Chukhrai, Grigorii Naumovich

Born May 23, 1921, in Melitopol’. Soviet motion-picture director. People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1969). Member of the CPSU since 1944.

In 1953, Chukhrai graduated from the department of directing of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography, where he studied under S. I. lutekevich and M. I. Romm. One of the leading directors of the postwar cinema, he has made a number of significant films that have gained popularity throughout the Soviet Union and the world; several of his films have won prizes at international film festivals. His most outstanding works have been The Forty-first (1956, based on the novella by B. A. Lavrenev), Clear Sky (1961), and Memory (1970). Chukhrai’s Ballad of a Soldier (1959) was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1961. From 1966 to 1971, Chukhrai worked at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography.

Chukhrai has been awarded five orders and several medals.