Gennady Khazanov

Gennady Khazanov
Геннадий Хазанов
Born
Gennady Viktorovich Khazanov

(1945-12-01) 1 December 1945 (age 78)
Occupation(s)Actor, humorist, parodist
Years active1967–present
TitlePeople’s Artist of the RSFSR (1991)
Awards

Gennady Viktorovich Khazanov (Russian: Геннадий Викторович Хазанов; born 1 December 1945) is a Russian Jewish stand-up comedian, actor and theatre manager. His work includes parodies of Russian and Soviet politicians, and mockery of various sub-cultural groups in modern Russia.[1] After graduating from the Moscow Circus School in 1969, Khazanov worked as a master of ceremonies in Leonid Utyosov Orchestra. He began his solo career in 1973 at Moscontsert, a Moscow state concert organization. He gained early success with monologues of a culinary school student written by Lion Izmailov and Iurii Volovich, and of a brave parrot who cannot stop telling the truth written by Arkady Khait. In 1997, he became artistic director of the Moscow Variety Theatre.[2] In 1999, he was president of the Security Foundation of the Russian Jewish Community, which was set up to coordinate action against antisemitism in Moscow.[3]

He is an acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin.[4] In March 2014, he signed a letter in support of Putin's position on Russia's military intervention in Ukraine.[5]

  1. ^ "Variety Thertre". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  2. ^ Tatiana Smorodinskaya (2013). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Russian Culture. Routledge. p. 295. ISBN 978-1-136-78785-0.
  3. ^ Laurence Senelick (2015). Historical Dictionary of Russian Theatre. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-442-24927-1.
  4. ^ "Gennady Khazanov Talks Too Much with Old Acquaintance". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  5. ^ "Деятели культуры России — в поддержку позиции Президента по Украине и Крыму". Ministry for Culture of Russian Federation. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014.