Actor Bogdan Stupka Died in Kiev

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Trailer for Taras Bulba

click here for a link to the complete two-hour film with English subtitles

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In Memory of Bogdan Stupka

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Trailer for Отторжeие (The Rejection) with English subtitles

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Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage, and we’re all actors in it”. Skovoroda added to this by saying, “and everyone plays their intended role”. I think that’s right.

If we perform the classics, sometimes, we find that their essence escapes us. We’re trapped in time, but a classic will be forever.

If you believe that your every move on stage is great art, it’s a disaster! Only doubt leads to improvement.

You have to know how to take joy in other people’s successes; envy and pride only crush you down, they don’t lead to a good end.

Bogdan Stupka

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The famous Ukrainian actor Bogdan Stupka, Artist of the Ukraine and People’s Artist of the USSR, died in the 71st year of his life after a long illness. On Sunday, the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN broke the news, quoting Anna German, a Ukrainian Presidential Adviser. The secular leave-taking for Stupka will be on Tuesday, on the stage of the Ivan Franko National Academic Theatre in Kiev. According to the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service, Stupka’s burial is on Tuesday, 24 July, at Baikove Cemetery in Kiev. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich instructed Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov to create a committee to organise the funeral of the prominent film and theatre actor.

Stupka’s health deteriorated in the summer of 2010, when he fainted on the set of the film Однажды в Ростове (Odnazhdy v Rostove: Once in Rostov). In early 2011, he underwent heart surgery in Germany, and he had further treatment there in October. Stupka died at the Feofania Clinic in Kiev, where he was in hospital for the last four months. The Presidential Press service reported Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich’s condolences over Stupka’s death, saying, “Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich expressed his condolences over the death of Bogdan Stupka. He was an outstanding actor, Director of the Ivan Franko National Academic Theatre, Shevchenko Prize winner, and Hero of the Ukraine”.

Expressing his condolences, Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said, “The Ukraine lost a talented actor, who left a significant imprint on Ukrainian art. Bogdan Silvestrovich was truly a people’s artist, whose creativity was admired by millions of people in many parts of the world”. The Prime Minister sent an official condolence telegram from the government to the actor’s family, which said, “I express my sincere condolences on your bereavement. Together with you, millions of Ukrainians mourn, along with many admirers of Bogdan Stupka’s unsurpassed talent worldwide”. Presidential Press Secretary Dmitri Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences on Stupka’s death, saying, “President Putin expressed condolences to the family and friends of this wonderful actor, as well as to all his fans, both in Russia and in the Ukraine”.

UNIAN noted that Stupka was a great actor, winner of the Shevchenko Prize and a Hero of the Ukraine. Stupka was born in 1941, last year he was 70 years old. He won the USSR State Prize in 1980 for his performance in productions of Дикий ангел (Diky angel: Wild Angel) by Kolomiets and Дядя Ваня (Dyadya Vanya: Uncle Vanya) by Chekhov at the Ivan Franko Kiev State Academic Ukrainian Drama Theatre. In 1999-2001, Stupka was Minister of Culture and Arts in the government of then-Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko. Stupka worked in both the live theatre and cinema; he appeared at the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre and starred in more than 90 films.

In particular, Stupka’s known for his roles in the films Белая птица с чёрной отметиной (Belaya ptitsa s chornoi otmetinoi: The White Bird Marked with Black), От Буга до Вислы (Ot Buga do Visly: From the Bug to the Vistula). Тарас Шевченко. Завещание (Taras Shevchenko. Zaveshchanie: Taras Shevchenko. A Testament), Молитва о гетмане Мазепе (Molitva o Ataman Mazepa: A Prayer for Ataman Mazepa), where he played Mazepa, and starred in several TV series. Amongst his latest performances was his starring role in the film Тарас Бульба (Taras Bulba). Stupka won many prizes, including Russian awards, such as the Хрустальная Турандот (Khrstalnaya Turandot: Crystal Turandot), Ника (Nika), Золотой орёл (Zolotoi oryol: Golden Eagle), and Триумф (Triumph). In August 2011, shortly before his 70th birthday, he received the title of Hero of the Ukraine.

22 July 2012

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_07_22/82452433/

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President Putin is on “Time” magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” List

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (1952-), former President of Russia, Chairman of the United Russia Party

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President Vladimir Putin was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. The American magazine named the president Person of the Year in 2007.  Putin was ranked second in “Leaders and Revolutionaries” after Chinese leader Hu Jintao. The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, US President George W Bush, and all three candidates for the US presidency, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain were also on the list. The illustration to the article, headlined “Russia’s iron-willed leader has rebuilt his country as a great power”, shows a well-known portrait of Tsar Pyotr Veliki with Putin’s head superimposed on the tsar’s.

Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright wrote an article about Vladimir Putin. “After our first meetings, in 1999 and 2000, I described him in my journal as shrewd, confident, hard-working, patriotic, and ingratiating. In the years since, he’s become more confident”, she wrote. Ms Albright points up that Vladimir Putin returned some national traditions and pride to Russia, but, that Putin gives credit for doing this to his people. He said at a recent convention of the United Russia party, which, as a matter of fact, we may see as the ruling party of Russia, that “millions of men and women joined forces in an effort to end the all-pervasive crisis and deal a blow to terrorism. They made the very first, probably hesitant, but important, moves to end our widespread poverty, update the infrastructure, and rearm the armed forces. They laid a foundation for an innovation-rich economy and now pursue, without advice from abroad, aggressive policies that improve the Russian position in international relations”.

There’s no doubt whatsoever that President-elect Dmitri Medvedev will continue President Putin’s line in policy-making. Putin told Medvedev there’s no time to relax. Putin said that our country must keep moving on, and we must keep working to meet our promises to the Russian people. It wasn’t for the sake of prestige alone that we had to become one of the five leading economies of this planet rapidly, because, he said, nothing but rapid advance enabled a large and rich Russia to remain a sovereign and undivided nation.

2 May 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26504&cid=56&p=02.05.2008