Tabakov was born in Saratov into a family of doctors.[2] His paternal great-grandfather, Ivan Ivanovich Utin, came from serfs and was raised in a wealthy peasant family under the Tabakov surname. His grandfather, Kondratiy Tabakov, worked as a locksmith in Saratov where he built himself a house and married a local commoner Anna Konstantinovna Matveeva. Oleg's father, Pavel Kondratievich Tabakov, worked at the State Regional Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology "Microbe" in Saratov.[3]
His maternal grandfather, Andrei Frantzevich Piontkovsky, was a Polish nobleman who owned lands in the Podolia Governorate and married a local villager, Olga Terentievna (surname unknown) of Ukrainian origin.[4] Oleg's mother, Maria Andreevna Berezovskaya (née Piontkovskaya), was a radiologist. She had a daughter Mirra from the previous marriage to Gugo Goldstern, a high-ranking Soviet functionary and intelligence officer killed in the line of duty.[3][5]
During the Great Patriotic War, Oleg's father volunteered for the frontline and served aboard a hospital train while his mother was evacuated to Ural along with children where she also worked in a military hospital. After the war, the parents separated.[3][6]
Tabakov has lent his distinctive, purr-like voice to a number of animated characters, including the talking cat Matroskin in Three from Prostokvashino and its sequels. After the Matroskin role, he dubbed the character of Garfield into Russian in the feature film Garfield and its sequel.
During the 2012 Russian presidential election, Tabakov was registered as a "Trusted Representative" (Доверенное Лицо) of Vladimir Putin.[10][11] In July 2012, by Putin’s Decree, Tabakov was included in the Council for Public Television.[12]
In March 2014, Tabakov signed a letter to President Putin in support of the annexation of Crimea.[13][14][15] In September 2014, Tabakov claimed that Crimea has no relation to Ukraine and upbraided Ukrainians for discussing it: "But all happened fairly. If our Ukrainian brothers were smarter, they would not discuss that topic. They had to say: "Forgive us for God's sake! We had encroached the gravy train." Because Crimea has no relation to dependent, nor independent Ukraine."[16] In December 2015, Tabakov was banned from entering Ukraine.[14]
In July 2015, Tabakov made comments to the Ren-TV channel regarding the list of 117 Russian artists who may pose a threat to the national security of Ukraine,[17] prepared by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. He made a number of statements about Ukrainians advocating for a blacklist,[18] saying that they
are not very enlightened. It's like my grandmother sometimes said: "Don't bother with them, these are dark and illiterate people." The trouble is that normal people will suffer from the fact that normal information does not reach them... I feel sorry for them. They are in some sense wretched.[18]
In the same comments, Tabakov stated that "at all times, their best times, their brightest representatives of the intelligentsia were somewhere in second and third positions after the Russians."[14][18] He was accused of xenophobia and chauvinism.[18][19]
Honours and awards
A 2019 stamp of Russia featuring Tabakov and his Order of Merit for the FatherlandTheater of Oleg Tabakov in Malaya Sukharevskaya Square in Moscow.
1st class (17 August 2010) – for outstanding contributions to the development of domestic theatrical art and many years of creative activity
2nd class (17 August 2005) – for outstanding contribution to the development of theatrical art, and many years of creative activity
3rd class (23 October 1998) – for many years of fruitful work in the field of theatrical art, and in connection with the 100th anniversary of the Moscow Art Theatre
4th class (29 June 2015)
Order of Friendship of Peoples (10 November 1993) – for his great personal contribution to the development of theatrical art, and training qualified personnel for theatre and film
^"Утверждён состав Совета по общественному телевидению" [The composition of the Public Television Council has been approved] (in Russian). Official website of the President of Russia. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
^ abcVeselova, Viktoria (13 March 2018). "Кот Матроскин из базы «Миротворца»" [Cat Matroskin from the Peacemaker base]. krymr (in Russian). Retrieved 11 August 2023.
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