The forgotten star of our stage Elizaveta Rodnyanskaya

TV viewers know this actor primarily for the legendary comic role of the klutz and henpecked Khobotov in the film “Pokrovsky Gate”. Anatoly Ravikovich became widely known after the legendary film by Mikhail Kozakov. However, by the time the film was filmed, he already had several film roles and almost twenty years of work in the theater. This article is devoted to the biography of the outstanding actor and his difficult professional fate.

Childhood memories

Anatoly Ravikovich was born in difficult times. The biography of this actor covers difficult stages in Soviet history, which could not but affect his fate. Ravikovich was born in Leningrad in 1936. The actor’s parents survived the Civil War, the instability of the NEP period, hunger and poverty. They only had enough strength to feed and put on shoes for their children. In his youth, the actor was embarrassed by their lack of education and Jewish accent. But later, remembering this, Anatoly Ravikovich felt acute guilt towards his parents. Unfortunately, it is impossible to turn back time.

The Ravikovichs lived in one of the unremarkable districts of Leningrad, where artisans and poor officials once lived. But even during the actor’s childhood, only poor people lived on his native Spinning Street. A family huddled in one of the four rooms of a communal apartment. The situation in this home, of course, was bad. Every week I had to visit the bathhouse, since if there was a bathtub in the apartment, it was apparently before the revolution. When, many years later, Anatoly Ravikovich answered a question from journalists about whether he was visited by longing for life in a communal apartment, where, according to the film “Pokrovsky Gates,” it was always fun and the atmosphere was very intimate, he said: “I don’t miss it! Let her go to hell!

War

For the summer, the Ravikovich family went to visit relatives in Glukhovo. This was the case in 1941. Only my father remained in Leningrad. From what he saw that summer, Anatoly Ravikovich recalled the huge flows of people who were heading from Western Ukraine in an eastern direction. After some discussion, the mother and relatives decided to leave, to save themselves and their children.

Ravikovich was only four years old at the time, but he always remembered the strange plane in the sky, and how the adults were discussing whose it was - ours or the German one. He also clearly remembered that after the machine-gun fire it became clear that this plane was “not ours.” After long wanderings and misadventures, including the loss of their only luggage, the huge Jewish family finally reached Saratov.

During his memories of the war years, Anatoly Ravikovich said more than once that during all this time he did not see a single person who did not first of all think about himself and his family. Everyone tried to survive. Sentimental patriotic thoughts did not arise among those who surrounded the future actor. Anatoly lived in Saratov with his mother, sisters and brothers until he was forty-four.

Return to Leningrad

After returning to my hometown, I had to continue my studies. Anatoly Ravikovich spoke about the school as follows: “Ten years thrown into nowhere.” The actor spoke about this period in his biography as a time when he completely lacked the desire to gain knowledge. Ravikovich's interest in history and even many exact sciences awoke already when he was studying at the institute. The same cannot be said about the acting talent.

Links

• [https://ruskino.ru/art/1095 Anatoly Ravikovich] on the website RUSKINO.RU
• Kudryats E.V.
  [https://samlib.ru/k/kudrjac_e_w/ravik.shtml Khobotov as a mirror of the Russian intelligentsia: On December 24, People's Artist of Russia Anatoly Ravikovich turns 70]. Samizdat magazine (November 29, 2006). Retrieved April 9, 2012. [https://www.webcitation.org/67gCnDFmA Archived from the original on May 15, 2012].
• Kaluzhsky M.
  [https://booknik.ru/reviews/non-fiction/chelovek-sh/ A man with x... (Anatoly Ravikovich. Non-heroic hero. - Publisher: Limbus Press, 2008)]. booknik.ru (April 3, 2009). Retrieved April 9, 2012. [https://www.webcitation.org/67gCnzQEA Archived from the original on May 15, 2012].

Institute

In his senior year, Anatoly Ravikovich was faced with a pressing question: what to do next? It was impossible for him to get into prestigious universities. Firstly, he was far from an excellent student. Secondly, the fifth point in the questionnaire closed all the doors to the temple of science in front of him. There remained pedagogical universities that were not in particular demand. But this was not what Anatoly Ravikovich dreamed of. Returning again to his unloved school, but in a different role, was not part of his plans.

It should be said that, despite his regular visits to the drama club, he did not dream of becoming an actor. And when the director suggested trying to enroll in a theater school, it came as a surprise to Anatoly.

Hiding his intentions from his parents, he submitted documents to the Leningrad Theater Institute. And, I must say, he would have failed them miserably, because even before the start of the entrance exams he became a victim of evil pranks of the students of this university. One day, in the temple of art, Anatoly met two young men who introduced themselves as teachers. Not only did they force the future applicant to read a Chekhov story right in the lobby, where students and real teachers were scurrying back and forth. But they were also able to convince him that the heroic, masculine image suited him best.

As a result, Taras Bulba’s monologue was read before the selection committee. The examiners were not delighted with the young man who was trying with all his might to portray a formidable, tough father. But when the applicant, in addition, sang a very patriotic song, out of tune and howling louder and louder, his name was added to the lucky list. But only on the condition that he will further develop the makings of an actor-comedian.

Excerpt characterizing Ravikovich, Anatoly Yurievich

– Mommy, Mom!!! – the girl screamed again. – Vidas, Vidas, why doesn’t she hear me?! Or rather, she screamed only mentally, because at that moment, unfortunately, she was already physically dead... just like her little brother. And her poor mother, whose physical body was still tenaciously holding on to her fragile life that was barely glimmering in it, could not hear her in any way, since at that moment they were already in different worlds, inaccessible to each other... The kids were getting more and more lost and I felt that just a little more and the girl would go into real nervous shock (if you can call it that, speaking of a disembodied entity?). – Why are we lying there?!.. Why doesn’t mom answer us?! – the girl was still screaming, tugging at her brother’s sleeve. “Probably because we are dead...” the boy said, chattering his teeth finely. - And mom? – the little girl whispered in horror. “Mom is alive,” my brother answered not very confidently. - What about us? Well, tell them that we are here, that they cannot leave without us! Tell them!!! – the girl still couldn’t calm down. “I can’t, they don’t hear us... You see, they don’t hear us,” the brother tried to somehow explain to the girl. But she was still too little to understand that her mother could no longer hear her or speak to her. She could not understand all this horror and did not want to accept it... Smearing the large tears pouring down her pale cheeks with her small fists, she saw only her mother, who for some reason did not want to answer her and did not want to get up. - Mommy, get up! – she screamed again. - Well, get up, mom!!! The doctors began to transfer the bodies to the ambulance and then the girl was completely confused... - Vidas, Vidas, they are taking us all away!!! What about us? Why are we here?.. – she did not let up. The boy stood in a quiet stupor, without uttering a word, for a short moment forgetting even about his little sister. “What should we do now?..” the little girl was already completely panicked. - Let's go, well, let's go!!! “Where to?” the boy asked quietly. “Now we have nowhere to go... I couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to talk to this unfortunate, clung to each other, frightened pair of children, whom fate suddenly, for no reason, for nothing, threw out into some strange place and completely incomprehensible to them.” world. And I could only try to imagine how scary and wild all this must have been, especially for this little baby, who still had no idea what death was... I came closer to them and quietly, so as not to scare them, said: - Let's talk, I can hear you. – Oh, Vidas, see, she hears us!!! – the little girl squealed. - And who are you? You are good? Can you tell mom that we are scared?.. Words poured out of her mouth in a continuous stream, apparently she was very afraid that I would suddenly disappear and she would not have time to say everything. And then she looked at the ambulance again and saw that the doctors’ activity had doubled. – Look, look, they’re about to take us all away – but what about us?! – the little girl babbled in horror, completely not understanding what was happening. I felt completely at a dead end, since for the first time I encountered children who had just died and had no idea how to explain all this to them. The boy seemed to already understand something, but his sister was so terribly frightened by what was happening that her little heart did not want to understand anything at all... For a moment, I was completely confused. I really wanted to calm her down, but I couldn’t find the right words for this and, for fear of making things worse, I remained silent for now. Suddenly the figure of a man appeared from the ambulance, and I heard one of the nurses shout to someone: “We’re losing, we’re losing!” And I realized that the next person to lose his life was apparently his father... - Oh, daddy!!! – the girl squealed joyfully. “And I already thought you left us, but here you are!” Oh, how good!.. The father, not understanding anything, looked around, when suddenly he saw his wounded body and the doctors fussing around him, grabbed his head with both hands and quietly howled... It was very strange to see such a large and strong adult man in such the wild horror of contemplating his death. Or maybe this is exactly how it should have happened?.. Because he, unlike the children, just understood that his earthly life was over and that, even with the greatest desire, nothing more could be done... - Dad , daddy, aren't you glad? You can see us, right? You can, right?..” his daughter squealed happily, not understanding his despair. And my father looked at them with such confusion and pain that my heart was simply breaking... - My God, you too?!.. And you?.. - was all he could say. - Well, what are you for?! In the ambulance, the three bodies were already completely covered, and there was no longer any doubt that all these unfortunate people were already dead. Only my mother remained alive so far, whose “awakening” I honestly didn’t envy at all. After all, seeing that she had lost her entire family, this woman could simply refuse to live. - Dad, dad, will mom wake up soon too? – as if nothing had happened, the girl asked joyfully. The father stood in complete confusion, but I saw that he was trying with all his might to pull himself together in order to somehow calm down his baby daughter. “Katenka, honey, mom won’t wake up.” “She will no longer be with us,” the father said as calmly as possible. - How can it not be?!.. We’re all in place, aren’t we? We should be together!!! Isn’t it?.. – little Katya did not give up. I realized that it would be very difficult for my father to somehow understandably explain to this little man - his daughter - that life had changed a lot for them and there would be no return to the old world, no matter how much she wanted it... The father himself was in complete shock and, according to -I think he needed consolation no less than his daughter. The boy was holding up best of all so far, although I could clearly see that he was also very, very scared. Everything happened too unexpectedly, and none of them were ready for it. But, apparently, some kind of “instinct of masculinity” kicked in for the boy when he saw his “big and strong” dad in such a confused state, and he, poor thing, in a purely masculine way, took over the “reins of government” from the hands of the confused father into his own small, shaking children's hands... Before that, I had never seen people (except my grandfather) at the moment of their death. And it was on that ill-fated evening that I realized how helpless and unprepared people face the moment of their transition to another world!.. Probably the fear of something completely unknown to them, as well as the view of their body from the outside (but without their presence in it!) , created a real shock to those who did not suspect anything about it, but, unfortunately, were already “leaving” people. - Dad, dad, look - they are taking us away, and mom too! How will we find her now?!.. The little girl “shaked” her father’s sleeve, trying to attract his attention, but he was still somewhere “between worlds” and did not pay any attention to her... I was very surprised and She’s even disappointed by her father’s unworthy behavior. No matter how frightened he was, there was a tiny person standing at his feet - his tiny daughter, in whose eyes he was the “strongest and best” dad in the world, whose participation and support she really needed at the moment. And to such an extent, in my opinion, he simply had no right to become limp in her presence... I saw that these poor children had absolutely no idea what they should do now and where to go. To be honest, I had no such idea either. But someone had to do something and I decided to intervene again. It may be completely none of my business, but I simply could not calmly watch all this. - Excuse me, what is your name? – I quietly asked my father. This simple question brought him out of the “stupor” into which he “went headlong”, unable to come back. Staring at me in great surprise, he said in confusion: “Valery... Where did you come from?!... Did you die too? Why can you hear us? I was very glad that I managed to somehow return him and immediately answered: “No, I didn’t die, I was just walking by when it all happened.” But I can hear you and talk to you. If you want it of course. At this point they all stared at me in surprise... - Why are you alive if you can hear us? – the little girl asked. I was just about to answer her when suddenly a young dark-haired woman suddenly appeared and, without having time to say anything, disappeared again. - Mom, mom, here you are!!! – Katya shouted happily. – I told you that she would come, I told you so!!! I realized that the woman’s life was apparently “hanging by a thread” at the moment, and for a moment her essence was simply knocked out of her physical body. “Well, where is she?!..” Katya was upset. – She was just here!.. The girl was apparently very tired from such a huge influx of various emotions, and her face became very pale, helpless and sad... She tightly clung to her brother’s hand, as if seeking his support, and quietly whispered: “And everyone around us doesn’t see... What is this, dad?.. She suddenly began to look like a small, sad old lady who, in complete confusion, looks with her clear eyes at such a familiar white light, and cannot understand in any way.” - where should she go now, where is her mother now, and where is her home now?.. She turned first to her sad brother, then to her father, who stood alone and seemed completely indifferent to everything. But none of them had an answer to her simple childish question, and the poor girl suddenly became really, really scared... -Will you stay with us? – looking at me with her big eyes, she asked pitifully. “Well, of course I’ll stay, if that’s what you want,” I immediately assured. And I really wanted to hug her tightly in a friendly way, in order to warm her small and so frightened heart at least a little... - Who are you, girl? – the father suddenly asked. “Just a person, just a little different,” I answered, a little embarrassed. – I can hear and see those who “left”... like you now. “We died, didn’t we?” – he asked more calmly. “Yes,” I answered honestly. - And what will happen to us now? – You will live, only in another world. And he’s not that bad, believe me!.. You just have to get used to him and love him. “Do they really LIVE after death?..,” the father asked, still not believing. - They live. But not here anymore,” I answered. – You feel everything the same as before, but this is a different world, not your usual one. Your wife is still there, just like me. But you have already crossed the “border” and now you are on the other side,” not knowing how to explain more precisely, I tried to “reach out” to him. – Will she ever come to us too? – the girl suddenly asked. “Someday, yes,” I answered. “Well, then I’ll wait for her,” the satisfied little girl said confidently. “And we’ll all be together again, right, dad?” You want mom to be with us again, don’t you?.. Her huge gray eyes shone like stars, in the hope that her beloved mother would one day also be here, in her new world, without even realizing that this HER current world for her mother will be nothing more and nothing less than just death... And, as it turned out, the baby didn’t have to wait long... Her beloved mother appeared again... She was very sad and a little confused, but she behaved much better than the wildly frightened one my father, who now, to my sincere joy, was gradually coming to his senses. It is interesting that during my communication with such a huge number of entities of the dead, I could almost say with certainty that women accepted the “shock of death” much more confidently and calmly than men did. At that time I could not yet understand the reasons for this curious observation, but I knew for sure that this was exactly the case. Perhaps they bore deeper and harder the pain of guilt for the children they left behind in the “living” world, or for the pain that their death brought to their family and friends. But it was the fear of death that most of them (unlike men) were almost completely absent. Could this be to some extent explained by the fact that they themselves gave the most valuable thing on our earth - human life? Unfortunately, I didn’t yet have an answer to this question... - Mommy, mommy! And they said that you wouldn’t come for a long time! And you are already here!!! I knew that you wouldn’t leave us! - little Katya squealed, gasping with delight. - Now we are all together again and now everything will be fine! And how sad it was to watch how this whole sweet, friendly family tried to protect their little daughter and sister from the knowledge that this was not so good at all, that they were all together again, and that, unfortunately, none of them had there was no longer the slightest chance left for their remaining unlived life... And that each of them would sincerely prefer that at least someone from their family would remain alive... And little Katya was still babbling something innocently and happily, rejoicing that again they are all one family and again completely “everything is fine”... Mom smiled sadly, trying to show that she was also glad and happy... and her soul, like a wounded bird, screamed about her unfortunate children who had lived so little... Suddenly she seemed “separated” her husband and herself from the children with some kind of transparent “wall” and, looking straight at him, gently touched his cheek. “Valery, please look at me,” the woman said quietly. - What are we going to do?.. This is death, isn’t it?

Lensovet Theater

After graduating from the institute, Anatoly Ravikovich was sent to a remote provincial town, where acting was not particularly valued. Local residents were far from high art. Actor Anatoly Ravikovich overcame many difficulties. His biography includes periods so difficult that, faced with similar ones, perhaps almost every aspiring actor would give up and give up his profession. But Ravikovic did not do this, and soon luck smiled on him. Thanks to a happy accident, he ended up in I. Vladimirov’s troupe at the Lensovet Theater, where he worked for more than twenty-five years. Here Ravikovich played Marmeladov, Sancho Panza and many other classic heroes.

The performances were an incredible success with the audience. People stood in long lines to get into productions of Crime and Punishment, Dulcinea of ​​Toboso, Lefty, Pygmalion and others. In this theater, the most striking figure was Alisa Freundlich, who, however, despite her talent, always behaved extremely tactfully and intelligently. Ravikovich maintained warm, friendly relations with her throughout his life. And within the walls of this theater, actor Anatoly Ravikovich also found his personal happiness.

Theater works

At the theater. Lensovet actor Ravikovich played in more than 45 performances! Every year since 1962, Igor Vladimirov (theater director) included the artist in his productions and was invariably satisfied with his work. The first works in the theater were “At the Walls of Leningrad” and “Pygmalion”. In 1963, the theater produced as many as 7 performances with the participation of Ravikovich, including “Tanya” based on the work of A. Arbuzov, “Levonikha in Orbit” based on A. Makaenko, “I Want to Believe” based on I. Golosovsky and others. In the period from 1964 to 1969, the theater produced 15 performances in which Anatoly Yuryevich was introduced, as they say, from scratch, or new productions were completely created. Among them are performances called “Conscience”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “It’s Hard to Be a Sergeant”, “The Story of One Love”, “The Kid and Carlson Who Lives on the Roof”, “The Convent”, a play based on the play “Paths” and other.

This is how the first decade passed at the theater. Lensovet. Since 1970, Anatoly Ravikovich was involved in the productions of “The Taming of the Shrew”, “Crime and Punishment”, “Doors Slam” (here Anatoly had to play two roles in two different casts), “Dulcinea of ​​Toboso”. And these are just a few of the names of performances staged based on classic and contemporary works for the artist. The last performance where Anatoly played in the theater. Lensovet, called “Tim Thaler, or Sold Laughter.” It was also played and recorded for broadcast on television.

After this, Anatoly Ravikovich, together with his future wife, moved to the Comedy Theater named after N.P. Akimov. In it, the artist was not involved in such a large number of productions, but those in which he played are still remembered. These are performances called “Zoyka’s Apartment”, “Romulus the Great”, “I Want to Act in Film” and others. Anatoly Yuryevich played several performances at the A. Chekhov Theater and one at the Khazanov Theater.

"Baby and Carlson"

The future wife of Anatoly Ravikovich was twenty years younger than him. He played with her in the play “The Kid and Carlson.” The actor married Irina Mazurkevich in 1980. Ravikovich already had a marriage behind him. And Irina was already married at the time they met. But mutual feeling defeated all barriers and conventions. Ravikovich left his spacious apartment and moved into a small room with his young wife. And since then they have not parted. And eight years after the wedding, the actors moved to work in the comedy theater, where they eventually took leading positions. But to people far from theatrical art, such a name as Anatoly Ravikovich still did not mean anything.

Recognition and awards

• Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1973)
• People's Artist of the RSFSR (1988)
• Order of Honor (October 29, 2004) - for services in the field of theatrical art and many years of fruitful work
• Order of Friendship (October 25, 2009) - for his great contribution to the development of domestic theatrical art and many years of fruitful activity
• Laureate of the highest theater award of St. Petersburg “Golden Sofit”: special award of the Nominal Council “For creative longevity and unique contribution to the theatrical culture of St. Petersburg” (2006)

Movies

The actor first appeared on screen in 1974. Then Anatoly Ravikovich played a minor role in the historical film. His filmography in subsequent years was a very meager list of roles. But, fortunately, in 1982, director M. Kozakov invited him to take part in the filming of the film “Pokrovsky Gate”. The film was not immediately appreciated by critics and viewers. Due to some misunderstanding, no attention was paid to her. And only years later this film became a cult, and the characters’ statements turned into catchphrases.

The image of a klutz was attached to Ravikovich for a long time thanks to the role of Khobotov. However, in life the actor was different - tougher, decisive and practical. The only thing that Anatoly Yuryevich had in common with his popular film character was his love for a young woman. For her sake, at one time, like a hero, he took seemingly reckless actions. After the success of “Pokrovskie Gate”, Anatoly Yurievich Ravikovich played many more roles in films.

Filmography

The actor was involved in more than forty films. The most famous films in which he took part include the following:

• "The Hound of the Baskervilles."
• “That eccentric Andersen.”
• "The Pokrovsky Gate".
• "Prokhindiada, or Running on the spot."
• "Daughter."
• "Balcony".
• "Wanderers' Rest"
• "Wandering Stars"
• "Bee".
• "Hammer and sickle".
• “Streets of Broken Lanterns-1.”
• "Vovochka."
• "House of Hope".
• "Not alone."
• "Kept by fate."

Non-heroic hero

In 2008, a book of memoirs of the famous Soviet and Russian actor was published. In it, the author reflected his childhood memories of his parents, school and participation in the drama club. The book is written in a vivid artistic language. Anatoly Ravikovich depicted important events in his life with subtle self-irony, which, perhaps, a person not only talented, but wise and kind is capable of.

In 1988, the actor was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR. Anatoly Ravikovich died after a serious illness in one of the St. Petersburg hospitals on April 8, 2012. The memorial service took place at the Comedy Theater. The last words were spoken by Alisa Freundlich, Oleg Basilashvili and other outstanding actors and friends of Ravikovich. That day the stalls were crowded not only with theater and cinema people, but also with ordinary St. Petersburg residents. Hundreds of residents of the city on the Neva came to say goodbye to their beloved actor. His roles became part of the history of Soviet and Russian cinema. Ravikovich's characters, and above all Lev Evgenievich Khobotov, entered forever into the heart of every admirer of Russian cinema.

Notes

1. [https://www.itar-tass.com/c1/387160.html People's Artist of Russia Anatoly Ravikovich died in St. Petersburg]. ITAR-TASS. Retrieved April 9, 2012. [https://www.webcitation.org/68BUrkiUx Archived from the original on June 5, 2012].
2. [https://www.komedia.spb.ru/artists/ravikovich.html People's Artist of Russia Anatoly Ravikovich]. Comedy Theater named after. N. P. Akimova. Retrieved April 9, 2012. [https://www.webcitation.org/68BUw9j0B Archived from the original on June 5, 2012].
3. [https://ruskino.ru/news/713 A. Yu. Ravikovich died]
4. [https://fakty.ua/147817-anatolij-ravikovich-budu-ogranichivat-svoe-obcshenie-s-vnukami-ne-hochu-chtoby-oni-stradali-kogda-menya-ne-stanet Anatoly Ravikovich: “I will limit your communication with your grandchildren. I don’t want them to suffer when I’m gone..."]
5. [https://www.lenta.ru/news/2012/04/11/ravikovich/ Lenta.ru: Cinema: Anatoly Ravikovich was buried at the Volkovsky cemetery]
6. [https://graph.document.kremlin.ru/page.aspx?801846 Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of October 29, 2004 N 1375 “On awarding state awards of the Russian Federation to employees of the St. Petersburg state cultural institution “Academic Comedy Theater named after N. P. Akimova""]
7. [h[https://graph.document.kremlin.ru/page.aspx?1031462 Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of October 25, 2009 N 1183 “On awarding state awards of the Russian Federation to employees of the St. Petersburg state cultural institution “Academic Comedy Theater” N. P. Akimova"»]li>