Iablochkina, Aleksandra Aleksandrovna

Born Nov. 3 (15), 1866, in St. Petersburg; died Mar. 20, 1964, in Moscow. Soviet Russian actress. People’s Artist of the USSR (1937).

Iablochkina studied under her father, the stage director and actor A. A. Iablochkin, and under G. N. Fedotova. She joined the Korsh Theater in Moscow in 1886 and the Malyi Theater in 1888. At the Malyi, she performed with M. N. Ermolova, A. P. Lenskii, A. I. Iuzhin, and O. O. Sadovskaia. Iablochkina’s artistry was distinguished by a refined style and an exceptional mastery of spoken Russian. An accomplished performer of classical roles, Iablochkina also acted in contemporary Russian and Western European plays. She was a skillful interpreter of comedy.

Iablochkina’s roles included Sofia in Griboedov’s Woe From Wit, Agnès Sorel in Schiller’s The Maid of Orleans, Anna Viktorovna in Nemirovich-Danchenko’s The Worth of Life, and Murzavetskaia and Gurmyzhskaia in Ostrovskii’s Wolves and Sheep and The Forest, respectively. She also appeared as the Queen in Scribe’s Le Verre d’eau, Skutarevskaia in Leonov’s Skutarevskii, Gornostaeva in Trenev’s Liubov’ Iarovaia, and Goritsvet in Korneichuk’s Wings. Her last stage appearance was in 1961.

In 1915, Iablochkina became director of the Moscow division of the All-Russian Theatrical Society; she headed the society from 1917 to 1964. She published two books of memoirs, My Life in the Theater (1953) and Seventy-five Years in the Theater (1960).

Iablochkina received the State Prize of the USSR in 1943 and was awarded three Orders of Lenin, two other orders, and various medals.