People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an

honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

granted to artists of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный артист СССР (''Narodny artist SSSR''), awarded in

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

and Народный художник СССР (''Narodny khudozhnik SSSR''), granted in some

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

. As those titles were granted by the government, honorees were afforded certain privileges and would often receive commissions from the Minister of Culture of the Soviet Union. Accordingly, artists and authors who expressed criticism of the Communist Party were seldom granted such recognition, if not outright censored. Each Soviet Republic, as well as the Autonomous Republics (ASSRs), had a similar award that would be held previously by virtually every receiver of the higher title of People's Artist of the USSR.

Performing arts

The title was bestowed for exceptional achievements in the performing arts in the

. Its recipients included many of the most-acclaimed composers, dancers, singers, film and theatre directors and actors of every Soviet republic. In all, there were 1006 recipients of the award. The title was introduced in 1936, replacing the earlier title of "People's Artist of the Republic". The first recipients of the title (6 September 1936) were

Konstantin Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( rus, Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj, links=yes; ; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian and Sovie ...

Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (; – 25 April 1943) was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how t ...

, Ivan Moskvin, Antonina Nezhdanova, Boris Shchukin,

Kulyash Baiseitova Kulyash Jasynqyzy Baiseitova (born Gülbahram, 19121957) was a Soviet and Kazakh opera singer and actress. People's Artist of the USSR (1936). Biography Kulyash Baiseitova (maiden name Beisova) was born on 2 May (19 April) 1912 (according to ...

and some other actors. The last persons to be honored with the title were Sofia Pilyavskaya and

Oleg Yankovsky Oleg Ivanovich Yankovsky (; 23 February 1944 – 20 May 2009) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian actor who excelled in psychologically sophisticated roles of modern intellectuals. In 1991, he became, together with , the last person to be nam ...

(21 December 1991). Originally, the title was bestowed on theatre actors, ballet dancers, and opera singers only. Gradually, it came to be bestowed upon film actors (e.g., Lyubov Orlova), composers (e.g.,

Arno Babajanian Arno Harutyuni Babajanian (January 22, 1921November 11, 1983) was a Soviet and Armenian composer and pianist. He was made a People's Artist of the USSR in 1971. Biography Babajanian was born in Yerevan on January 22, 1921. By age 5, his musical ...

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

), violinists (e.g.

David Oistrakh David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet Russian violinist, List of violists, violist, and Conducting, conductor. He was also Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR (1953), and Laureate of the ...

), pop singers (e.g.,

Leonid Utyosov Leonid Osipovich Utesov, also spelled Utyosov or Utiosov, born Lazar (Leyzer) Iosifovich Vaysbeyn or Weissbein (, Odessa – 9 March 1982, Moscow), was a famous Soviet estrada singer, and comic actor, who became the first pop singer to be award ...

), comedians (e.g.,

Arkady Raikin Arkady Isaakovich Raikin (; – 17 December 1987) was a Soviet stand-up comedian, stage and film actor, theater director, screenwriter and satirist. He led the school of Soviet and Russian humorists for about half a century. He is the father of ...

), and even circus performers such as

Natalya Durova Natalya () is the Russian form of the female given name Natalia. The name Natasha (), being originally a diminutive form of Natalya, became an independent name outside the Russian-speaking states since the late 1800s. People with the given name ...

and

Oleg Popov Oleg Konstantinovich Popov (, 31 July 1930 – 2 November 2016) was a Soviet and Russian clown and circus artist. He was awarded People's Artist of the USSR in 1969. Early life Popov was born on 31 July 1930, the son of a clock-repairman. At a ...

. Normally, a person was named the People's Artist of the USSR after 40 years of age. Exceptions were made for dancers, e.g.,

Nadezhda Pavlova Nadezhda Vasilyevna Pavlova (; born 15 May 1956) is a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer. People's Artist of the USSR (1984). Life and artistic output Nadia Pavlova liked to dance from an early age. At 7 she began to dance with a group at the Ho ...

, a ballet artist, received the title at the age of 28, and

Malika Kalontarova Malika Yashuvayevna Kolontarova (born 2 September 1950, born Mazol) is a Bukharian Jews, Jewish–American dancer. She is known as the "Queen of Tajik and Oriental dance, Oriental Dance." Biography Kolontarova was born with the name Mazo ...

, a famous Bukharian Jewish folk dancer from

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

, received the title at the age of 34. The youngest female persons to receive this title were Kazakh opera singers

(1936) and

Halima Nosirova Halima Nosirova or Halima Nasyrova (; , ''Khalima Nasyrova'') was a Soviet and Uzbek singer of Uzbek music. She also started her creative activities as a drama actress in 1927 and was a popular artist of the USSR. Biography She was born on De ...

(1937) (at the age of 24). The youngest male person was the Azerbaijani baritone operatic and pop singer Muslim Magomayev (1973) (at the age of 31). Among the actors, the youngest recipient was

Sergei Bondarchuk Sergei Fyodorovich Bondarchuk (25 September 192020 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor and filmmaker of Ukrainian origin who was one of the leading figures of Soviet cinema in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He is known for his sweeping p ...

(age 32). The youngest actress to receive the title was

Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov ( – 9 February 1984) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from late 1982 until his death in 1984. He previously served as the List of Chairmen of t ...

's daughter-in-law, Lyudmila Chursina, at age 40. Sofia Rotaru, for example, was named Merited Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in 1973, People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in 1976, People's Artist of the Moldavian SSR in 1983, an attained cumulation of People's Artist titles, and finally People's Artist of the Soviet Union in 1988, the first female pop-singer to be honored with this award and the only one with three People's Artists.

Visual arts

The title of People's Painter of the USSR (Народный художник СССР) was awarded for exceptional achievements in certain

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

, and

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

. The lesser title of Meritorious Painter of the USSR (Заслуженный художник СССР) was also awarded for achievement in these fields.

Other honored professions

* People's Architect of the USSR: Народный архитектор СССР * People's Teacher of the USSR: Народный учитель СССР * People's Doctor of the USSR: Народный врач СССР

References

External links

*
Russian Academy of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:People's Artist Of The Soviet Union Awards established in 1936 Awards disestablished in 1991 Honorary titles of the Soviet Union

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Performing arts

Visual arts

Other honored professions

See also

References

External links