Russian Personalities

People well-known in art, sport, film, fashion

Category Archive: Russian roots

Zinovy Peshkov – French general from Russia

Zinovy Peshkov - French general from Russia

Zinovy Peshkov – French general from Russia


Zinovy Peshkov was a General of the French Army. By the way, he received 50 government awards. He was an elder brother of Ya. M. Sverdlov and godson of Maxim Gorky. You know, Zinovy spoke seven foreign languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Japanese.
Zinovy Alekseevich Peshkov was born on October 16, 1884 in Nizhny Novgorod.
Maxim Gorky (Alexei Peshkov), who lived in those years in Nizhny Novgorod, often came to the Sverdlovs. In 1901, Zinovy along with Maxim Gorky was arrested on charges of using a mimeograph for the purposes of revolutionary propaganda. In 1902, Zinovy left for Arzamas, where Maxim Gorky lived in exile at that time, and took part in the reading of his new play At the Bottom. Besides, Zinovy tried to enter the Imperial Philharmonic School in Moscow, but he was not enlisted as a Jew.
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Vladimir Zworykin – inventor of modern television

Vladimir Zworykin - inventor of modern television

Vladimir Zworykin – inventor of modern television


Vladimir Zworykin invented the “miracle of the twentieth century” – electronic television. His innovative ideas were also used to create electron microscopes and electron-optical converters, a variety of devices for medical electronics – from miniature “radio pills” to television device for the blind.
Vladimir Kozmich was born on July 30, 1889 in Murom. The three-story stone house, in which he spent his childhood and youth, has survived to our time and now it is the Murom Historical and Art Museum. Father Kozma Alekseevich was a merchant of the first guild, headed the Murom Public Bank. Vladimir was the youngest of seven children. You know, two brothers of Kozma Alekseevich became scientists. Nikolai Alekseevich Zvorykin (1854 – 1884), a student of A. Stoletov, was a master of mathematics and physics. Konstantin Alekseevich Zvorykin (1861-1928) was a professor at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, the author of fundamental works on the theory of metal cutting and engineering technology.
Childhood, spent in Murom, remained in the memory of Vladimir Kozmich as a picture of a serene patriarchal way of life, full of joys.
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Kira Kazantsev – Miss America of Russian origin

Kira was crowned by Miss America 2014, Nina Davuluri. AP Photo/Mel Evans

Kira Kazantsev was crowned by Miss America 2014, Nina Davuluri. AP Photo/Mel Evans


Miss America 2015: beauty queen is the daughter of immigrants from Russia!
23-year-old Kira Kazantsev, the daughter of immigrants from Russia, won the title of Miss America 2015 beauty pageant, which was held on September 14th in Atlantic City (New Jersey). The beautiful girl represented the State of New York. To tell the truth, representatives from New York won the title of Miss America for third year in a row.
You know, Kira is a singer and at the contest she performed hit Happy by Pharrell Williams.
53 girls took part in the contest, but the girl of Russian origin was chosen as the most beautiful one.
The winner was crowned by Miss America 2014, Nina Davuluri. The beautiful girl received not only the title and crown but also 50 thousand dollars to continue her education. Kira studied at the Hofstra University and dreams of becoming a lawyer and has already been accepted to the Fordham University’s Law School.
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Natalia Guslistaya – Natalie Burn

Natalia Guslistaya

Natalia Guslistaya – beautiful actress and dancer


Natalia Guslistaya or Natalie Burn is an actress, choreographer, modern ballet dancer, stuntwoman and an extremely beautiful girl. You know, Natalia entered the Actors Studio, becoming a student of Al Pacino, Martin Landau and Sally Kirkland.
Her dance impressed director of London’s Royal Academy Maurice Bejart.
The beautiful and talented girl was born in the USSR into the family of a ballerina and a representative of scientific dynasty. She began dancing in Kiev. Then the family moved to Moscow, and Natalia continued her studies at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography at the Bolshoi Theater.
Also she studied at the Royal Ballet School in London, where she was invited by the director Gailene Stock, and at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London. By the way, the girl practiced with famous choreographers in 3 studios Pineapple Studio (London), Millennium Studios (Los Angeles), and The Edge Studios (Los Angeles).
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Isaac Asimov – science fiction writer

isaac asimov

Isaac Asimov. Illustration by Rowena Morrill. 2005


Isaac Asimov is an American science fiction writer of Russian origin. He wrote over 500 books. Terminology used in his books rooted in the English language.
You know, he was the winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards (awarded annually to works of science fiction literature).
Asimov, Arthur Clarke and Robert Heinlein are The Big Three of Science Fiction writers.

Asimov’s predictions, made more than 50 years ago
50 years ago renowned science-fiction writer published a story in The New York Times. In the story there were predictions for how the world would look like in 2014. To tell the truth, many of his predictions are correct.
Here are some of them:
1. “Humanity will seriously suffer from boredom. It will have serious mental, emotional and sociological implications. Psychiatry will be undoubtedly the most important medical specialty in 2014”.
2. “People will continue to be separated from nature to create an environment that is more suited to them”.
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Foreign billionaires born in the USSR

Global Russians

Foreign billionaires born in the USSR

Global Russians, who were born in the USSR and became billionaires abroad.
111 Russians, 9 Ukrainians, several representatives of Kazakhstan and other former Soviet countries, including the first-ever holder of $ 1 billion from Lithuania were included in Forbes 2014 Billionaires List.
In the list you can find a lot of names of businessmen who were born in the Soviet Union or in the families of Russian immigrants, but built or inherited large business already abroad.
Here are nine bright Global Russians.
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Tatyana McFadden – Paralympics Champion

Tatyana McFadden

Tatyana McFadden – Paralympics Champion

Tatyana McFadden is an American athlete of Russian origin, multiple Paralympic Games winner.
Tatyana is a very strong woman. Her teammate sprinter David Prince named her “the beast” for the physical and intellectual strength. And it isn’t an overstatement.
At the 2012 Paralympic Games in London she won three gold medals and a bronze medal. Tatyana won silver at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing and bronze at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens.
Outstanding girl was born in 1989 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia.
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