Zinaida Kiriyenko is one of the most beautiful actresses of Soviet cinema, the star of the films "Quiet Don" (1958), "The Fate of Man" (1959), "Earthly Love" (1974). Her roles send the viewer to the difficult fate of a Russian woman, in which there is a place of love, sacrifice, suffering, humility and recklessness. The actress herself admitted that in many ways similar to her heroines, otherwise she could not so accurately convey their characters.
Biography: family, childhood, study
Zinaida Kiriyenko’s childhood and youth fell on the war and difficult post-war years. Her parents had to go through a lot. Father George Shirokov came from a wealthy family, lived in Tbilisi. When the Civil War began, he, along with other cadets of the Tiflis School, was transported to England. But no one was waiting for them there, and the Russian boys had to literally survive in a foreign country, agreeing to the most dirty work. In 1928, George Shirokov returned to his homeland as soon as the Soviet government adopted the directive on the return of immigrants. He was sent to live in one of the remote villages of Dagestan.
Zinaida’s father Kiriyenko worked in a construction office, where he met an engineer Peter Ivanov and his family. The daughter of Peter Ivanovich - sixteen-year-old Alexander - worked as a cashier in the same village. The girl's parents liked George, and they insisted on this marriage, despite the nine-year age difference. A year later, the newlyweds had a son, Vladimir, and on July 9, 1933, a daughter Zinaida was born in Makhachkala. Alexandra Ivanova dreamed of calling the girl Aida in honor of the heroine of her favorite novel, telling about the fate of the Greek actress. However, the father recorded the newborn Zinaida, although her family was called Ida.
When Zina was three years old, her parents divorced. Soon, George Shirokov was arrested and shot in 1939. Fortunately, his former family was not touched. The mother of the future actress worked a lot: at the fish canning factory in Makhachkala, as the director of the grain storage warehouse in Derbent. In her free time she was fond of shooting and horse riding, she was engaged in the education of young cavalrymen.
As a child, Zinaida and her brother lived for a long time with their grandparents on the shore of the Caspian Sea. In 1942, their mother took them to Derbent, and soon the second time she married Mikhail Ignatievich Kiriyenko, a former front-line soldier. He adopted his wife’s children from his first marriage, gave them his last name and patronymic. In this marriage, Zinaida Mikhailovna's half-brother and sister were also born. Finally, the Kiriyenko family settled in the Stavropol Territory, where Alexander Petrovna was sent to work as the director of the elevator in the village of Novopavlovskaya.
Since childhood, Zinaida Kiriyenko dreamed of becoming an actress. These thoughts once visited her mother. Grandfather was endowed with artistic talent. The elder brother Vladimir played the accordion perfectly. Mother’s younger sister worked in the circus as an air gymnast. In a word, the future actress grew up in a creative family.
Dreaming of entering VGIK, Zinaida left after seventh grade in Moscow. She lived with her aunt, studied at the railway technical school. Then she had to move to the hostel, but there the girl was lonely and uncomfortable. As a result, she returned home to the village, finished her studies at school and again went to VGIK.
On the first attempt, Kiriyenko entered the course of Yulia Raizman, but she was conditionally credited, refusing scholarships and hostels. Then actress Tamara Makarova, who participated in the selection committee, advised the girl to come next year. So Zinaida Kiriyenko became a student of the course of Sergei Gerasimov and his wife. She withstood a contest of nearly 600 people per seat. And fellow students of the future movie star were Lyudmila Gurchenko, Natalya Fateeva, Valentina Pugacheva.
Acting career and creative activity
Zinaida Mikhailovna played her debut and immediately the main role in the film “Hope” when she was a first year student at VGIK. By the end of the institute, her acting baggage was replenished with four more films, in addition to the above:
- The Quiet Don (1958);
- The Poem of the Sea (1958);
- The Forty-Thief (1958);
- “The fate of man” (1959).
The role of Natalia in the "Quiet Flows the Don" directed by Sergei Gerasimov brought the young actress all-Union fame and still remains her hallmark. In her interviews, Zinaida Mikhailovna likes to recall rehearsals and filming of the legendary film. For example, Gerasimov could retake even minor episodes several dozen times if he noticed even the slightest inconclusiveness. But Kirienko the great director called "an actress of two or three takes."
At the end of VGIK in 1959, Zinaida was admitted to the Moscow Theater on Malaya Bronnaya, but in 1961 she went to the State Theater of the Film Actor. In the early 60s, after the roles in The Tale of Flaming Years (1960) and the drama Cossacks (1961), the career of the actress unexpectedly declined. The reason lay in the conflict between Kiriyenko and an official of the State Committee for Cinema. She firmly suppressed his lovemaking, for which she was put on an unspoken blacklist.
The actress learned about this many years later, when she starred in the film Evgeny Matveev "Earthly Love" (1974). He was one of the few who decided to shoot the disgraced movie star. The role of Efrosinya Deryugina again returned Kiriyenko love and popularity among the audience. Subsequently, she played in Matveev’s paintings “Fate” (1977) and “Love in Russian 2” (1996).
During forced acting oblivion, Zinaida Mikhailovna appeared in films in the roles of the second plan, and earned a living by touring the country with concerts and creative meetings with fans. In addition to acting, Kiriyenko is known as a performer in the genre of Russian romance.
For outstanding services in cinema, Zinaida Mikhailovna was awarded many honorary titles and awards:
- “Honored Artist of the RSFSR” (1965);
- "People's Artist of the RSFSR" (1977);
- USSR State Prize (1979);
- Gold medal named after Alexander Dovzhenko (1978).
Currently, the actress has not been removed for more than 10 years. Her last role at the moment is dated 2006. In the movie “Prescription Happiness, ” Kiriyenko appeared in a small episode.
