Liya Akhedzhakova

Liya Akhedzhakova People's Artist of Russia
At the premiere of Generation P in 2011
Native name	Ли́я Меджи́довна Ахеджа́кова
Born	(1938-07-09) 9 July 1938 Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR, USSR (present-day Ukraine)
Residence	Maykop, Moscow
Citizenship	Russian SFSR, USSR (1938–1991), Russian Federation (1991–present)
Alma mater	Moscow State University of Nonferrous Metals and Gold Russian Academy of Theatre Arts – Lunacharsky State Institute
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1961–present
Notable work	The Irony of Fate (1975), Office Romance (1977), The Garage (1979), Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980), Say a Word for the Poor Hussar (1981), Sons of Bitches (1990), Promised Heaven (1991), Dandelion Wine (1997), Old Hags (2000), Playing the Victim (2007)
Home town	Dnipropetrovsk
Spouse(s)	Valeri Benediktovich Nosik Boris Petrovich Kocheishvili Vladimir Nikolaevich Persiyanov (m. 2000)
Parent(s)	Medzhid Salehovich Akhedzhakov (stepfather) Yuliya Alexandrovna Akhedzhakova
Relatives	George Akhedzhak Murat Akhedzak
Website	akhedzhakova.ru

Liya Medzhidovna Akhedzhakova (Russian: Ли́я Меджи́довна Ахеджа́кова, Ukrainian: Лі́я Меджи́дівна Ахеджа́кова; born 9 July 1938) is an eminent Soviet and Russian film, stage and voice actress who received the title of People's Artist of Russia in 1994. She won two Nika Awards for Best Actress for her performances in Promised Heaven (1991) and Playing the Victim (2006). She was also awarded the Nika Honorary Prize in 2015. She has been also known for her political and social activism since early 1990s.

Early life and career

Akhedzhakova was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR. She grew up in a theatrical family in Maykop, Russian SFSR. Her stepfather, Medzhid Salehovich Akhedzhakov (1914–2012), was a Circassian nobleman^[1] who served as the Principal Director of the National Theatre of the Republic of Adygea. Her mother, Yuliya Alexandrovna Akhedzhakova (1916–1990), was also an actress at the same drama theatre. At the age of 10, when her mother and aunt was suffering from tuberculosis, she wrote a letter to Joseph Stalin with a request for help. In response, a rare drug was delivered to her family.

In 1956, she entered the Moscow Institute of Nonferrous Metals and Gold where she studied for eighteen months. She first appeared on stage in 1961 at Moscow Youth Theatre. In 1962, she graduated from Lunacharsky State Institute for Theatre Arts (GITIS). Her first film appearance was in Ishchu cheloveka (1973) (Russian: Looking for a Man). Her debut in this drama was awarded several prizes at international film festivals in Locarno, Switzerland and Varna, Bulgaria.^[2] In 1977, she joined the Sovremennik Theatre. In 1986, she played four main roles in the play Apartment Columbine, directed by Roman Viktyuk.

As a film actress, Liya Akhedzhakova became widely known due to her roles in Eldar Ryazanov's films, including Tania in The Irony of Fate (1975), Verochka in Office Romance (1977) and Fima in Promised Heaven (1991). In the 2000 film Old Hags, she played alongside her stepfather.

Her relatives include Murat Kazbekovich Akedzhak, Deputy Head of the Administration of Krasnodar Region, and George Akhedzhak, Honored Coach of the USSR.

Personal life

Akhedzhakova's first husband was Valery Nosik, an actor of Moscow Pushkin Drama Theatre and Maly Theatre. Her second husband was artist and poet Boris Kocheishvili. In the summer of 2001, Liya Akhedzhakova married the Moscow-based photographer Vladimir Persiyanov. She has no children.

Political views

Akhedzhakova became politically active when Boris Yeltsin came to power. During the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis she attended a live TV show where she gave a speech in support of Yeltsin's actions, encouraging the army to «protect us from the goddamn Constitution» and start storming the White House, or «the Communists will return».^[3] As a result of the armed conflict, from 158 to 2000 people (mostly civilians) were killed and hundreds were injured. It also led to a forceful liquidation of the Soviet model in Russia. The actress has been personally blamed by her opponents for escalating the conflict ever since.^[4][5]

Akhedzhakova is a critic of the contemporary Russian politics and Vladimir Putin in particular. Together with Eldar Ryazanov, Yuri Shevchuk and Andrey Konchalovsky, she protested against Russian policy towards Ukraine.^[6] Following the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, she publicly read a poem of Andrey Orlov, Requiem for MH17 that ends with words «I'm guilty, because I'm Russian».^[6] In 2013, Akhedzhakova received a prize from the Moscow Helsinki Group for "the protection of human rights by means of culture and arts".^[6]

Eldar Ryazanov characterized Akhedzhakova as follows: "She sympathizes with the weak, and despises the cruel. In that her artistic credo coincides with the stance of the great Chaplin".^[7]

Honours and selected awards

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

• Liya Akhedzhakova at the Internet Movie Database