Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev

Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevstigneyev (; 9 October 1926 – 4 March 1992) was a prominent Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, theatre pedagogue, one of the founders of the Moscow Sovremennik Theatre. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1983 and awarded the USSR State Prize in 1974.

Early years Yevgeny Yevstigneyev was born on 9 October 1926 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian SFSR (modern-day Nizhny Novgorod Oblast of Russia) into a poor working-class family and spent his childhood at the outskirts, in the Volodarsky village. He was a late child of Maria Ivanovna Yevstigneyeva (née Chernishova), a milling machine operator, and a metallurgist, Aleksandr Mikhailovich Yevstigneyev who was twenty years older than her and who died when Yevgeny was six years old. Maria Ivanovna married another man who died when Yevgeny turned seventeen.

By that time, he had already finished seven classes of secondary school and applied as a mechanic to the same factory where his mother was working. Yet he dreamed of acting, just like his elder half-brother who served as a comedy actor in the local theatre and died very young, which made his mother believe that it was a bad sign; she asked the recruiting manager to keep her son's documents and didn't let him leave. Yevgeny was accepted and went straight to the third course, graduating in 1956 and becoming an actor of the Moscow Art Theatre where he served for a year.

Possessing a gift of a comic and dramatic actor, Yevstigneyev was popular. His appearance in any film or play guaranteed it a success with viewers. Among his performances was the portrayal of Professor Preobrazhensky in Heart of a Dog.

In 1970, Oleg Yefremov was appointed the main director of the Moscow Art Theatre and left Sovremennik. Yevstigneyev followed him along with some other actors, although, according to his colleague Igor Kvasha, he was against this move and tried to convince everyone to stay at Sovremennik. He was survived by his third wife, an actress Irina Tsivina (born 1963), his son from the first marriage to Galina Volchek – a prominent Russian film director and cinematographer Denis Yevstigneyev (born 1961), and a daughter from his second marriage to an actress Lilia Yevstigneyeva – Maria Selyanskaya (born 1968) who performs at the Sovremennik Theatre.

In his hometown of Nizhny Novgorod, a bronze monument to the actor was erected in September 2006 on Teatralnaya Square (next to the Gorky Nizhny Novgorod Drama Theatre). In September 2021, a sculptural group was also installed near the Nizhny Novgorod Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics: Yevgeny Aleksandrovich is depicted as Professor Preobrazhensky, along with the dog Sharik. The sculpture symbolizes the gratitude of the people of Nizhny Novgorod to doctors.

Selected filmography

Duel (, 1957) as Captain Peterson Ballad of a Soldier (Баллада о солдате, 1959) as a truck driver Man Follows the Sun (Человек идёт за солнцем, 1962) as Nikolai, motorcycle racer Nine Days in One Year (Девять дней одного года, 1962) as Nikolai Ivanovich Nevermore (Никогда, 1962) as Aleksandr Aleksin - new director of the shipyard Strictly Business (Деловые люди, 1962) as Citizen (voice) They Conquer the Skies (Им покоряется небо, 1963) as Head Constructor Ivan Sergeyevich Welcome, or No Trespassing (Добро пожаловать, или Посторонним вход воспрещён, 1964) as Dynin Faithfulness (Верность, 1965) as Ivan Terentievich The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin (Гиперболоид инженера Гарина, 1965) as an engineer Pyotr Garin The Bridge Is Built (Строится мост, 1966) as Sinajsky Beware of the Car (Берегись автомобиля, 1966) as a theatre director Wings (Крылья, 1966) as Misha The Ugly Story (Скверный анекдот, 1966) as Pralinsky Older Sister (Старшая сестра, 1967) as Ogorodnikov Stewardess (Стюардесса, 1967, TV Movie) as a drunken passenger The Little Golden Calf (Золотой телёнок, 1968) as Alexander Koreiko Bare et liv – historien om Fridtjof Nansen (1968) as Georgy Chicherin Zigzag of Success (Зигзаг удачи, 1968) as Ivan Kalachev The Flight (Бег, 1970) as Paramon Korzukhin All The King's Men (Вся королевская рать, 1971, TV Mini-Series) as Larson Property of the Republic (Достояние республики, 1972) as Carl Genrikhovich Vitol Grandads-Robbers (Старики-разбойники, 1972) as Valentin Vorobyov Fitil (Фитиль, 1972, TV Series) as a drunkard Commander of the Lucky Pike (Командир счастливой «Щуки», 1972) as Stepan Lukich Seventeen Moments of Spring (Семнадцать мгновений весны, 1973, TV Mini-Series) as Professor Pleischner Privalov's Millions (Приваловские миллионы, 1973) as Ivan Yakovlevich Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia (Невероятные приключения итальянцев в России, 1974) as a lame Italian Fitil (Фитиль, 1976) as an official Wounded Game (Подранки, 1977) as a watchman Story of an Unknown Actor (1977) as Pavel Goryayev The Nose (Нос, 1977, TV Movie) as an official at the post office About the Little Red Riding Hood (Про Красную Шапочку, 1977, TV Movie) as an astrologer Family Circumstances (По семейным обстоятельствам, 1978) as Nikolai Pavlovich The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed (Место встречи изменить нельзя, 1979, TV Mini-Series) as Ruchechnik Do Not Part with Your Beloved (С любимыми не расставайтесь, 1980) as Homak The Old New Year (Cтаpый Нoвый гoд, 1981) as Ivan Adamych Waiting for Love (Любимая женщина механика Гаврилова, 1982) as Rita's uncle I Still Love, I Still Hope (Ещё люблю, ещё надеюсь, 1983) as Vasiliy Vasilyevich We Are from Jazz (Мы из джаза, 1983) as Papa Demidovs (Демидовы, 1984) as Nikita Antufiev-Demidov And Life, and Tears, and Love (И жизнь, и слёзы, и любовь, 1984) as Stepanych I Still Love, I Still Hope (Ещё люблю, ещё надеюсь, 1985) as Vasiliy Vasilyevich Man with an Accordion (Человек с аккордеоном, 1985) as Ivan Lopatin Winter Evening in Gagra (Зимний вечер в Гаграх, 1985) as Aleksey Ivanovich Beglov The Pathfinder (Следопыт, 1987) as Sahen She with a Broom, He in a Black Hat (Она с метлой, он в чёрной шляпе, 1987) as Raven (voice) Gardemarines ahead! (Гардемарины, вперёд!, 1988, TV Mini-Series) as Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin Moonzund (Моонзунд, 1988) as Nikolai Essen Zerograd (Город Зеро, 1988) as a museum curator Heart of a Dog (Собачье сердце, 1988, TV Movie) as Professor Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky Tree Sticks! (Ёлки-палки!, 1988) as Yuri Viktorovich New Adventures of a Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Новые приключения янки при дворе короля Артура, 1988) as an archbishop The Feasts of Belshazzar, or a Night with Stalin (Пиры Валтасара, или Ночь со Сталиным, 1989) as Mikhail Kalinin His Nickname Is Beast (По прозвищу «Зверь», 1990) as The Old Convict Sons of Bitches (Сукины дети, 1991) as Andrey Ivanovich Nanaytsev Viva Gardes-Marines! (Виват, гардемарины!, 1991) as Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin The Voice in the Wilderness (Глас вопиющий, 1991) as Hangman Gardes-Marines III (Гардемарины-III, 1992) as Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin Dreams of Russia (Сны о России, 1992) as Bush, the court gardener Yermak (Ермак, 1996, TV Mini-Series) as Ivan the Terrible (voiced by Sergei Artsibashev) (final appearance)