The Ushakov Medal is one of several awards that have been transferred to the Russian award system without design changes. The PVS Decree, leaving the medal in the new award system and allowing it to be used to reward citizens of the Russian Federation, was signed on 03/02/1992. Presidential Decree No. 442 on the new establishment of the award was approved exactly 2 years later, on 03/02/1994.
Who was the medal for?
The Ushakov Medal is awarded to military personnel of the Navy and Coast Guard who demonstrated courage and valor in defending the homeland and state interests of the country.
It should be worn on the left. The place of the Ushakov medal in the hierarchical list of awards is after the Suvorov medal. Therefore, it is attached to clothing after it (if available). The set includes a miniature copy of the sign.
There is no provision for posthumous awarding of the medal. Secondary awards are also not made.
Medal design
The drawing of the Ushakov medal was developed by the famous architect M. Shepilevsky. It is minted from silver. Made in the form of a circle. Its cross section is 3.6 centimeters. There is a shoulder on the obverse. In the middle is a portrait of the great naval commander V. Ushakov. It is placed in a circle made up of small raised dots.
The upper semicircle contains the words: “Admiral Ushakov.” Below the portrait of Ushakov are two laurel branches intertwined with a ribbon. Behind the medal is a sea anchor. The turnover is smooth. The medal number is engraved on the right.
The medallion is connected to a pentagonal block covered with a light blue ribbon. Along the edges there are 1.5 mm cornflower blue and two mm white stripes. An anchor chain stretches from the top of the ribbon from the upper corners of the block to the eye of the sign.
Related medals
In the system of state awards of our country, there are several signs bearing the names of famous people, in particular:
Who was awarded
The first award in the Russian Federation took place on July 7, 1992. Then 996 veterans were awarded at the same time. These were cadets from the USSR Navy junior school, located on Solovki. The first award ceremony, which took place after the new establishment of the badge, took place on 04/11/1994. The medal was awarded to 23 WWII veterans.
One of the last awards was made on January 14, 2014. The medal was received by M. Zherbinko. Maxim is a captain of the 2nd rank. He commands the large landing ship "Alexander Shabalin", which is part of the Baltic Fleet. Zherbinko received the medal for a successful military campaign that lasted over a year. More precisely - 392 days.
In total, over 3.5 thousand copies of the Ushakov medal were issued. Most of the recipients are WWII veterans, as well as persons who took part in special operations and military campaigns.
Over the more than 20-year history of the medal, relatively few people have become its owners. The reason is that the country's Navy did not conduct military operations at that time.
N.P. Patrushev
Year of birth - 1951. Nikolai Platonovich's father is a military sailor, a participant in the Second World War. At the age of 23, he graduated from the shipbuilding institute in Leningrad and was assigned to work in the institute's design bureau. In 1974 he became a student at the higher courses of the State Security Committee under the Council of Ministers.
In 1975 he began working for the KGB. He was engaged in counterintelligence. He held several positions. From the summer of 1992, for 2 years he served as head of the Ministry of Security of Karelia and headed the FSK department for Karelia. Then he headed the FSB Internal Security Directorate.
On May 31, 1998, he headed the State Civil Institution of the President of the Russian Federation. He replaced V. Putin himself in this position. He held several major events, one of the latest was an inspection of Rosvooruzhenie. Its implementation was initiated by Yeltsin. As a result, large financial abuses were discovered. The main accused is the former head of the company A. Kotelkin.
In the fall of 1998, he became deputy director of the FSB. In August 1999 I was there. O. director of the FSB, soon became director of the FSB of Russia. He held this post until 2008, that is, for 9 years. In the fall of 2003, he became a member of the Maritime Board under the Russian government. In May 2008, he became Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
Doctor of Law. Hero of the Russian Federation. Army General. In the winter of 2007, together with A. Chilingarov and some other people, he made a trip to Antarctica. Flew by helicopter to the South Pole. In 2006, some people considered Patrushev as a candidate for the presidential post.
Since 2004, he headed the All-Russian Volleyball Federation for 5 years.
Yu.N. Kolyagin
Year of birth: 1950. At the age of 22, he graduated from the Higher Combined Arms College in Moscow. A few years later he continued his studies at the Academy. Frunze. For several years after graduating from college, he served in the Chelyabinsk, then Sverdlovsk region.
After graduating from the academy in 1981, he was sent to the Far East. He held several positions - commanded a regiment, then a division. In 1993 he was sent to Syria as a military adviser. He took part in both Chechen wars. He was deputy commander of the 42nd Army Corps of the North Caucasus Military District for combat training. Major General.
In 1997 he was appointed to the post of military commissar of Adygea. In 2012 he retired. He began working as an inspector in the group of inspectors of the Southern Military District of the country's Ministry of Defense. Lives in Maykop.
A.I. Lipinsky
Year of birth - 1959. In 1981, Anatoly Ivanovich became a graduate of the Caspian Higher Military School named after. Kirov. Served in the Northern Fleet. During this time he held various positions. In 1985 he commanded a small anti-submarine ship. After that, he decided to continue his education and entered the Naval Academy. Kuznetsova.
After graduation, he served in the Kamchatka flotilla of the TF. He commanded several ships, in particular the missile cruiser Varyag. In 1996 he became a privateer. In 1997, the Varyag, commanded by Lipinsky, won the prize of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. She was named the best guided missile cruiser in the fleet.
Since 2006, he commanded the Leningrad naval base of the Baltic Fleet. Since 2009, he commanded the Novorossiysk naval base of the Black Sea Fleet. In accordance with the Presidential Decree, he was relieved of this position. Resigned from military service.
In 2010, he graduated from the correspondence department of the Law Academy in St. Petersburg.
G.N. Matyushin
Year of birth - 1927. Took part in the Second World War. After the war ended, he went to study at the Pedagogical Institute in Ufa. He graduated from it in '52. After that, he worked as a teacher in several Ufa schools. In 1961, Gerald Nikolaevich went to work at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His interests mainly extended to questions of anthropogenesis. In addition, he studied the Stone Age of the Southern Urals.
In 1964 he became a candidate of science. In 1987 he defended his doctoral dissertation. I found several sites of primitive people in the Urals. He is the author of over 300 scientific papers. In 1992 he became a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. He was a leading researcher at the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences. He headed the archaeological college of the Russian Academy of Education. He was a member of the American Archaeological Society. Died 2000
F.G. Arzhanov
The year of birth of the outstanding organizer of the oil and gas industry is 1927. His father died in the Second World War. He entered the school of cabin boys, which was located on the Solovetsky Islands. After graduating from school in 1943, he served in the Northern Fleet as a radio operator. After the end of the Second World War, he worked on minesweepers, clearing minefields. He carried out this work until the year 50. After this he was demobilized.
After that, in 1956 he graduated from the Technical State University in Samara, after which Arzhanov was awarded a diploma as a petroleum engineer. For 10 years he worked at Kuibyshevneft. Then he left for the Tyumen region, where oil fields began to be developed there. He was the chief engineer of Yuganskneft, developed the Ust-Balyk deposits, and built Nefteyugansk.
In 1977 he became the head of Glavtyumenneftegaz. After 3 years he was removed from this position. He was immediately offered the post of chief engineer of Soyuztermneft in Krasnodar. Almost immediately I left for Vietnam. There he was the general director of the joint company Vietsovpetro. There he quickly established the operation of the enterprise.
Returning from Vietnam, he worked in Krasnodar. He was the general director of Soyuztermneft. He died in the summer of 1994.
Russia has only two allies: the army and the navy. Indeed, ever since Peter the Great turned our country into a great maritime power, military sailors, midshipmen, admirals and captains of all ranks have played a huge role in its history. In order to appreciate their merits during the Second World War, special awards were established: the Nakhimov medal and the Ushakov medal. Today they are kept in many Russian families and in private collections of falerists around the world.
Before looking at the Ushakov medals, it is worth talking briefly about the man in whose honor they were established, especially since he is one of the most extraordinary personalities among Russian military leaders and naval commanders.
Fyodor Ushakov began his career by participating in the Russian-Turkish War, which led to the independence of Crimea from Turkey and the conquest of the fortresses of Azov and Kerch by Russia. He won many victories in which he proved himself to be an excellent strategist. In addition, Ushakov left a good memory of himself among the Greek and Bulgarian peoples and acted as a skilled diplomat in the creation of an independent republic on the Greek islands, as well as in the liberation of Italy.
After retiring, he became involved in charity work. In particular, at his own expense, Ushakov built a hospital for veterans of the Patriotic War of 1812 and in every possible way supported the Sanaksar monastery, where he even had his own cell in which he lived during fasts. Such piety allowed the Russian Orthodox Church to canonize him along with such righteous warriors as Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy.
The decree establishing this award was issued in 1944. It was intended to reward sailors and soldiers, sergeants and foremen, as well as midshipmen and warrant officers of the Navy and naval units of the border troops for personal courage and bravery that were shown in defending the Fatherland at sea both during hostilities and in peacetime.
The Ushakov medal (USSR) is made of silver in the form of a circle with a diameter of 3.6 cm, placed on an anchor. On its obverse, surrounded by a convex edge, there is a chest-length relief image of Admiral F. F. Ushakov. Above it, along the circumference, there is a raised inscription “Admiral Ushakov”, and under the portrait there are 2 laurel branches connected by a crossing ribbon. As for the reverse, the medal number is simply stamped on it. The award is connected with a ring and a small eyelet to a pentagonal block, which is covered with a blue silk ribbon. It is 2.4 cm wide and has white and blue stripes along the edges.
The Ushakov Medal is fundamentally different from other Russian awards. The fact is that its last is decorated with an anchor chain, which is attached over the tape and connects the upper corners of the last with the eye. No other Soviet medal has this design.
The medal was re-established by decree of the President of the Russian Federation in March 1994. Externally, it is an exact copy of the Ushakov medal from the Second World War, and today it is awarded to military personnel of the Navy and maritime security agencies of the Border Service of the FSB of the Russian Federation. It should be worn on the left side of the chest, and if the recipient has other medals of the Russian Federation, it is located after the Suvorov medal.
This award was established simultaneously with the Ushakov medal and was also intended for non-officer personnel of the Navy and naval units who showed courage and bravery in the performance of military duty.
Made of bronze in the form of a circle with a diameter of 3.6 mm. On the obverse of the Nakhimov medal there is a convex image of the admiral in profile, below which there are crossed laurel branches connected. Along the convex side, duplicated by relief dots in the upper part of the medal, there is the inscription “ADMIRAL NAKHIMOV”. This award has a reverse design that is not typical for WWII medals. In particular, it depicts a circle, and inside it is a sailboat floating on the waves, behind which two sea anchors are crossed. At some distance from the side, a relief in the form of a ship's chain is applied in a circle.
The first award of the Nakhimov medal took place in the Northern Fleet on April 10, 1944. It was received by Sergeant M. A. Kolosov, as well as sailors E. V. Tolstov and F. G. Moshkov. In total, by 1981, 13,000 people were awarded the Nakhimov medal in the USSR.
In 2012, in honor of the 70th anniversary of the start of the Arctic convoys, the Russian government decided to honor the merits of their participants. The Ushakov medal was chosen as the award. The list of awardees was sent to the USA and Great Britain, where it was planned to organize ceremonies with the participation of Russian diplomats. That same year, on April 27, in the United States, 56 veteran sailors were awarded Ushakov medals. The situation was more difficult for participants from the UK. The fact is that, according to the laws of this country, Her Majesty’s subjects are prohibited from accepting foreign awards, so the request of the Russian side was rejected. At the same time, the British established their own award for their veterans, calling it “Arctic Star”. However, after its presentation, the British government changed its mind, and the Russian medals were nevertheless delivered to London, as well as to Edinburgh. There were solemn awards ceremonies for the brave sailors who, 70 years ago, delivered important military and food supplies to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.
Faleristics is a popular hobby all over the world, so Russian awards often end up in different parts of the world. Not least among them is the Admiral Ushakov medal, which is distinguished by its unusual design developed by the architect M. A. Shepilevsky. The price of this award ranges from 120,000 to 130,000 rubles. The Nakhimov medal costs about the same. As for their copies, their price is about 1000 rubles.
Now you know what Ushakov medals look like and who the person in whose honor they were established was.
By the Decree of the Presidium of the RF Armed Forces of March 2, 1992, it was allowed to use for awarding Russian citizens Ushakov medal, established in the Soviet Union. Its author was the artist D. L. Diodorov. The award was presented for courage and courage shown at sea in defense of the Motherland in peace and war.
In March 1994, the medal was re-established in the system of awards of the Russian Federation by the President of the Russian Federation, but with some changes in position and appearance. Author of the project Ushakov medals, established in March 1994, is the architect M. A. Shepilevsky.
According to the Regulations, it is awarded to military personnel from among the personnel of units and subunits of the Russian Navy, as well as to the personnel of the maritime guard of the FSB Border Service. The basis for the award is personal courage and bravery demonstrated in peacetime or wartime in defending the Fatherland and state interests of Russia at sea.
Solid stamped, made of silver, diameter 36 mm, thickness 2.7 mm. In the center on the front side there is a chest-to-chest image of Admiral F. F. Ushakov, framed around the circumference by convex dots. Above the image is the inscription “Admiral Ushakov”. Below, under the image, there are laurel branches fastened with a crossing ribbon. On the reverse side there is an anchor, the height of which is 49 mm. Here, to the right of the anchor, is the award number. Through a ring located in the anchor bracket, the medal is connected to the pentagonal block. The block is covered with silk moire ribbon. The ribbon is blue, with two stripes along the edges - white and blue. The width of the tape is 24 mm, the width of the white strip is 2 mm, the blue strip is 1.5 mm. On top of the tape on the block there is a V-shaped, silver, miniature anchor chain. Two ends of the chain are attached to rings in the upper corners of the block, and one is attached to an eyelet intended for fastening in the lower part of the block.
The rules of wearing include placing the medal on the left side of the chest. If the recipient has other state awards, then it should be located after the honey. Zhukov (according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 7, 2010). For wearing on clothing, the use of a strap is specified, the height of which is 8 millimeters and the width is 24 millimeters.
For everyday wear and on special occasions, it is possible to use a miniature copy of the medal measuring 16 mm. During the period from 1992 to 1994, about one and a half thousand people were awarded this medal. The first recipients were 996 veterans of the Solovetsky School of Young Men of the USSR Navy. The award ceremony took place in July 1992.
Which was left without any changes after approval in modern Russia. Only the statute was slightly changed. What was it before and who was it intended for? You can learn about this from the article.
The initiator of the appearance of the Ushakov medal was the People's Commissar of the Navy of the Soviet Union, Admiral Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov. The decision to introduce it was made by a special commission, which established the award in 1944. The medal became an analogue of the award “For Courage”.
The admiral lived at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He commanded the Black Sea Fleet and the Russian-Turkish squadron. During his service, he managed to preserve all the ships that took part in the battles. Not a single one of his subordinates was captured.
Thanks to his battle tactics, the Russian fleet was able to win brilliant victories in the battle near the island of Fidonisi, during the Battle of Kerch, as well as in the battles at Cape Tendra and Kaliakria. Ushakov often placed his own ship at the forefront, inspiring the commanders of other ships with his courage. The admiral is considered the founder of the national tactical school of naval affairs.
The image of the naval commander is a symbol of the glorious and victorious traditions of the Russian fleet. Many geographical objects, ships, streets and other structures are named after Ushakov. The appearance of the Ushakov medal as an incentive for employees of the USSR Navy was a matter of time. The government understood that it was better to reward sailors with a special insignia. The name Ushakova was most suitable for this purpose.
A group of artists were tasked with creating an award project. The development of the appearance of the Ushakov medal was supervised by captain of the first rank Khomich. The project manager is considered to be the famous Soviet architect Shepilevsky.
Description of appearance:
The insignia is attached to a pentagonal block covered with silk moire ribbon. The main color of the canvas is blue, there are white and blue stripes located on the sides. Tape width - 24 mm. The medal has its own special feature, which is a small anchor chain. It is attached to the top of the tape in several places in the form of the Roman numeral five.
All Ushakov medals issued in the Soviet Union were made of 925 sterling silver. The weight of the award without the block was almost 35 grams. There was about 32 grams of silver in it. The medal had not only material value, it was a reward for personal courage, bravery in battle, and the performance of military duty, despite the risk to life. Losing her would be depressing.
That is why there was an opportunity to obtain a duplicate. This was possible in two cases:
When a duplicate was issued, the number of the lost medal was marked on it, and the letter “D” was added using a stamping pen or stamp. Although there are duplicates without the appropriate marking.
The Ushakov medal in the USSR was intended to encourage privates, midshipmen, and representatives of the sergeant-major corps. They must belong to the Navy and naval units of the border troops of the Soviet Union.
The basis for the award was the manifestation of courage and bravery:
In the Soviet past, the recipient was required to wear the insignia on the left side of the chest. The medal should have been located after the sign “For Courage”.
The first order to award the medal to Admiral Ushakov was signed on July 17, 1945.
List of first recipients:
Many soldiers during the Second World War received various orders and medals (including Ushakov). Thus, the commander of the boat minesweeper of the seventh division, Grigory Mitrofanovich Davydenko, who served in the Baltic Fleet, was awarded the Ushakov and Nakhimov medals. Another such awardee was Durkin, who served in the Baltic Fleet with the rank of senior Red Navy man.
The Naumov and Ushakov medals were awarded to Alexander Mikhailovich Portnov. He fought on M-class submarines. He was part of the crew that managed to sink the enemy ship Goya, which had more than six thousand Nazis on board. The charter does not stipulate that the award be given posthumously or repeatedly. But there are examples when it was awarded twice.
List of twice gentlemen:
During the Second World War, fourteen thousand sailors received the insignia named after Ushakov. Afterwards, the number of recipients decreased significantly. Thus, in the period from 1980 to 1991, the medal was issued to one thousand serving sailors. This is due to the fact that there were not a large number of clashes involving the USSR in the maritime arena. Perhaps this is for the best.
The list of those awarded the Ushakov Medal in World War II would be incomplete without mention of foreign citizens awarded this honorary badge. The statute itself does not stipulate the possibility of awarding foreigners. But such cases still happened, especially in 1945. How many foreign sailors were awarded the Ushakov medal?
About one hundred foreign individuals were awarded the medal. All of them were awarded for their participation in the events of World War II. So, in 1945, five sailors of the United States Navy received this honor. There were also British citizens awarded. To receive a medal from the government of the Soviet Union, they required special permission from the British authorities. According to the laws of this state, it is prohibited to receive a foreign award for activities that have already been awarded by the United Kingdom.
After the collapse of the USSR, the Ushakov medal became a state award of the Russian Federation. A decree on this was issued in 1994. In the same year, twenty-three WWII veterans received the medal. Most often, it is they who become the owners of the badge of honor for sailors. Of the latest awards, it is known that the medal was awarded to Maxim Zherbinko in 2014. He was a captain of the second rank, commander of the ship "Alexander Shabalin", which was part of the Baltic Fleet. The commander made a successful military campaign, which lasted three hundred and ninety-two days.
An interesting fact is that in the modern description of the medal there is no five-pointed star placed on the obverse between the words “ADMIRAL USHAKOV”. But all the copies awarded have a star.
1896
Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya (nee Faina Girshevna Feldman)
Soviet actress. Born in Taganrog. Father - merchant of the 2nd guild Girsh Feldman. Mother, Milka Rafailovna (Zagovailova) is a fan of literature and art, a passionate admirer of A.P. Chekhov. From her, apparently, Faina inherited sensitivity, artistry, and a love of poetry, music, and theater. At the age of 14, Faina's passion for theater began. The first visits to the city theater left indelible impressions in the soul of the teenage girl, but she experienced a real shock in 1913, when she attended the play “The Cherry Orchard” by A.P. Chekhov on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater, where the stars of those years played. Under the influence of this play, the pseudonym “Ranevskaya” appeared. Faina Grigorievna studied at a private theater school. She considered Pavel Wulf, who would accept the largest enterprises - the “provincial Komissarzhevskaya”, as her teacher. She began her stage activities in 1915 at the Malakhovsky Dacha Theater (near Moscow). Then she played in Kerch, Rostov-on-Don, in the traveling “First Soviet Theater” in Crimea, Baku, Smolensk and other cities. She settled in Moscow in 1931, having already played dozens of roles. Ranevskaya's first stage successes were associated with her performances in sharp-character roles: Charlotte (The Cherry Orchard by A. Chekhov), Zmeyukina and Merchutkina (Wedding, Anniversary by A. Chekhov), Gulyachkina (Mandate by N. Erdman), Dunka ( “Yarovaya Love” by K. Trenev). Since 1931, F. Ranevskaya has been an actress at the Moscow Chamber Theater, and since 1933 at the Central Theater of the Red Army. In 1934 she began acting in films, and she immediately became widely known. Ranevskaya was equally successful in satirical, everyday, grotesque and dramatic images. Natural talent, incredible work ethic and dedication to art helped her become one of the most beloved actresses by viewers. Ranevskaya's talent was most fully revealed in the role of Vassa Zheleznova (1936) in the play based on the play of the same name by M. Gorky. The image of Vassa acquired both a tragic and satirical sound in her performance, and was distinguished by the depth and completeness of its psychological and social characteristics. In 1943-1949, Faina Ranevskaya worked at the Drama Theater (now the Mayakovsky Theater), where she played the role of Birdie in Lillian Helman's play “Little Chanterelles” (1945) with great success. In 1949-1955, Ranevskaya worked at the Mossovet Theater, and since 1955 she has been an actress at the Moscow Pushkin Theater. In 1963, Ranevskaya returned to the Mossovet Theater, where in 1966 she played the title role in the play by J. Patrick's The Strange Mrs. Savage. For thirteen years, Ranevskaya played the role of Lucy Cooper in the play “Next - Silence” (based on the play by V. Delmar) with great success. In the same performance, Faina Ranevskaya last appeared on stage on October 24, 1982. Ranevskaya's acting talent combined the fullness of realistic character development with a sharp, sometimes grotesque manner. The actress was fluent in all genres - from tragedy to farce. Faina Grigorievna Ranevskaya is more familiar to the general public from the films “Pyshka”, “Wedding”, “Man in a Case”, “Dream”, “Spring”, “Cinderella”, “Elephant and String”, “Foundling” (starred in her 20s films). Faina Ranevskaya was awarded the USSR State Prize three times. The editorial board of the English encyclopedia "Who is who" ("Who is who") included in the ten most outstanding actresses of the twentieth century (1992).
Faina Georgievna was distinguished in life by her sharp, merciless tongue. “You have to live in such a way that even the bastards remember you,” these are her words.
* * *
Ranevskaya was constantly late for rehearsals, Yu.A. Zavadsky was tired of this, and he asked the actors that if Ranevskaya was late again, then simply not notice her.
Faina Georgievna runs out of breath into the rehearsal:
- Hello!
Everyone is silent.
- Hello!
Nobody pays attention. Then she for the third time:
- Hello!
Same reaction again.
- Oh, there’s no one?! Then I'll go piss.
* * *
Oleg Dahl's favorite story about Ranevskaya:
It is filmed on location. In an open field. But Ranevskaya’s stomach is not good. She retires to a green house somewhere on the horizon. No and no, no and no. They send the dead man several times: has something happened? Ranevskaya responds, reassures, says that she is alive, and again she is not there and not. Finally he appears and majestically says: Lord! Who would have thought that there is so much shit in a person!
* * *
When the film "Foundling" was released, Ranevskaya's popularity, especially among children, reached its apogee. When Faina Georgievna walked down the street, a gang of boys ran after her and shouted: “Mulya! Mulya! Mulya!” Somehow she got very tired of this, she turned around, adjusted her pince-nez and said, grazing:
- Pioneers, go to hell!
* * *
When Ranevskaya was asked why she changed so many theaters in her life, she answered:
- When I was young, I experienced all types of love, except bestiality.
* * *
About her last theater in her life - the Mossovet Theater - she said:
“I have lived with many theaters, but I have not experienced any pleasure with any of them. Zavadsky’s rehearsals are a mass in a mess.”
* * *
"Starting in a bad movie is like spitting into eternity."
* * *
Faina Grigorievna said about her life: “I, by virtue of the talent given to me, squeaked like a mosquito.” “I spent my entire life swimming in the toilet butterfly style.”
* * *
Already at an advanced age, Faina Georgievna was walking along the street, slipped and fell. Ranevskaya lies on the sidewalk and shouts in her unique voice:
- People! Lift me up! After all, folk artists don’t lie on the road!
* * *
The images created by Ranevskaya are characterized by a combination of high drama and lyricism with comedy, realistic depth with satire and grotesqueness. The actress is fluent in the art of tragicomedy. Winner of the Stalin Prize (1949, 1951). She was awarded 2 orders and medals. Faina Grigorievna Ranevskaya gained legendary popularity, was awarded high titles and awards, and was friends with many outstanding people. She had everything except family and personal happiness: she never became either a wife or a mother. While I had strength, everything was occupied by the theater. Faina Grigorievna appeared on stage for the last time at the age of 86. In 1983, she left the theater, explaining that she was "tired of feigning health." no one knew then that she had the last year of her life left. F.G. Ranevskaya died on July 19, 1984, she was buried in the cemetery of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow along with her sister Isabella. A memorial plaque was installed on the house in Taganrog where the actress was born in August 1986.
“Character actress? - Osip Naumovich Abdulov was perplexed. - Nonsense! She's a whole troupe. Yes Yes! In the old days, the entrepreneur selected actors based on their roles. So, Faina is a “heroine”, and a “travesty”, and a “grand coquette”, and a “noble father”, and a “hero-lover”, and a “fat”, and a “simpleton”, and a “soubrette”, and “dramatic crone” and “villain.” All roles are in one.” Now it’s clear: Ranevskaya is a one-man show. More precisely, a theater man. And the greatest injustice lies in the fact that such a person, in essence, never had “his own theater”, where he could replay to his heart’s content everything his heart desired. Faina Georgievna once sadly told the widow of Bertolt Brecht about this, who, being completely delighted with Manka the Speculator from the play “Storm,” “insistently asked” the actress to play Mother Courage. Y. Zavadsky then assured the playwright that he would certainly stage his play, but he did not keep his promise. Moreover, the ill-fated Manka, this tiny episodic role, entirely improvised by Faina Georgievna and, without exaggeration, became the highlight of the entire performance (“What are you digging?”), the theater management finally decided to “remove” from the historical-revolutionary “Storm” - from out of harm's way. And that’s the real problem with this Ranevskaya: as soon as she left the stage, most of the audience left the auditorium. At times she really made a role out of nothing. “One day a director called me and asked me to film with him,” said the actress. - When asked what the role was, he replied: “Actually, there is no role for you. But I really want to see you in my film. There is a pop in the script, and if you agree to act, I can make him a pop.”<…> This director was a talented, sweet man, Igor Savchenko. I remember how he put a cage of birds in front of me and said: “Well, talk to them, say whatever comes to your mind, improvise.” And I began to address the birds with the words: “My dear fish, you keep jumping and jumping, giving yourself no rest.” Then he led me to the nook where the pigs stood: “Well, now talk to the pigs.” And I say: “Well, my dear children, eat to your health.” Sometimes Ranevskaya’s irrepressible talent felt a little cramped even within the framework of a completely finished image. They wrote about her “Strange Mrs. Savage”: “Ranevskaya was immeasurably taller than her heroine. The whole, enormous personality of a brilliant actress hovers like “God’s spirit” over the play, over the role...” What a blessing that Faina Georgievna, in different years of her life, also plucked from her enormous “tart talent” (A.N. Tolstoy) for the children a little piece! This is how the funny and touching Lelya appeared from the comedy “Foundling” (“Mulya, don’t make me nervous”), the kind Grandmother from the film “The Elephant and the Rope”, the mischievous and charming Stepmother from Shvartsev’s “Cinderella”... It’s amazing, but also in “Cinderella” the great the actress managed to “get into the co-authorship”, adding a number of witty, memorable lines of her own. Needless to say, any seemingly meaningless remark in Ranevskaya’s mouth turned almost into an aphorism. Miss Bok, voiced by her, from the cartoons about Carlson, was completely dispersed into quotes. According to rumors, the actress herself even grumbled in surprise about this: just think, she said a few words in front of the microphone, but the noise, the noise... But it’s really surprising. In the play “Storm” by V. Bill-Belotserkovsky at the State Academic Theater named after Mossovet, F. Ranevskaya played the small role of a speculator in such a way that this image became one of the brightest images of the play (from the collection of the radio fund, recording 1952). And the role of Lucy Cooper performed by F. Ranevskaya on the stage of the same theater in the play “Next - Silence ...” (directed by A. Efros) caused a real emotional shock among spectators and listeners - the performance was recorded in 1976 and is stored in the collection of the radio fund. The Radio Foundation also has a recording of scenes from the play “The Last Victim” by A. Ostrovsky. F. Ranevskaya - in the role of Glafira Firsovna. In search of “her own theater,” F. Ranevskaya more than once moved from one Moscow group to another. In the collection of the radio fund there is a recording of the play “The Law of Honor” by A. Stein of the Moscow Drama Theater (now the Moscow Academic Theater named after Vl. Mayakovsky). F. Ranevskaya - in the role of Nina Ivanovna, and scenes from the performance of the Moscow Drama Theater named after A.S. Pushkin “Trees Die While Standing” by A. Kason. F. Ranevskaya - in the role of Grandmother. The first radio play with the participation of F. Ranevskaya was recorded on the radio in 1946 - “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens, in the role of Miss Trotwood. Cast: V. Sperantova, M. Yanshin, E. Fadeeva, O. Wiklandt and other artists of Moscow theaters. And in the radio play (one-act comedy) “According to Audit” she played a bright, characteristic role of Ryndychka. Other roles: M. Yanshin, N. Gritsenko, O. Wiklandt, A. Kubatsky. The “pearls” of the radio fund’s collection are the radio play “Granny” by F. Dostoevsky (based on the novel “The Player”), in the role of Granny, and the staged story by A. Chekhov “A Defenseless Creature”. Cast: F. Ranevskaya, O. Abdulov, N. Yakushenko. Over the years, F. Ranevskaya recorded on the radio the literary works of N. Leskov, A. Chekhov, V. Ardov. And in the recording of the program based on the works and with the participation of A. Barto, she sang two children's songs based on the poems of A. Barto: “At the corner, at the crossroads, they were green, like in a garden” and “I ask you, pioneers, protect the trees.” A recording of F. Ranevskaya’s speech about the beginning of her stage activity in 1915 at the Malakhovsky Dacha Theater near Moscow has been preserved. About the meeting with the wonderful actor Illarion Pevtsov and his influence on the future creative life of the actress. The collection of the radio fund also contains documentary recordings of speeches about F. Ranevskaya - Yu. Zavadsky, D. Zhuravlev, A. Adoskin, G. Bortnikov, A. Batalov, G. Volchek. They remember F. Ranevskaya’s spiritual generosity and charm, her high demands on herself, the roles she played in the theater, on the radio and in the cinema.
