Alla Tarasova

Alla Konstantinovna Tarasova was born on February 6, 1898, in Kiev, Russian Empire, into an aristocratic family. Her father, named Konstantin Tarasov, was a military doctor in Kiev. Tarasova's sister was married to Russian Prince Svyatopolk-Mirsky. From 1910-1914 Young Tarasova studied at the Private Gymnasium of Titarenko on Fundukleevskaya street in Kiev. She was fond of theatre and attended the performances of Moscow Art Theatre on tour in Kiev. In 1914 she moved to Moscow and took acting class with Nikolai Massalitinov at the Acting School of Moscow Art Theatre. In 1916 Tarasova became a permanent member of the 2nd company of the Moscow Art Theatre. At the age of 18, she shot to fame with a leading role of Finochka in "Zelenoe Koltso", a play by Zinaida Gippius. She married Alexei Kuzmin, who fought in the Russian Civil War in the White Army and then emigrated from Russia. During the 1922 tour with Moscow Art Theatre in New York, Tarasova defected and joined her husband. She tried an acting career on Broadway, but failed because of her poor English. She worked as a waitress at her husband's café and was not planning to go back to Russia. At the end of 1924 Tarasova was convinced to go back by the letter from Stanislavsky, who insisted on her return to Moscow Art Theatre. She returned to Moscow, but had no serious roles for a few years. In 1931 she married the leading actor Ivan Moskvin and her career took off again. Tarasova became the undisputed leading actress of the Moscow Art Theatre under directors Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. She made her best stage works in classical plays of Maxim Gorky and Anton Chekhov that were staged by director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko during the 1930's. Her most resounding success was a title role in staging of "Anna Karenina" in 1937. The same theatrical production was recorded on film in 1953, when Tarasova and her partners were much older than at the time of their legendary premiere. Tarasova was received with mixed reviews by the Russian intellectuals émigrés during her international tours. At the same time she was the favorite actress of Joseph Stalin, who frequently attended her performances at the Moscow Art Theatre. Tarasova was made the "first official actress" of the Soviet Union. In 1937 she became the first actress to be designated the People's Artist of the Soviet Union. She was five times awarded the State Stalin's Prize, in 1941, 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1949. She received numerous awards and decorations and was also twice awarded the Order of Lenin and was made the Hero of Socialist Labor. However, her film career was limited to only a few roles, mainly in the films of director 'Vladimir Petrov' (I). She died on April 5, 1973, in Moscow. Tarasova left a peculiar will about her burial arrangements: instead of being buried at the prestigious Novodevichy Cemetery, she was laid to rest next to her mother at the Vvedenskoe Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.