Alla A. Kazanskaya was a renowned Russian actress, widely recognized for her iconic role as Lidiya Stepanovna in the Academy Award-winning film "Burnt by the Sun" (1994),directed by Nikita Mikhalkov.
Born Alla Aleksandrovna Kazanskaya on June 15, 1920, in Russia, she began her acting journey by studying at the Shchukin Theatrical School of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow from 1935 to 1939, graduating in 1939 under the guidance of I.M. Tolchanov.
Kazanskaya made her Vakhtangov Theatre debut in 1938, marking the beginning of her long and illustrious career with the prestigious theatre. Over the years, she had the privilege of sharing the stage with some of the most talented Russian actors, including Mikhail Ulyanov, Mikhail Astangov, Ruben Simonov, Boris Zakhava, Vladimir Etush, Varvara Popova, Irina Kupchenko, Natalya Tenyakova, Lyudmila Maksakova, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Marianna Vertinskaya, Nina Ruslanova, Yuliya Borisova, Nikolai Plotnikov, Vasiliy Lanovoy, Yuriy Yakovlev, Vyacheslav Shalevich, Andrei Abrikosov, Grigori Abrikosov, Boris Babochkin, Nikolai Gritsenko, Nikolai Timofeyev, Aleksandr Grave, Evgeniy Karelskikh, Sergey Makovetskiy, Viktor Zozulin, Evgeniy Knyazev, and Ruben Simonov, among many others.
Throughout her career, Kazanskaya took on a wide range of roles, including Arina Galchikha in "Bez viny vinovatye" (1993) and Mother Folan in "Koroleva Krasoty" (2006). Her last film appearance was in "Utomlennye solntsem 2: Tsitadel" (2011),where she played the supporting role of Lidia Stepanovna once again, under the direction of Nikita Mikhalkov.
Kazanskaya was honored with the title of People's Actress of Russia in 1971 and went on to teach an acting class at the Shchukin Theatrical School of Vakhtangov Theatre from the 1960s to the 2000s. Her students included some of the most talented Russian actors, such as Sergey Makovetskiy, Vladimir Simonov, Lyudmila Nilskaya, Yuliya Rutberg, and others.
In her personal life, Kazanskaya was married to film director Boris Barnet. She passed away on June 25, 2008, due to heart failure, and was laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.
