Rolan Bykov

Born October 12, 1929
Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died October 6, 1998 (aged 68)
Moscow, Russia
Resting place Novodevichy Cemetery
Occupations Actor, director, screenwriter, pedagogue
Years active 1951–1998

Rolan Antonovich Bykov[a] (October 12, 1929 – October 6, 1998) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, director, screenwriter and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1990).

Rolan Bykov was born to Anton Mikhailovich Bykov and Olga Matveyevna Bykova (née Sitnyakovskaya), the youngest of two brothers. There are many myths surrounding his biography, including the names of Rolan and his parents, date and place of birth. Different directories showed that he was born in Moscow, yet Bykov and his brother Geronim stated that their family moved to Moscow from Kyiv in 1934. Throughout his life Rolan Antonovich Bykov was officially known as Roland Anatolyevich Bykov and his date of birth — as November 12 which, according to him, was caused by a mistake in his passport. He named various reasons for this: from a drunken militsioner at the passport office to his own aunt who confused names and dates while arranging his documents. As for the unusual name, Rolan explained that he was named after Romain Rolland (according to the Russian pronunciation) by his parents who confused Romain's surname for his name.