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Mikhail Yanshin was a Russian actor associated with the Moscow Art Theatre.
Born Mikhail Mikhailovich Yanshin on November 2, 1902, in Yukhnov, Smolensk province, Russian Empire (now Kaluga province, Russia), his father was a banking clerk. Between 1909 and 1916, Yanshin attended the private Olkhovsky School in Moscow. From 1916 to 1919, he studied at the Moscow Technical School, then enrolled at the College of Technology before joining the Red Army. He served in the Security Forces of the Red Army until 1922. That year, he was admitted to the 2nd Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre, where he studied under Michael Chekhov. In 1924, Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko promoted him to leading roles.
Yanshin gained fame in Moscow in 1926 with his acclaimed portrayal of Lariosik in Mikhail A. Bulgakov’s play 'Dni Turbinykh' (The Days of the Turbins). The production ran for over two hundred performances and was reportedly attended by Joseph Stalin at least fifteen times. In November 1926, Yanshin married actress Veronika Polonskaya, then eighteen years old; the writer Mikhail A. Bulgakov served as his best man. Polonskaya and Yanshin were friends with Vladimir Mayakovsky, who had an affair with Polonskaya. The three were together the night before Mayakovsky died by suicide.
Between 1937 and 1941, Yanshin served as Artistic Director of the Moscow Gypsy Theatre "Romen," during which time he was married to its lead actress, Lyalya Chyornaya (Nadezhda Kiseleva). He revitalized the theatre's repertoire by incorporating classic plays by Aleksandr Pushkin and Maxim Gorky alongside traditional Gypsy performances. In 1939, he directed two plays by Federico Garcia Lorca, whose works were highly regarded in Russia following his execution during Franco’s regime in Spain. From 1941 until his death, Yanshin returned to the Moscow Art Theatre.
From 1950 to 1963, Yanshin was Artistic Director of the Stanislavsky Drama Theatre, where he met actress Nonna Meyer; they married in 1955 and remained together until his passing. Yanshin revitalized the struggling theatre by motivating established actors and nurturing young talents such as Evgeniy Leonov, Evgeniy Vesnik, Evgeniy Urbanskiy, Boris Levinson, Pyotr Glebov, Liliya Gritsenko, Elizaveta Nikishchikhina, and Vladimir Anisko. Following Stalin’s death and during the cultural "Thaw" initiated by Nikita Khrushchev, Yanshin restaged 'Dni Turbinykh,' with Evgeniy Leonov delivering a celebrated performance as Lariosik.
In 1963, Yanshin faced criticism from the Soviet Ministry of Culture for his efforts to stage contemporary plays. He resigned from the Stanislavsky Drama Theatre and rejoined the Moscow Art Theatre, which was struggling after the deaths of its founders, Konstantin Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko. Yanshin played a key role in bringing director Oleg Efremov to lead the theatre's revitalization and regain popularity among younger audiences. Alongside Alla Tarasova, Yanshin was a strong advocate for the artistic innovations introduced by Efremov at the Moscow Art Theatre.
Mikhail Yanshin was honored as People's Artist of the USSR in 1955 and received the USSR State Prize in 1975. He was twice awarded the Order of Lenin, among other accolades. His film career spanned over 45 years, from silent films to Soviet comedies of the 1960s and 1970s. Yanshin passed away from heart failure on July 17, 1976, in Moscow and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.
