Yakov Protazanov
| Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
January 23, 1881 Moscow, Russian Empire (present-day Russia) |
| Died | August 8, 1945 (aged 64) Moscow, USSR (present-day Russia) |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1909–1943 |
Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (Russian: Я́ков Алекса́ндрович Протаза́нов; January 23 (O.S. February 4), 1881 – August 8, 1945) was a Russian and Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of cinema of Russia. He was an Honored Artist of the Russian SFSR (1935) and Uzbek SSR (1944).
Born in the Vinokurov family estate to educated Russian parents, both of whom belonged to the merchantry social class. His father Alexandr Savvich Protazanov came from a long generation of merchants and was a hereditary distinguished citizen of Kiev (an inherited privilege first granted to Yakov's great-grandfather, a merchant also named Yakov Protazanov). Alexandr worked with the Shibaev brothers of the family of Old Believers whose father Sidor Shibaev was among the pioneers of the oil industry. Yakov's mother Elizaveta Mikhailovna Protazanova (nee Vinokurova) was a native . She finished the Elizabeth Institute for Noble Maidens. Her brother Mikhail Vinokurov was close friends with the Sadovsky theatrical family and made a great impact on Protazanov.
In 1900 Yakov graduated from the Moscow Commercial College and started working as a merchant, although he wasn't happy about his choice of profession. In 1904 he left Russia and spent several years in France and Italy, self-educating. After his return in 1906 Protazanov joined the Gloria film company in Moscow as a director's assistant. He also met his future wife there — Frida Vasilievna Kennike, who happened to be a sister of one of the Gloria's co-founders.
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