Biography
Varvara Obukhova was a notable Russian actress of Maly Theatre in Moscow, and a member of the Obukhov family of musicians and actors.
She was born Varvara Aleksandrovna Obukhova on August 12, 1901, in the ancestral estate of her parents in Russia. Her great-grandfather was the Russian poet Aleksandr Boratynsky. Her grand-uncle, Sergei Obukhov, was director of Imperial Theatres in Moscow. Young Varvara Obukhova was brought up in a highly intellectual environment of her parents and their circle. She was trilingual, in addition to her native Russia, she was fluent in French and German, having a Swiss lady Blan as a private tutor. Varvara Obukhova studied music under the guidance of her aunt, who was a renown singer of Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. She also took advise from her grand-uncle, Sergei Obukhov, was a professional opera singer trained in Italy. From 1919 - 1922 she studied acting under Yevdokiya Turchaninova at Theatrical College known as Maly Theatre Drama School (Shchepkin School), graduating in 1922 as an actress.
From 1922 - 1988 Varvara Obukhova was a permanent member of the troupe at Maly Drama Theatre in Moscow. There her stage partners were such actors as Vera Pashennaya, Olga Sadovskaya, Nikolai Annenkov, A. Yablochkina, Varvara Massalitinova, Varvara Ryzhova, Yelena Gogoleva, Yevdokiya Turchaninova, Yelena Shatrova, Elina Bystritskaya, Rufina Nifontova, Tatyana Eremeeva, Aleksandr Yuzhin, Mikhail Tsaryov, Aleksandr Ostuzhev, Vladimir Davydov, Sergei Aidarov, Stepan Kuznetsov, Prov Sadovsky, Boris Ravenskikh, Boris Babochkin, Mikhail Zharov, Igor Ilyinsky, Pavel Olenev, Mikhail Sadovsky, Konstantin Zubov, Viktor Khokhryakov, Vsevolod Aksyonov, Nikolai Ryzhov, Evgeniy Vesnik, Viktor Korshunov, Evgeniy Samoylov, and many other notable Russian actors.
She made her film debut in The Mistress (1953), a film adaptation of Konstantin Zubov's stage production of the eponymous play by Maxim Gorky at Maly Theatre. Obukhova's other stage performances were also captured on film, such as her stage character in the play 'Gore ot uma' (aka.. Woe from Wit) by Aleksandr Griboyedov. The stage play 'Woe From Wit' was captured on film as Gore ot uma (1952) by director Sergei Alekseyev. During the 1970s Obukhiva was regarded for her portrayals of grandmothers as typical Russian "Babushka" in such films as Balamut (1979), _I snova Aniskin (1978 TV movie)_, and in the popular Russian TV series Khozhdenie po mukam (1977) based on the book by Mikhail A. Bulgakov.
Varvara Obukhova was designated People's Actor of Russia (1961), and also received numerous decorations from the Soviet State. She died on February 16, 1988, in Moscow, and was laid to rest in Vagankovskoe Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.
