Jews on Russian stage and television. Famous Russian Jews
It's no secret how Jews were treated during World War II. It’s no secret what this nation and our country had to endure both in the pre-revolutionary and Stalinist eras. Anti-Semitism was extremely widespread and still exists today. Meanwhile, among famous, talented people, real professionals in their fields, there are many Jews.
Who are the Jews
Jews are often called Jews. However, these are not entirely synonyms. A Jew is a nationality, a person whose mother is Jewish, who professes Judaism. Accordingly, a Jew is one who belongs to the Jewish faith. If a person was not born a Jew, but converted to Judaism, according to current law in Israel, he is also considered a Jew. From the word “Jew” the biting nickname “Jew” was formed, which was previously used to call all people of a given nationality in a negative way.
The word “Jew” comes from the biblical “Ivri”, which can be translated as “alien”. This meaning is directly related to the origin of this ethnic group.
Origin of the Jews
According to the Bible, the first Jews appeared on Earth in the second millennium BC. They arose on the territory of ancient Canaan, when Semitic nomadic pastoralists crossed the Euphrates (hence the “aliens”) and mixed with Canaanite farmers and the pre-Semitic population. Those who appeared in Canaan were subsequently divided into twelve tribes, and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are considered their ancestors.
Later, the Jewish population spread throughout the world, and diasporas (this is what they call a part of a people who do not live on their own territory) appeared in different countries. Israel was created as a result of the Jewish genocide after World War II.
Famous Jews of Russia: the past
No matter how they humiliated the unfortunate Jewish people in all centuries, in all countries, emphasizing that these people cannot have any characteristics, merits or talents, that people like them - “Jews” - cannot and should not achieve anything. Nevertheless, among the outstanding people in the most diverse fields that exist, the Jewish nation is countless. Which once again proves that it’s not a matter of nationality. The point is in the person himself.
Among the descendants of Jacob who lived and worked in the last century, there are many who achieved recognition in their midst. These are scientists, actors, and writers... Vladimir Lenin, Vladimir Jabotinsky, Yakov Sverdlov, Leon Trotsky, Abram Ioffe, Evgeny Lifshitz, the Gnesin family and many, many others - this is not a complete list of famous Jews in Russia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. About some of their “colleagues” - a little more detail below.
The science
Many people know the famous psychologist Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, but not everyone knows that his real patronymic is Simkhovich, and his last name should have a “d” instead of “t”. Both his mother and father belonged to the Jewish people. He graduated from the Faculty of Law, as well as the Faculty of History and Philology, taught, and began studying psychology by studying the psychology of art (he published a monograph of the same name).
At the turn of the century, the future aviation designer Semyon Lavochkin was born in Smolensk. At birth, he received a slightly different name - Shlema Aizikovich Magaziner. His father, a Jew by birth, worked as a melamed (that is, a teacher). He served in the army, graduated from the Moscow Higher Technical School, and first became an ordinary designer, then an aircraft design manager. The vehicles created by Lavochkin took part in the battles of the Great Patriotic War.
The future Nobel Prize laureate in physics and famous scientist also comes from the Jewish ethnic group. Born and raised in Baku, he graduated from two faculties there - physics and mathematics and chemistry. The first scientific works appeared in print in the late twenties.
Yakov Isidorovich Perelman is a person whom, perhaps, everyone knows. He was born in Bialystok (now Poland) into a Jewish family. He published his first essay at the age of seventeen. At the same time, he studied at the institute and worked in a magazine. He received a specialty as a forestry scientist, but did not work in it, choosing a different path for himself - science and publication. The first voluminous work - one part of "Entertaining Physics" - became available to a wide range of readers in 1913 and immediately created a sensation. This is how the genre of “entertaining science” appeared - that is, science that shows the usual, everyday things from an unexpected, interesting side.
Music
The Anton brothers, famous composers, also had Jewish roots. Their father was a merchant, their mother a musician. In the early thirties of the nineteenth century, most of the family converted to Orthodoxy, thanks to which they were able to settle in Moscow. Anton Rubinstein first demonstrated his talent in public at the age of ten, Nikolai, six years younger, began performing in concert at the age of seven. Subsequently, Nikolai was also a conductor, as well as a piano teacher.
Isaac Beru Tsalievich Dunaevsky, or, as many are more familiar, simply Isaac Osipovich Dunaevsky, is a famous Soviet composer, author of music for a huge number of films. His Jewish family was musical, and from the age of eight he learned to play the violin. He graduated from the conservatory in this musical instrument and worked for four years in Kharkov as a composer and conductor. In 1924 he settled first in Moscow, later in Leningrad.
Alfred Schnittke came from a family of mixed blood - his father was Jewish, his mother was German. At first, the future composer spoke German; he learned Russian only later. He began studying music at the age of twelve in Vienna, where his father worked after the Great Patriotic War. Later he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory and remained there as a teacher.
Literature
Poet-songwriter, author-performer (they are also called bards) Alexander Galich at birth received the surname Ginzburg. Both of his parents belonged to a Jewish family, his mother worked at a conservatory, his father was an economist. At the age of fourteen he published his first poem, and after the ninth grade he entered the Literary Institute and Stanislavsky Studio, studied at two institutions at the same time, but did not graduate from either. In 1940, he co-wrote his first play and at one time worked in this genre. He began composing songs and performing them with guitar on his own in the late fifties.
The famous writer and poet, Nobel Prize winner in literature Boris Leonidovich Pasternak is also one of the most famous Jews in Russia. His father was an artist, his mother a pianist. The future writer studied music for six years and composed several piano works himself. He entered literature at the beginning of the second decade of the last century.
The famous children's writer is also on the list of famous Jews in Russia (pictured). His father was Jewish (he later converted to Orthodoxy), his mother was Russian. The youngest Eugene was also baptized into Orthodoxy. He first studied to become a lawyer, but then chose the profession of a writer. He worked under the leadership of Marshak and was involved in the creation of the famous children's magazines “Chizh” and “Hedgehog”. He wrote plays that were never staged while Stalin was alive.
In general, it must be said that Soviet literature is especially rich in famous Jews of Russia. Pavel Antokolsky, Isaac Babel, Osip Mandelstam, Lev Kassil, Veniamin Kaverin (real name Zilber), Yuri Tynyanov, Emmanuil Kazakevich, Agnia Barto, Victor Dragunsky, Samuil Marshak, Anatoly Rybakov, Yuri Levitansky, Evgeniy Dolmatovsky and others - a whole galaxy of names, who left their mark on Russian (and not only) literature.
Theater and cinema
Nathan Isaevich Efros is the name given at birth to Anatoly Vasilyevich Efros, a theater director who should be considered one of the famous Jews of Russia. He has been interested in theater since childhood and graduated from the directing department of GITIS. Throughout his life he worked in several theaters and was the author of many productions.
The list of famous Jewish actors in Russia also includes Arkady Raikin. He was born in Riga into a Jewish family and was interested in theater from early childhood. When the family moved to Petrograd, he began studying in a theater group, subsequently graduated from the College of Performing Arts, and worked at the Lenkom Theater. The stage brought him greater fame than the theater - he became very popular, performing with a variety of variety miniatures.
In addition to Raikin, famous Jewish actors include Leonid Utesov (Lazar Weisbein), Rostislav Plyatt, Zinovy Gerdt (Zalman Khrapinovich), Faina Ranevskaya (Feldman) and others.
Famous Jews of modern Russia
Above are briefly listed people who left their mark in science, art or other professional fields, but who, unfortunately, have not been among the living for many years. Some, who can be called our contemporaries, died relatively recently - in the new millennium. Among them it is necessary to highlight the film director, theater and film director Vladimir Motyl, film director Mikhail Shveitser, circus artist Igor Kio, actor and director Mikhail Kozakov, art critic Vitaly Vulf.
Below is a little more detail about famous Jewish people in Russia who are still alive today.
Policy
Businessman, multi-billionaire, owner of the Chelsea football club, governor of Chukotka - all this is about Roman Abramovich, who comes from a Jewish family. He has been engaged in entrepreneurial activity since the late eighties of the last century, thanks to which he made his fortune.
The flamboyant politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky is known to everyone in our country. He was born in Kazakhstan and for the first eighteen years lived under his father's last name - Edelstein. Zhirinovsky is the mother's surname. Since the early nineties he has been the leader of the LDPR party.
Acting environment
The artist Valentin Gaft is also one of the most famous Jews in Russia (pictured). Since the late fifties of the last century he has been playing in the theater, and at the beginning of the new century he made his debut as a director. Managed to star in more than a hundred films - and this is not the limit!
Director and screenwriter Valery Todorovsky is also Jewish. He was born in Odessa, graduated from the screenwriting department of VGIK. He is the director of ten films and screenwriter of fifteen.
Musical environment
Surprisingly, a huge number of modern performers have Jewish roots. For some you can't even tell. This list includes Leonid Agutin (Leonty Chizhov), his wife Anzhelika (Maria) Varum, Oleg Gazmanov, Jasmine, Boris Moiseev, Marina Khlebnikova, Mikhail Shufutinsky, soloists of the Bi-2 group Leva (Igor Bortnik) and Shura (Alexander Uman ), Maxim Galkin, Valery Syutkin, Arkady Ukupnik.
The founder of the famous “Turetsky Choir”, Mikhail Turetsky, also belongs to the Jewish people. His real last name is Epstein, and Turetsky is his mother's last name. The artist took it in memory of relatives on his mother’s side who died in the Holocaust.
Also among the famous Jews of Russia is the People's Artist of our country Larisa Dolina - her real name is Kudelman. She was born in Baku, studied music from the age of seven, and worked in the State Orchestra of Armenia. In addition to the “folk”, she also has the title of “Honored” Artist of Russia.
Other
As you can already understand, there are hundreds of talented Jews in our country. The list of them can be endless. Famous Jewish doctors in Russia, for example, include Leonid Roshal and Ilya Mechnikov, Jews in science and education include Anatoly Wasserman and Zhores Alferov, and in journalism - Vladimir Solovyov.
All of them are just a few of those talented people who belong to the Jewish nation. There are plenty of professionals, as well as amateurs, among any nation - it doesn’t matter whether you’re Russian, German or Jewish.
When we turn on the TV, we watch all sorts of shows, performances by our favorite artists, without even knowing their nationality. All the heroes of our topic are Jews, and this is not a bad thing at all, just looking at these artists it is very difficult to guess that they were born into a Jewish family or at least one of their parents was Jewish.
I present to your attention a list of famous artists whom you would never think were Jewish.
Maxim Alexandrovich Galkin
Popular Russian parodist, comedian, TV presenter, film actor and singer. Currently married to Alla Pugacheva. A family from a small village near Chelyabinsk. I even managed to write down some of my grandmother’s memories. On my father's side, there were Larins in our family. According to my mother - Odessa Jews
Leonid Agutin (Leonty Nikolaevich Chizhov)
Soviet and Russian singer, songwriter, composer, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. Born in Moscow, into a Jewish family of musician and tour manager Nikolai Petrovich and primary school teacher Lyudmila Leonidovna (nee Shkolnikova).
Angelika Varum (real name Maria Yuryevna Varum) 
Born in Lvov in the family of composer Yuri Ignatievich Varum and theater director Galina Mikhailovna Shapovalova. Honored artist of the Russian Federation.
Father Yuri Ignatievich (Itskhakovich) Varum recalls: “My grandfather’s last name is Robak, he is from Warsaw, where my father was born. When World War II began, his brothers and sisters, forced to flee Poland, decided to take the rare surname “Varum” so that after the war it would be easier to find each other. My grandfather Yudka, stuck in Warsaw, died in the ghetto along with his entire family. A deeply religious man, he enjoyed great authority; people came to him, like a rabbi, for advice and solutions to controversial issues.”
Larisa Alexandrovna Dolina (Larisa Alexandrovna Kudelman) 
Soviet and Russian pop and jazz singer, actress. People's Artist of the Russian Federation. She was born in Baku into a Jewish family of builder Alexander Markovich Kudelman and typist Galina Izrailevna Kudelman (née Dolina). At the age of three she moved with her parents to Odessa, her parents’ hometown.
Oleg Mikhailovich Gazmanov 
Soviet and Russian pop singer, composer and poet, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, People's Artist of the Russian Federation, Candidate of Technical Sciences. Father, Major Mikhail Semenovich Gazmanov, was a professional military man, Tatar by nationality; mother, Zinaida Abramovna (1920-2006) - a cardiologist at a military hospital, Jewish by nationality.
Tamara (Tamriko) Mikhailovna Gverdtsiteli 
Soviet, Georgian and Russian singer, actress, composer, Honored Artist of the Georgian SSR (1989), People's Artist of Georgia (1991), People's Artist of Ingushetia, People's Artist of the Russian Federation.
“I am a man of peace. She grew up in an international family. Dad is Georgian. I'm just as emotional as he is. And my mother is Jewish. I'm into it with my mind. For Georgians I am Tamara Gverdtsiteli, and for Jews I am Tamara Kofman - Gverdtsiteli. I was born and raised by a Jewish mother, and over the years I feel more and more aware of my Jewish genes. Do I feel that I belong to the Jewish people? Naturally. First of all - by blood. My mother is a purebred Jewish woman from Odessa. I can feel it. This can only be explained by the feelings that I have towards my mother and those closest to me... My grandfather Vladimir Abramovich, whom I remember very well, belonged to the Kaufman family. After the revolution, part of the family emigrated from Russia.”
Jasmine 
Russian pop singer, actress, model, TV presenter. Honored Artist of the Republic of Dagestan. Born into a family of Mountain Jews. Great-grandmother lives in Israel.
Leonidov, Maxim Leonidovich 
Born into a family of actors of the Leningrad Academic Comedy Theater, Honored Artists of the RSFSR Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Lyulko and one of the founders of the famous skits Leonid Efimovich Leonidov (real name Shapiro). The famous Russian singer lived in Israel for six years, recorded two music albums (in Hebrew and Russian), played in a musical, and starred in films. And then he returned to his native St. Petersburg and recorded his hit about “The Vision Girl.” Now Maxim lives in Russia, but continues to love Israel
Lolita Markovna Milyavskaya (Lolita Markovna Gorelik) 
Russian pop singer, actress, TV presenter and director. Mother, singer, worked in a jazz band. My father worked with my mother as an entertainer and conducted an orchestra. During her parents' tour, little Lolita was raised by her grandmother. In 1972, the parents divorced; in 1974, the father emigrated abroad to Israel.
Marina Arnoldovna Khlebnikova 
Soviet and Russian pop singer and TV presenter.
Khlebnikova was invited to the Jewish theater "Sholom" - Why do you think you were invited to play in this play?
- Don't know. The reason was probably that I was a student of Joseph Davydovich Kobzon. Secondly, now I have a name. And for the theater this series of performances would be a bright spot. Maybe Klara Novikova’s recommendations also played a role. And most importantly, of course, the roots."
Mikhail Borisovich Turetsky 
Russian singer and conductor. Founder, artistic director and art director of the art group “Turetsky Choir” and “Soprano 10”. People's Artist of the Russian Federation. Born into a Jewish family of immigrants from Belarus. Father - Boris Borisovich Epstein. She bears her mother’s surname, since all relatives on her side died during the Holocaust, and she also looks Russian.
Mikhail Zakharovich Shufutinsky 
Russian pop singer, pianist and composer. Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.
Born into the Jewish family of war veteran and doctor Zakhar Davidovich
B2 
Alexander Nikolaevich Uman and Igor Mikhailovich Bortnik - both went to Israel, Bortnik served in the army.
Elena Vorobey (real name Elena Yakovlevna Lebenbaum) 
Russian pop actress, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. Born into a Jewish family, Yankel Movshevich Lebenbaum and his wife Nina Lvovna.
Klara Novikova 
Born in Kyiv, in the family of a front-line soldier, the director of a shoe store in Podol, Boris Zinovievich Herzer. The Jewish Klara Novikova reigns supreme among women in the kingdom of the spoken genre of Russia. Novikova got her Russian surname from her first husband, a musician.
Alexander Viktorovich Kutikov 
Famous Soviet and Russian musician, composer, vocalist, music producer. Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. Born into a Jewish family.
Valery Miladovich Syutkin 
Russian singer and musician, author of lyrics for the rock and roll group "Bravo". Honored Artist of Russia, artistic director of the variety department of Moscow State University for the Humanities. M.A. Sholokhov.
Mom was born in Moscow, on Samotek. Her maiden name is Brzezidskaya, she is of Polish and Odessa blood. To put it bluntly (laughs). So I’m a normal Polish Odessa resident. I have Jewish roots. From my mother...I am familiar with Jewish traditions.
Ukupnik Arkady Semenovich 
Born on February 18, 1953, Kamenets-Podolsky, Khmelnitsky region. Composer, pop singer, producer of the KAR-MAN group, director of the Galla and Alla studios. “I was born in Ukraine. There, from the age of 5, I learned what it means to be a Jew, to be a “stranger among one’s own.” Having already arrived in Moscow as an adult, I immediately noted that there is no such harsh attitude towards Jews here as in Ukraine. Since then I have achieved a lot in life. And a lot has changed in the country. And yet, I am very concerned about the fact that there is a MEOC, and that here I am always “one among my own.”
Vladimir Natanovich Vinokur 
Soviet and Russian comedian, singer and TV presenter. Honored Artist of the RSFSR, People's Artist of the RSFSR. Born into the Jewish family of builder Nathan Lvovich Vinokur.
Boris Mikhailovich Moiseev 
Soviet and Russian dancer, choreographer, pop singer. Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.
The English Wiki has a hint of nationality, but the Russian Wiki does not. He was born in prison because his mother, dissatisfied with the authorities, was a political prisoner in those years. His childhood was spent in a small Jewish ghetto in provincial Mogilev.
I recently noticed that many comedians and actors on the Russian stage and in cinema are Jews. I looked more closely and it turned out to be the majority. I was interested in how it was in Hollywood and it turned out to be exactly the same. But at least it’s much easier to find information about the nationality of their celebrities.
The result was a rather interesting list with many surprises. The list is compiled purely for educational purposes.
The list includes actors whose faces are more or less recognizable to the Russian-speaking public; I took myself as a focus group). As a preamble, a famous quote from Lenin: “Of all the arts, cinema is the most important for us..
16. Ben Stiller (Benjamin Edward Stiller)– Born into a family of comedian actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Mira. His mother is Irish, his father is of Jewish origin from a family of immigrants from Poland and Galicia.
17. Sacha Noam Baron Cohen- Born into a Jewish family in Surrey. Parents: Gerald and Danielle Baron Cohen. My father was the owner of a men's clothing store. Daniela's mother Naomi Weiser was born in Israel.
18. Daniel Jacob Radcliffe– mother Marcia Janine Gresham Jacobson, casting agent, was born in South Africa, into a Jewish family of immigrants from Russia and Poland.
19. Amanda Peet- born into the family of social worker Penny Peat (née Levy) and corporate lawyer Charles Peay. Mother is Jewish.
20. Sarah Michelle Gellar- born in New York, was the only child of Roseline (maiden name Greenfield), a kindergarten teacher, and Arthur Gellar. Both of Sarah's parents are Jewish.
22. Dustin Lee Hoffman- the second child in the family of Harry and Lillian Hoffman. Mother Lillian (née Gold, 1909-1981) is a jazz pianist; father is Harry Hoffman. Both are descendants of Jewish emigrants from Russia and Romania.>
23. Kate Garry Hudson– Kate Hudson was born into the family of singer Bill Hudson and actress Goldie Hawn. Mother's ancestors included Jewish immigrants from Hungary. She was brought up in the spirit of the Jewish religion.
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24. Jesse Adam Eisenberg (Jesse Adam Eisenberg) – American actor, best known for his roles in the films “The Squid and the Whale,” “Recreation Park,” “Welcome to Zombieland” and “The Social Network.” For his role in the film “The Social Network” he was nominated for an Oscar. Born into a Jewish family of immigrants from Ukraine and Poland.
For several decades, only one nationality reigned on the Soviet stage
Maryan BELENKY is a writer, translator, journalist, and conversational artist. He is the author of the character and monologues of Aunt Sonya, which Klara NOVIKOVA brilliantly embodied on the stage. Since 1991, Maryan Davidovich has lived in Israel, but has not lost contact with Russia.
Maryan Davidovich, you claim that Soviet humor was Jewish and Soviet mass song was Jewish...
- I can repeat this again. The basis of Soviet humor is Sholom Aleichem’s message: “I feel good, I’m an orphan.” Few representatives of national minorities on the stage, in this case Russians, such as Trushkin, Koklyushkin, Zadornov, imitated the same style: “Oh, how bad we feel!” By the way, in Israel itself Sholom Aleichem is far from the most popular writer. The humor there is completely different.
- Let's talk about the Soviet song. As you wrote: “Many songs thundered over the Volga, but the songs had the wrong tune.” The tune was right...
- ...from the Pokrass brothers, Matvey Blanter, Isaac Dunaevsky, Sigismund Katz, Alexander Tsfasman, Leonid Utesov, Mark Bernes, Arkady Ostrovsky, Oscar Feltsman, Mark Fradkin, Yan Frenkel, Vladimir Shainsky, Yan Galperin, Arkady Khaslavsky... And This is not a complete list.
Soviet pop songs began with Jewish folk melodies. Remember Utesov’s hits “Keep the Style” and “Uncle Elya”. And Comrade Stalin liked it! Utesov took part in all New Year's concerts in the Kremlin with the participation of Joseph Vissarionovich. The leader often asked to repeat the songs.
- Comrade Stalin loved Jewish songs?!
- Not Jewish, but Soviet. But which were created under strong influence. It is interesting that a person of Russian culture recognizes Hasidic melodies in Israel right away. This is blatnyak, or, as they say now, “Russian chanson”. True, the texts are different. Once I asked a famous musicologist, associate professor at the Kyiv Conservatory Vladimir Matvienko: “How can we explain that all thieves’ folklore is sung to the same melody?” He replied: “All Russian composers pulled the hippopotamus out of the swamp. Blatnyak is the energy with which the hippopotamus splashes back into the swamp.” Stalin, of course, was a lover of thieves' folklore. After all, in his youth he himself lived in banditry - he protected the oil fields in Baku.
- Recently in the newspaper “Vzglyad” you published an analysis of the Soviet stage, which caused a great resonance. You write that Russians in Israel are very surprised to hear a cantor (khazan) in the synagogue praising the Lord to the tune of “Nightingales, nightingales, do not disturb the soldiers.” Sorry, but the author of the song is Russian - Solovyov-Sedoy. What do you want to say?
- Nothing. Only that it has been a popular cantorial chant since the 19th century.
We need to arrange our own
- Let's remember once again who reigned on the stage in the 50s.
- These names are unlikely to mean anything to young people, except, perhaps, Arkady Raikin. Dykhovichny and Slobodskoy, Mass and Chervinsky, Vickers and Kanevsky, Mironova and Menaker, Mirov and Novitsky, Viktor Ardov, Alexander Izrailevich Shurov (coupletist, Rykunin’s partner); founder of the Moscow Theater of Miniatures Vladimir Solomonovich Polyakov; by Raikin Mark Azov and Vladimir Tikhvinsky... However, there is a black mark in the family. Nikolai Smirnov-Sokolsky somehow found his way into this company. The only Raikin author who is not a Jew that I know is Sinakevich.
- 60s...
- In the 60s, through the program “Good Morning!” Department of Satire and Humor of the All-Union Radio, a new generation came to Soviet pop humor: Gorin, Arkanov, Izmailov, Livshits and Levenbuk. 70s - Khazanov, Shifrin, Klara Novikova. Semyon Altov and Mikhail Mishin began writing in St. Petersburg.
The programs “Cheerful Majordomo” and “Terem-Teremok” appeared on television, which, as they say, were closed due to the abundance of non-indigenous people among the authors and actors.
At the origins of KVN were three Jews: director Mark Rozovsky, doctor Albert Axelrod, host of the first KVN, actor Ilya Rutberg (Yulia’s father). You will laugh, but the first Soviet television, KVN-49, was also invented by three Jews: Koenigson, Varshavsky, Nikolaevsky.
- I already found them. Wherever I went, there were Jews everywhere “on humor” - concert administrators, directors, editors of humor columns in radio programs, authors, actors, cashiers. In Kyiv there was also Ukrainian humor, which was written by Ukrainian authors and performed by Ukrainian actors. And in Moscow in those years, the dominance of Jews in this genre was almost one hundred percent. I do not evaluate this phenomenon, I only state what I witnessed. The only Jew in the polar town of Labytnangi, where we were taken on tour, turned out to be the administrator of the local philharmonic society named Ostrovsky. There was a legend about him:
“Richter comes to a distant northern city for a single concert. At the end of the concert, Ostrovsky gives him a ticket... for a reserved seat carriage. Two days to Moscow.
“Sorry, I’m Richter after all,” the great musician was indignant.
- Hey, don't fool yourself. There are many Richters, but Ostrovsky is one.”
I remember back in the 80s I approached Lyon Izmailov - I’m a pop author, take me to concerts. He looked at me like I was a cockroach: “We need to accommodate our own.” Your own? But I’m also a Jew and also an author... He meant the Moscow ones.
All this was reminiscent of a children's game: members of one team tightly hold hands, while the other team tries to break through this defense. Few managed to break through.
- Has anything changed in the 80s?
- The themes of sketches and monologues remained the same. The main thing is to keep the gun in your pocket, deceive the censors, and play on pause. Here is a classic move with which we deceived censorship. This trick was invented by actor Pavel Muravsky back in the 30s:
“Living in our country is getting worse and worse every day...
(The audience gasps.)
A speculator I know told me...
(Sigh of relief.)
And he's right...
(The audience gasps.)
Because speculators in our country are really getting worse every day...”
Three twists in one phrase. When this is written without pauses, the censor does not cut the trick.
Like Zhvanetsky: “And then the shortcomings of the entire system... of the scientific organization of labor were overcome.”
There are no more people like Aunt Sonya
In the early 90s, a new team appeared. Lev Novozhenov was the editor of the humor department of Moskovsky Komsomolets, where Shenderovich, Irtenyev, Vishnevsky (and your humble servant, if anyone remembers) were published.
The paradox is that I, the author of this image, am far from delighted with the image of Aunt Sonya created by Klara Novikova. I have never been a supporter of “Jewishness” - emphasizing the Jewish accent, increased gesticulation, thumbs under the armpits and other exaggerated signs of the image of a Jew. Aunt Sonya and uncle Yasha are a thing of the distant past. Their time is irrevocably gone. We, residents of big cities - Jews by nationality and Russians by culture, no longer have anything to do with that shtetl life that is gone forever. And I am categorically against being forced there. You won’t find people like Aunt Sonya, not only in Odessa, but even in Berdichev.
- In 1988, in one of the first “Full Houses” (which then aired once a month, and not three times a day on all channels), a Russian person appeared on the Soviet stage for the first time in 70 years. A simple guy from an Altai village. “Red Muzzle” was remembered by everyone. The manner of performance, the theme of the texts, the appearance of Mikhail Evdokimov - all this was strikingly different from the traditional Jewish whining on the topic “How bad our life is here.”
- But how did he get through with such a “Jewish conspiracy”?
- Evdokimov was brought on TV by Regina Dubovitskaya, who is not Jewish. For which I thank her very much. But she also brought Arlazorov out. And also Vetrov and Galtsev...
Evdokimov wrote his first monologues himself, including “Red Muzzle.” Then the Russian actor also got a Russian author - Evgeny Shestakov. The style of his texts, themes, and paradoxical humor are strikingly different from the style of his predecessors. Shestakov uses elements of Russian folklore and the absurdity inherent in Western pop music.
Today, Jews are being replaced in Russian humor by Armenians and, you will laugh, even Russians. Jewish dominance in this genre is over. Fortunately or unfortunately, that's up to you to judge. 21 March 2015, 18:20
Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya is a Soviet and Russian ballerina, choreographer, choreographer, teacher, writer and actress, People's Artist of the USSR. She was born on November 20, 1925 in Moscow into a Jewish family: her father is the famous business leader Mikhail Emmanuilovich Plisetsky, her mother is silent film actress Rakhil Mikhailovna Messerer.
Tamara (Tamriko) Mikhailovna Gverdtsiteli (born January 18, 1962, Tbilisi) - Soviet, Georgian and Russian singer, actress, composer, People's Artist of the Georgian SSR, People's Artist of Russia. Father is from the ancient Georgian noble family of Gverdtsiteli. Mother is Jewish, granddaughter of an Odessa rabbi.
Oksana Olegovna Fandera (born November 7, 1967, Odessa) is a Russian actress. Her father Oleg Fandera is an actor, half Ukrainian, half Gypsy, her mother is Jewish. From an interview with the actress:
Oksana, you have three bloods mixed: Ukrainian, Gypsy and Jewish. How do they manifest themselves?
Probably the fact is that I cook like a Ukrainian, I love freedom like a gypsy, and I feel the world’s sorrow like a Jew.
Who do you feel most like?
Now I can equally feel like one, the other and the third.
Tatyana Evgenievna Samoilova (May 4, 1934, St. Petersburg - May 4, 2014) - Soviet and Russian actress, best known for her role as Veronica in the film “The Cranes Are Flying” (1957). From an interview with Tatyana Samoilova: “My brother and I are half-breeds. Our mother is a purebred Jew, and our father is a purebred Russian.” The actress also said that it was from her Jewish mother that she inherited slightly slanted eyes.
Goldie Hawn is an American actress, producer, and director. Born November 21, 1945 in Washington. Her mother is Jewish and raised her daughter in the traditions of Judaism.
Milena Kunis, better known as Mila Kunis, is an American actress. Born on August 14, 1983 in Chernivtsi (Ukraine) into a Jewish family. In 1991, the family emigrated to the United States and settled in Los Angeles. One of the actress’s most significant film roles is the role of ballerina Lily in the film “Black Swan” (2010), where she played opposite another famous Jewish woman, Natalie Portman. The film was directed by Darren Aronofsky, who is also Jewish.
Ksenia Aleksandrovna Rappoport (born March 25, 1974, St. Petersburg) is a Russian theater and film actress, Honored Artist of Russia. From an interview with Ksenia Rappoport: “I feel like a Jew and have never hidden it. Moreover, when at the beginning of my career there was a question about taking a pseudonym, I deliberately did not do this, because I wanted to bear my father’s surname.”
Gwyneth Paltrow is an American actress. Born September 27, 1972 in Los Angeles. Her father is a Jew, a descendant of the well-known rabbinical family of Paltrovich. Mother is German. Gwyneth Paltrow considers herself Jewish and is raising her children (son Moses and daughter Apple, i.e. “apple”) in the traditions of Judaism, despite the fact that her ex-husband and father of her children, Coldplay musician Chris Martin, is a Christian.
Jennifer Connelly / Jennifer Connelly (born December 12, 1970, New York, USA) is an American actress. Her father is a Catholic with Irish and Norwegian roots, her mother is Jewish (her ancestors are emigrants from Poland and Russia), who studied at a yeshiva - a Jewish educational institution designed to study the Oral Law, mainly the Talmud. Jennifer Connelly's newest film work is the role of the wife of the biblical righteous man Noah in the film Noah, released in March 2014.
Anouk Aimée (real name Françoise Judith Sorya Dreyfus) is a French actress. She was born in Paris on April 27, 1932 into a Jewish family of actors, the daughter of Henri Dreyfus and Genevieve Sorey. Anouk Aimée's most famous role is that of Anne Gautier in the film A Man and a Woman (1966), directed by Claude Lelouch, who is Jewish.
Melanie Laurent / Mélanie Laurent - French actress, director, singer. Born on February 21, 1983 in Paris into a Jewish family.
Sarah Michelle Gellar / Sarah Michelle Gellar (born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. Sarah's parents are Jews, but they did not adhere to the traditions of Judaism and even decorated the tree for Christmas. Sarah herself is not a follower of any religion.
Scarlett Johansson (born November 22, 1984, New York) is an American actress and singer. Her father is of Danish descent, and her mother is an Ashkenazi Jew (a sub-ethnic group of Jews formed in Central Europe), her ancestors moved to the United States from Minsk. Scarlett considers herself Jewish and celebrates the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, although she admits that her family has always celebrated Christmas because... loved the traditions of this holiday.
Lauren Bacall / Lauren Bacall (September 16, 1924, New York - August 12, 2014) - American actress, recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history. Lauren Bacall's parents are Jewish and she is a cousin of Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Lina Avraamovna Bystritskaya is an outstanding Soviet and Russian theater and film actress, People's Artist of the USSR. In 1999, in a survey by the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, Elina Bystritskaya was recognized as “the most beautiful woman of the outgoing century.” Born on April 4, 1928 in Kyiv in a Jewish family.
Natalie Portman (real name Hershlag) is an American actress. She was born in Jerusalem on June 9, 1981 into a Jewish family. Natalie has dual citizenship: American and Israeli. She is married to dancer Benjamin Millepied (they met on the set of the film “Black Swan”), who is Jewish. Their wedding took place in the traditions of Judaism.
Eva's father is Walter Green, half Swedish, half French by birth, works as a dentist. Mother is a famous actress, an Algerian Frenchwoman of Jewish origin, Marlene Jaubert, who has recently been involved in children's literature. Eva's last name is correctly pronounced Gran and means "grain", "tree (branch)" in Swedish. Eva Green considers herself Jewish, despite the fact that she was not raised in the traditions of Judaism.
Rachel Weisz / Rachel Weisz. Born in London on March 7, 1970. Rachel's father, inventor George Weiss (Jewish by nationality), was from Hungary, and Rachel's mother, psychotherapist Edith Ruth, was born in Vienna. Edith Ruth was not a pure-blooded Jew, because... She also had Italian and Austrian roots and was raised Catholic, but then converted to Judaism.
Winona Laura Horowitz was born on October 29, 1971 in Olmsted County, Minnesota. It owes its name to the name of the neighboring town of Winona. She was given her middle name Laura in honor of the wife of the writer Aldous Huxley, with whom her father was friends. Winona's parents Cynthia and Michael Horowitz - descendants of Jewish emigrants from Russia and Romania - were engaged in literary activities.
