Makhmud Esambayev

Makhmud Alisultanovich Esambayev (Russian: Махмуд Алисултанович Эсамбаев; 15 July 1924 – 7 January 2000) was a Soviet and Chechen actor and dancer.[1] Makhmud was regarded as one of the most famous dancers of the Soviet Union.[2]

Makhmud Esambayev
Born(1924-07-15)15 July 1924
Died7 January 2000(2000-01-07) (aged 75)
AwardsHero of Socialist Labour

Biography

Makhmud was born in Starye Atagi, USSR to a Chechen family. When he was a child, his father would take him to village weddings where he would perform dances. At the age of fifteen, Makhmud joined the Checheno-Ingush Song and Dance Company, and at nineteen, he joined the operetta theater of Pyatigorsk, where he would give concerts to Red Army troops fighting in the World War II.

In 1944, he was deported along with other Chechen people during the Deportation of the Chechens and Ingush, an ethnic cleansing of Chechen and Ingush people by the Soviet forces.

Years later, Makhmud joined the Kyrgyz theater of opera and ballet as a soloist, where he played the lead role in productions of Swan Lake (playing the part of Von Rothbart), The Fountain of Bakhchisarai and The Sleeping Beauty.

After the rehabilitation of the Chechen people and gaining the right of return, Makhmud was elected more than once to the Supreme Soviet of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR, the Russian SFSR, and the Soviet Union.

Makhmud was known for always wearing his papakha hat, calling it "my crown" and not even removing it when meeting with a head of state. His papakha made an unparalleled and very conspicuous presence on the floor of the Soviet legislature. On noticing it, the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev would murmur that "Makhmud is here, it's time to call the session open."[3]

He died of natural causes on 7 January 2000.

He was a recipient of the Hero of Socialist Labour and People's Artist of the USSR awards.

Honours and awards

Awards
Ovation
Preceded by
1996
Edita Piekha
Living Legend Award
1998
Makhmud Esambayev
Succeeded by
1999
Valery Leontiev

Filmography

References

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