The Night Before Christmas (1961 Film)
''The Night Before Christmas'', also known as ''Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka'' (russian: Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки, Vechera na khutore bliz Dikanki), is a 1961 Soviet fantasy film directed by Aleksandr Rou, based on a "Christmas Eve", first story in the second volume of the 1832 collection ''Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka'' by Nikolai Gogol. Plot This eccentric and fantastical fairy tale takes place near the village of Dikanka on the night before Christmas. Amid carol singing, drunken revelry, and amorous hijinks, the blacksmith Vakula persuades the Devil to fly him to Sankt-Petersburg, where he hopes to obtain a pair of the Empress's heels which might win him Oksana's love. Cast *Aleksandr Khvylya as Chub * Lyudmyla Myznikova as Oksana *Yuri Tavrov as Vakula *Lyudmila Khityaeva as Solokha *Sergei Martinson as Osip, the Sacristan *Anatoly Kubatsky as Panas *Vera Altayskaya as Wife of Panas *Dmitri Kapka as Shanuvalenko *Mykola Yakovchenko as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aleksandr Rou
Alexander Arturovich Rou (also, Rowe, from his Irish father's name) (russian: Александр Артурович Роу, – 28 December 1973) was a Soviet Union, Soviet film director, and People's Artist of the RSFSR (1968). He directed a number of children's Fantasy film, fantasy films, based mostly on Folklore of Russia, Russian folklore, that were highly popular and often imitated in the Soviet Union. Biography He was born to an Irish people, Irish father Arthur Rowe, (an engineer, who in 1905 came under contract to Russia to establish flour-milling) hence his unusual (for Russia) family name, and a Greeks, Greek mother, known as Julia Karageorgia.Sputnitskaya, YuliaPtushko. Rou. Mater-class in Soviet Kino-fantasy p. 162 His father worked in Yuryevets, Ivanovo Oblast, Yuryevets and in 1914 returned to Ireland, leaving the family in unstable Russia. Starting in 1930, Alexander worked at Mezhrabpomfilm as an assistant director to Yakov Protazanov on the films ''Marionet ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sankt-Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), is the second-largest city in Russia. It is situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, with a population of roughly 5.4 million residents. Saint Petersburg is the fourth-most populous city in Europe after Istanbul, Moscow and London, the most populous city on the Baltic Sea, and the world's northernmost city of more than 1 million residents. As Russia's Imperial capital, and a historically strategic port, it is governed as a federal city. The city was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703 on the site of a captured Swedish fortress, and was named after apostle Saint Peter. In Russia, Saint Petersburg is historically and culturally associated with the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aleksandr Demyanenko
Aleksandr Sergeyevich Demyanenko (russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Демья́ненко; May 30, 1937 – August 22, 1999) was a Soviet and Russian actor. He was given the honorary distinction of People's Artist of the RSFSR. He began his acting career with the film '' The Wind'' in 1959, and is well known for playing the character Shurik in a number of films, beginning with the 1965 comedy '' Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures'', and ending with the 1997 film ''Old Songs of the Main Things 2''. Life and career Early life Aleksandr Demyanenko was born in Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union in 1937. Aleksandr's mother, Galina Belkova was an accountant. His father, Sergei Petrovich, was an actor who graduated from the Lunacharsky State Institute for Theatre Arts. Sergei later worked as a director at the Sverdvlosk Opera Theatre, and as a child Aleksandr played bit parts at the theatre. Aleksandr attended a theater workshop at the Palace of Culture and parallel to th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aleksei Makarovich Smirnov
Aleksei Makarovich Smirnov (russian: Алексей Макарович Смирнов; 28 February 1920 in Danilov – 7 May 1979 in Leningrad) was a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor. He performed in more than fifty films between 1959 and 1977. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1976). Early life Aleksei Smirnov was born on 28 February 1920, in the town of Danilov, Yaroslavl Oblast, to the Smirnov family: Makar Stepanovich Smirnov and Anna Ivanovna. In the mid-1920s they moved to Leningrad. After her husband's early death Anna Ivanovna had to raise her two children on her own - Aleksei had a younger brother Arkady. The Smirnovs resided in a communal apartment at 44 Petr Lavrov str. As a pupil, Aleksei Smirnov began acting in the school amateur theatre. In 1940 he graduated from the Leningrad Music Comedy Theater school and was admitted into the troupe. Smirnov only acted in one part there - Black Eagle in the operetta ''Rose-Marie'' - before the Great Patriotic War began. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Devil
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the ''yetzer hara'', or "evil inclination." In Christianity and Islam, he is usually seen as a fallen angel or jinn who has rebelled against God, who nevertheless allows him temporary power over the fallen world and a host of demons. In the Quran, Shaitan, also known as Iblis, is an entity made of fire who was cast out of Heaven because he refused to bow before the newly created Adam and incites humans to sin by infecting their minds with ''waswās'' ("evil suggestions"). A figure known as ''ha-satan'' ("the satan") first appears in the Hebrew Bible as a heavenly prosecutor, subordinate to Yahweh (God), who prosecutes the nation of Judah in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Georgi Millyar
Georgy Frantsevich Millyar, sometimes spelled Milliar (russian: Георгий Францевич Милляр; 7 November 1903 in Moscow – 4 June 1993 in Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian actor, best known for playing evil spirits in Soviet fairy tale films, including the witch Baba Yaga in films such as ''Vasilisa the Beautiful'', ''Jack Frost'', '' Fire, Water, and Brass Pipes'' and ''The Golden Horns''. Georgy Millyar was born into a wealthy family of Franz de Milieu, a French bridge builder working in Russia, and Elizaveta Zhuravlyova, a daughter of an Irkutsk goldminer. Millyar's father died when he was almost three. Before the outbreak of World War I, he and his widowed mother had moved from Moscow to Gelendzhik. After the October Revolution, Millyar's family was left without relatives and means of living, their apartment in Moscow and a house in Gelendzhik were soon nationalized by the Bolsheviks. Millyar's mother was prudent enough to remove the "de" particle from her ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aleksandr Radunsky
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Aleksander and Aleksandr. Related names and diminutives include Iskandar, Alec, Alek, Alex, Alexandre, Aleks, Aleksa and Sander; feminine forms include Alexandra, Alexandria, and Sasha. Etymology The name ''Alexander'' originates from the (; 'defending men' or 'protector of men'). It is a compound of the verb (; 'to ward off, avert, defend') and the noun (, genitive: , ; meaning 'man'). It is an example of the widespread motif of Greek names expressing "battle-prowess", in this case the ability to withstand or push back an enemy battle line. The earliest attested form of the name, is the Mycenaean Greek feminine anthroponym , , (/ Alexandra/), written in the Linear B syllabic script. Alaksandu, alternatively called ''Alakasand ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Maryna Sidorchuk
Maryna may refer to: People * Maryna Antsybor (born 1987), Ukrainian cross country skier * Maryna Arzamasava (born 1987), Belarusian middle-distance runner * Maryna Bazhanova (born 1962), Ukrainian former handball player * Maryna Dubrova (born 1978), Ukrainian long-distance runner * Maryna Dyachenko, Ukrainian author and Playwright * Maryna Hancharova (born 1990), Belarusian rhythmic gymnast * Maryna Hrymych (born 1961), Ukrainian novelist and academician * Maryna Konieva (born 1987), Ukrainian taekwondo athlete * Maryna Linchuk (born 1987), Belarusian fashion model * Maryna Maydanova (born 1982), Ukrainian sprinter * Maryna Moroz * Maryna Novik (born 1984), Belarusian female javelin thrower * Maryna Pautaran, Belarusian canoer * Maryna Piddubna (born 1998), Ukrainian Paralympic swimmer * Maryna Prokofyeva (born 1982), Ukrainian judo ka * Maryna Pryshchepa (born 1983), Ukrainian judoka * Maryna Shkermankova (born 1990), Belarusian weightlifter * Maryna Shukyurava (bo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mykola Yakovchenko
Mykola ( uk, Мико́ла, Mykóla, ) is a Slavic variant, more specifically a Ukrainian variant, of the masculine name " Nicholas", meaning "victory of the people". It may refer to: People *Mykola Arkas (1853–1909), Ukrainian composer, writer, historian, and cultural activist *Mykola Avilov (born 1948), Ukrainian Soviet decathlete, competed at the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics *Mykola Azarov (born 1947), Ukrainian politician, Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014 *Mykola Babak (born 1954) is a Ukrainian artist, writer, publisher, and art collector * Mykola Bahlay (born 1976), Ukrainian football forward * Mykola Bakay (1931–1998), Ukrainian singer, composer, poet, author and Soviet dissident *Mykola Balan, Ukrainian military official, Lieutenant General, a commander of the National Guard of Ukraine *Mykola Bazhan (1904–1983), Soviet Ukrainian writer, poet and politician * Mykola Belokurov (1926–2006), Soviet middle-distance runner *Mykola Berezutskiy (born 1937), ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dmitri Kapka
Dmitri (russian: Дми́трий); Church Slavic form: Dimitry or Dimitri (); ancient Russian forms: D'mitriy or Dmitr ( or ) is a male given name common in Orthodox Christian culture, the Russian version of Greek Demetrios (Δημήτριος ''Dēmētrios'' ). The meaning of the name is "devoted to, dedicated to, or follower of Demeter" (Δημήτηρ, ''Dēmētēr''), "mother-earth", the Greek goddess of agriculture. Short forms of the name from the 13th–14th centuries are Mit, Mitya, Mityay, Mit'ka or Miten'ka (, or ); from the 20th century (originated from the Church Slavic form) are Dima, Dimka, Dimochka, Dimulya, Dimusha etc. (, etc.) St. Dimitri's Day The feast of the martyr Saint Demetrius of Thessalonica is celebrated on Saturday before November 8 ld Style October 26 The name day (именины): October 26 (November 8 on the Julian Calendar) See also: Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar. The Saturday before October 26/November 8 is called Demetrius Satu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vera Altayskaya
Vera Vladimirovna Altayskaya (russian: Ве́ра Влади́мировна Алта́йская) (21 May 1919 – 28 December 1978) was a Soviet actress known for her roles in children's fairy tale films and comedies. Born in Petrograd, she was the adoptive daughter of Konstantin Altaysky-Korolyov, a poet and translator, and his wife Vera Petrovna, a pianist. In the late 1930s she moved to Moscow, where in 1940 she graduated from drama school at the Mosfilm studio and joined the studio's repertoire of actors. Her first prominent role was in Yuli Raizman's 1942 film ''Mashenka''. She married Aleksei Konsovsky, a fellow actor, with whom she had a daughter, Svetlana. In recognition of her film work during the 1940s she received the Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945". In ''Mashenka'', Altayskaya had played a young beauty, but she later transitioned to character roles. For most of her career, she was typecast as shrewish or matronly characters. She a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |