Elina Avraamovna Bystritskaya (born on April 4, 1928, Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

, USSR) is a Soviet and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n actress best known for her role of Axinia in Sergei Gerasimov's epic screening of Mikhail Sholokhov's novel And Quiet Flows the Don

And Quiet Flows the Don

And Quiet Flows the Don or Quietly Flows the Don is the first part of the great Don epic Tikhiy Don , written by Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov. It originally appeared in serialized form between 1928 and 1940...

(1958).

Jewish by ethnicity and a native of Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

, Bystritskaya was chosen to play Axinia by Sholokhov himself over several distinguished candidates, notably Nonna Mordyukova

Nonna Mordyukova

Noyabrina "Nonna" Viktorovna Mordyukova was a Soviet actress and People's Artist of the USSR...

. Before that, she co-starred with Sergey Bondarchuk in the Unfinished Story, an archetypal Socialist Realist

Socialist realism

Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...

 film. In the 1960s, Bystritskaya turned to theatre work in the Maly Theatre

Maly Theatre (Moscow)

Maly Theatre is a drama theater in Moscow, Russia. Established in 1806 and operating on its present site on the Theatre Square since 1824, the theatre traces its history to the Moscow University drama company, established in 1756...

 and her appearances on screen grew sporadic. She was named People's Artist of the USSR

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 citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...

 in 1978.

Filmography

• 1993 Bravye Parni
• 1992 Proshchalnye Gastroli
• 1991 Sem Dney Posle Ubiystva
• 1967 Nikolay Bauman
• 1966 Dachniki
• 1963 Vse Ostaetsya Lyudyam
• 1958 Dobrovoltsy
• 1958 And Quiet Flows the Don
  And Quiet Flows the Don (1958 film)
  And Quiet Flows the Don is a three-part epic 1958 Soviet film directed by Sergei Gerasimov based on the novel of the same title by Mikhail Sholokhov. The first two parts of the film were released in October 1957 and the final third part in 1958...
  
  
• 1955 Neokonchennaya Povest
• 1950 V Mirnye Dni

Honours and awards

• Order of Merit for the Fatherland
  Order of Merit for the Fatherland
  The Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....
  
  ;
  • 1st class (4 April 2008) - for outstanding contributions to the development of domestic theatrical and cinematic arts, many years of creative activity
  • 2nd class (1 April 1998) - for outstanding contribution to the development of national culture and art
• Order of the October Revolution
  Order of the October Revolution
  The Order of the October Revolution was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was awarded to individuals or groups for services furthering communism or the state, or in enhancing the defenses of the Soviet Union, military and civil...
  
  
• Order of the Patriotic War
  Order of the Patriotic War
  The Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
  
  , 2nd class (1985)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour
  Order of the Red Banner of Labour
  The Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
  
  
• Order of the Badge of Honour, twice
• Medal For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945
• Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1964)
• People's Artist of RSFSR (1966)
• People's Artist of USSR (1978)
• People's Artist of the Georgian SSR
• People's Artist of Azerbaijan SSR
• People's Artist of the Kazakh SSR
• Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of culture (2006)
• Medal "In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"
• Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• Medal "50 Years of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• Medal "60 Years of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• Medal "65 Years of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
• Zhukov Medal
• 850th Anniversary of Moscow Medal
  850th Anniversary of Moscow Medal
  The 850th Anniversary of Moscow Medal was a medal in Russia. It was established by Presidential Decree no 132 of February 26, 1997 in commemoration of the 850th anniversary of the first Russian reference to Moscow, dating to 1147 when Yuri Dolgorukiy called upon the prince of the Novgorod-Severski...
  
  
• Veteran of Labour Medal
  Veteran of Labour Medal
  The Veteran of Labour Medal was a medal of the USSR. It was established by a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on 18 January 1974...
  
  

External links

Biography