Yury Mefodyevich Solomin (Russian: Ю́рий Мефо́диевич Соло́мин; 18 June 1935 – 11 January 2024) was a Soviet and Russian actor and director who was an art director of the Maly Theatre in Moscow from 1988. He previously served as Minister of Culture of the RSFSR from 1990 to 1991.
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Biography
Solomin studied at the Malyi Theatre School and joined its troupe in 1957. He was acclaimed as Khlestakov in Igor Ilyinsky's production of The Government Inspector (1966), Tsar Feodor in Tsar Feodor Ioannovich (1976), Slavin in TASS Is Authorized to Declare... TV series (1984), Nicholas II in Az Vosdam... (1990), and Famusov in his own production of Woe from Wit (2000). Solomin was cast as a Russian imperial officer in many Soviet movies, including Akira Kurosawa's Dersu Uzala (1975), which won him a Japanese decoration for the outstanding contribution to the world culture (1993).
Solomin served as the Russian Minister of Culture from 1990 to 1992. On 11 March 2014, he signed the appeal of culture of the Russian Federation in support of the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine and Crimea. In December 2015, he supported the policy of Putin with respect to Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimea. In February 2022, he supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
His younger brother Vitaly Solomin (1941–2002) was also a noted actor.
Yury Solomin died of kidney failure on 11 January 2024, at the age of 88.
Honors and awards
People's Artist of Kyrgyzstan (1996)
Honored Worker of Arts of the Republic of Mari El
Order of Friendship of Peoples (1985)
Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation (2020)
People's Artist of the USSR (1988)
People's Artist of the RSFSR (1974)
Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1971)
Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR (1971) - for his role of Captain Koltsov in the mini-series The Adjutant of His Excellency (1969)
Award of the KGB (1984) - for his role as Slavin in the mini-series TASS Is Authorized to Declare... (1984)
Award for student work in Bratislava (Slovakia) and Kobe (Japan)
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland";
1st class (29 June 2015)
2nd class (18 June 2005)
3rd class (25 October 1999)
4th class (29 May 1995)
Order of the Academy of Arts of Japan "for contribution to world culture" (No. 199)
"Golden Aries" award for his outstanding contribution to the development of national cinema (1996)
State Prize of the Russian Federation (2001)
Filmography
Sleepless Night (1960) as Pavel Kaurov
A Mother's Heart (1965) as Dmitry Ilyich Ulyanov
A Mother's Devotion (1966) as Dmitry Ilyich Ulyanov
Strong with Spirit (1967) as Major Martin von Güttel
Spring on the Oder (1967) as Captain Aleksandr Meshchersky
The Red Tent (1969) as Troiani
The Adjutant of His Excellency (1969) as Captain Pavel Andreyevich Koltsov
Dauria (1971) as Semyon Nagorny, Bolshevik blacksmith
The Fourth (1972) as Charles Howard
Sokolovo (1974) as General Shafarenko
Dersu Uzala (1975) as Vladimir Arsenyev
Melodies of a White Night (1976) as Ilya, composer-conductor
School Waltz (1978) as Pavel Knushevitsky, Zosya's father
An Ordinary Miracle (1978) as Emil the innkeeper
Die Fledermaus (1979) as Heinrich Eisenstein
Moon Rainbow (1983) as Nikolsky
The Shore of His Life (1984) as Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay
TASS Is Authorized to Declare... (1984) as Vitaly Vsevolodovich Slavin, KGB colonel
