Born on March 28, 1925, in a village in the Tomsk region of Western Siberia (RSFSR-USSR). Died on August 3, 1994, in Moscow (Russian Federation).
His peasant family refused to join the kolkhoz during the collectivization of 1928 and took refuge in Tomsk and then Krasnoyarsk, where his father worked as a dockworker at the river port on the Yenisei. During the famine of 1932, Innokenti and one of his brothers were taken in by a paternal aunt. At the age of 14, he saw his first theater performance, which left a lasting impression on him. In June 1941, war broke out, and his father went to the front (missing in August 1942). He had to work to support his family. In January 1943 (he was not quite 18), he himself was drafted. After accelerated infantry training, he was thrown into the heat of battle in August 1943 (Battle of Kursk). He then participated in the crossing of the Dnieper and the liberation of kyiv. It was in this area that in December 1943 he was taken prisoner and interned in several camps in Zhitomir and Berdichev. On January 7, 1944, he escaped, hid with a Ukrainian family and then joined a Partisan detachment in February which was incorporated in March 1944 into a regiment of the Red Army. Now a sergeant, he took part in the liberation of Warsaw (January 1945) and the advance of the Soviet troops. In October 1945, he was demobilized in Germany (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania region).
Despite his exemplary conduct, his medals, and his commendations, he fell victim to Order No. 270 of August 16, 1941, which punished all prisoners of war as potential traitors: he was banned from the 39 largest cities of the USSR, including, of course, Moscow and Leningrad. He returned to Krasnoyarsk and studied at the Studio at the city's Pushkin Drama Theater (1945-1946). He had little choice in his engagements. From 1946 to 1951, he performed in the troupe of the Zapoliarny Theater in Norilsk (1), composed mainly of prisoners from the nearby Norillag camp (Gulag). Among them was Georgy Zhenov, a future star of Soviet theater and cinema. (2)
Then, in 1952, he made a brief appearance at the Makhachkala Theater (Russian Dagestan). From 1953 to 1954, he lived and worked in Stalingrad at the Gorky Theater.
Times had changed, and in early 1955, he ventured to Moscow and tried his luck in almost every theater in the capital. It was a failure. He was finally accepted as a spare actor at the Lenkom Theater. Underemployed and therefore almost unpaid, he fell back on the Theater of the Film Actor. In 1956, he had made his debut at Mosfilm. First as an extra, then in the role of Lieutenant Farber in Alexander Ivanov's film "Soldiers," an adaptation of Victor Nekrasov's novel "In the Trenches of Stalingrad" (1946).
Meanwhile, Georgy Tovstonogov, director of the prestigious Leningrad State Drama Theater, invited him to play Prince Myshkin in the adaptation of Dostoevsky's "The Idiot." He completely renewed his approach to the character. The premiere took place on December 31, 1957. The press was unanimous, and the audience flocked to see it. It was a phenomenal success, a milestone in the history of Russian and Soviet theater. He left this troupe in 1960. But this experience would later allow him to portray "Hamlet" with the same thrilling vibrancy. (3)
Smoktunovsky's career oscillated between stage and screen. In the 1960s, he focused on film; in the 1970s, it was the theatre. Another memorable role was that of the Tsar in "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovitch," a play by Alexei Tolstoy (1868), at the Maly Theatre in Moscow in 1973. In 1976, he joined the Moscow Art Theatre (MHAT), directed by Oleg Efremov. He remained there until 1992 and performed 12 plays, including all of Chekhov's classics, "Gentlemen Golovlev" based on the novel by M. Saltykov-Shchedrin (1880), "The Cabal of the Devout" by M. Bulgakov, and more.
Between 1956 and 1995, he appeared in 117 films, in various capacities.
Notable films: "The Unfinished Letter" (1959) by M. Kalatozov, "Nine Days in a Year" (1961) by M. Romme, "Hamlet" (1964) by G. Kozintsev, "Careful, Automobile" (1966) by E. Riazanov (4), "Crime and Punishment" (1969) by A. Kulidjanov, "Tchaikovsky" (1969) by I. Talankin, "Uncle Vanya" (1970) by A. Konchalovsky, "The Romance of Lovers" (1974) by Konchalovsky, "Mothers and Daughters" (1974) by S. Gerasimov, "In the Mountains Is My Heart" (1976) by R. Khamdanov, "The Steppe" (1977) by S. Bondarchuk, "Dark Eyes" (1987) by N. Mikhalkov, "Ladies' Tailor" (1990) by L. Gorovets, "The White Feast" (1994) by V.
