I Am a Diverse Old Woman

Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya — a Russian and Soviet actress of theater and cinema, People’s Artist of the USSR, a recipient of the Lenin Order, and a laureate of three Stalin Prizes, an asteroid was named after her in 1986… Unique and talented, she dedicated many years of her life to theater, but she is better known to us for her bright and memorable film roles. However, most of us love and remember her not for that. Wise and self-ironic, she would sting with her words like a wasp, yet at the same time, she was vulnerable. She could easily give away half her salary to those in need and would slip gifts into the pockets of departing guests… This amazing woman was the embodiment of contradiction: she wanted to love but was lonely. Some sought to meet her, others avoided her, some idolized her, while others were afraid and fell into a stupor when subjected to the verbal "fire" of her paradoxical nature. It was her sharp wit and sparkling humor that made Faina Georgievna a favorite of many. In conversations, Ranevskaya was unrestrained in her expressions; her brilliant phrases became quotable and immediately spread across towns and villages. She was an inconvenient actress on stage, and sometimes even in life, because she reacted sharply to falsehood and deceit. Her caustic wisdom was, is, and will remain relevant.