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Boris Chirkov was arguably the most celebrated film star in the Soviet Union during the 1930s and 1940s, best known for his lead role as Maxim in the acclaimed trilogy directed by Grigoriy Kozintsev.
Born Boris Petrovich Chirkov on August 13, 1901, in Lozova-Pavlivka, Katerynoslav province, Russian Empire (now Bryanka, Ukraine), he was the elder of two siblings, with a younger sister named Galina. His mother, Olga Ignatevna (née Nebogatikova), was the niece of Soviet leader Vyacheslav Molotov. Raised in his mother's home in Nolinsk, Vyatka province, Northern Russia, Boris began acting at the Nolinsk Town Theatre and was a regular singer in the Boys Choir at Nolinsk Church, reflecting his Christian upbringing and vocal talent.
After graduating from junior college in Nolinsk in 1919, he worked as a teacher at the local secondary school. In 1921, he moved to St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), initially studying engineering at Leningrad Polytechnical Institute for a year before switching to acting at the Institute for Theatrical Arts, graduating in 1926 alongside notable classmates such as Nikolay Cherkasov, Glikeriya Bogdanova-Chesnokova, Aleksandr Borisov, and Nikolai Simonov. Chirkov began his professional career at the Leningrad Theatre for Young Audiences, debuting as Sancho Panza opposite Cherkasov's towering Don Quixote. In the 1920s, he also performed in a popular comic trio with Cherkasov and Vladimir Berezov, as humor was a natural outlet and refuge from the harsh realities of Soviet life under communism.
Chirkov made his film debut in 1927 with the silent film Moi syn, followed by a supporting role in Luna sleva (1929). He appeared alongside Boris Babochkin in the classic Chapaev (1934). His breakthrough came with the role of revolutionary leader Maxim in the trilogy directed by Grigoriy Kozintsev at Lenfilm Studios during the 1930s. The films combined Chirkov's acting, Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg's direction, and Dmitri Shostakovich's music to great acclaim. Chirkov's portrayal was so iconic that letters addressed simply to "Maxim, Leningrad" reached him from across the Soviet Union, all of which he answered, empathetic to the struggles of ordinary people given his peasant background. He received the Stalin Prize for this role, though his fame far exceeded the award. In 1940, under Stalin's regime, Chirkov was ordered to relocate to Moscow, becoming a prominent propaganda figure and a model for Soviet citizens. He earned a second Stalin Prize for his portrayal of composer Mikhail Glinka in the film Glinka.
From 1950 to 1965, Chirkov was a member of the Pushkin Drama Theatre troupe in Moscow, sharing the stage with distinguished actors like Faina Ranevskaya, Olga Viklandt, Boris Smirnov, Nikolai Petrov, Mikhail Nazvanov, and Marina Kuznetsova. Between 1966 and 1982, he performed with the Gogol Drama Theatre troupe alongside Viktor Khokhryakov, Emiliya Milton, Aleksei Krasnopolsky, and Vladimir Samoylov. He was awarded the Order of Lenin three times, a distinction surpassed by only Leonid Brezhnev among Soviet leaders. Chirkov dedicated his autobiographical book, Azorskie ostrova, to his mother.
Despite being a Communist Party member, Chirkov confided to his family that he retained his Christian faith. He declined a state pension, feeling others were in greater need. Throughout his life, he survived four heart attacks; however, a fifth heart attack struck during a high-level Kremlin visit in 1982, where he was attending a meeting as a member of the Committee for Lenin's Prize Awards. He was rushed to a Moscow hospital but died of heart failure within hours on May 28, 1982. His family waited four days for personal approval from Leonid Brezhnev to grant a State Funeral, which was eventually authorized. Boris Chirkov was interred at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.
