Artur Sergeyevich Smolyaninov (; born 27 October 1983) is a Russian actor.
Biography Smolyaninov was born on October 27, 1983, in Moscow. His mother Maria Vladimirovna is an art teacher. The godfather of Artur is Ivan Okhlobystin. He spent his childhood and youth in the city of Korolyov, Moscow Region. Artur has two younger brothers and a sister.
Smolyaninov's cinematic debut was at the age of fourteen in the 1998 film Who If Not Us by Valeriy Priemykhov.
After completing external school at the age of 16, he entered the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts at the acting section of the directing department (course of Leonid Heifetz) at the age of 16, and in 2004 graduated from it with almost a dozen credits in films and on television.
After his acting debut in Who If Not Us, he played in the movie Triumph (2000). The role of Lyutyy in the film about the Afghan war The 9th Company (2005) brought wide popularity to the actor.
Artur Smolyaninov was accepted into the troupe of the Sovremennik Theatre in 2006. In his theatrical performances, he played the father in Family Situations by Biljana Srbljanović, Vikhorev in Stay in Your Own Sled by Alexander Ostrovsky.
Afterwards he had the roles of Soleny in the play Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, the Danish king in Once Again about the Naked King Leonid Filatov, Pompey and Gonets in the play Antony & Cleopatra. Version of Oleg Bogayev and Kirill Serebrennikov based on the works of William Shakespeare, Prince Gialmar in Malen by Maurice Maeterlinck.
Artur Smolyaninov played the main role of ambulance doctor Oleg Samarin in the television series Samara which premiered in 2012 and lasted for two seasons.
Took part in the competitive ice skating show Ice Age in 2014, paired with Olympic champion Tatiana Totmianina.
Smolyaninov is also a musician and has a band titled cheLovek which he founded after leaving Russia and moving to Riga, Latvia. The band released their first music video in 2024.
Since January 2025, he has been the host of the podcast «Переживём» ("We’ll Survive") on Deutsche Welle.
At the 2025 Prague Independent Film Festival, Artur received the Best Actor Award for his role in the film I Never Said Goodbye by director Yev K'banchik. It is his first role in English language.
In 2025 Smolyaninov appeared in the short film Extremist by Aleksandr Molochnikov.
In 2026, the film Minotaur by Andrey Zvyagintsev starring Smolyaninov, won the Grand Prix at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
Political persecution In October 2022, Smolyaninov was charged for discrediting the Russian armed forces after making statements against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; he had also fled the country. He commented: "The laws of this state do not exist for me. They, like the state itself, are inherently criminal, which means they have neither moral nor legal force".На актера Артура Смольянинова составили протокол о «дискредитации» армии. Недавно он дал интервью «Медузе», Meduza, october 17th 2022
In January 2023, Smolyaninov was charged after allegedly making "anti-Russian" comments in an interview with Novaya Gazeta Europe. In the interview, he had stated that he would fight for Ukraine, not Russia, if he was forced to take part in the war. In the same month, Russian Ministry of Justice included Smolyaninov in its "foreign agents". On October 5, Smolyaninov was added to Rosfinmonitoring's list of terrorists and extremists.
In October 2025, the Federal Security Service initiated a criminal case against the actor under Article 278 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Forcible seizure of power or forcible retention of power") and Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 205.4 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Organization of a terrorist community and participation in it").
Philanthropy Artur Smolyaninov was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Give Life Foundation («Подари жизнь»), organized by Chulpan Khamatova and Dina Korzun, which helps children with oncohematological diseases, and Galchonok, which helps children with organic lesions of the central nervous system. Repeatedly participated in charitable events.
Personal life In 2013 he married the actress Darya Melnikova, in October 2015 the couple had a son, followed by a second son. On June 6, 2021, Melnikova announced her divorce from Smolyaninov.
Smolyaninov stated in October 2022 that he was no longer living in Russia.
Awards 1998 – Best Teen Actor Award at the 8th International Children's Film Festival in Artek – for the role of Tolyasik in the feature film Who If Not Us (1998), directed by Valery Priemykhov. 2006 – Winner of the MTV Russia Movie Awards in the Breakthrough of the Year category – for the role of Private (later Junior Sergeant) Oleg Lyutaev ("Lyutyi") in the feature film 9th Company (2005), directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk.Named Winners of the MTV Russia Film Awards. – Breakthrough of the Year was awarded to Arthur Smolyaninov for his portrayal of Lyutyi in 9th Company. // gazeta.ru (22 April 2006) 2006 – Nominee for the Nika Award in the Best Actor category – for the role of Private (later Junior Sergeant) Oleg Lyutaev ("Lyutyi") in the feature film 9th Company (2005), directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk. 2006 – Winner of the Triumph Award (youth non-governmental award for achievements in literature and arts) on December 7, 2006. 2025 – Winner of the Prague Independent Film Festival in the Best Actor category for the role of Alex in the film I Never Said Goodbye, directed by Yev K'banchik.
Theatre Acting Sovremennik Theatre 2006 — "Naked Pioneer" based on the novel of the same name by Mikhail Kononov (director – Kirill Serebrennikov; premiere – 3 March 2005) 2006 — "Once Again About the Naked King" based on the play of the same name by Leonid Filatov (director – Mikhail Efremov, director – Nikita Vysotsky; premiere – 2001) — Danish King 2006 — "Antony & Cleopatra. Version" based on the play by Oleg Bogaev and Kirill Serebrennikov, inspired by William Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra (director – Kirill Serebrennikov; premiere – 4 October 2006) — Pompey / Messenger 2007 — "Malen" based on the play Princess Malen by Maurice Maeterlinck (director – Vladimir Ageev; premiere – 30 May 2007) — Prince Hjalmar 2008 — "Don't You Want to Walk Arm-in-Arm?" 75 minutes of poetry, love, and music (director – Igor Kvasha; premiere – 4 February 2008, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Igor Kvasha) — Reader 2008 — "Three Sisters" based on the play of the same name by Anton Chekhov (director – Galina Volchek; premiere – 26 March 2008) — Vasily Vasilyevich Soleny, Staff Captain 2008 — "Hand Organ" based on the play of the same name by Andrey Platonov (director – Mikhail Efremov; premiere – 26 May 2008) — Yevsey, deputy head of the cooperative system in a distant district of Shchoyev 2009 — "The Show" based on the play of the same name by Mikhail Pokrass (director – Mikhail Pokrass; the show was part of the "Experiments" project; premiere – 17 January 2009) — Max (Laertes)Olga Romantsova (Gzt.ru). Mikhail Pokrass's production "The Show". - The "Sovremennik" Theatre hosted the first showing of the result of an unusual experiment by artistic director Galina Volchek. Official website of Sovremennik Theatre (old version) // old.sovremennik.ru (19 January 2009) 2009 (until March 2015) — "Murlin Murlo" based on the play of the same name by Nikolai Kolyada (director – Galina Volchek, director – Sergey Garmash; premiere – 26 March 2009; updated version of the play, which had been staged at the theatre from 1990 to 2008) — MikhailElena Yampolskaya. God was here, but has already left. – A rare event in the "Sovremennik" Theatre – reincarnation. Sergey Garmash cautiously (but clearly with good prospects) stepped into directing by reviving the famous play by Galina Volchek "Murlin Murlo". 19 years after the premiere, young actors replaced the original cast. Internet portal of the newspaper Izvestia // iz.ru (26 March 2009) 2010 — "Gentleman" based on the 1897 comedy by Alexander Sumbatov-Yuzhin (director – Evgeny Kamenkovich; premiere – 5 February 2010) — Larion Denisovich Rydlov, son of the head of the "Rydlov Widow and Chechkov" trading house, Olga Spiridonovna Rydlova 2011 — "Gorbunov and Gorchakov" based on the dramatic poem by Joseph Brodsky (director – Evgeny Kamenkovich, director – Vera Kamyshnikova; premiere – 14 October 2011) — Gorchakov"Gorbunov and Gorchakov". Sovremennik Theatre. Press about the show. // smotr.ru (18-20 October 2011) 2013 — "Hot Heart" based on the play of the same name by Alexander Ostrovsky (director – Egor Peregudov; premiere – 26 April 2013) — Taras Tarasovich Khlunov, wealthy contractor 2014 — "Dedicated to Yalta" based on the poem of the same name by Joseph Brodsky and Cello Sonata No. 1 by Alfred Schnittke (concept – Artur Smolyaninov and Boris Andrianov, director – Artur Smolyaninov; premiere – 2 November 2014) — All male roles 2016 — "Don't Leave Your Planet" — a stage fantasy based on the novella The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (director – Victor Kramer; premiere – 30 March 2016 as part of the "Presenting Friends" project) — All roles (all roles were performed alternately by two actors: at one time by Konstantin Khabensky, at another by Artur Smolyaninov)21 April 2016 in the play "Don't Leave Your Planet" Artur Smolyaninov will appear on stage. — The premiere of the play "Don't Leave Your Planet" took place as part of the "Presenting Friends" project. Official website of Sovremennik Theatre // sovremennik.ru (21 April 2016)
Directorial Work 2014 — "Dedicated to Yalta" based on the poem of the same name by Joseph Brodsky and Cello Sonata No. 1 by Alfred Schnittke (concept – Artur Smolyaninov and Boris Andrianov, director – Artur Smolyaninov; premiere – 2 November 2014)
Filmography Film YearTitleRole 1998 Who If Not Us Tolyasik 2003 The Suit Geka 2004 Daddy Lyonchik 2004 Mars Gregory 2005 The 9th Company Oleg Lutaev 2006 Heat Artur 2006 Last Slaughter Andryukha 2007 1612 Kostka 2008 He Who Puts Out the Light Alexander Orlov 2008 Nirvana Valera 2009 The Book of Masters Yangul 2009 I Am I 2010 Burnt by the Sun 2: Exodus Jurka 2010 Yolki Aleksey 2011 Burnt by the Sun 2: Citadel Jurka 2011 Five Brides Vadim Dobromyslov 2011 The Darkest Hour Yuri 2011 Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf Gray Wolf 2011 Fairytale.Is Hare 2012 My Boyfriend Is an Angel Seraphim 2012 Soulless Avdyei 2012 The White Guard adjutant Boyko 2013 Break Loose Buts 2014 Redirected Doncius 2014 Yolki 1914 Pyotr Kuznetsov 2017 Life Ahead Grigory Kiselev 2017 Yana+Yanko Timofey 2020 AK-47 Lyutyy 2021 Mariya. Spasti Moskvu Father Vladimir 2025 I Never Said Goodbye Alex
TV YearTitleRole 2011 Samara Oleg Samarin ("Samara") 2020 Wolf Nikolay Bezruk 2021 Survivors Sergey Shadrin 2021 An Hour Before Dawn Dmitry Kopyrin ("Buyan") 2022 Monastery Alexey
Voice acting Films 2006 – Bumer. Film the Second – The Chinese (Turar Murtaliev) 2006 – Rabbit Over the Void – Lautar, Anna's fiancé, violinist (Vartan Darakchyan) 2010 – No Problem – Slavik (Grigory Gandlevskiy) 2017 – Podval
Animated Films 2011 – Ivan Tsarevich and the Grey Wolf – Grey Wolf 2014 – Alisa Knows What to Do! – Generalissimo Chapad, Laboratory Assistant Ipad
Dubbing 2017 – The Son of Bigfoot – Bigfoot
Music videos 2006 – Song "Под запретом" by the band Non Stop Артур Смольянинов снялся в клипе группы Non Stop // allstars.pp.ru (March 30, 2006) 2016 – Song "Обычный человек" (album "Дивный новый мир") by the rock band Louna 2018 – Song "Грустные люди" by the rock band Nochnye SnaiperyСмольянинов оказался замешан в любовной истории Дианы Арбениной // 7days.ru (January 12, 2018) 2022 – Song "С Новым годом, сынок" by the rock band Nogu Svelo! 2024 – Song "Elsinore" by the band CheLovek
Music