Elina Bystritskaya


Elina Avraamovna Bystritskaya was a Soviet-Russian actress. She is regarded as one of the most prominent actresses in the Soviet and Russian film industry. Her career spanned six decades.

Biography

Jewish by ethnicity and a native of Kiev, Bystritskaya was chosen to play Aksinya by Sholokhov himself over several distinguished candidates, notably Nonna Mordyukova. Before that, she co-starred with Sergey Bondarchuk in Fridrikh Ermler´s Unfinished Story, an archetypal Socialist Realist film. In the 1960s, Bystritskaya turned to theatre work in the Maly Theatre and her appearances on screen grew sporadic. She was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1978.
She was President of the USSR and Russian rhythmic gymnastics Federation from 1975 to 1992.
She died on 26 April 2019 after a long illness.

Selected filmography