Oleg Borisov was born Albert Ivanovich Borisov on November 8, 1929, in Privolzhsk, Ivanovo region, Russia, Soviet Union. His given name was Albert, which was chosen by his mother in honor of the Belgian prince Albert, who visited Moscow in 1929. His parents were agricultural professionals. His mother, Nadezhda Andreevna, was an agricultural engineer, and also an amateur actress at a local drama. His father, Ivan Borisov, was a wounded WWII veteran, who worked as director of Privolzhsk Agricultural Technical School. During the World War II young Oleg Borisov was a tractor driver at a collective farm near Moscow. After WWII Borisov graduated from a secondary school and was admitted to the Moscow Art Theatre School of Acting in 1947. While a student Borisov was regarded for his talent as a comedian. He graduated from the MKhAT School of Acting in 1951, and worked with the troupe of the Kiev Russian Drama Theatre named after Lesia Ukrainka. In 1954 he married Alla Romanovna (nee Latynskaya), the daughter of director of the Kiev Russian Drama Theatre. Their son, Yuriy Borisov, was born in 1956.

In 1964, director Georgi Tovstonogov invited Oleg Borisov to join the troupe of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT). From 1964 - 1983 Borisov was a permanent member of the troupe at BDT in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). There his stage partners were Tatyana Doronina, Lyudmila Makarova, Kirill Lavrov, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Yefim Kopelyan, Oleg Basilashvili, Pavel Luspekayev, Sergey Yurskiy, Evgeniy Lebedev, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Nikolay Trofimov, Georgiy Shtil, and other notable Russian actors. Borisov played memorable roles in several productions, such as, Grigori Melekhov in 'Tikhiy Don' (And Qiet Flows the Don) by Mikhail Sholokhov, Prince Harry in 'King Henry IV' (1969 adaptation) by Shakespeare, and Siply in 'Optimisticheskaya Tragedia' (The Optimistic Tragedy) by Vsevolod Vishnevskiy. At that time he was also invited by director Lev Dodin for the leading role in 'Krotkaya' (The Shy One) an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

In 1955, Borisov made his film debut at the Dovzhenko Film Studio in Kiev, Ukraine; he played a cameo role in 'Mat' (Mother 1955) by director Mark Donskoy. He continued his film career in collaboration with such directors as Eldar Ryazanov, Andrei Tarkovsky, Aleksandr Muratov, Aleksei German, Viktor Tregubovich, Vladimir Bortko, Aleksandr Gordon,Vladimir Vengerov, and Vadim Abdrashitov, among others. For several years Borisov was suffering from restrictions in the Soviet film industry, because he did not comply with the ridiculous rules of political obedience. The main reason was that Borisov never wanted to be a member of the Soviet Communist party. His personal revolt against the system resulted in several years of his underemployment: the system allowed him to play only little roles, making him almost invisible for a few years, a humiliation which he endured with dignity. Only director Vadim Abdrashitov was brave enough to brake the Soviet censorship rules. He cast Borisov for the leading roles in his films The Train Has Stopped (1982) and Parade of the Planets (1984).

Oleg Borisov was a stellar example of a rare, beautiful, and disobedient talent. He had to be untamed and free of any control in order to play his best roles. Borisov was at the peak of his stage and film career by the end of the 1970's, when suddenly he was dismissed by a film director for his disagreement about the movements of his character. In the Soviet reality that caused an impact on his work in film and on stage. He had no support from Communist Party, because he never wanted to be a member. Borisov chose his individual freedom at a high cost. He never was a slave of the Soviet system, and the system never let him have his freedom.

Borisov suffered from professional restrictions, that were imposed on him, which caused him a serious stress with medical complications. Only a few of his colleagues were capable to understand his case. At that critical time Oleg Efremov called Borisov in 1982, and invited him to work with the Moscow Art Theatre. From 1983-1990 Borisov worked with the Moscow Art Theatre. There his stage partners were Anastasiya Vertinskaya, Evgeniy Evstigneev, Andrey Myagkov, and other notable Russian actors. At the same time Borisov made stage works at the Moscow Central Theatre of the Soviet Army, such as, his acclaimed portrayal of the Emperor Pavel I in the eponymous play by Dmitri Merezhkovsky. During the course of his acting career Borisov shared the views of Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, who believed that stage acting is a superior form of art. Borisov confessed that he had greater satisfaction from his stage works, than from any film.

During many years Oleg Borisov suffered from a severe stress caused by political pressures on his acting career. He opposed the official system and contracted a stress-related blood disorder, a rare form of leukemia, which was misdiagnosed by the Soviet medical system. Borisov knew that his disease was incurable. However, his private conversations with actors-friends were sparkled with his wit and wisdom, and someone told him to write a book, which he did. He was writing notes for almost 20 years, which were published posthumously by his son, director Yuriy Borisov. Oleg Borisov was designated People's Artist of the USSR (1978) and received a State Prize of the USSR (1978) for his stage works. In 1990 Borisov won Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival. He played over 70 roles in film and television. He also directed stage productions and led several popular radio shows. In 1992 Oleg Borisov made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem together with his wife. He died of complications from a blood disorder on April 28, 1994, in Moscow, Russia.

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Oleg Borisov

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