Anton Yelchin was an American actor, known for playing Bobby in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), Chekov in the Star Trek (2009) reboot, Charlie Brewster in the Fright Night (2011) remake, and Jacob in Like Crazy (2011).

He was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, USSR, to a Jewish family. His parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, were a successful pair of professional figure skaters in Leningrad, and his grandfather was also a professional sportsman, a soccer player. Anton was a six-month-old baby when he immigrated to the United States, where his parents settled in California and eventually developed coaching careers. He demonstrated his strong personality from the early age of four, and declined his parents' tutelage in figure skating because he was fond of acting and knew exactly what he wanted to do in his life.

Yelchin attended acting classes in Los Angeles, and eventually was noticed by casting agents. In 2000, at the age of 10, he made his debut on television, appearing as Robbie Edelstein in the medical drama ER (1994). At the age of 11, he shot to fame as Bobby Garfield, co-starring opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), and earning himself the 2002 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film as Leading Young Actor. Over the course of his acting career, Yelchin has already played roles in more than 20 feature films and television productions, including Pavel Chekov in the hugely successful reboot Star Trek (2009), and its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).

Outside of his acting profession, Anton loved reading, and was also fond of playing chess. He wrote music and performed with a band, where he also played piano and guitar.

Anton lived in Los Angeles, California, until his death on the evening of June 19, 2016, outside his LA home, when his parked Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled backward on his steep driveway, pinning him against a brick pillar and security fence. This was due to badly designed shifter that indicated park when it was in neutral. This death, along with reports of other near-misses, resulted in a recall of that model.

Margarita Levieva is an American actress. Born in Leningrad, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (now Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation), at age three she began the rigorous training program of a competitive rhythmic gymnast. Levieva continued to train for the next 13 years, winning competitions in Russia and eventually going on to compete in the United States after emigrating. When she was 11, Levieva's mother moved her and her twin brother to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in New York City. She attended high school in Secaucus, New Jersey. Levieva majored in economics at NYU and worked as a fashion buyer. Her continuing interest in acting led her to be accepted into the Meisner Training Program at the William Esper Studio. In 2005, New York Magazine featured her as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in New York.

Oksana Akinshina was born on 19 April 1987 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Lilya 4-Ever (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and Hipsters (2008). She was previously married to Archil Gelovani and Dmitriy Litvinov.

Paulina Andreeva was born on 12 October 1988 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress and writer, known for Plachu s vami (2019), The Method (2015) and Better Than Us (2018). She was previously married to Fedor Bondarchuk.

She was born in Leningrad, former Soviet Union. Her parents moved with her from Russia to New York when she was 17 years old, and she continues to reside in New York.

While working as a hairdresser at a salon, she was discovered by Luc Besson, the co-writer of Transporter 3, in New York, when she crossed a street. He gave her acting lessons and cast her as the female lead in Transporter 3.

Palina Rojinski was born on 21 April 1985 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress and writer, known for Welcome to Germany (2016), Tatort (1970) and Nightlife (2020). She has been married to Ilya since April 2022.

Irina Gorovaia was born in the Soviet Union on June 13, 1989 to a Russian Jewish mother and Ukrainian father. During her childhood she moved to Brooklyn, NY. In junior high school, Gorovaia started her acting career. Along with acting, Irina is a dancer. She made her acting debut in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Since then Irina has received her BA in Philosophy, and started her own production company, with her partner Jason Abrams called Zona Pictures. Irina believes in the power of kindness and that there are many ways to tell a story.

Valeria Nemchenko was born on 29 March 1986 in Leningrad, Russia. She is an actress, known for Russkaya Lolita (2002) and Russian Nymphet: Temptation (2004).

Victoria Haralabidou was born on 23 October 1971 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Brides (2004), Psyhi vathia (2009) and The Tourist (2022).

Konstantin Khabenskiy is a Russian actor known in the West for his working the horror flicks Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006). He is also co-starring opposite Angelina Jolie in Wanted (2008).

He was born Konstantin Yurevich Khabenskiy on January 11, 1972, in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). His father, Yuri Aronovich Khabenskiy, and his mother, Tatiana Gennadievna (nee Nikulina), were hydrological engineers. Young Konstantin studied electronics at the Leningrad Technical School of Aviation Electronics and Automatics. He dropped out after three years of studies after deciding that electronics was not for him.

He then played guitar on Leningrad's famous main street, Nevsky Prospekt, as a struggling street musician, and also worked as stage technician at the Theater-Studio "Subbota". From 1990 to 1995 he studied acting at the St. Peterburg Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography, renamed in 1991 when the city of Leningrad was renamed St. Petersburg. There his classmates were [link=nm0691717 Andrey Zibrov, and Mikhail Trukhin. In 1995, Konstantin graduated from the class of Veniamin Filshtinsky, as an actor. He had a five-month stint at the Raikin Theater of Satire in Moscow, but could not obtain any serious work there, so he returned to St. Petersburg.

Konstantin made his film debut in Na kogo Bog poschlet (1994). He shot to fame in Russia after co-starring in Uboynaya sila (2000), a popular series about crime in St. Petersburg, Russia. He ascended to international fame with the leading role as Anton Gorodetsky in the popular Russian vampire franchise, Night Watch (2004), and the second installment, Day Watch (2006), both by director Timur Bekmambetov and based on the books by Sergey Lukyanenko. He further advanced his film career appearing as Exterminatior in the horror film Wanted (2008).

From 1996 to 2003 Konstantin was a member of the troupe at the St. Petersburg Theater of Lensovet. There he worked together with his former classmates Mikhail Porechenkov, Mikhail Trukhin, and Andrey Zibrov, under the directorship of Yuri Butusov. In 2003 Khabenskiy and Porechenkov were invited by Oleg Tabakov to work with the world famous Moscow Arts Theater (MXAT). There Konstantin played the leading role in"White guard", a classic play by Mikhail A. Bulgakov. He also appeared as Claudius in a Russian adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet",directed by Yuri Butusov. Konstantin also made appearances on stage at the St. Petersburg Theatre of Lensovet in the leading role in a contemporary play 'V ozhidanii Godo', and as Kaligula in a Russian adaptation of the play by Albert Camus.

Outside of his acting profession, Konstantin Khabenskiy enjoys a Russian-style rural life in his country home near Moscow. He moved back to Russia after a few years of living in Los Angeles. He was married to radio-journalist Anastasiya Khabenskaya from January 12, 2000, until her untimely death at age 35 from a brain tumor on December 3, 2008. He has one son by her, Ivan Konstantinovich, who was born in Moscow on September 25, 2007. In 2013 he married actress Olga Litvinova and June 3, 2016 she gave birth to their daughter.

Konstantin Khabenskiy was designated Honorable Actor of Russia (2006) and also received numerous awards and decorations for his works on stage and in the movies. He has homes in both Russian capitals: Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Yekaterina Golubeva was born on 9 October 1966 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She was an actress and writer, known for I Can't Sleep (1994), Three Days (1991) and 977 (2006). She was married to Sharunas Bartas and Andrey Kaprin. She died on 3 August 2011 in Paris, France.

As a teenager, she graduated from the modeling school. In secondary school her studies were mediocre, but for the last few years learning everything caught up due to coaching. Because of this, Elizaveta acquired two foreign languages - English and German. The graduating class decided to enter the branch of "Public relations" of the Faculty of Journalism at Saint Petersburg State University. Visiting the opening of the academic theater "On Mokhovoy" and several productions Theatre Lensoveta, Elizaveta decided to enter the Theatre Institute. As she later recalled Boyarskaya, parents did not dissuade her from such a choice, but warned "About all the undercurrents".

Since 2006 - the actress of the Maly Drama Theatre (Theatre of Europe) in St. Petersburg.

Elizaveta a few months to prepare for entry into the Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy under Lev Dodin's mastery. He received the Presidential Scholarship. Graduated SPbGATI in 2007.

Sofya was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. She studied ballet at age 9 while attending the elite Vaganova Ballet Academy. From ages 10-12, Sofya studied modern dance then returned to classical ballet from ages 13-16. At 17, Sofya became a professional ballerina where she was discovered by talent agents. She won many beauty contests and competitions and starred on the talk show circuit. She opened the Venice Ball in Moscow where she met her future husband, Russian industrialist Sergey Veremeenko. They married quickly, and at age 18, Sofya entered the Mrs. World pageant in St. Petersburg, Russia, and won the title.

The international media quickly discovered her and suggested that she learn English and head to Hollywood, where she began landing TV roles and quickly moved to the big screen.

Kseniya Rappoport was born on 25 March 1974 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress and director, known for The Double Hour (2009), The Unknown Woman (2006) and Yurev den (2008). She is married to Dmitriy Borisov.

Tatiana Samoilova (Tatyana Samojlova) is a Russian film actress known for the leading roles in The Cranes Are Flying (1957) and Anna Karenina (1967).

She was born Tatiana Evgenievna Samoilova on May 4, 1934, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia. Her father, Evgeniy Samoylov, was a notable Russian actor, Her mother, Zinaida Ilyinichna, was Jewish. Young Samojlova studied music under the tutelage of her mother. During the Second World War, she escaped from the siege of Leningrad with her parents, and moved to Moscow. There she studied ballet and graduated from the Ballet School of Stanislavsky Theatre. She was invited by Maya Plisetskaya to join the ballet school of Bolshoi Theatre, but she chose to be a dramatic actress. From 1953-1956 she studied at Shchukin Theatrical School, then at State Institute of Theatrical Art (GITIS), graduating in 1962, as actress. While a student, Samojlova made her film debut in Meksikanets (1955).

Samojlova shot to fame with the leading role as Veronika in Letyat Zhuravli (The Cranes are Flying 1957) by director Mikhail Kalatozov. In spite of the initial cold reception by the Soviet officialdom, the film was loved by public in Russia and internationally. It became the first and only Russian film to be awarded the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958. Samojlova won a Special Mention at Cannes and was nominated for Best Foreign Actress BAFTA Film Award in 1959. She received many offers internationally, and was invited to work in Hollywood, but the Soviet government forced her to decline any jobs outside the Soviet Union.

During the 60s, her career stagnated due to overall stagnation in the USSR under Leonid Brezhnev. In 1960 Samojlova lost her job with Mayakovsky Theatre in Moscow, and was practically unemployed for several years. Her next success came with the title role in Anna Karenina (1967), an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Lev Tolstoy by director Aleksandr Zarkhi. Samojlova starred as Anna Karenina opposite her ex-husband Vasiliy Lanovoy.

During the 80s and 90s, Tatiana Samojlova had a lengthy pause in her film career. She made a comeback in several TV series in the 2000s. She was married four times, and has one son. Samojlova was designated People's Actress of Russia (1993). She is living in Moscow, Russia.

Lenn Kudrjawizkis family moved with him as a child from Leningrad (USSR) to East Berlin. At the age of four, Lenn auditioned on the stage with the Leningrad State Ballet. At five, he became enchanted with a violin that his father brought down from the attic of the family home. This was to play an important part in his life. Later he attended a secondary school for music in Berlin where he studied acting, voice, and violin. In Dresden he refined his skills on the violin and graduated with a Master of Arts in Music in 2003. In 1994 Lenn made his television debut as a teenager with the role of Wladimir in the film Katrin and Wladimir. Jean-Jacques Annaud's Duel - Enemy at the Gates followed, as well as Alain Gsponer's feature film Kiki & Tiger. From 2001 to 2006 Lenn was a series regular in the highly acclaimed RTL series Abschnitt 40. Since, he was performing in more than 50 TV and feature film productions, including Pope Joan, The Counterfeiters - 2008 Oscar winner for best foreign-language film -, Paramount Pictures' Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, directed by Kenneth Branagh and most recently The Transporter Refueled - written and produced by Luc Besson. Since 2016 Lenn is back as a detective in the Kroatien Krimi for ARD (national German Television).

Lenn was giving his directors debut in 2007 with the short film Today Is My Day. His second work as a director and writer was Thank You Mr. President (2009), that successfully toured international festivals and has won the renowned award Murnaupreis.

In 2014, Lenn filmed his third short film Business As Usual - The Prophet on board, for which he received the Amnesty International Human Rights Award. In addition to this, he founded the world wide first sustained orchestra "The Berlin Show Orchestra" with his company Legrain Productions and is committed to the sustainability concept for CO2 reduction.

Lenn is member of the German Film Academy.

Nikita Bogolyubov was born in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). He had his first taste of being an entertainer from ice skating when he was only four years old. His family immigrated to the US when Nikita was only eight years old which allowed him to stay fluent in both English and Russian.

Nikita's television debut came from NBC's Prime Suspect (2011) where he had a scene opposite of Maria Bello. Wanting to showcase more of his versatility, he also worked in various projects at the American Film Institute (AFI).

For his feature film The Saratov Approach (2013), Larry King exclaimed at the premiere that Nikita "stole the movie" with his performance.

He has since been cast on ABC's Castle (2009), CBS' Scorpion (2014), FX's Legion (2017), HBO's Barry (2018) and NETFLIX's Iron Fist (2017).

Documentary film director. Born on July 19, 1961 in Leningrad. Since 1978 he worked at the Leningrad studio of Documentaries as assistant cameraman, assistant director and editor. In 1988 he finished the Higher Courses of Film Writers and Directors in Moscow. Laureate of the "Triumph" Prize, Laureate of the RF State Award and the "Nika" prize. Award-winner of numerous national and international film forums. He started his own production company, Kossakovsky Film Production, based in San Petersburg, to create a cinema with a strong focus in poetics and reality.

Maria Shamkalian (maiden name - Breyman) was born in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). She has a dual Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Communication and a Master's Degree in Education. Maria is a Vice Chair of Pennsylvania Film Industry Association, award-winning filmmaker, writer, SAG-AFTRA actress, and diversity and anti-bullying activist. She also hosts masterclasses with film industry professionals to help aspiring actors and filmmakers turn their dreams into full-time jobs, runs a network of educational centers, organizes annual charity events, and manages a food program that provides free healthy homemade-style meals to over 1200 children from struggling families. Maria also published a rhyming anti-bullying picture book that teaches kids to embrace the beauty of diversity, produced several commercials in support of early childhood education, and directed an award-winning musical short film "Fine Wine" that celebrates the youth of one's spirit at any age.

Anton Vasilyev was born in Leningrad, Soviet Union. His parents were not related to the creative environment (his father worked as an engineer, and his mother taught at school), but the boy showed artistic inclinations from childhood. While studying at school, he studied at the Theater of Youth Creativity. The actor himself said that he got into the theater studio due to the fact that in the fifth grade he was in love with a girl who studied there. This prompted him to enroll in the studio after her, despite the fact that parents did not really share his views. He applied to the St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts (now the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts), where Veniamin Filshtinskiy became his mentor. Anton admits that the decisive factor in favor of the theater academy was the conditions of the entrance exams, in which applicants were only required to read an excerpt from a literary work. According to Vasilyev, he was enrolled in the academy because at the exam he made it clear that he was ready for anything, and gave the masters freedom and the opportunity to "sculpt" anything out of him. In 2006 he became a certified artist.

Anton Vasilyev made his film debut in 2002, playing the Horse's accomplice in the detective series Streets of Broken Lights (1998). Two years later, the audience saw the actor again - in the continuation of the project, but in a different role. While studying at the theater academy, Anton periodically appeared in episodes of various projects, and he was first invited to the main role in 2006 - he starred in the short film "Gimp".

In 2016, the premiere of the Nevskiy (2016) detective series took place on the NTV channel, in which Anton played the main role - police captain Pavel Semyonov. 2018 was an extremely fruitful year in Vasilyev's career. He played in Boris Khlebnikov's series An Ordinary Woman (2018) with Anna Mikhalkova in the title role, and also starred in the continuation of the story of police captain Pavel Semyonov from Nevskiy (2016). 2020 was no less fruitful for Vasilyev. With his participation, the detective series Volk (2020) was released, based on the novel by Aleksandr Terekhov. In January 2022, the fifth season of the Nevskiy (2016) series started, which during the entire broadcast period managed to become the highest-rated project of the NTV channel, and the new season turned out to be one of the expected films.

Alisa Brunovna Freindlikh was born on December 8, 1934, in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). Her father, named Bruno Frejndlikh, was a notable actor. Alisa Freindlikh graduated from Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinematography in 1957.

From 1961-1983 Alisa Freindlikh was a permanent member of the Leningrad Theatre of Lensovet under directorship of her husband Igor Vladimirov. She was the leading star of that theatre and her stage partners were such actors as Georgi Zhzhyonov, Aleksey Petrenko, Sergey Migitsko, Anatoliy Ravikovich, Mikhail Devyatkin, Mikhail Boyarskiy, Larisa Luppian, Galina Nikulina, Vera Ulik, Leonid Dyachkov, Valeri Kuzin, Yefim Kamenetsky, Leila Kirakosian, Aleksandr Estrin, Petr Shelokhonov, and other notable Russian actors.

Alisa Freindlikh made a stellar film career in collaboration with director Eldar Ryazanov. She also brilliantly played a supporting role in A Cruel Romance (1984), a Ryazanov's adaptation of the 19th century story by Aleksandr Ostrovskiy. In 1983 Alisa Freindlikh was designated the People's Artist of the USSR. That same year she divorced from her husband Igor Vladimirov, and soon left the Theatre of Lensovet.

Since 1984 Alisa Freindlikh has been a permanent member of Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT) in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) under directorship of Georgi Tovstonogov. There her stage partners were such stars as Kirill Lavrov, Oleg Basilashvili, Lyudmila Makarova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Zinaida Sharko, Valentina Kovel, Sergey Yurskiy, Nikolay Trofimov, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Evgeniy Lebedev, Georgiy Shtil, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Vadim Medvedev, Yuriy Demich, Leonid Nevedomsky, Gennadiy Bogachyov, Andrey Tolubeev, and many other notable Russian actors.

In 2004, on her 70th birthday, Alisa Freindlikh was visited in her home by the Russian president Vladimir Putin. She was decorated for her achievements as an actress in film and theatre. Alisa Freindlikh is residing in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Lyudmila Savelyeva is a Russian actress known as Natasha Rostova in epic film War and Peace (1965), a powerful adaptation of the eponymous masterpiece by Lev Tolstoy.

She was born Lyudmila Mikhailovna Savelyeva on 24 January 1942, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), while the city suffered the heroic Siege of Leningrad during WWII. From 1950 to 1962 she studied acting and ballet at the prestigious Vaganovoy Academy of Russian Ballet, graduating in 1962 as ballerina. That same year she became member of the Kirov Ballet at Mariinsky Theatre in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). She made her film debut in Sleeping beauty (1964).

Savelyeva shot to fame as Natasha Rostova in epic film War and Peace (1965) by director Sergey Bondarchuk. The eight-hour epic became the most expensive film ever made, War and Peace (1965) was produced over seven years, from 1961 to 1968, at an estimated cost of $100,000,000 (about one billion dollars adjusted for inflation in 2010). The film set several records, such as involving over three hundred professional actors from several countries and also tens of thousands extras from the Red Army in filming of the two-hour-long episode about the historic Battle of Borodino against the Napoleon's invasion, making it the largest battle scene ever filmed.

Savelyeva's natural beauty and effortless style won her numerous accolades form international critics. She was chosen by the Soviet Union's communist government to represent the country at various film festivals across the world. In 1969, Savelyeva was sent to the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood to represent War and Peace (1965) which won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. A few days later, when Savelyeva brought the Oscar back to Moscow, she was met by members of the Soviet government who took the Oscar away from the filmmakers.

After co-starring in a few less successful movies, Savelyeva disappeared form public view during the 90s. She re-emerged after a ten-year hiatus appearing in Nezhnyy vozrast (2000) and later appeared as Countess Scherbatskaya in _"Anna Karenina" (2009 TV mini-series)_.

Outside of her acting career, Lyudmila Savelyeva is known as a collector of rare books, having amassed a significant private library. She has been married to fellow actor Aleksandr Zbruev, and the couple is living in Moscow, Russia.

Baganov came to acting via a somewhat circuitous route. Born in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia), he attended Leningrad State University, where he studied astronomy for 4 years. After that - it must have been in his stars - he entered the State Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography, and four years later graduated with a degree in acting. After that, Baganov was hired by the State Theater Lencom in Leningrad and later worked in yet another state theater, the Kommisarzevskiy. A few years later, he left the theater in order to do films and television work in various cities of the USSR, including Moscow, Odessa, Sverdlovsk, Kiev, Leningrad/St. Petersburg, and so on. Baganov went to the United States in 1991, and has lived and worked there ever since.

Victoria Chalaya was born on 14 October 1982 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress, known for I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007), Her Knight (2003) and Aces 'N' Eights (2008).

Dmitri Nagiev - a talented actor and one of the most popular show-business figures in Russia. In 1991 graduated from the Leningrad State University of Theatre, Music and Cinematography. After obligatory military service he worked in the theatre "Vremya", then he was a "Radio Modern" DJ. Best known for his numerous roles in the popular comedy-show "Modern Ostorozhno" (nominated at International Emmy Award for best comedy-show) and none the less popular TV-series "Modern Ostorozhno - 2!", in which he co-starred with his only show-mate and friend Sergey Rost (who writes many of their series-scripts). He also plays on theatre stage and directs his own theatre projects. In 1996 he was called "The most popular person of Saint-Petersburg". Was called "The Best Russian DJ". In Russia he's considered a sex-symbol since his first roles in "Modern".