Vasilii Stepanovich Vasilko

(pseudonym of V. S. Miliaev). Born Mar. 26 (Apr. 7), 1893, in the village of Burty, now in Cherkassy Oblast. Soviet Ukrainian director and actor. People’s Artist of the USSR (1944).

Vasil’ko made his debut in the professional theater in 1912. Subsequently, during various years, he worked in Kiev with N. K. Sadovskii’s troupe, in the Molodoi Theater, the Berezil’ Theater, and in the theaters of Kharkov, Chernovitsy, and other Ukrainian cities. In 1920 he began his directorial activities. From 1926 (with some interruptions) he worked at the October Revolution Ukrainian Drama Theater in Odessa, becoming principal director in 1948. His roles have included Shpak and Shel’menko in Kvitka-Osnov’-ianenko’s Shel’menko, the Orderly, the Mayor in Gogol’s The Inspector General, Globa in Simonov’s Russian People, and Bublik in Korneichuk’s Platon Krechet. Among his productions were Mamontov’s Republic on Wheels (1927), Mikitenko’s Dictatorship (1929), Gogol’s The Inspector General (1934), Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1938), Korneichuk’s Bogdan Khmel nitskii (1939), Karpen-ko-Karyi’s The Woman Farm Laborer (1955), and Kobyli-anskaia’s Early on Sunday She Gathered Herbs (1956). Vasil’ko has been a theatrical teacher; he organized a number of theatrical studios and initiated the establishment of a theatrical museum in Kiev (1924). He retired from theatrical work in 1956. Vasil’ko has been awarded two orders and various medals.