People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR, also translated as
National Artist of the USSR, was an
honorary title granted to citizens of the
Soviet Union.
The term is confusingly used to translate two
Russian language titles:
Народный артист СССР (fem.
Народная артистка СССР), awarded in
performing arts and
Народный художник СССР, granted in some
visual arts.
Each
Soviet Republic, as well as the Autonomous Republics (ASSRs), had a similar award held previously by virtually every receiver of the higher title of People's Artist of the USSR.
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Russian SFSR Народный артист РСФСР*
Ukrainian SSR Народний артист Української РСР*
Byelorussian SSR Народны артыст Беларускай ССР*
Kazakh SSR Қазақ КСР-ң халық әртісі *
Lithuanian SSR Lietuvos TSR liaudies artistas*
Moldavian SSR артист ал попорулуй дин РСС Молдовеняскэ*
Latvian SSR Latvijas PSR Tautas mākslinieks*
Kyrgyz SSR Кыргыз ССР эл артисти*
Estonian SSR Eesti NSV rahvakunstnikSofia Rotaru, for example, was named Distinguished Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in
1973, People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in
1976, People's Artist of the Moldovian SSR in
1983, and finally People's Artist of the USSR in
1988.
As this title was granted by the government, honorees were afforded certain privileges and would often receive commissions from the
Minister of Culture. Accordingly, artists and authors who expressed criticism of the
Communist Party were seldom granted such recognition, if not outright
censored.
The title bestowed for exceptional achievements in performing arts in the former
USSR. Its recipients include many of the most-acclaimed composers, dancers, singers, film and theatre directors and actors of every republic.
|
Valentina Leontieva, better known to the public as "Aunt Valya", was the only female TV presenter to be named People's Artist of the USSR. |
The title was introduced in
1936, replacing an earlier title of "People's Artist of the Republic". The first recipient of the title was the actress
Maria Yermolova. The last persons to be honoured with the title were
Oleg Yankovsky and
Alla Pugacheva, just hours before the Union's demise.
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.,
Dmitri Shostakovich), pop singers (e.g.,
Leonid Utyosov), comics (e.g.,
Arkady Raikin), and even clowns (e.g.,
Oleg Popov).
Normally, a person was named the People's Artist of the USSR after 40 years of age. Exception was made for ballet artists, e.g.,
Nadezhda Pavlova received the title at the age of 28. Among the actors, the youngest recipient was
Sergey Bondarchuk (age 32). The youngest actress to receive the title was
Yuri Andropov's daughter-in-law,
Lyudmila Chursina, at age 40.
As of
2005, the earliest living recipients of the title were three ballet artists:
Olga Lepeshinskaya 1951,
Igor Moiseyev 1953, and
Maya Plisetskaya 1959.
The title
Народный художник СССР (People's Painter of the USSR) was awarded for exceptional achievements in certain
visual arts:
painting,
sculpture,
drawing, and
photography.
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Architecture:
Народный архитектор СССР (People's
Architect of the USSR)
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Literature:
Народный писатель СССР (People's
Writer of the USSR);
Народный поэт СССР (People's
Poet of the USSR, roughly equivalent to
Poet Laureate)
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Education:
Народный учитель СССР (People's
Teacher of the USSR)
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Medicine:
Народный врач СССР (People's
Doctor of the USSR)
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:Category:People's Artists of the USSR - list of recipients
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:Category:People's Artists of the USSR (visual arts) - list of recipients
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Hero of Socialist Labour - the highest civilian decoration in the USSR
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Russian Academy of Art
