production of Henrik Ibsen's "The Wild Duck", which starred Helen Chandler as Hedvig. He also appeared in the Actors Theatre's Broadway production of the play "Morals" in 1925 before continuing his his apprenticeship in small roles, including an appearance with the great Walter Hampden in "Cyrano de Bergerac".

While acting, Mischa also performed as a musician. As an actor, he eventually caught on with Eva Le Gallienne's touring theatrical company before joining Bertha Kalich's company, which toured the provinces after Kalich -- a stalwart of the Yiddish theater -- made her last appearance as the eponymous "Magda" on Broadway in January and February 1926. Kalich cast Auer as Max in the touring production of "Magda".

Director Frank Tuttle hired Auer for a role in the comedy Something Always Happens (1928) after he saw the Russian perform with the Bertha Kalich Company in Los Angeles. This led to a decade of screen work in many films, in which the tall, unusual-looking actor was typecast as a foreigner, often of a villainous bent as befitted the prejudices of the time, which were actively catered to by the movies. The films he appeared in, usually in small, uncredited parts, included Rasputin and the Empress (1932) with John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore; Viva Villa! (1934) with superstar Wallace Beery; and The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), one of Gary Cooper's best early films.

One year after signing a long-term contract with Universal, Auer broke through into the realm of featured character actors with his Academy Award-nominated turn as the fake nobleman/freeloader/gigolo Carlo in the classic screwball comedy My Man Godfrey (1936) over at Universal in 1936. That was the first year that Oscars were awarded to supporting players, and although he lost to eventual three-time Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winner Walter Brennan, it made him as a popular character actor. Auer -- the Mad Russian -- became a fixture in comedies of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Of the role of Carlo, he said: "That one role made a comedian out of me. I haven't been anything else since. It's paid off very well. Do you wonder that I am flattered when people say I am mad?"

He turned in a memorable appearance as the Russian ballet-master Boris Kolenkhov in Frank Capra's Oscar-winning classic You Can't Take It with You (1938) opposite Jean Arthur and Ann Miller. Other memorable parts in the "Golden Years of Hollywood" phase of his career came in the musical One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937) in support of Deanna Durbin and as Boris Callahan, who touches off a cantina catfight between Marlene Dietrich and Una Merkel, in the classic Destry Rides Again (1939).

After appearing in the musical comedy "The Lady Comes Across" in early 1942, a flop which lasted three performances, he toured with vaudeville before acting in the summer radio series "Mischa the Magnificent". In the radio show, he played a man writing his memoirs, but after the summer run he returned to the movies. The last play he appeared in on Broadway, "Lovely Me", opened on Christmas Day 1946 and closed 37 performances later, on January 25, 1947. Between movies, he appeared in touring shows and in vaudeville.

During the 1950s, after the Paramount decision, when Hollywood first experienced runaway production as American producers turned to the cheaper European film studios to save money, Auer decamped for Europe. He and his family settled in Salzburg, Austria, where he made broadcasts for Radio Free Europe between appearances in European-made films, mostly in France. He achieved acclaim in Paris for his appearance in the title role of the 1953 revival of the comedy "Tovarich".

On the Continent he was typecast as an elderly eccentric, most notably in Orson Welles's Confidential Report (1955). He also appeared frequently on American television during the 1950s. He was praised for his appearance in a 1953 Omnibus (1952) presentation of George Bernard Shaw's play "Arms and the Man". He suffered a heart attack in 1957 but continued to make movies in Europe and appear on television in the U.S.

In 1964 he appeared as Baron Popoff in the New York Lincoln Center Music Theater's revival of "The Merry Widow". It was not a success, but the New York Times review praised him: "Mischa Auer is, after all, one of the great comics. With his head down a little, jowls flapping, his ripe Marsovian accent rolling through the house, his eyes popping--he dominates the performance."

Suffering from cardiovascular disease, Auer suffered a second heart attack and died in Rome on March 5, 1967, at the age of 61. He will long be remembered as one of the inimitable character actors who graced the classic films of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Ayn Rand was born on 2 February 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was a writer and actress, known for The Night of January 16th (1941), The Fountainhead (1949) and We the Living (1942). She was married to Frank O'Connor. She died on 6 March 1982 in New York City, New York, USA.

Dmitri Nagiev - a talented actor and one of the most popular show-business figures in Russia. In 1991 graduated from the Leningrad State University of Theatre, Music and Cinematography. After obligatory military service he worked in the theatre "Vremya", then he was a "Radio Modern" DJ. Best known for his numerous roles in the popular comedy-show "Modern Ostorozhno" (nominated at International Emmy Award for best comedy-show) and none the less popular TV-series "Modern Ostorozhno - 2!", in which he co-starred with his only show-mate and friend Sergey Rost (who writes many of their series-scripts). He also plays on theatre stage and directs his own theatre projects. In 1996 he was called "The most popular person of Saint-Petersburg". Was called "The Best Russian DJ". In Russia he's considered a sex-symbol since his first roles in "Modern".

Andrey Myagkov, one of Russia's most familiar faces and a leading actor of the Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT) who starred in the 1970's comedy The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath! (1976), made a comeback in the sequel The Irony of Fate 2 (2007).

He was born Andrey Vasilevich Myagkov on July 8, 1938, in Leningrad, Russia, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). His father, Vasiliy Myagkov, was a professor at the Polytechnical Academy. Young Andrey was fond of theatre and was involved in the drama club at his high school. However, he focused on the study of chemistry and attended the Leningrad Institute of Technology, graduating in 1960 as a chemical engineer. His first job was as a research engineer at the Leningrad State Institute of Plastics, although at the same time he continued playing on stage as an amateur actor.

In 1961 he was admitted to the acting school of the Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT) in Leningrad. Then he moved to Moscow and studied at the Theatrical School of the Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT), graduating in 1965 as an actor. At that time he married actress Anastasiya Voznesenskaya. From 1965 to 1977 he was a member of the troupe at the Sovremennik Theatre in Moscow. There his stage partners were such actors as Oleg Efremov, Evgeniy Evstigneev, Galina Volchek, Stanislav Lyubshin, Anatoliy Romashin, Alla Pokrovskaya, Oleg Tabakov, Oleg Dal, Igor Kvasha, Valentin Gaft, and other notable Russian actors.

In 1977 he became a member of the troupe at the Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT). There he made his stage debut in the leading role as Zilov in "Utinaya okhota" ("Duck Hunting") by Aleksandr Vampilov, and eventually established himself as a leading actor in other stage productions at the MXAT. His stage partners there were such actors as Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Yekaterina Vasilyeva, Tatyana Doronina, Oleg Efremov, Evgeniy Evstigneev, Oleg Tabakov, Aleksandr Kalyagin, Andrei Popov, and other notable Russian actors. Since the split of the troupe in 1987, he has been a member of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre (Chekhov MXAT), named after Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. His stage partners there have been such notable Russian actors as Alla Pokrovskaya, Natalya Rogozhkina, Anastasiya Voznesenskaya, Irina Miroshnichenko, Iya Savvina, Stanislav Lyubshin, Vyacheslav Nevinnyy, Evgeniy Kindinov, Viktor Sergachyov, and Vladimir Kashpur, among others.

He made his film debut in the leading role as a dentist in Pokhozhdeniya zubnogo vracha (1965), by director Elem Klimov. He established himself with such roles as the monk Alyosha in The Brothers Karamazov (1969), then as Khlebnikov, an obsessed chess grandmaster, in Grossmeyster (1973) where he had several scenes with Lyudmila Kasatkina, Anatoly Solonitsyn, Mikhail Kozakov, Petr Shelokhonov, and other notable Russian actors.. He shot to fame in the Soviet Union with the leading role as Zhenya in The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath! (1976), by director Eldar Ryazanov. His fruitful collaboration with Ryazanov continued in Office Romance (1977), The Garage (1980), and A Cruel Romance (1984). Andrey has played over 50 roles in film and on television. He declined offers to play in such modern Russian films as Night Watch (2004) and The Turkish Gambit (2005). However, he made a comeback reprising his most famous role as Zhenya opposite Barbara Brylska in The Irony of Fate 2 (2007), a sequel to the Soviet comedy The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath! (1976).

In 1989, he made his directorial debut with a stage production of "Spokoynoy nochi, Mama" ("Good Night, Mama") at the Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT). In 2002 he directed the MXAT production of "Retro", a nostalgic play about three middle-aged women courting one man; the play earned him wide public acclaim, although evoking sharp criticism from some contemporary Moscow critics. His last directorial work for the Moscow Art Theatre was a 2006 production of "Osenniy charlston" ("Autumn Charleston") based on the play "The Cemetery Club" by American playwright Ivan Menchell.

He was awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1977, the Brothers Vasiliev State Prize in 1979, was designated a People's Artist of Russia in 1986, and also received several other significant awards and nominations. Outside of his acting profession, Andrey Myagkov painted portraits, and his paintings are owned by Mikhail Gorbachev and Galina Volchek, among others.

Andrey Vasilevich Myagkov died on 18 February 2021 in Moscow and was laid to rest in Troekurovskoe Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.

Sofya was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. She studied ballet at age 9 while attending the elite Vaganova Ballet Academy. From ages 10-12, Sofya studied modern dance then returned to classical ballet from ages 13-16. At 17, Sofya became a professional ballerina where she was discovered by talent agents. She won many beauty contests and competitions and starred on the talk show circuit. She opened the Venice Ball in Moscow where she met her future husband, Russian industrialist Sergey Veremeenko. They married quickly, and at age 18, Sofya entered the Mrs. World pageant in St. Petersburg, Russia, and won the title.

The international media quickly discovered her and suggested that she learn English and head to Hollywood, where she began landing TV roles and quickly moved to the big screen.

Michael Chekhov was a Russian actor in the Moscow Art Theatre who emigrated to America and made a career in Hollywood, earning himself an Oscar nomination.

He was born Mikhail Aleksandrovich Chekhov in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1891. His mother, Natalya Golden, was Jewish, and his father, Aleksandr Chekhov, was a brother of writer Anton Chekhov. Anton wrote of his four-year-old nephew in 1895, "I believe that he has a growing talent." From 1907-11 he studied classic drama and comedy at Suvorin Theater School in St. Petersburg, graduating with honors as actor. In St. Petersburg he met Konstantin Stanislavski who invited him to join the Moscow Art Theater. The two became good friends and partners in propelling the Moscow Art Theater to international fame. Later Stanislavsky wrote that Michael Chekhov was a genius.

His film career began in 1913 with a role in 'Tryokhsotletie tsarstvovaniya doma Romanovykh (1913)' (aka Tercentenary of the Romanov Dynasty), followed by a few more roles in Russian silent films. It was during the Russian Revolution of 1917 that his beloved first wife, Olga Tschechowa, divorced him. He was devastated and suffered from depression and alcoholism for the rest of his life.

Between 1922 and 1928 he led the second Moscow Art Theater, earning himself a reputation as teacher, actor and director who brought innovations experimenting with symbolism and acmeist poetry. Chekhov updated the Stanislavsky's acting method, by blending it with yoga, theosophy, psychology and physiology, and adding his own ideas of transformation of actor's consciousness through psychological gesture and movement techniques for entering a special state of subconscious creativity. His idea of using an actor's own intuition and creative imagination was a departure from the original method of his teacher, Stanislavsky.

Chekhov ignored the communist regime and was attacked by the Soviets for joining the Anthroposophic Society. In 1928 he was fired from the Moscow Art Theatre and eventually left Russia. In Europe, he taught his acting method and also made a big success in German films, co-starring with his ex-wife Olga Tschechowa, who was then living in Germany with her second husband. In 1931 he founded the Chekhov Theatre, with support from Rachmaninov, Bohner and Morgenstern, and in 1935 he brought the Chekhov Theatre on tour to New York. He taught acting in France, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, and in England before WWII. In 1938 he moved to the United States, where he started his own school, and also successfully directed Dostoyevsky's "Demons" on Broadway. Then he was introduced to Hollywood by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

In 1945 Chekhov played his best known film role, psychiatrist Brulov in Spellbound (1945). He received an Academy Award nomination for the role and became a member of the American Film Academy in 1946. At that time, he taught his acting method in Hollywood. In 1953 he published a book about his method, "To The Actor", with preface written by Yul Brynner. His students included Gregory Peck, Marilyn Monroe, Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Quinn, Jack Palance, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Elia Kazan, Clint Eastwood, Yul Brynner and many other Hollywood actors and directors.

At the end of his life Chekhov reunited with his daughter Ada Tschechowa in California. He died in 1955 in Beverly Hills, and was laid to rest in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles.