Pavel Borisovich Luspekayev (russian: Па́вел Бори́сович Луспека́ев) (20 April 1927,

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...

— 17 April 1970,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

) was a Soviet actor who is best known for his role of Vereschagin in the classic Russian movie ''

White Sun of the Desert ''White Sun of the Desert'' (russian: Белое солнце пустыни, Beloye solntse pustyni) is a 1970 Soviet Ostern film. Its blend of action, comedy, music and drama, as well as memorable quotes, made it highly successful at the Russi ...

''. Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1997, posthumously).

Biography

Pavel Luspekayev was born in Luhansk,

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

in 1927. His father Bogdasar Luspekyan was an Armenian butcher from a village near

Nakhichevan-on-Don __NOTOC__ Nakhichevan-on-Don (russian: Нахичевань-на-Дону, ''Naxičevan’-na-Donu''), also known as New Nakhichevan ( hy, Նոր Նախիջևան, ''Nor Naxiĵevan''; as opposed to the "old" Nakhichevan), was an Armenian-populate ...

(Russian city founded by Armenian settlers). His mother Seraphima Kovaleva came from Don Cossacks. During the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...

he joined the

Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...

at the age of 16 and fought shortly after with the

3rd Ukrainian Front The 3rd Ukrainian Front (Russian: Третий Украинский фронт) was a Front of the Red Army during World War II. It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southweste ...

. When his feet suffered severe frostbite, he had to be demobilised in 1944. Luspekayev's lower limbs never fully recovered. In 1945 Luspekayev became student in the

Mikhail Shchepkin Higher Theatre School The Mikhail Semyonovich Shchepkin Higher Theatre School (Institute) is a drama school associated with the Maly Theatre (Moscow), State Academic Maly Theatre in Moscow. It was established in 1809 by decree of Alexander I of Russia. History Sin ...

in Moscow. After finishing the school in 1950 he performed in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

's Griboedov Russian Drama Theatre, in 1956 in Kiev's

Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian Drama Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater (also referred to as ''Lesya Ukrainka Theater'') is a theater in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is located in a building known as Bourgogne Theatre. Founded in 1926, the theater produces many important plays of Russi ...

. In 1959 he joined Leningrad's Bolshoi Drama Theatre where he performed in plays under director

Georgy Tovstonogov Georgy Aleksandrovich Tovstonogov (russian: Георгий Александрович Товстоногов, – 23 May 1989) was a Russian- Georgian theatre director. He was the leader of the Gorky Bolshoi Drama Theater which was renamed afte ...

. In 1965 Luspekayev was awarded the title of

Meritorious Artist Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Заслуженный артист Российской Федерации, ''Zasluzhenny artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') is an honorary title in the Russian Federation. The title is ...

(Zasluzhenny aktyor) of RSFSR. The long-term effects of the suffered frostbite caused a

peripheral vascular disease Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an abnormal narrowing of arteries other than those that supply the heart or brain. When narrowing occurs in the heart, it is called coronary artery disease, and in the brain, it is called cerebrovascular dise ...

in Luspekayev's legs when he was 26. The illness progressed, and after he finished the movie

The Republic of ShKID ''The Republic of ShKID'' (russian: Республика ШКИД) is an adventure, partly autobiographical children's novel by and written in 1926 and printed in 1927. The book is about the fate of Russian street boys (''besprizorniks'') wh ...

(1966) both of his legs had to be amputated just below the knees. Nevertheless, he continued to perform on prosthesis, even though he was suffering from pain. During filming of ''

'' in 1969, Luspekayev's condition worsened, and he could barely walk. His wife was carrying a small folding chair, and Luspekayev had to take a rest every 20 steps. In the original script, the role of Vereschagin was a minor one, but during filming, the role began to expand, with some of the scenes being improvised on the spot. The connection between the actor and the role he was playing became so strong, that the crew began to call Vereschagin by name Pavel (Pasha), even though in the script his name was Alexander. Shortly after the ''White Sun of the Desert'' was released, Pavel Luspekayev died from a heart aneurysm. He was buried in the Northern Cemetery of

Saint 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), i ...

.Луспекаев Павел Борисович (1927-1970)
see: m-necropol.ru ( Russ.)

Personal life

He was married to a BDT actress Inna Kirillova. They had one daughter and two grandchildren.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Pavel Luspekayev bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luspekaev, Pavel 1927 births 1970 deaths Soviet Armenians Soviet male actors Soviet amputees Ethnic Armenian male actors Soviet partisans Don Cossacks People from Luhansk State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Honored Artists of the RSFSR Ukrainian anti-fascists