Petr Shelokhonov

Petr (Peter) Shelokhonov was born in 1929, in Belarus, then part of the USSR. His ancestors came from Lithuania, from Ukraine and from Poland. Petr was destined to practice medicine, like his father, but his fate was changed by war. He survived the Nazi occupation during WWII. Then he joined the partisans resistance in the woods. There Petr Shelokhonov had his first acting experience. He was performing parodies of Hitler and the Nazis to his fellow partisans. His performances helped lift their spirits in a time when they were struggling to survive. This experience accentuated his humble, modest character. The scar on his forehead, the mark of war, made his acting career seem like an impossible dream; but Petr was determined. He made puppets and a screen, and worked in his own puppet theater from 1943 - 1945. In his show titled "Peter and the Wolf" he managed to lead four puppets with four voices, and also played the accordion.