Margarita Nazarova

Margarita Nazarova was a celebrated circus performer and a renowned tiger trainer, recognized as a Distinguished Artist of the RSFSR on October 15, 1958, and later honored as a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1969. Born in the early 1930s in Pushkin, Leningrad Oblast, her childhood was shaped by her father, a forester, and her mother, a schoolteacher. The Nazarova family relocated to Daugavpils during the early 1940s. During World War II, Margarita was forcibly taken to Germany for labor at the age of 15, where her knowledge of German allowed her to communicate with her captors.

Her life took a turn when she was discovered for her graceful movements and transitioned into a career as a cabaret dancer. Following the war, she returned to her homeland in 1945 and joined the "Circus on Stage" in Riga, performing acrobatic acts. Nazarova made her film debut in "Incident in the Taiga" (1953) as an extra, where she met her future husband, the animal trainer Konstantin Konstantinovsky. She later assisted prominent trainers Boris Eder and Konstantinovsky.

Nazarova gained fame for her role as a stunt double for actress Lyudmila Kasatkina in "The Tiger Tamer," and she later starred in the film "Striped Voyage." In her later years, she lived in Nizhny Novgorod. Unfortunately, Margarita passed away on October 25, 2005, impoverished and alone, and was laid to rest at the Nagornoye Cemetery near Fedyakovo village.