Belarus
•
11 views
Vladimir Motyl
Lepel, Belarus
Archival Overview
Soviet and Russian film director who created the legendary Red Western classic White Sun of the Desert (1970), traditionally watched by all Russian cosmonauts before spaceflights.
Biographical Record
Vladimir Yakovlevich Motyl was born in Belarus into a Jewish family; his father perished in the Soviet Gulag on the Solovki islands. Graduating from the Sverdlovsk Theatre Institute, he directed theatre before transitioning to film with the romantic World War II classic 'Zhenya, Zhenechka and Katyusha' (1967).
In 1970, Motyl released 'White Sun of the Desert', an 'Ostern' (Eastern) set in the Turkmen desert following the Russian Civil War. Combining desert action, droll humor, and unforgettable folk ballads, the film achieved unprecedented cult status in Russia; by tradition, every space crew at Baikonur Cosmodrome watches it before launch.
Key Life Milestones
White Sun of the Desert
Directed the iconic adventure film that attracted 35 million Soviet viewers and became a permanent space ritual.
The Captivating Star of Happiness
Directed the lavish historical drama depicting the wives of the 1825 Decembrist revolutionaries who followed them to Siberia.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
0 messages recordedLeave a Respectful Tribute
Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialMoscow, Russia