Nina Sazonova

Nina Afanasievna Sazonova (Russian: Ни́на Афана́сьевна Сазо́нова; 1917 — 2004) was a leading actress of the Soviet Army Theatre in Moscow.

The daughter of a peasant, she joined Aleksey Popov's theatre school at the age of 17. Popov went on to direct her in a number of productions at the Soviet Army Theatre. In the 1960s, she appeared in supporting roles in a slew of Soviet films and gained wider renown for her portrayal of a World War II survivor in the 1965 melodrama Womenfolk. Sazonova was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1977 and was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1987.

Her later years were plagued by a series of horrible incidents, such as being severely beaten by her drunken son who proceeded to jump 11 stories out of an apartment window to his death.