Mikhail Astangov

Mikhail Astangov was a legendary stage actor of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. He was born Mikhail Fyodorovich Ruzhnikov on November 3, 1900, in Warsaw, Russian Empire (now Warsaw, Poland). His father worked for Imperial Russian railroad. In 1920 he made his acting debut in Theatrical Studio of Feodor Chaliapin Sr.. From 1923 to 1930 he worked as actor in Leningrad, Odessa, and other cities. From 1930 - 1941 he was member of the troupe at Moscow Theatre of Revolution, then was member of Theatre of Mossovet. From 1945 to 1965 Astangov was member of the troupe at Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. There his stage partners were such actors as Yuri Zavadsky, Mikhail Ulyanov, Ruben Simonov, Boris Zakhava, Vladimir Etush, Varvara Popova, Irina Kupchenko, Yuliya Borisova, Lyudmila Maksakova, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Marianna Vertinskaya, Nina Ruslanova, Nikolai Plotnikov, Vasiliy Lanovoy, Yuriy Yakovlev, Vyacheslav Shalevich, Andrei Abrikosov, Grigori Abrikosov, Boris Babochkin, Nikolai Gritsenko, Nikolai Timofeyev, Nikolai Bubnov, Andrey Tutyshkin, and Aleksandr Grave, among others. His most memorable stage performances were such roles as Cyrano de Bergerac (1946), and the title role in the Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (1958) directed by Boris Zakhava. Mikhail Astangov was designated People's Actor of the USSR (1955), and was awarded the State Stalin's Prize tree times (1948, 1950, 1951) for his roles on Soviet war dramas. He died of a heart failure on April 20, 1965, in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, and was laid to rest in the Convent Cemetery of Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, Russia.