Georgy Millyar

Georgy Frantsevich Millyar, sometimes spelled Milliar (Russian: Георгий Францевич Милляр) (November 7, 1903, Moscow – June 4, 1993, Moscow), was a Soviet/Russian actor, best known for playing evil spirits in Soviet fairy tale films, including the witch Baba Yaga in films such as Vasilisa the Beautiful, Jack Frost, and Fire, Water, and Brass Pipes.

Georgy Millyar was born into a wealthy family of Franz de Milieu, a French bridge builder working in Russia, and Elizaveta Zhuravlyova, a daughter of an Irkutsk goldminer. Millyar’s father died when he was almost three. Before the outbreak of the World War I, he and his widowed mother had moved from Moscow to Gelendzhik. After the October Revolution, Millyar’s family was left without relatives and means of living, their apartment in Moscow and a house in Gelendzhik were soon nationalized by the Bolsheviks. Millyar’s mother was prudent enough to remove the "de" particle from her and her son’s last name to conceal their French origin and then change it to Millyar. Even though Georgy Millyar was able to speak fluent French and German, he never mentioned this fact in any official documents.

Alexander Rou

Alexander Arturovich Rou (also, Rowe, from his Irish father's name) (Russian: Александр Артурович Роу, 24 February [O.S. 11 February] 1906 – 28 December 1973) was a Soviet film director, and People's Artist of the RSFSR (1968). He worked primarily in the fairy-tale genre.

He was born to an Irish father (Arthur Rowe), hence his unusual for Russia family name. He had Greek mother.

Starting in 1930, he worked at Mezhrabpomfilm as an assistant director to Yakov Protazanov on the films Marionettes (1934) and Without Dowry (1937), as well as with other directors.

From 1937, he worked at the "Soyuzdetfilm" studio, later known as the Gorky Film Studio.

Filmography

Koschei

In Slavic folklore, Koschei (Russian: Коще́й, tr. Koshchey; IPA: [kɐˈɕːej], also Kashchei or Kashchey; Ukrainian: Костій, Kostiy; Polish: Kościej; Czech: Kostěj) is an archetypal male antagonist, described mainly as abducting the hero's wife. None of the existing tales actually describes his appearance, though in book illustrations, cartoons and cinema he has been most frequently represented as a very old and ugly-looking man. Koschei is also known as Koschei the Immortal or Koschei the Deathless (Russian: Коще́й Бессме́ртный, Ukrainian: Кості́й Безду́шний or Кощі́й Безсме́ртний, Czech: Kostěj nesmrtelný), as well as Tsar Koschei. As is usual in transliterations, there are numerous other spellings, such as Koshchei, Kashchej and Kaschei. The spelling in Russian and other Slavic languages (like Polish "Kościej" or Czech "Kostěj") suggests that his name may be derived from the word kost' (Rus. кость, Pol. kość) meaning "bone", implying a skeletal appearance.

Koschei cannot be killed by conventional means targeting his body. His soul (or death) is hidden separate from his body inside a needle, which is in an egg, which is in a duck, which is in a hare, which is in an iron chest (sometimes the chest is crystal and/or gold), which is buried under a green oak tree, which is on the island of Buyan in the ocean. As long as his soul is safe, he cannot die. If the chest is dug up and opened, the hare will bolt away; if it is killed, the duck will emerge and try to fly off. Anyone possessing the egg has Koschei in their power. He begins to weaken, becomes sick, and immediately loses the use of his magic. If the egg is tossed about, he likewise is flung around against his will. If the needle is broken, Koschei will die.