Elina Bystritskaya

Elina Avraamovna Bystritskaya (Russian: Элина Авраамовна Быстрицкая; born 4 April 1928 in Kiev, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian actress best known for her role of Axinia in Sergei Gerasimov's epic screening of Mikhail Sholokhov's novel And Quiet Flows the Don (1958).

Jewish by ethnicity and a native of Kiev, Bystritskaya was chosen to play Axinia by Sholokhov himself over several distinguished candidates, notably Nonna Mordyukova. Before that, she co-starred with Sergey Bondarchuk in the Unfinished Story, an archetypal Socialist Realist film. In the 1960s, Bystritskaya turned to theatre work in the Maly Theatre and her appearances on screen grew sporadic. She was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1978.

20 February 2014 Bystritskaya together with a group of other Ukrainians in Russia appealed to the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych to end the Euromaidan and arrest its participants whom they accused of being anti-Russian and followers of Stepan Bandera.

On 11 March 2014, in a similar appeal, she expressed support for the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.

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