Biography
The actress was born in Leningrad, where her parents moved from a small town in the Yaroslavl region of Danilov, where Tatyana Vasilievna herself spent several years of her life. When the war began, my father went to the front, and my mother, taking Tanya and her sister, went to her native Danilov, away from the front, where it was a little easier to survive the hard times of war.
In the photo: Tatyana Doronina in childhood
When the war ended, they returned to Leningrad again, taking with them a goat so that there would always be milk in the house. The father returned from the front as an invalid, the Doronin family did not live richly, but the parents always loved and respected each other very much, and their relationship was a subject of admiration for their daughters, whom they not only raised, but also gave them a higher education.
In the photo: Tatyana Doronina in her youth
Tatyana went to school and tried to study well, although exact sciences were not easy for her. But she adored literature, and when she started reading poetry, she immediately attracted everyone’s attention. Doronina has repeatedly recited poetry at various events not only at school, but also at outdoor concerts at city enterprises.
From an early age, the theater became part of the biography of Tatyana Doronina, in whose soul the dream of becoming an actress settled. She studied in a school theater group, an elective in French, and a vocal studio. For school performances, Anna Ivanovna sewed dresses from gauze for her daughter, in which Tanya looked no worse than other young artists.
Tatyana Vasilyevna’s mother also loved the theater and often organized family trips to the Moscow Art Theater, whose performances she adored. Tatyana Vasilyevna’s desire to become an actress was so strong that she went to Moscow to enroll in a theater university, having graduated from the eighth grade and without a certificate of secondary education. The lack of a document became a stumbling block for Doronina, who successfully passed the entrance tests to the Moscow Art Theater, but was sent back home to finish her studies at school.
Two years later, she came to the capital again and entered several universities at once, among which she chose the Studio School at the Moscow Art Theater. Tatyana Vasilievna took the course, which in the future gave the most talented artists to the national cinema and theater, including Mikhail Kozakov, Evgeny Evstigneev, Oleg Basilashvili, with whom, by the way, Tatyana Doronina’s personal life was connected for several years.
Together with him, after graduating from university, she went to Stalingrad, where she became an actress in the regional drama theater, but did not serve there for long. Doronina returned to Leningrad and was accepted into Lenkom. Three years later, at the invitation of Tovstonogov, the chief director of the Bolshoi Drama Theater. Gorky, Tatyana Vasilyevna played Nadezhda Monakhova in “Barbarians”, very quickly became the leading actress, and for seven years Tatyana Doronina’s creative biography was associated with this theater, in which the repertoire was built exclusively for her.
In the photo: Doronina on the theater stage
In 1966, the actress moved to Moscow and soon joined the Moscow Art Theater troupe, where she appeared on stage until 1972.
“Leaving the BDT is my mistake. It was impossible to betray the director who built the repertoire for me,” Tatyana Doronina later said.
Then she moved to the Theater. Mayakovsky, but eleven years later she returned to the Moscow Art Theater, and four years later, in 1987, she became its director.
Tatyana Doronina left the leadership of the Moscow Art Theater. Gorky
Tatyana Doronina has devoted the last thirty years to the Gorky Moscow Art Theater; she became the head of the theater and served as artistic director after the division of the Moscow Art Theater into two troupes. From 1987 to December 2021, she directed the theater and took part in performances. But at the end of last year, as a result of certain decisions of the top management, Tatyana Vasilievna was “promoted” and she became the honorary president of the Moscow Art Theater, and the place of artistic director was taken by Eduard Boyakov. According to representatives of the troupe, Tatyana Vasilievna was promised to retain her powers and the opportunity to influence the life of the theater.
In the spring, the theater troupe began to be indignant that Doronina was completely removed from business, leaving the role of a “wedding general” who does not decide anything. Repressions against the actors by the new management brought the troupe to the point where it began to resist, writing letters to the president and the Ministry of Culture. A change in leadership led to new rules that did not suit everyone. Since the beginning of the year, a quarter of the troupe has already been fired due to disagreement with working with a new repertoire and concluding other unprofitable employment contracts. Amid all the scandals, Tatyana Vasilievna simply disappeared, and when the public remembered her, everyone noticed that nothing had been heard about her for several months.
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Together with the theater, Tatyana Vasilyevna had to go through difficult times, but she was always a strong woman and a talented leader, thanks to which the theater was able to maintain its face.
Movies
Despite the fact that there are not many films in Tatyana Doronina’s creative biography, thanks to her talented, deep acting, each of her roles touches the soul and is memorable.
For the first time she appeared on screen in a small role in the film “First Echelon”. The next film with the participation of Tatyana Vasilievna was released only three years later - in the film “Soldiers Were Walking,” she played a girl named Christya.
Doronina acted once every two or three years, and her first roles did not bring real popularity to the actress, and only after the film “Elder Sister” she became truly famous, and according to a survey by the magazine “Soviet Screen” she was recognized as an actress of the year sixty-seven.
The following year, she again had resounding success - Tatyana Doronina, starring in the film “Three Poplars on Plyushchikha,” increased her popularity. Interestingly, when she first read the film script, she didn’t like it and found it too ordinary.
In the photo: Tatyana Doronina in the film “Three Poplars on Plyushchikha”
Only after the screen test did Doronina change her mind about the future film, which was later included in the golden fund of Russian cinema.
Later, Doronina recalled with great warmth the director of the film, Tatyana Lioznova, thanks to whose sensitivity and great sense of truth such a magnificent film was made. Doronina’s photos never left the covers of Soviet Screen, which recognized her as the best actress for two years in a row.
In the photo: the actress in the film “Once More About Love”
In 1968, viewers saw their favorite actress in the film “Once More About Love,” in which she starred in the title role opposite Alexander Lazarev.
The melodrama broke all box office records, and Tatyana Doronina secured her star status.
The actress played the heroines of “The Big Sister” and “Once More About Love” in the theater for the first time, and then repeated them on the screen.
When filming Tatyana Vasilyevna in their films, the directors could not help but provide her with the opportunity to demonstrate her vocal abilities. This was the case in subsequent films - “Wonderful Character” and “On a Clear Fire”.
"Elder sister"
The actress managed to create an unforgettable, deep image in the film “Stepmother,” which is impossible to watch indifferently, and the role of Shura Olevantseva, according to critics, became Doronina’s best film role. The film received recognition not only in the Soviet Union, but also internationally, earning an award at the Tehran Film Festival.
In the photo: Doronina in the film “Stepmother”
The Ministry of Culture returned power in the theater to Tatyana Doronina
The Russian Ministry of Culture has made changes to the charter of the Moscow Art Theater. M. Gorky. From now on, the management of the theater will be jointly carried out by its director Oleg Mikhailov and president Tatyana Doronina.
Before these changes, all power in the Moscow Art Theater was in the hands of the artistic director-director. This position was held by producer Eduard Boyakov. He became artistic director at the end of 2021, at the same time People’s Artist of the USSR Tatyana Doronina, who led the theater - also single-handedly - for more than thirty years, received the post of president of the Moscow Art Theater and was thus sent to honorable retirement. It was assumed that she, along with the new artistic director, would take part in managing the theater and developing an artistic program.
However, in reality it turned out differently - in fact, Tatyana Doronina found herself cut off from the life of the theater.
This became possible also because the powers of the president of the Moscow Art Theater named after. M. Gorky, as usually happens in such cases, were not documented.
Eduard Boyakov and his deputy, writer Zakhar Prilepin, declared their program “patriotic”; the new leader in every possible way emphasized his devotion to state cultural policy and closeness to certain power circles. Many performances of the Doronin period were removed from the repertoire, and part of the troupe, which did not accept the arrival of Mr. Boyakov and his methods of work, repeatedly publicly protested against the new management in 2021. However, these protests had no influence on the course of events. The Moscow Art Theater began producing premieres, the most high-profile of which was “Laurel” based on the novel by Evgeny Vodolazkin and directed by Eduard Boyakov (December 2021).
Artistic Director of the Moscow Art Theater named after. M. Gorky Eduard Boyakov
Photo: Alexander Kazakov, Kommersant
Back in March 2021, Tatyana Doronina complained about the situation to President Vladimir Putin during the award ceremony (Ms. Doronina received the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st degree). After the ceremony, the actress was awarded a personal audience with the head of state. Then, already in December last year, the Ministry of Culture published the results of an audit of the financial and economic activities of the theater, during which serious violations were discovered. The case was transferred to the Prosecutor General's Office. As a result of this - the connection of events was not officially confirmed, but observers had no doubts about this - the executive director of the theater Tatyana Yaroshevskaya, previously invited by Eduard Boyakov, was forced to leave her post.
Now, according to the charter, power in the Gorky Moscow Art Theater will belong to two people - the director and the president of the theater.
Translated into reality, this means that the current artistic director of the theater, Eduard Boyakov, will enter into a contract not directly with the founder of the theater, but only with the director appointed by the Ministry of Culture. Of course, this means his administrative demotion and a certain loss of rights. However, recent history knows cases when people who are not formally leaders own all the power - such as, for example, Vladimir Kekhman at the Mikhailovsky and Novosibirsk Opera Theaters.
Now at the Gorky Moscow Art Theater the duties of director are temporarily performed by the head of the troupe, Oleg Mikhailov. The changes made to the charter mean that he will begin to manage the theater together with Tatyana Doronina. However, it is difficult to expect that the 87-year-old People's Artist of the USSR will be able to fully regain power. Now the key figure in the Gorky Moscow Art Theater will be the director, and the balance of power will finally become clear when the Ministry of Culture places not a temporary, but a permanent performer in this chair.
Esther Steinbock
Personal life
Doronina’s beauty never left men indifferent, and during her student years she had many admirers. Among all her classmates, Tatyana singled out one - the handsome, modest and very intelligent Oleg Basilashvili.
Their romance began in the first year, and in the fourth they got married, having a modest Komsomol wedding without a wedding dress and even without wedding rings.
In the photo: Tatyana Doronina and Oleg Basilashvili
Graduate Doronina had a lot of offers from various capital theaters, but then she put her personal life above her career, so, without hesitation, she went to Stalingrad, where Tatyana Doronina’s husband was assigned.
The actress has bitter memories associated with her first marriage - she had an abortion, and after that Tatyana Doronina had no more children.
“I was afraid to admit to myself how inappropriate this was, there was no need for “now”... When it was all over, the woman surgeon said: “It’s a pity, you had two. Girl and boy." I committed my first terrible sin, which cannot be forgiven,” says Tatyana Vasilyevna.
Together with her husband, she appeared on the same stage, but this did not last long - the performance of the young actress was seen by Georgy Tovstonogov, who came to the city, and invited Tatyana Vasilievna to move to Leningrad and join the troupe of the Bolshoi Drama Theater, which he led.
It took a long time to persuade the actress, and she agreed only after Tovstonogov accepted her condition.
“I’ll move only if you take your husband with me to the theater,” Doronina demanded.
Before joining the BDT, the actress worked for three years at Lenkom.
The move became a new stage not only in Tatyana Doronina’s career, but also in her personal life - she broke up with Basilashvili, and her next man was Anatoly Yufit, who fell in love with the actress at first sight when he saw her on stage.
Oleg Valerianovich later admitted that he was grateful to Tatyana Vasilievna for filing for divorce - living with her became harder for him every year, and this was due to the changed character of the actress, who was turning from a soft, modest girl into a powerful woman.
“When we separated, I suddenly realized that I was freed from this oppression...” said the actress’s first husband.
Tatyana Doronina's second husband was seven years older than her, he taught at the Leningrad Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography, and was a professor and head of the department of history of Russian theater. Theater critic and theater expert Yufit was a cheerful, witty person who was adored by colleagues and students.
They never formalized their relationship with Doronina and lived in a civil marriage for three years, and one of the reasons for the divorce was the difficult character of the actress. Doronina has always had a proud, independent disposition; she is used to being a leader not only at work, but also in personal relationships.
In the photo: Edward Radzinsky
The last straw that overflowed the cup of her patience was that she did not see her husband among those greeting her after the next tour.
After her divorce from Yufit, Tatyana Vasilievna married again - to playwright Edward Radzinsky. She had been infatuated with the young talented screenwriter for a long time, he also showed her signs of attention, therefore, after breaking up with Yufit, Doronina immediately went to Radzinsky.
Family relationships for Tatyana Doronina then turned out to be more important than her career - Radzinsky lived in the capital, the actress left the Bolshoi Drama Theater and moved to Moscow. Before this, Tatyana Vasilievna starred in a film based on his script - “Once More About Love,” which brought Doronin to the pinnacle of success.
For her second husband, the actress became a real muse - in all the plays written by Edward Radzinsk during the years of their marriage and even after the divorce, his wife played the main roles. The marriage with Edward Radzinsky lasted five years, and Tatyana Doronina’s next husband was her colleague and stage partner Boris Khimichev.
In the photo: Boris Khimichev
They first met on the set of the film “Once More About Love,” for which Khimichev also auditioned. By that time, Doronina was already a star and somewhat looked down on the candidate for the main role. Boris reacted very painfully and even refused further tests.
Tatyana Doronina and Boris Khimichev in the play “Long Live the Queen, Vivat!”
In the personal life of Tatyana Doronina, Khimichev reappeared some time later, when the actress left the Moscow Art Theater and moved to the Theater. Mayakovsky, where Boris worked. Together they appeared on stage in the play “Long Live the Queen, Vivat!”, and working together became the beginning of their whirlwind romance, and then Khimichev, who played the actress’s character’s lover in the production, became Tatyana Doronina’s husband.
They lived together for ten years, but this marriage of the actress also broke up.
“She dominated our relationship. It kept me in suspense…” said Tatyana Doronina’s penultimate husband.
However, the actress’s fourth husband remembers her as a wonderful housewife, but Doronin’s wife, according to Boris Khimichev, was very hot-tempered. Not he, but she was the head of the family, since she earned more than him and made important decisions herself.
Boris found out that Tatyana Vasilievna had decided to break up with him in her dressing room after the performance - Doronina said that she was marrying someone else. The actress’s new lover turned out to be Robert Tokhnenko, an employee of the Main Directorate of the Oil Industry, whom she met when she was about to buy a dacha. She had to communicate with the chairman of the horticultural partnership “Akter”, who was Robert Tokhnenko at that time. He idolized his wife and was ready to do anything for her. Robert pleased his wife with surprises and gifts, diligently protected her from possible troubles, but since the theater was higher than Tatyana Doronina’s personal life, this actress’s marriage also fell apart. In vain Tokhnenko hoped that the family would become the meaning of life for the actress - her main goal and love, as before, remained the stage.
Tatyana Vasilievna's health status
Deep experiences also affected the health of the 86-year-old actress. She lost 20 kg and began to be hospitalized more often. During the pandemic, Tatyana Vasilievna strictly followed all recommendations and reduced her social circle to a minimum. Now she talks with friends and family mostly by phone. And he categorically does not allow correspondents into his life.
She was last hospitalized in June this year due to poor health. It is known that Tatyana Vasilievna is sensitive to health and tries to follow all the doctors’ recommendations.
Currently she lives in her apartment in the capital or in her country house.
Tatyana Doronina now
This spring, the media discussed the disappearance of Tatyana Doronina, who had not appeared at her workplace for a long time, and the play “Vassa” with her participation was cancelled. At the very end of last year, Doronina resigned from the post of head of the Moscow Art Theater, giving up her post to Eduard Boyakov, and she herself became the president of the Moscow Art Theater.
According to Tatyana Vasilievna’s personal assistant, she lives in her country house and is not feeling very well. Doronina does not communicate with anyone, but she constantly monitors what is happening in her native theater. It became known that in June Tatyana Vasilievna was deprived of all powers and a new position was created especially for her - President of the Moscow Art Theater.
The main part of the troupe did not support this decision and turned to the Russian president with a request to sort out what was happening in the theater. Later, the new management of the theater cut the salaries of the actors who recorded this appeal, while for everyone else, on the contrary, they raised them.
At the end of August this year, the Moscow Art Theater celebrated its anniversary, but not only many of its actors were not invited to it, but also Tatyana Doronina, who, in fact, created this theater and headed it for three decades.
Why leaving the theater was a great shock for the actress
After the dismissal of the head of the Moscow Art Theater, Doronina was made clear that her opinion was no longer needed. Tatyana Vasilievna took parting with the theater to heart. She worried about the fate of the troupe as about the fate of her own children, and suddenly she found herself unnecessary. The artist did not want to communicate even with relatives. According to her close friend, Doronina told her about the uselessness of her creativity. After all, people no longer watch films with her participation, and her brainchild, the theater, no longer needs her.
We must pay tribute that not all the artists of the Gorky Theater supported Tatyana Vasilievna’s departure. Many of them tried to return the former artistic director to his previous position, which was confirmed by the new artistic director, Eduard Boyarkov. But all attempts by the theater staff to defend Doronina’s rights were in vain.
