Russian actors who played famous foreign historical figures (PHOTOS)

1. Inna Churikova as Joan of Arc

In the Soviet movie ‘The Beginning’ (1970), the plot around Joan of Arc is a film inside a film. A modern factory worker named Pasha (starring Inna Churikova) is offered to play a leading role in the movie about the French heroine.

2. Yury Bogatyrev as Charles II of Spain

The comedy ‘Don Cesar de Bazan’ (1989) was set in 17th century Spain, in the time of the Catalan Revolt. A minister named Don José, who falls in love with the queen and is rejected, intends to weave intrigues against the king. Bogatyrev’s grotesque image of the King of Spain is very powerful.

3. Vladislav Strzhelchik as Napoleon 

In the Oscar-winning ‘War and peace’ (1967) movie based on Tolstoy’s novel, Strzhelchik played Napoleon with an unbelievable aristocratism and dignity. Unlike his character, the actor was a tall man, but filmmakers found ways to tweak the performer’s height. When on tour in France, Strzhelchik was showered with flowers by the locals.

4. Innokenty Smoktunovsky - both Mozart and Salieri 

Smoktunovsky is one of the most iconic Soviet actors, famous for ‘Nine Days in One Year’ (1962) and ‘Beware of the Car’ (1966) and, during his career, he got a chance to play both musicians in this fatal duo. He played the cheerful genius Mozart in ‘Mozart and Salieri’ (1963).

And then, later, he played the evil genius Salieri who poisoned Mozart in ‘Little Tragedies’ (1979). Both movies are based on Alexander Pushkin’s drama ‘Mozart and Salieri’. 

5. Oleg Tabakov - Louis XIII

In the brilliant Soviet movie ‘D’Artagnan and Three Musketeers’ (1978) starring Mikhail Boyarsky as D’Artagnan, the relatively short, but amazing part was played by Oleg Tabakov. King of France, Louis XIII in his interpretation, was far from the real person (but close to the way Dumas portrayed him), almost a caricature character, weak, but stubborn and spoiled.

6. Alisa Freindlich - Anne of Austria

In the same ‘D’Artagnan and Three Musketeers’ (1978) movie, fabulous Alisa Freindlich played Anne of Austria, wife of King Louis XIII. D’Artagnan helps her to save her honor and brings her diamond studs she presented to her lover, so that the king didn’t recognize she was unfair.

7. Victoria Poltorak - Frida Kahlo

The biographical TV-series ‘Trotsky’ (2017) tells about this Russian revolutionary who was killed in Mexico under Stalin’s order in 1940. Famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo gave asylum to Trotsky in Mexico. Take a look at how Victoria Poltorak played her and compare with the way Salma Hayek did this role.

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