Zoya Fyodorova
Encyclopedia
Zoya Alekseyevna Fyodorova (11 December 1981) was a Russian
film star who had an affair with American Navy captain Jackson Tate
in 1945 and bore a child, Victoria Fyodorova
in January 1946. As a result of the affair, she was imprisoned in Siberia
by Joseph Stalin
for eight years. She was shot and killed in her Moscow apartment in 1981.
in 1936. The year before she was killed, she appeared in Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
, which won an Academy Award
for Best Foreign Language Film
in 1980.
professor Irene Kirk learned of Victoria's story in 1959 and spent years trying to find Tate in the United States. Tate was unaware of having a daughter and of his former lover's arrest and imprisonment. When Kirk found Tate in 1973, she carried correspondence between the two back and forth to Moscow. In 1974, Tate began a campaign to convince the Soviet government to allow his daughter to travel to see him in the United States. Victoria was granted permission and arrived in the United States in March 1975 on a three-month travel visa
, and spent several weeks in seclusion in Florida
with Tate.
Fyodorova traveled to the United States
to be with her daughter, Victoria, when her grandson, Christopher, was born in 1976. Victoria had married an American and stayed in the United States when she was reunited with her father in 1975. On that trip, Zoya Fyodorova was also reunited with her wartime lover, Jackson Tate.
In early 1981, Fyodorova was denied an exit visa by the Soviet government to leave the country and visit her daughter. The reason they gave was that her daughter had "behaved badly", referring to her book describing her parents' affair, The Admiral's Daughter
, published in 1979.
in Moscow. She was killed when a gun was fired by an intruder in her apartment in 1981. Her death was first reported in the American press as being an apparent heart attack.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
film star who had an affair with American Navy captain Jackson Tate
Jackson Tate
Jackson Rogers Tate was a United States Navy admiral who began his naval career as an enlisted man and became one of the first naval aviators. He fathered a child, Victoria, during a brief love affair with Russian actress Zoya Fyodorova near the end of World War II, but did not know of her birth...
in 1945 and bore a child, Victoria Fyodorova
Victoria Fyodorova
Victoria Fyodorova is a Russian-born American actress who was born at the end of the World War II to Admiral Jackson Tate and Zoya Fyodorova , a Russian actress with whom he had a brief affair before being expelled from Moscow by Joseph Stalin.Fyodorova wrote the 1979 book The Admiral's Daughter...
in January 1946. As a result of the affair, she was imprisoned in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
for eight years. She was shot and killed in her Moscow apartment in 1981.
Career
Fyodorova was a well-known Russian film star starting in the 1930s, and some of the movies she appeared in were also seen in the United States, including Girl FriendsGirl Friends (1936 film)
Girl Friends is a 1936 Soviet film directed by Lev Arnshtam. The film tells story of the friendship between three girls from Petrograd who grow up together and become nurses during the Russian Civil War...
in 1936. The year before she was killed, she appeared in Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears
Moscow Does not Believe in Tears is a 1980 Soviet film made by Mosfilm. It was written by Valentin Chernykh and directed by Vladimir Menshov. The leading roles were played by Menshov's wife Vera Alentova and by Aleksey Batalov. The film won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in...
, which won an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
in 1980.
Reunion
University of ConnecticutUniversity of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
professor Irene Kirk learned of Victoria's story in 1959 and spent years trying to find Tate in the United States. Tate was unaware of having a daughter and of his former lover's arrest and imprisonment. When Kirk found Tate in 1973, she carried correspondence between the two back and forth to Moscow. In 1974, Tate began a campaign to convince the Soviet government to allow his daughter to travel to see him in the United States. Victoria was granted permission and arrived in the United States in March 1975 on a three-month travel visa
Visa
Visa or VISA may refer to:* Visa , a document issued by a country's government allowing the holder to enter or to leave that country...
, and spent several weeks in seclusion in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
with Tate.
Fyodorova traveled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to be with her daughter, Victoria, when her grandson, Christopher, was born in 1976. Victoria had married an American and stayed in the United States when she was reunited with her father in 1975. On that trip, Zoya Fyodorova was also reunited with her wartime lover, Jackson Tate.
In early 1981, Fyodorova was denied an exit visa by the Soviet government to leave the country and visit her daughter. The reason they gave was that her daughter had "behaved badly", referring to her book describing her parents' affair, The Admiral's Daughter
The Admiral's Daughter
The Admiral's Daughter is a 1979 autobiography written by Victoria Fyodorova with Haskel Frankel. It relates the story of Fyodorova's parents, Jackson Tate and Zoya Fyodorova, who had an affair in Moscow in 1945, her childhood in the Soviet Union, and her later search for and reunion with her...
, published in 1979.
Later life and death
Fyodorova lived in the Kutuzovsky ProspektKutuzovsky Prospekt
Kutuzovsky Prospekt is a major radial avenue in Moscow, Russia, named after Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, leader of Russian field army during the French invasion of Russia...
in Moscow. She was killed when a gun was fired by an intruder in her apartment in 1981. Her death was first reported in the American press as being an apparent heart attack.