Arkady Raikin
Arkady Isaakovich Raikin (24 October 1911 – 17 December 1987) was a Soviet stand-up comedian, stage and film actor, theater director, screenwriter and satirist. He led the school of Soviet and Russian humorists for about half a century. He is the father of Konstantin Raikin.
Also recorded as Arkady Isaakovich Raikin · Arkadii Isaakovich Raikin
Arkady Raikin

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- Name
- Arkady Raikin
- Birth Name
- Arkady Isaakovich Raikin
- Born
- 24 October 1911
- Birthplace
- Riga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (now Latvia)
- Died
- 17 December 1987
- Place of death
- Moscow, Soviet Union
- Spouse
- Ruth Ioffe
- Nationality
- Russian Empire · Soviet Union
- Occupation
- film director · actor · conferencier · theatre director · comedian · humorist · reprise · theatre manager
- Fields
- reprise
- Education
- Russian State Institute of Performing Arts
- Honours
- Medal For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945 · Order of Lenin · Hero of Socialist Labour · People's Artist of the USSR · Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class · Order of the Patriotic War and 2nd class
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Arkady Isaakovich Raikin (24 October 1911 – 17 December 1987) was a Soviet stand-up comedian, stage and film actor, theater director, screenwriter and satirist. He led the school of Soviet and Russian humorists for about half a century. He is the father of Konstantin Raikin.
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wikidata · Q672099 · wikipedia · Arkady Raikin
In this article
Biography
Biography
Arkady Raikin studied at Russian State Institute of Performing Arts. The recorded working language is Russian. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are reprise. Distinctions recorded are Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945", Order of Lenin, Hero of Socialist Labour and People's Artist of the USSR.

Мемориальная доска с бронзовым барельефом Аркадия Райкина по адресу Каменноостровский 17 в Петроградском районе Санкт-Петербурга
Александр Евгеньевич Кудрин
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Arkady Raikin • Birth Name — Arkady Isaakovich Raikin • Born — 24 October 1911 • Birthplace — Riga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (now Latvia) • Died — 17 December 1987 • Place of death — Moscow, Soviet Union • Resting Place — Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow • Medium — Stand-up, theater, radio, television, film • Active — 1935–1987 • Genre — Observational comedy, improvisational comedy, satire, musical comedy • Spouse — Ruth Ioffe • Children — 2, including Konstantin Raikin • Native Name — Аркадий Райкин
Biography
Biography
Raikin was born into a Jewish family in Riga, in the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire (present-day Latvia). He graduated from the Leningrad Theatrical Technicum in 1935 and worked in both state theatres and variety shows. In 1939, he founded his own theatre in Leningrad, where he used sketches and impersonations to ridicule the inefficiency of communist bureaucracy and the Soviet way of life. After graduating in 1935, he joined the troupe of the Workers' Youth Theatre. He made his debut in cinema and won the 1st contest of entertainers in the whole Soviet Union. He also appeared in several comedies during and after the Great Patriotic War. Raikin created an array of popular satirical characters, some of which were featured in the TV serial People and Mannequins. He launched careers of several other prominent stand-up comedians, such as Mikhail Zhvanetsky and Roman Kartsev. Raikin is often compared with Charlie Chaplin. His fame in the Soviet Union, and throughout Central and Eastern Europe, was such that he was invited to participate in the opening night of BBC Two television in 1964, although the broadcast had to be postponed for one day due to a power failure. His trip to London for the BBC broadcast—during which he was reunited with his British cousin, distinguished pianist Bruno Raikin—marked the first of only two times when the Soviet government permitted him to perform in the West. Arkady Raikin also maintained good working relationships with Marcel Marceau and some other foreign actors. Three years before his death, Raikin finally moved to Moscow, where he opened the Satyricon Theatre, now run by his son Konstantin Raikin, also an acclaimed actor. His wife, Roma, played a major role in guiding his career, and his daughter, Ekaterina, also had a successful career as a Moscow actress. For a month during the summer of 1987, Raikin hosted his American cousin, Washington D.C. attorney Steven Raikin, as a guest in his Moscow flat. In September 1987 the Soviet Ministry of Culture finally permitted Raikin to visit the United States, where, with his son and daughter, he gave emotional farewell performances in several cities to adoring audiences of Russian émigrés.
Filmography
Filmography
• Illustration — Raikin in the movie Concert for the Front, 1942 • Actor • Tractor Drivers (1939) – dancing tractor driver • Doctor Kalyuzhnyy (1939) – Emmanuil 'Monya' Shapiro • Valery Chkalov (1941) – American journalist • Did We Meet Somewhere Before (1954) – Gennady Vladimirovich Maksimov • Director and screenplay • People and Mannequins (1974) • Peace to Your Home (1987)
Identity
Identity
Arkady Raikin is recorded as having received Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945", Order of Lenin and Hero of Socialist Labour.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1911–1987
The full dated record · 4 entries
1911
Arkady Raikin born at Riga.
Undated
Arkady Raikin is recorded as having received Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945", Order of Lenin and Hero of Socialist Labour.
1970
Arkady Raikin — From 2 to 50 (1970) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1987
Arkady Raikin died at Moscow.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Riga.
Birth place
Moscow.
Death place
Where the work is held
Recognition and collections
Arkady Raikin received Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945", Order of Lenin, Hero of Socialist Labour, People's Artist of the USSR, Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class and Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class.
Awards
• Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1947) • People's Artist of the RSFSR (1957) • Two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour (1967, 1971) • People's Artist of the USSR (1968) • Lenin Prize (1980) • Order of Lenin (1981) • Hero of Socialist Labour (1981) • Order of Friendship of Peoples A minor planet 4518 Raikin discovered on 1 April 1976, is named after him.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q672099: Arkady RaikinWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the headings Arkady Isaakovich Raikin and Arkadii Isaakovich Raikin. His recorded language was Russian. He married Ruth Raykina-Ioffe. 2 children are recorded: Konstantin Raikin and Catherine Raikina.
Identity and origins
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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