Stanislav Rostotsky

Stanislav Iosifovich Rostotsky (; 21 April 1922, in Rybinsk – 10 August 2001, in Vyborg) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter, the recipient of the two USSR State Prizes and a Lenin Prize. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1974. Early years Stanislav Rostotsky was born in Rybinsk on 21 April 1922 into a Russian-Polish family. His grandfather Boleslaw Rostotsky served as a General in the Imperial Russian Army and a prosecutor on Emperor's personal order. His father Iosif Boleslawovich Rostotsky (1890—1965) was an acclaimed doctor, docent, author of 200 monographs, as well as a secretary of the Scientific Medical Council at the People's Commissariat for Health. His mother Lidia Karlovna Rostotskaya (1882—1964) was a milliner turned a housewife; she was half-French.<ref>Irina Zaichik. Interview with Marianna Rostotskaya at Story Caravan, November 2011 (in Russian)</ref> His brother Boleslaw Norbert Iosifovich Rostotsky (1912—1981) was a famous theater historian.Rostotsky Boleslaw Norbert Iosifovich article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969—1978 (in Russian) At the age of five, Stanilsav watched Battleship Potemkin and became obsessed with cinema. In 1936 he met Sergei Eisenstein and took part in his unfinished Bezhin Meadow movie as an actor. Eisenstein became his teacher and good friend later on. He convinced Stanislav that only a well-read and educated person may become a film director. This influenced his decision to enter the Institute of Philosophy and Literature in 1940, with an intention to enter VGIK.Islands. Stanislav Rostosky documentary by Russia-K, 2007 (in Russian) In 1942 he was enrolled in the Red Army. He left for the front line in a year. He served as a photojournalist in the 6th cavalry corps and traveled from Vyazma through Smolensk to Rivne. In 1944 Rostotsky was seriously injured during the fight near Dubno when he was driven over by a Nazi tank. He survived only due to a trench where his body was partly buried. According to Rostotsky, one of his legs was ruined, as well as his rib cage and his hand. "In addition, a shell fragment hurt me in the head... Good thing the mates took my gun away — otherwise I would've probably shot myself. Because I spent 22 hours lying in that swamp, losing my consciousness, so I had time to think".