Oleg Valerianovich Basilashvili was born on September 29, 1934, in Moscow, Russia. His father, named Valerian Basilashvili, was a director of the Moscow Polytechnical College. His mother, named Irina Ilyinskaya, was a teacher of linguistics.His paternal grandfather, named Noshrevan Kaysosorov Basilashvili, was a Colonel in the Imperial Army of the Tsar Nicholas II. He married a Polish lady, and settled down, becoming a policeman. He once arrested a dangerous criminal, named Dzhugashvili, who was really Joseph Stalin. After the Communist Revolution Joseph Stalin became a dictator and retaliated by arresting the former policeman. That's how grandfather of Basilashvili was arrested and beaten, causing him a nervous breakdown and a permanent speech impairment. His maternal grandfather was a Russian orthodox priest and an architect, who participated in the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. During WWII Oleg Basilashvili was evacuated from Moscow to the Transcaucasian republic of Georgia. There he lived with his paternal grandfather until the end of WWII.In 1956 Oleg Basilashvili graduated from the Acting School of the Moscow Art Theatre. He played his first film role of a young groom in 'Nevesta' (The Bride, 1956) by director Grigori Nikulin on a story by Anton Chekhov. Together with his first wife Tatyana Doronina he became an actor at the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) under director Georgi Tovstonogov, and works at the same theatre through his entire acting career. His most memorable stage works were in 'Gore ot Uma' by the playwright Aleksandr Griboyedov, 'Uncle Vanya' by the playwright Anton Chekhov, 'Kholstomer', a story by Leo Tolstoy, 'Na Dne', a play by Maxim Gorky, and other classic plays, directed by Georgi Tovstonogov.Oleg Basilashvili made remarkable film works in collaboration with director Eldar Ryazanov. He was starring in such films as 'Sluzhebny Roman' (1977), 'Vokzal Dlya Dvoikh' (1982), 'Nebesa obetovannye' (1991), and 'Predskazanie' (1993), which became significant box-office hits in theaters and remain popular on VHS and DVD. His film partners were 'Alisa Freindlikh' , Lyudmila Gurchenko, Nikita Mikhalkov, Nonna Mordyukova, Yevgeni Leonov, Natalya Gundareva, Marina Neyolova, Andrei Myagkov, Liya Akhedzhakova, Yelena Solovey, Rodion Nahapetov, Vladimir Basov, Leonid Kuravlyov, and many other Russian film actors.The most famous film work Basilashvili made with director Georgi Daneliya in a remarkable film 'Osenny Marafon' (1979). The film is a cross-genre comedy and melodrama with a bitter humor and satire of the Soviet life. Basilashvili plays a man in his mid-life crisis, who is torn between two nice women, his wife and his mistress, and all three of them become entangled in the game of lies and personal demands, being at the same time strangled by the stagnant Soviet reality. Basilashvili co-created a memorable acting ensemble, working together with such actors, as Natalya Gundareva, Yevgeni Leonov, Marina Neyolova, and Nikolai Kryuchkov. For that film director Georgi Daneliya was awarded at International film festivals in Berlin and San Sebastian. Actor Yevgeni Leonov won an award at the Venice Film Festival for his work with Basilashvili in 'Osenny Marafon'.Oleg Basilashvili gave an impressive performance in the role of 'Voland' in 'Master i Margarita', an adaptation of the eponymous novel by 'Mikhail Bulgakov' by director Vladimir Bortko. In his own words, Basilashvili played the character of 'Voland' in resemblance of an authoritarian and manipulative bureaucrat, alluding to a Soviet-era dictator. Basilashvili created a powerful interplay with a stellar ensemble of actors, such as Aleksandr Abdulov, Kirill Lavrov, Anna Kovalchuk, Aleksandr Galibin, Sergei Bezrukov, Aleksandr Filippenko, Valentin Gaft, Vladislav Galkin, Aleksandr Bashirov, Valeri Zolotukhin, and other Russian film stars.Oleg Basilashvili was honored with the title of the People's Actor of the USSR. He was awarded the State Prize of the Soviet Union and decorated by the Russian government. He was elected the representative of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1990 and quit politics after 2000. He was a staunch supporter of returning the original name to the city of St. Petersburg. He was a supporter of president Boris Yeltsin and a member of the parliamentary group of democratic representatives. He enjoys a tremendous respect among the vast audiences of the former Soviet Union. Oleg Basilashvili is living in St. Petersburg, Russia, with his second wife Galina Mshanskaya, who is a popular TV show hostess.
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