Juri Kusmenkow

Yuriy Alexandrovich Kuzmenkov (Russian: Ю́рий Алекса́ндрович Кузьменко́в ; 16 February 1941 – 11 September 2011) was a Soviet-Russian screen and stage actor. He was known for portraying working class and military people. He was awarded the Honored Artist of Russia (1980).

Kuzmenkov was born and grew up in Moscow. He came from a working-class family. His father was a metal worker and his mother was a hairdresser.

Upon graduating high school, Kuzmenkov went to trade school to become a metal lathe operator. He got work in a factory but found that he enjoyed acting and took part in amateur performances at his workplace. As his passion for acting increased, he went to study at the school-studio of Yuri Zavadsky at the Mossovet Theatre.

After graduation in 1964, he stayed on at the Mossovet as a member of the acting troupe.

Kuzmenkov made his screen debut in 1963 in the Soviet film In the Name of the Revolution. He rose to fame in 1970, with movies such as Taymyr Calls You (1970) and Big School-Break (1972).

He married theatre actress Galina Vanuyshkina in 1963. Their son, Stepan, is a diplomat.

He died from a heart attack on 11 September 2011.[10]