Vsevolod Aksyonov

Biography

Vsevolod Nikolaevich Aksenov was born on March 19, 1898, in Moscow, Russia. In 1918, he graduated from a Moscow Gymnasium, then worked for a year as a clerk in Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD). From 1919-1920 he studied acting at Shchepkin School of Maly Theatre in Moscow. From 1920-1960 Vsevolod Aksenov was a permanent member of the legendary troupe at Maly Academic Theatre in Moscow. There he played over 100 roles on stage. He worked on stage with such actors as Maria Ermolova, Olga Sadovskaya, Yelena Gogoleva, A. Yablochkina, Varvara Massalitinova, Varvara Ryzhova, Yevdokiya Turchaninova, Vera Pashennaya, Varvara Obukhova, Yelena Shatrova, Elina Bystritskaya, Aleksandr Yuzhin, Nikolai Annenkov, Aleksandr Ostuzhev, Vladimir Davydov, Sergei Aidarov, Stepan Kuznetsov, Prov Sadovsky, Boris Ravenskikh, Boris Babochkin, Mikhail Zharov, Mikhail Tsaryov, Igor Ilyinsky, Pavel Olenev, Mikhail Sadovsky, Konstantin Zubov, Viktor Khokhryakov, Nikolai Ryzhov, Evgeniy Vesnik, Evgeniy Samoylov, and other notable Russian actors. Vsevolod Aksenov was married to actress Yelena Gogoleva. They were both known in Moscow for riding horses across the city instead of driving cars. Aksenov was also a professor of Shchepkin School where he taught an acting class. Aksenov made himself famous for his radio show where he performed poetry of Aleksandr Pushkin, Aleksandr Blok, Mikhail Lermontov, and other poets. He suffered from political repressions during the last years of dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. In the late 1950's he suffered from a depression and abruptly quit acting at the Maly Theatre, but continued giving his one-man show performances at Moscow Philharmonia. Vsevolod Aksenov died on March 29, 1960, and was laid to rest in the Novodevichi Convent Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.