Aleksey Vladimirovich Batalov (20 November 1928 – 15 June 2017) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, film director, screenwriter, and pedagogue acclaimed for his portrayal of noble and positive characters. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1976 and a Hero of Socialist Labour in 1989.
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Life and career
Batalov was born on 20 November 1928 in Vladimir, into a family associated with the theatre. His uncle Nikolai Batalov starred in Vsevolod Pudovkin's classic Mother (1926). The Modernist poet Anna Akhmatova was a family friend, and he painted a well-known portrait of her in 1952. Batalov joined the Moscow Art Theatre in 1953 but left three years later to concentrate on his career in film. During the Khrushchev Thaw he was one of the most recognizable actors in the Soviet Union. The Cranes Are Flying (1957) is his best-regarded film of the period, and the one which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He also starred in Mikhail Romm's Nine Days of One Year (1962). In 1967 he was a member of the jury of the 5th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1973 he was a member of the jury at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival.
