Gavriil Abdulov

Gavriil Danilovich Abdulov was born on 25 March (7 April in the new style) 1908 in the village of Krasnoye in Smolensk Governorate. In 1931 he graduated from the Institute of Cinematography in Moscow and briefly worked at the Mosfilm studio.

From 1932 he worked as an actor, director and artistic director in theatres of several cities: Alma-Ata (1932–1933), Uralsk (the A. N. Ostrovsky Russian Drama Theatre, 1933–1935) and Sukhumi (1935–1937).

In 1937 he came to Fergana and became chief director of the Fergana Russian Drama Theatre; he is described as the founder of the company. He played leading parts in the Soviet repertoire — Boris Volgin in Afinogenov’s “Chudak”, Chapayev, Kostya Kapitan in Pogodin’s “Aristocrats”, and V. I. Lenin in “The Man with the Gun” and “The Kremlin Chimes” — and also directed plays on Fergana’s Uzbek stage, among them Uygun’s “Song of Life”.

In the Second World War he went to the front as a volunteer: a captain commanding the 68th Separate Guards Reconnaissance Company of the 67th Guards Rifle Division, he was wounded five times and awarded the Order of the Red Star.

In 1952–1956 he was chief director of the Tobolsk Drama Theatre (now named after P. P. Ershov). In his time a small tower was added to the theatre building, and the company began summer tours down the River Ob to towns of Western Siberia. On 12 January 1956 he was named Honoured Artist of the RSFSR.

Back in Fergana, he was named Honoured Artist of the Uzbek SSR in 1958. In 1962–1963 he was artistic director of the theatre in Michurinsk, Tambov Region. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he ran the theatre in Nukus and received the title of Honoured Art Worker of the Karakalpak ASSR; with T. Bandiev he adapted Tulepbergen Kaipbergenov’s novel “The Daughter of a Karakalpak” for the stage (the production was directed by R. Toreniyazov in 1967).

He spent the rest of his life in Fergana, where he died on 24 February 1980, and was buried in the Kirguli European Cemetery. One of the city’s streets bears his name. He was the father of the actor Aleksandr Abdulov.