Georgy Zhzhenov was imprisoned for what. Why actor Georgy Zhzhenov was imprisoned

Outstanding Russian and Soviet actor Georgy Zhzhenov lived long life. Not only fame and success fell to his lot, but also serious trials. So, in the era Stalin's repressions he was twice convicted on trumped-up charges.

Circus and cinema

Georgy Stepanovich Zhzhenov was born in March 1915 in Petrograd, in the family of a baker. Despite the fact that the family was poor, the children were drawn to study. Georgy's older brother Boris entered the university in the early 30s, and Georgy himself, after graduating from an eight-year school with a physics and mathematics degree, was accepted into the acrobatic department of pop music. circus school. Soon, together with one of his fellow students, his namesake, he began performing in the arena of the Leningrad Circus in the acrobatic duet “2-Georges-2”.

It was at the circus that Lenfilm employees saw him. The young man received main role in the film "The Hero's Mistake" (1932). After that, leaving the circus, Zhzhenov entered the Leningrad College of Performing Arts on the course of Sergei Gerasimov. He starred in several films, including the legendary Chapaev.

Walking through torment

In December 1934, Kirov was killed in Leningrad. Boris Zhzhenov, like other Leningrad State University students, was supposed to take part in the funeral procession. But he refused, since he did not have proper shoes to spend several hours in the cold... This was regarded as a hostile attitude towards Soviet power. Soon Boris was expelled from the university. He was later reinstated, but in December 1936 he was again summoned to the NKVD. He never returned from there, receiving seven years for “anti-Soviet activities.”

The Zhzhenov family was evicted from Leningrad. In addition to Georgy, his fellow filmmakers and Gerasimov himself stood up for him.

In the summer of 1938, Zhzhenov, together with a group of film actors, went to film in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. On the train they met an American diplomat who was traveling to Vladivostok as part of a delegation. Of course, fellow travelers were talking to each other. After the trip, the NKVD received a report about “contacts with a foreigner.” This plus the reputation of a relative of the “enemy of the people” was quite enough to accuse Zhzhonov of espionage. When Georgy returned to Leningrad, they came for him.

In the famous Leningrad prison "Crosses" Zhzhenov had to go through all the circles of hell. He was interrogated with passion - tortured, beaten, deprived of sleep... Others could not stand the bullying and confessed to the most absurd things. But the athletic, trained artist flatly refused to admit the charge of espionage. As a result, he was not shot, but given five years in the camps.

This is how Zhzhenov ended up in Kolyma, where he had to endure hunger, cold, exhausting labor, and the daily struggle for survival... During the war, almost no food was delivered to the Kolyma camps, and prisoners died in the hundreds.

In 1943, the head of a traveling acting propaganda team, Nikanorov, accidentally recognized a former film actor in a scab-covered goner from a penal camp at the Glukhar mine, and first achieved his transfer to his propaganda team, and then to the Magadan Musical Drama Theater, the troupe of which was almost entirely made up of prisoners.

In 1944, the actor's prison term was coming to an end. However, he was summoned to the camp authorities and asked to sign a resolution for an additional term - another 21 months in the camps.

Second try

In 1945, Zhzhenov was finally released, and thanks to Gerasimov, he found work at the Sverdlovsk film studio, where he starred in the film “Alitet Goes to the Mountains” - about Soviet Chukotka. But in 1949, the actor was arrested again. This time, however, he was sentenced not to the camps, but to exile in Norilsk. There he got a job at the local drama theater named after Mayakovsky, where he played together with Innokenty Smoktunovsky, who went to Siberia to sit out time of troubles- He feared arrest for being captured by the Germans in 1943.

In Norilsk, Zhzhenov tried to start a family with actress Irina Makhaeva. For him, this was already his third marriage - the previous two were interrupted by arrests... Later they had a daughter, Marina.

Only in 1955, having been completely rehabilitated, was the actor able to return to Leningrad. At first he worked in the regional drama theater, but already in 1956 he began acting in Lenfilm. National fame came to him in the late 60s - early 70s after filming the films “Resident Error” and “Fate

resident." The actor was awarded many state awards, and in 2005 the whole country celebrated the 90th birthday of Georgy Zhzhonov - people's artist and a former prisoner.

Graduated from the Leningrad Variety and Circus College, in 1935 - the film department of the Leningrad Institute of Performing Arts (now St. Petersburg state academy theatrical art), teacher Sergei Gerasimov.

In his second year at the circus school, Georgy Zhzhenov, while performing an acrobatic act at the Shapito circus, was noticed by director Eduard Ioganson and invited him to star in the leading role in the silent film The Hero's Mistake (1932). In 1935, Zhzhenov became an actor at the Lenfilm and Belgoskino studios. By this time he had starred in the films " Crown Prince Republic" (1934), "Golden Lights" (1934), "Chapaev" (1935).

In July 1938, Georgy Zhzhenov was arrested on charges of espionage and sentenced to five years in prison. The reason was meeting an American on a train en route to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where the actor was traveling as part of the film crew of the film “Komsomolsk” (1938). Until 1943, he worked at the Dalstroy gold mines. Then another 21 months of camps were added to the sentence.

In March 1945, Zhzhenov was released early from the camp and until December 1946 he worked at the Magadan Polar Drama Theater.

In the spring of 1947 he returned to Moscow. At the request of director Sergei Gerasimov, the actor was sent to work at the Sverdlovsk film studio feature films, where he began filming the film “Alithet Goes to the Mountains” (1949). In 1948, the studio closed and production of the film was transferred to Moscow, where Zhzhenov was prohibited from living, and he took a job at the drama theater in Pavlovsk-on-Oka.

In June 1949, he was arrested again, after which he spent six months in prison in Gorky, and was sent into exile in Norilsk, where he worked in the drama theater until 1953.

On December 2, 1955, Georgy Zhzhenov was twice rehabilitated by the military tribunal of the Leningrad Military District.

After rehabilitation, he returned to Leningrad. In 1954-1962 he worked as an actor at the Leningrad Regional Drama Theater, and since 1960 he played at the Leningrad Lensovet Theater. Among his roles are Neil in Maxim Gorky's "The Bourgeois", Astrov in Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya", Nikita in Leo Tolstoy's "The Power of Darkness", Teodoro in Lope de Vega's "Dog in the Manger".

In 1968-2005, Zhzhenov was an actor at the Moscow Mossovet Theater, where he played Zabrodin in Leningradsky Prospekt by Isidor Stock, the Host in the play Funeral in California by Rustam Ibragimbekov, Inspector Gul in the play He Came by John Priestley, and Norman Thayer in the production "On Golden Lake" by Ernst Thompson and others.

In just a few years creative activity Zhzhenov played more than 100 roles in the theater.
He returned to cinema in the 1950s, starring in supporting roles. The actor’s most notable works of those years were his roles in the films “The Night Guest” (1958) and “The Corrected One to Believe” (1959).

One of the first notable works in cinema after returning from the camps for Georgy Zhzhenov was his role in the film “Planet of Storms” (1961). The actor became famous after a small role as a traffic inspector in Eldar Ryazanov’s comedy “Beware of the Car” (1966).

Zhzhenov's finest hour in cinema came after the release of Veniamin Dorman's adventure film "Resident's Mistake" (1968), where the actor played the son of the Russian emigrant Count Tulyev, a scout named Nadezhda. The film was such a success that it was decided to make a sequel; in 1970, the second film, “The Fate of the Resident,” was released, in 1982, the third film, “Return of the Resident,” and in 1986, the fourth film in the tetralogy, “The End of Operation Resident.”

Georgy Zhzhenov starred in the films "The End of Saturn" and "The Path to Saturn" (1967), "Crane" (1968), "All the King's Men" (1971), "Hot Snow" (1972), "Seeking My Destiny" (1974), “Personal Happiness” (1977), “Medicine against Fear” (1978), “Crew” (1979), “Gateway to Heaven” (1983), etc.

Georgy Zhzhenov played about 70 roles in films.

Georgy Zhzhenov wrote more than 10 books of memoirs, including about camp life in Kolyma and polar Norilsk: “From the Wood Grouse to the Firebird”, “Omchag Valley”, “Lived”, etc.

Georgy Zhzhenov died at the age of 91 in Moscow. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

The artist’s work has been recognized by many government and professional awards. He was People's Artist of the USSR (1980), laureate of the State Prize of the RSFSR named after the Vasilyev brothers (1975). Awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1985), the Order of Lenin (1991), the Order of Merit for the Fatherland IV (1995), III (1998) and II degrees (2000).

He was a laureate of the Crystal Turandot (1995), Nika (1997), and Golden Eagle (2002) awards.

In 2000, in the city of Chelyabinsk on Pionerskaya Street, a monument to Georgy Zhzhenov by sculptor Vladimir Polyansky was unveiled.

The artist was married four times. Zhzhenov is survived by his widow, actress Lydia Malyukova. His first wife was actress Lidia Vorontsova, his second wife, and Irina Makaeva’s third. Zhzhenov is survived by three daughters - Elena, Marina and Yulia.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

The outstanding Soviet actor Georgy Zhzhenov lived a long life. Not only fame and success fell to his lot, but also serious trials. Thus, during the era of Stalinist repressions, he was twice convicted on trumped-up charges. Circus and cinema Georgy Stepanovich Zhzhenov was born in March 1915 in Petrograd, into the family of a baker. Despite the fact that the family was poor, the children were drawn to study. Georgy's older brother Boris entered the university in the early 30s, and Georgy himself, after graduating from an eight-year school with a physics and mathematics degree, was admitted to the acrobatic department of the circus school. Soon, together with one of his fellow students, his namesake, he began performing in the arena of the Leningrad Circus in the acrobatic duet “2-Georges-2”. It was at the circus that Lenfilm employees saw him. The young man received the main role in the film “The Hero's Mistake” (1932). After that, leaving the circus, Zhzhenov entered the Leningrad College of Performing Arts on the course of Sergei Gerasimov. He starred in several films, including the legendary “Chapaev”. Walking through torment In December 1934, Kirov was killed in Leningrad. Boris Zhzhenov, like other Leningrad State University students, was supposed to take part in the funeral procession. But he refused, since he did not have proper shoes to spend several hours in the cold... This was regarded as a hostile attitude towards Soviet power. Soon Boris was expelled from the university. He was later reinstated, but in December 1936 he was again summoned to the NKVD. He never returned from there, receiving seven years for “anti-Soviet activities.” The Zhzhenov family was evicted from Leningrad. In addition to Georgy, his filmmaking friends and Gerasimov himself stood up for him. In the summer of 1938, Zhzhenov, together with a group of film actors, went to film in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. On the train they met an American diplomat who was traveling to Vladivostok as part of a delegation. Of course, fellow travelers were talking to each other. After the trip, the NKVD received a report about “contacts with a foreigner.” This plus the reputation of a relative of the “enemy of the people” was quite enough to accuse Zhzhonov of espionage. When Georgy returned to Leningrad, they came for him. In the famous Leningrad prison “Crosses”, Zhzhonov had to go through all the circles of hell. He was interrogated with passion - tortured, beaten, deprived of sleep... Others could not stand the bullying and confessed to the most absurd things. But the athletic, trained artist flatly refused to admit the charge of espionage. As a result, he was not shot, but given five years in the camps. So Zhzhenov ended up in Kolyma, where he had to endure hunger, cold, exhausting work, and a daily struggle for survival... During the war, almost no food was delivered to the Kolyma camps, and prisoners died in the hundreds. In 1943, the head of a traveling acting propaganda team, Nikanorov, accidentally recognized a former film actor in a scab-covered goner from a penal camp at the Glukhar mine, and first achieved his transfer to his propaganda team, and then to the Magadan Musical Drama Theater, the troupe of which was almost entirely composed of prisoners. In 1944, the actor’s prison term was coming to an end. However, he was summoned to the camp authorities and asked to sign a resolution for an additional term - another 21 months in the camps. Second attempt In 1945, Zhzhenov was finally released, and thanks to Gerasimov, he found work at the Sverdlovsk film studio, where he starred in the film “Alitet Goes to the Mountains” - about Soviet Chukotka. But in 1949, the actor was arrested again. This time, however, he was sentenced not to the camps, but to exile in Norilsk. There he got a job at the local Mayakovsky Drama Theater, where he played with Innokenty Smoktunovsky, who had gone to Siberia to sit out the troubled times - he feared arrest for being captured by the Germans in 1943. In Norilsk, Zhzhenov tried to start a family with actress Irina Makhaeva. For him this was already the third - the previous two were interrupted by arrests... Later they had a daughter, Marina. Only in 1955, being completely rehabilitated, was the actor able to return to Leningrad. At first he worked in the regional drama theater, but already in 1956 he began acting in Lenfilm. He gained national fame in the late 60s and early 70s after starring in the films “The Resident’s Mistake” and “The Resident’s Fate.” The actor was awarded many state awards, and in 2005 the whole country celebrated the 90th birthday of Georgy Zhzhonov, a people's artist and former prisoner.

In December 1934, Kirov was killed in Leningrad. Boris Zhzhenov, like other Leningrad State University students, was supposed to take part in the funeral procession. But he refused, since he did not have proper shoes to spend several hours in the cold... This was regarded as a hostile attitude towards Soviet power. Soon Boris was expelled from the university. He was later reinstated, but in December 1936 he was again summoned to the NKVD. He never returned from there, receiving seven years for “anti-Soviet activities.”

The Zhzhenov family was evicted from Leningrad. In addition to Georgy, his fellow filmmakers and Gerasimov himself stood up for him.

In the summer of 1938, Zhzhenov, together with a group of film actors, went to film in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. On the train they met an American diplomat who was traveling to Vladivostok as part of a delegation. Of course, fellow travelers were talking to each other. After the trip, the NKVD received a report about “contacts with a foreigner.” This plus the reputation of a relative of the “enemy of the people” was quite enough to accuse Zhzhonov of espionage. When Georgy returned to Leningrad, they came for him.

In the famous Leningrad prison "Crosses" Zhzhenov had to go through all the circles of hell. He was interrogated with passion - tortured, beaten, deprived of sleep... Others could not stand the bullying and confessed to the most absurd things. But the athletic, trained artist flatly refused to admit the charge of espionage. As a result, he was not shot, but given five years in the camps.

This is how Zhzhenov ended up in Kolyma, where he had to endure hunger, cold, exhausting labor, and the daily struggle for survival... During the war, almost no food was delivered to the Kolyma camps, and prisoners died in the hundreds.

In 1943, the head of a traveling acting propaganda team, Nikanorov, accidentally recognized a former film actor in a scab-covered goner from a penal camp at the Glukhar mine, and first achieved his transfer to his propaganda team, and then to the Magadan Musical Drama Theater, the troupe of which was almost entirely composed of prisoners.

In 1944, the actor's prison term was coming to an end. However, he was summoned to the camp authorities and asked to sign a resolution for an additional term - another 21 months in the camps.

In December 1934, Kirov was killed in Leningrad. Boris Zhzhenov, like other Leningrad State University students, was supposed to take part in the funeral procession. But he refused, since he did not have proper shoes to spend several hours in the cold... This was regarded as a hostile attitude towards Soviet power. Soon Boris was expelled from the university. He was later reinstated, but in December 1936 he was again summoned to the NKVD. He never returned from there, receiving seven years for “anti-Soviet activities.”

The Zhzhenov family was evicted from Leningrad. In addition to Georgy, his fellow filmmakers and Gerasimov himself stood up for him.

In the summer of 1938, Zhzhenov, together with a group of film actors, went to film in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. On the train they met an American diplomat who was traveling to Vladivostok as part of a delegation. Of course, fellow travelers were talking to each other. After the trip, the NKVD received a report about “contacts with a foreigner.” This plus the reputation of a relative of the “enemy of the people” was quite enough to accuse Zhzhonov of espionage. When Georgy returned to Leningrad, they came for him.

In the famous Leningrad prison "Crosses" Zhzhenov had to go through all the circles of hell. He was interrogated with passion - tortured, beaten, deprived of sleep... Others could not stand the bullying and confessed to the most absurd things. But the athletic, trained artist flatly refused to admit the charge of espionage. As a result, he was not shot, but given five years in the camps.

This is how Zhzhenov ended up in Kolyma, where he had to endure hunger, cold, exhausting labor, and the daily struggle for survival... During the war, almost no food was delivered to the Kolyma camps, and prisoners died in the hundreds.

In 1943, the head of a traveling acting propaganda team, Nikanorov, accidentally recognized a former film actor in a scab-covered goner from a penal camp at the Glukhar mine, and first achieved his transfer to his propaganda team, and then to the Magadan Musical Drama Theater, the troupe of which was almost entirely composed of prisoners.

In 1944, the actor's prison term was coming to an end. However, he was summoned to the camp authorities and asked to sign a resolution for an additional term - another 21 months in the camps.