Vitaly Vyacheslavovich Melnikov (russian: Виталий Вячеславович Мельников; 1 May 1928 – 21 March 2022) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. He was named
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 ...
in 1987 and awarded
Order of Honour in 2002 and IV Class
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 ...
in 2010.
[Cinema: Encyclopedic Dictionary // ed. ]Sergei Yutkevich
Sergei Iosifovich Yutkevich (russian: Серге́й Ио́сифович Ютке́вич, 28 December 1904 – 23 April 1985) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. He was a People's Artist of the USSR (1962) and a Hero of ...
. — Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1987, p. 265 He was also a member of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences and was awarded the special
Nika Award
The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars.
History
The award was established i ...
in 2016 "For outstanding contribution to national cinema".
Biography
Vitaly Melnikov was born at the maternity hospital of the Svobodny town (modern-day
Svobodny, Amur Oblast
Svobodny (russian: Свобо́дный) is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Zeya River, north of Blagoveshchensk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 63,889 ( 2002 Census);
History
It was found ...
of Russia), although his birth place was written down as Mazanovo village where his parents lived at the moment.
, 13 April 2016 (in Russian) His maternal grandfather Danilo Fomich Trapeznikov, a peasant from the
". Vitaly's mother Avgusta Danilovna Melnikova was a teacher.
His paternal grandparents, Vladimir and Eudokia, lived at the Far East near gold mines.
His father Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Melnikov was a forester, regularly moving with the family "from one wilderness to another". Vitaly grew up in
.