Viktor Iakovlevich Stanitsyn

(real surname, Geze). Born Apr. 20 (May 2), 1897, in Ekaterinoslav, now Dnepropetrovsk; died Dec. 24, 1976, in Moscow. Soviet Russian actor and stage director. People’s Artist of the USSR (1948). Member of the CPSU since 1954.

Stanitsyn studied at the Second Studio of the Moscow Art Theater, becoming a member of the theater’s company in 1924. His understated, lyric manner of acting expressed humor, charm, and fidelity to life. Stanitsyn’s best roles included Andrei Prozorov in Chekhov’s The Three Sisters, Kuroslepov in Ostrovskii’s Fiery Heart, Repetilov in Griboedov’s Woe From Wit, the Governor in Dead Souls (adapted from Gogol’s novel), Stiva Oblonskii in Anna Karenina (adapted from L. N. Tolstoy’s novel), Zvezdint-sev in Tolstoy’s The Fruits of Enlightenment, and Inspector Mic in Zahradnik’s Solo for a Chiming Clock.

Beginning in 1934, Stanitsyn also worked as a director. His productions included Pickwick Papers (1934; adapted from Dickens’ novel), Wilde’s An Ideal Husband (1946), and Schiller’s Maria Stuart (1957). Stanitsyn taught at the Nemirovich-Danchenko School-Studio, where he became a professor in 1948. He also appeared in films.

Stanitsyn was awarded the State Prize of the USSR (1947, 1949, 1951, and 1952) and the K. S. Stanislavsky State Prize of the RSFSR (1974). He also received three orders and several medals.