Lyudmila Maksakova

Lyudmila Vasilyevna Maksakova (Russian: Людмила Васильевна Максакова; born 26 September 1940) is a Soviet Russian stage and film actress who appeared in 24 films between 1965 and 1998. Honoured with the People's Artist of Russia title in 1980, she is also a laureate of the USSR State Prize (1995) and the Stanislavsky Prize (1996). Her mother was the renowned mezzo-soprano Maria Maksakova Sr.; her daughter Maria is an opera singer and Russian TV Kultura presenter. Lyudmila Maksakova was born in Moscow to the Soviet opera star Maria Petrovna Maksakova and Aleksander Volkov, a theatre entrepreneur. In 1942 the latter defected to the West and later became a United States citizen. For decades Lyudmila remained unaware of her father's identity. By keeping it secret, Maria Petrovna was protecting her daughter from trouble at the times when any relation to a 'traitor' could lead to prosecution. According to another version, though, Lyudmila's father might have been the NKVD general Vasily Novikov, who granted Lyudmila Vasilyevna her patronymic, and there were even rumours pointing at Stalin himself, who was known to have favoured the famous Bolshoi singer.