Nikolai Alekseyevich Slichenko (russian: link=no, Никола́й Алексе́евич Сличе́нко; 27 December 1934 — 2 July 2021) was a Soviet and Russian singer, actor and chief director of the
Romen Theatre
Romen Theatre (russian: link=no, Московский музыкально-драматический театр "Ромэн") is the oldest and the most famous of Romani theatres in the world. The theatre is a key object of Romani culture in Ru ...
in Moscow. He was the only
Romani person to be awarded the title
People's Artist of the USSR (1981).
Biography
Nikolai was born in
Belgorod
Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics
The population of B ...
area, Russia. Part of his childhood passed during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. During the war, Nikolai lost many relatives. In particular, when he was a boy, his father was shot before his eyes in 1942. After the war, the Slichenko family settled at a Romani
collective farm in
Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast (russian: Воронежская область, Voronezhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the 2021 Census.
Geography
V ...
. That was the time when Nikolai heard about a theater in Moscow and had dreamt of performing on its stage.
In 1951, Nikolai was accepted into the
Romen Theatre
Romen Theatre (russian: link=no, Московский музыкально-драматический театр "Ромэн") is the oldest and the most famous of Romani theatres in the world. The theatre is a key object of Romani culture in Ru ...
.
[Умер народный артист СССР Николай Сличенко](_blank)
/ref> The gifted boy drew the attention of the leading theater masters. Certainly, they did not make it easy for him: he began like most, as an auxiliary staff actor.
Nikolai was first entrusted with a leading role as long ago as 1952, when he was not yet 18 years old. This was at the time when the theater left to Zagorsk (present-day Sergiyev Posad
Sergiyev Posad ( rus, Се́ргиев Поса́д, p=ˈsʲɛrgʲɪ(j)ɪf pɐˈsat) is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population:
It was previously known as ''Sergiyev Posad'' (unt ...
) with the play ''Four Fiancées'' by Ivan Khrustalev. Nikolai played the role of Leksa, as a substitute for the actor Sergey Fyodorovich Shishkov (of the Shishkov gypsy dynasty) who had become ill. He then played the role of Leksa for many years, and later, as he grew older, played the role of Badi in this play as well.
After the play Slichenko received attention as a capable actor. The theater began to engage him in the current repertoire plays. In all, at the time he played more than 60 roles in his native theater, and also took part in a number of popular films, including ''Under the Rain and the Sun'', ''My Island Is Blue'', '' Wedding in Malinovka'' and others.
In 1977, Nikolai Slichenko became the chief director of the Romen Theatre
Romen Theatre (russian: link=no, Московский музыкально-драматический театр "Ромэн") is the oldest and the most famous of Romani theatres in the world. The theatre is a key object of Romani culture in Ru ...
. For this, he completed the Higher Courses for Directors at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts
The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, ...
in 1972, under the management of the People's Artist of the USSR Andrey Goncharov.
On 4 December 1998, a star with Nikolai Slichenko's name was placed at the Star Square in Moscow.
Awards and honors
;Orders
*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
2nd class (2020)
*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
3rd class (2004)[Указ Президента РФ от 27 декабря 2004 г. № 1606]
*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
4th class (1994)
*
Order of Honour (2009)
*
Order of Friendship
The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds ...
(2014)
*
Order of Friendship of Peoples
The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...
(1984)
;Titles
* People's Artist of the USSR (1981)
*People's Artist of the RSFSR
People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...
(1975)
*Honored Artist of the RSFSR
Honored Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Zasluzhenny artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achievements in the ...
(1969)
;Awards
*USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...
(1987)
* Russian Federation Government Prize in the field of culture (2013)
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Biography of Nikolai Slichenko
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slichenko, Nikolai
1934 births
2021 deaths
20th-century Russian male actors
People from Belgorod Oblast
Russian Academy of Theatre Arts alumni
Honored Artists of the RSFSR
People's Artists of the RSFSR
People's Artists of the USSR
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class
Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples
Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia)
Recipients of the USSR State Prize
Romani male actors
Russian male film actors
Russian male stage actors
Russian Romani people
Russian theatre directors
Russian theatre managers and producers
Soviet male film actors
Soviet male stage actors
Soviet Romani people
Soviet theatre directors
Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery