Lyubov Orlova

Lyubov Orlova was a Russian film star of the 1930s who enjoyed the sympathy of Joseph Stalin.

She was born Lyubov Petrovna Orlova on January 29, 1902 in Zvenigorod, a suburb of Moscow, Russia. Her father, Petr Orlov, was an officer in the Russian Imperial Army, her mother, Evgenia Sukhotina, belonged to Russian Landed Gentry. Through her parents, Orlova was a descendant from the old Russian aristocratic family of Prince Orlov, and was also related to Count Lev Tolstoy, for whom she sang along with the popular Russian basso Feodor Chaliapin Sr. in 1909. From 1919 to 1922 Orlova studied piano and singing at the Moscow Conservatory, but she did not graduate. From 1922-1926, Orlova studied dancing and choreography at the Moscow Theatre College. Then she worked on stage with director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko at the Moscow Musical Theatre of Stanislavsky.

In 1926 Orlova married Andrei Berezin, a prominent Soviet opposition politician. He was arrested in 1930, and was imprisoned for many years; this tragedy caused Orlova a severe depression and she had problems with alcohol. Orlova was seen on stage by many influential people in Moscow. After losing her husband she had other relationships before she met director Grigoriy Aleksandrov. He was looking for an actress to co-star opposite Leonid Utyosov in 'Moscow laughs'. The film became a big success in the 30s Soviet Union. Orlova became Aleksandrov's mistress. Eventually Alrksandrov divorced from his wife and married Orlova, who became the leading star of the Soviet film industry before the Second World War.

Joseph Stalin liked Orlova very much and promoted her to the title of Honorable Actress of Russian Federation in January of 1935. Stalin was probably in a good mood, when he offered Orlova to make her wish come true. She asked about the fate of her first husband. Stalin was surprised. Soon Orlova was called to visit the Lubyanka office of NKVD (KGB). There she was told that her ex-husband is alive in prison and that she may see him, and even join him in his cell. She was scared and humbled and left quietly. Later, in 1949 her ex-husband was diagnosed with cancer, released from prison and died in Lithuania at the home of his mother.

Stalin made Orlova the regular guest at his lavish drinking parties in Moscow. She became addicted to alcohol and was severely criticized by the official paper 'Sovetskoe Iskusstvo' (The Soviet Art). Director Aleksandrov managed to save his wife from her alcohol addiction by threatening to abort her film career. She obeyed and quit drinking. Her films 'Tsirk' (aka.. Circus 1936), 'Volga-Volga' (1938), and 'Svetly Put' (aka.. The Shining Path 1940, aka.. Tanya) were hugely successful. 'Svetly Put' was originally titled 'Cinderella' by the author Viktor Ardov, but Stalin ordered the title to be changed to 'The Shining Path'. Stalin's control over the Soviet film industry was absolute. For her leading roles in 'Volga-Volga' and 'Svetly Put' Orlova was personally awarded by Joseph Stalin with the State Stalin Prize.

At the beginning of the Nazi invasion of Russia during the Second World War, both Orlova and Aleksandrov were filming in Riga, Latvia. They narrowly escaped from the advancing Nazi armies and rushed to Moscow. There Aleksandrov served at the regular night watch during Luftwaffe air raids and bombings. He was severely wounded by a bomb explosion in September of 1941, and suffered from spinal trauma for the rest of his life. In the fall of 1941 Orlova and Aleksandrov were evacuated from Moscow to Baku, Azerbaijan. There they made a film 'Odna Semya' (A Family 1943) which was banned by the Soviet Censorship Committee. The official reason for banning the innocent film was its lacking of propaganda about the fight of the Soviet people against the Nazi invasion.

Orlova was known to be immune from gossips and rumors. She was also known as a faithful wife to Aleksandrov. Though she worked mainly in his films, she also occasionally worked in films made by other directors. She was never allowed by her director-husband Aleksandrov to be kissed in a film, with one exception made for actor Andrey Tutyshkin in 'Volga-Volga'. Her characters were sexy in a way acceptable by the rigid Soviet censorship under Stalin. One scene from the film 'Vstrecha na Elbe' (Meeting on the Elbe 1949) was ordered by Stalin to be deleted, because Stalin criticized the half-naked girls dancing to American Jazz music while celebrating the Victory. However, Stalin kept the uncensored original for himself, and later Stalin showed this scene at his home theatre to Aleksandrov and other guests. Stalin liked the scene, but banned it from being seen by millions of viewers in the Soviet Union.

From 1930 to the end of her life, Orlova has a rare medical problem - she suffered from sensitivity to daylight, which she developed after the stressful arrest of her first husband. She also suffered from severe insomnia and depended on various medications. She was spending much time at her home behind shielded windows. Her later work with Aleksandrov, such as in 'Russki suvenir' (Russian Souvenir 1960) was a flop. Her last stage performance was in Leningrad, in 1963, after that she was not seen on stage. Her last film with Aleksandrov, 'Skvorets i Lira' (1973), was not released upon Orlova's insistence, because she was shocked with her own looks in the film.

Lyubov Orlova was the first Russian film star to use plastic surgeries in her later years. At that time she refused to be photographed, and was hiding from public. She died of pancreatic cancer on January 26, 1975, and three days later, on her 73rd birthday, she was laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.