“Her time was mercilessly leaving”: how Irina Miroshnichenko lived in recent years

The star of the Soviet theater and cinema never complained, although she was lonely

On August 3, at the age of 82, actress Irina Miroshnichenko died. For almost forty years she worked at the Moscow Art Theater, and remained the star of his Efremov era. They were connected with Oleg Efremov by understanding and many years of joint work. On July 24 – on her birthday – Irina Petrovna felt unwell, but they decided not to resort to the help of doctors. However, after a few days, the temperature rose, and an ambulance had to be called.

Two years ago, Irina Petrovna managed to defeat severe pneumonia. Then the forecasts of doctors did not inspire hope, but she managed to return to an active life. Irina Miroshnichenko always looked like a star, did not allow herself to be everyday. She was always smart, very bright, with flowing white hair, which is why the sad reports about her state of health seemed so unexpected. But Miroshnichenko experienced a lot: ups and downs, the death of three wonderful husbands – playwright Mikhail Shatrov, Lithuanian director Vytautas Zhalakyavichus (their marriage was short, six months), actor Igor Vasiliev.

In recent years, Irina Miroshnichenko did not act in films, sometimes she performed in concerts, occasionally appeared at film festivals, but she was present at all significant events in her theater – at the gathering of the troupe, premieres.

Did you feel like a stranger? Probably yes. I always tried to be close to the older generation. The young have a separate life, to which she no longer had anything to do.

Irina Petrovna invariably stepped onto the star track of the Moscow International Film Festival. Nikita Mikhalkov, with whom they made their debut together in the film “I Walk Through Moscow” by Georgy Danelia, constantly involved her in various events where it was better for her not to represent. At any film congress, a woman and an actress should have had their say. Here Miroshnichenko was destined for this role.

She had to participate in debates, where her opponents were Alexei German Sr. and Alexander Sokurov, who were determined to fight problems in the cinema. And she was like a fabulous Snow White on such stadiums, she was substituted, she wasted her reputation, but who cared. She often saved the most hopeless events – she went out and sang, she just said something heartily, invariably gentle and benevolent, as if out of touch with life. Her time was running out mercilessly.

Irina Petrovna spent the last days of her life in intensive care. She was put into a medically induced coma, at some point they wanted to transfer her to a ward, but suddenly her heart stopped. The doctors managed to cope with this and bring it back to life, but death took its toll.

Irina Miroshnichenko was born in Altai in 1942, but was still a Muscovite. Her father, a junior political instructor, was sent to Barnaul at the very beginning of the war as part of a reserve rifle regiment.

In 1944, she and her mother returned to Moscow, while her father continued to serve until August 1945. Irina was a musical child, she studied at the Gnesinka school on the violin. She became interested in the theater from an early age, went to the studio at the Theater. Lenin Komsomol, showed promise and was unusually good. Her marvelous and tender beauty was forever recorded on film.

Thanks to Lenkom, Irina Petrovna met Mikhail Shatrov, who would eventually become the country’s leading theatrical playwright. She played in his play “Gleb Kosmochev takes the fight”, and soon they got married. And a year later, in 1961, Irina entered the Moscow Art Theater School. Everything happened early for her. As a third-year student, she starred with Georgy Danelia in the film “I’m walking around Moscow”, and they started talking about her.

Everything worked out perfectly. Immediately after graduation, she joined the troupe of the Moscow Art Theater, where she played the best roles of the world repertoire: Masha in Chekhov’s “The Seagull” and “Three Sisters”, Arkadina in “The Cherry Orchard”, Dasha in the legendary “Solo for a clock with a fight” by Anatoly Vasiliev, leaving on stage with the great generation of the Moscow Art Theater “old men” – Yanshin, Gribov, Prudkin, Androvsky. With those who became icons of the Soviet theater, she worked, played in their performances, decorating with beauty and talent. She has worked with great and even great film directors. She played Maria Magdalina in Andrei Rublev by Tarkovsky, Elena Andreevna in Konchalovsky’s Uncle Vanya, she was remembered for the paintings “You never dreamed of …” by Ilya Frez, “Winter Cherry” – 2-3 by Igor Maslennikov, “This is a sweet word – Liberty!” Vytautas Žalakyavičius… A life in which there were more than 60 film roles, dozens of beautiful images on one of the main stages of the world, ended in loneliness and a serious illness.

Irina Miroshnichenko will be buried at Troyekurovsky. Farewell to the actress will be held on Monday at the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov.