Sergey Nikonenko

Sergei Nikonenko is a Russian actor and director who became known for playing historical Russian figures on stage and screen, among them the poet Sergei Esenin and the commander Chapaev. Born in Moscow in 1941, he began attending drama classes at Moscow's Palace of Pioneers at twelve and later trained as an actor at the Soviet State Institute of Cinema, graduating in 1964. He went on to study film directing under Sergey Gerasimov, completing that course in 1972. His leading role as Esenin in Sing Your Song, Poet (1973) brought him fame in Russia, and he played more than two hundred parts over his career. On stage he took the role of Chapaev in Chapaev i pustota and appeared in the acclaimed Vse prohodit. His honors include the State Order of Honor, the Medal of Aleksandr Dovzhenko, the State Komsomol Prize and the title Honorable Actor of Russia.