One of the most renowned and active actors in the Soviet Union and Russia, Inna Churikova passed away on Saturday at the age of 79.
She had been in poor condition for a while, but heart failure was stated as the reason for her death.
Churikova and her mother were evacuated from their home during the war and gave birth there in 1943, in what is now Bashkortostan. Later, they relocated to Moscow, where Churikova started to seek a career in the theater even as a young student. She began performing at the Stanislavsky Theater’s youth studio at the age of 15.
She was admitted to the famous Shchepkin Theater Institute after three failed attempts. She worked at the Young People’s Theater after graduation before moving on to Lenkom, where, under Mark Zakharov’s leadership, she ascended to become one of the theater’s and the country’s most renowned actors.
Along with her career in theater, she also acted in more than 80 films, including “That Very Munchhausen” (1979), “Wartime Romance” (1983), and “The Chicken Ryaba” (1994), which was directed by Andrei Konchalovsky and written by Grigory Gorin.
Her television performances included those in “The Idiot,” a film directed by Vladimir Bortko and based on the Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel, and “Moscow Saga,” a film based on Vasily Aksyonov’s trilogy and helmed by Dmitry Barshchevsky.
Churikova received multiple awards for her work both nationally and internationally, including the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival for “Wartime Romance” and the Russia Nika Award in 1991 for the Vyacheslav Krishtofovich-directed film “Adam’s Rib.” She also received the Russian Order “For Merit to the Fatherland.”
While Churikova was married to playwright and director Gleb Panfilov, they had a producer son by the name of Ivan.
On Tuesday, a memorial service will be held at Lenkom Theater before Inna Churikova is laid to rest in Troyekurovsky Cemetery.
