Lyubov Sokolova; Russian Actress Cast as Classic Soviet Wife

Lyubov Sokolova, 79, a Russian actress who epitomized the Soviet wife and mother in about 300 films she made between 1948 and 2000, died June 6 in Moscow of a heart attack.

The Moscow Times said Sokolova, nicknamed “Mama” for her kindness to other actors, was “Soviet cinematography’s ultimate strong woman with a hard life.” She appeared in such 1960s propagandist films as “Asya’s Happiness” (about a collective farm), “Workers’ Quarters” and “Workers’ Settlement.” Her films were shown at the New York and Locarno Film Festivals in recent years.

The actress, born in the industrial city of Ivanovo, suffered difficulties in her personal life as well as on screen. During World War II, her first husband and his mother starved to death during the Nazi siege of Leningrad. Her second husband, a film director, abandoned her for another woman after about 20 years of marriage. And her son died many years ago.