Yuri Solomin is an acclaimed Russian stage and film actor and director,
internationally best known for his work with director
Akira Kurosawa in the leading role as
Arseniev in Russian-Japanese film
Dersu Uzala (1975).
He was born Yuri Mefodievich Solomin on June 18, 1935, in Chita,
Siberian Russia, Soviet Union. His father, Mefodi Viktorovich, was a
cellist and violinist, his mother, Zinaida Ananievna, was a
mezzo-soprano; both parents taught classical music at the House of
Pioneers in Chita. In 1953, after graduating from Chita high school,
young Yuri Solomin moved to Moscow. There he attended Shchepkin
Theatrical School, studied acting under
Vera Pashennaya, graduating in 1957 as
an actor. That same year he became permanent member of the troupe at
the Academic Maly Theatre in Moscow. Since 1988, Solomin has been
Artistic Director of the Maly Theatre. He also was Russian Minister of
Culture from 1990 to 1992.
Yuri Solomin played over 50 roles in films and on television, and also
played about 60 roles in stage productions. He was elected president of
Association of Russian Theatres, was designated People's Actor of the
USSR, and received numerous awards and decorations from both the Soviet
and Russian governments. He is living in Moscow, Russia.