Bad fate in the fate of Georgy Zhzhenov: Why the famous actor spent 17 years in the camps

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

March 22 marks 103 years since the birth of the famous theater and film actor, People's Artist of the USSR Georgy Zhzhenov … He lived a long life and passed away at the age of 90, but so many trials fell to his lot that it would be enough for several lives. Many viewers still do not suspect that the actor, whom they are used to seeing on the screen in the form of a policeman, pilot or scout, had to spend many years in camps, serving a sentence on very serious charges.

Georgy Zhzhenov was born in 1915 in Petrograd. His acting abilities were manifested in his youth in a rather unusual situation: at the age of 15, he played the role of … his older brother Boris, having entered the circus vocational school according to his documents. Later he had to confess to deception, and he already received a diploma in his own name. Zhzhenov got into the cinema thanks to the fact that once in the circus, representatives of Lenfilm drew attention to him. After he first found himself on the set, Georgy decided to leave the circus and entered the Leningrad College of Performing Arts. Zhzhenov's film career began quite successfully, and by the end of his studies he was popular with the audience. However, then he suddenly disappeared from the screens.

In 1937, after Kirov's murder, George's brother Boris refused to attend the mourning demonstration, one of the students wrote a denunciation against him, and the family had to pay for it. The brother was arrested on charges of "anti-Soviet activities and terrorist sentiments." The entire Zhzhenov family was deported to Kazakhstan, and Boris himself died in 1943 in the Vorkuta camp from dystrophy. The second brother George was shot by the Nazis in Mariupol in front of his mother. Later, the actor said: "".

Georgy refused to leave Leningrad, but then he managed to avoid reprisals thanks to the intercession of director Sergei Gerasimov. However, it was not possible to escape fate - a year later the actor was arrested, also on denunciation. Returning from the tour, Zhzhenov talked on the train with a fellow traveler, who turned out to be an American diplomat. This casual conversation was enough for an arrest on charges of espionage and betrayal of the homeland. Through blackmail and threats, the actor was forced to confess guilt. He was sentenced to 5 years of exile in Kolyma, but then the term was increased. For the first two years Zhzhenov felling forest in the taiga, then until 1943 Zhzhenov worked in the gold mines of Dalstroy. And then, at the request of Gerasimov, Georgy managed to get a job at the theater and at the Sverdlovsk film studio. When asked about what helped him to endure these 17 years in the camps, he answered: "".

Only in 1955 was Georgy Zhzhenov rehabilitated and allowed to return to Leningrad. In 1968 he moved to Moscow and was accepted into the troupe of the Mossovet Theater. Only after returning from exile, the 40-year-old actor finally began to actively act in films and earned all-Union popularity. In the role of a traffic inspector in the film "Beware of the Car" he looked so convincing that none of the audience could see in him yesterday's prisoner.

Ironically, in the role of a spy, he had to feel himself on the set, only this time he had a chance to embody the image of a Soviet intelligence officer on the screen. The tetralogy "Mistake of a Resident", "Fates of a Resident", "Return of a Resident" and "End of Operation" Resident "made Georgy Zhzhenov one of the most popular and beloved Soviet artists among the people. This success was consolidated by the legendary disaster film "The Crew", in which the actor got one of the main roles - the aircraft crew commander Andrey Timchenko.

Late was happiness not only in the professional, but also in the personal life of the artist. For the first time, Georgy Zhzhenov married in his student years, to the aspiring actress Evgenia Golynchik. They parted on his initiative - he insisted on a divorce after he was arrested. The atrist later said about his first marriage: "".

His next chosen one was also the actress, Lydia Vorontsova, whom he met in 1943 in exile. Their fates were very similar - the woman was also unjustly accused of espionage. However, their joint happiness was short-lived - Lydia spent many years in the camps, and after her release she committed suicide. The actor's third wife was also exiled - he met her in the Norilsk camp. And only with his fourth wife, Lydia Malyukova, Zhzhenov lived until the end of his days. After his death, she could not come to her senses for a long time: "".

The actor continued to act in films until 1998, his last work was the role in the film "The Invisible Traveler". In December 2005, Georgy Zhzhenov died of lung cancer. He called his life "the biography of Soviet power." The artist took on any role, refusing to play only villains. "" - he said.

This film with his participation became the legend of the USSR cinema. Behind the scenes of "Crew": How the first Soviet disaster film appeared.