Nikolai Gubenko

Early life Nikolai Gubenko was born in the Odessa Catacombs during the Defence of Odessa, the youngest of five children. His mother was Russian and his father – a native Ukrainian; both of them died in 1942 during the Great Patriotic War. His father joined the Soviet Air Forces before Nikolai was born and was killed in action near Voroshilovgrad. His mother, a chief designer at one of the local plants, was interrogated during the Nazi-Romanian occupation of Odessa and killed after she refused to collaborate; her body was returned to Nikolai's grandfather "with traces of hanging".

All of Gubenko's siblings were adopted, while he was left with his grandparents who sent him to the Odessa orphanage after the war.

Career Around 1960 Gubenko arrived in Moscow and passed the entrance exams for the acting department of VGIK, the course led by Sergei Gerasimov and Tamara Makarova which he finished in 1964.

The final cut was released only in 1965, when Gubenko had already graduated. He played Adolf Hitler in his diploma play based on Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. It was also awarded the bronze Hugo prize at the 1977 Chicago International Film Festival. 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 in 1917.

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. 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.

Selected filmography Year Title Original title Director Screenwriter Actor 1965 I Am Twenty Мне двадцать лет Nikolai Fokin 1966 The Last Conman Последний жулик Petya Dachnikov/vocals 1967 No Password Necessary Пароль не нужен Vasily Blyukher 1969 Director Директор Aleksey Zvorykin Home of the Gentry Дворянское гнездо Sitnikov 1971 A Soldier Came Back from the Front Пришёл солдат с фронта Nikolai Yegorov 1974 If You Want to Be Happy Если хочешь быть счастливым Andrei Rodionov 1975 They Fought for Their Country Они сражались за Родину lieutenant Goloshyokov I Want the Floor Прошу слова Sergei Uvarov 1976 Wounded Game Подранки Grigoriy Albertovich/Aleksey Bartenev (voice) 1977 In the Zone of Special Attention В зоне особого внимания Aleksandr Volentir (voice) 1980 Life on Holidays Из жизни отдыхающих Aleksey Pavlishchev (voice) A Few Days from the Life of I. I. Oblomov Несколько дней из жизни И. И. Обломова Stoltz's father (voice) 1983 And Life, and Tears, and Love И жизнь, и слёзы, и любовь 1988 Forbidden Zone Запретная зона episode (uncredited) 2001 Isaуev Исаев narrator (voice) 2013 Ku! Kin-dza-dza Ку! Кин-дза-дза Vladimir Chizhov (voice)