Foto: BB.LV / Аркадий Райкин
In recent months, Ekaterina Arkadyevna had been seriously ill. According to media reports, she could hardly move independently and was under medical supervision. In October, information emerged about her hospitalization due to suspected internal bleeding. The actress spent her last weeks in the hospital, where on November 3, her death was announced. For several generations of viewers, Ekaterina Raikina remained a charming actress of the Vakhtangov Theatre. However, behind the famous surname lay a complicated fate — a bright love, painful separations, professional disappointments, and unwavering devotion to the theater. ## Childhood Behind the Scenes and First Steps on Stage Ekaterina Raikina was born on April 15, 1938, in Leningrad to Arkadi Raikin and actress Rufa Ioffe. From early childhood, she was surrounded by the world of theater: rehearsals, tours, discussions about art, and meetings with famous artists. Her father gradually became one of the most popular artists in the Soviet Union, while her mother was his faithful companion and creative partner. Ekaterina first stepped onto the stage at the age of twelve. During a tour, she was entrusted with the role of Cosette in the play "Les Misérables" directed by Alexandra Remizova. The girl replaced the ailing performer and gained her first experience of real theatrical work. Later, she entered the Shchukin Theater School, where she studied under Leonid Shikhmatov and Vera Lvova. While still a student, Ekaterina began performing at the Yevgeny Vakhtangov Theatre, and in 1959, after graduating, she became a full-fledged member of its troupe. Her repertoire included Sofia in "Ladies and Hussars," Cinderella, Lucille in "The Bourgeois in Nobility," Zelima in "Princess Turandot," and Maya in "The Irkutsk Story." She shared the stage with Mikhail Ulyanov, Nikolai Gritsenko, Yuri Yakovlev, and other outstanding artists. It seemed that all doors were open to the daughter of the famous Raikin. However, the actress later admitted that her famous surname did not guarantee her a happy professional fate. ## First Husband — Mikhail Derzhavin: A Love That Could Not Withstand the Test At nineteen, Ekaterina fell in love with young actor Mikhail Derzhavin. They met while studying at the theater school, and their romance quickly ended in marriage.  The newlyweds did not have their own housing and lived for some time with Derzhavin's relatives in a small Moscow apartment. Arkadi Raikin had a good relationship with his son-in-law. The families were acquainted, and Mikhail seemed to be a charming, well-mannered, and kind-hearted person. Later, Ekaterina recalled that she truly loved her first husband and never considered the early marriage a mistake. However, everything changed when she grew close to Yuri Yakovlev at the Vakhtangov Theatre. The handsome, talented, and already famous actor made a strong impression on the young woman. A romance ignited between the colleagues, even though both were married at the time. Ekaterina decided to leave Derzhavin. For her first husband, the separation was a heavy blow. Nevertheless, according to close acquaintances, he managed to cope with the situation without public scandals and maintained a respectful attitude towards his ex-wife. Raikina herself later admitted that she literally lost her head over love at that time. ## Yuri Yakovlev: Passion, the Birth of a Son, and a Terrible Accident  _Yuri Vasilyevich Yakovlev, his second wife — actress Ekaterina Arkadyevna Raikina, and their son Alexei._ The relationship with Yuri Yakovlev was complicated from the very beginning. For the sake of his new love, the actor parted ways with his wife Kira Machulskaya, who was expecting a child at that time. Soon after the birth of Yakovlev's daughter Alyona, Ekaterina also became a mother. In 1961, she gave birth to a son, Alexei. The birth of the child was one of the happiest events in the actress's life. However, family relationships gradually became complicated. According to Ekaterina's recollections, a serious problem was her husband's addiction to alcohol. A particularly heavy impression was made on her by a car accident that occurred during her pregnancy. In May 1961, the couple was traveling from Moscow to Leningrad. Ekaterina, who was four months pregnant, was sitting in the back seat with a friend. As the actress later recounted, Yuri had a beer and then fell asleep at the wheel. The car went off the road into a ditch. Fortunately, everyone survived. But the incident made Ekaterina seriously think about the family's safety. Over time, their relationship became increasingly strained. When their son Alexei turned three, the couple separated. Raikina later admitted that she struggled for a long time with resentment towards her ex-husband. It took her time to understand how important it was to maintain the father's relationship with his son. Yuri Yakovlev and Alexei only grew close again many years later when the young man was already studying at the Shchukin School. Despite the painful separation, Ekaterina never considered her years with Yakovlev as lost. The main gift of this marriage, she said, was their son, who later also chose an acting profession. ## Third Husband: Together, but Apart Later in Ekaterina's life, another actor from the Vakhtangov Theatre — Vladimir Koval — appeared. He began to court her, and after some time, they got married. However, this union was not without its troubles. According to Raikina herself, she and her husband turned out to be too different people. A few years later, the couple separated, but they did not officially divorce. They continued to communicate and regularly called each other. In one interview, the actress mentioned that she became very anxious if Vladimir did not call at the usual time. Both were no longer young, and any unexpected silence made her worry. Vladimir Koval died in 2013. That same year, Yuri Yakovlev passed away, and Mikhail Derzhavin died in 2018. Ekaterina outlived all three men with whom she once envisioned her future. The closest people to her remained her son Alexei and granddaughter Elizaveta, who was born in 2003. ## The Famous Surname Did Not Save from Oblivion  _The Raikin Family (left to right): Ekaterina Arkadyevna, Rufa Markovna Raikina-Ioffe, Konstantin Arkadyevich, and Arkadi Isaakovich._ Despite a bright start to her career, Ekaterina Raikina's professional fate was complicated. She served for many years at the Vakhtangov Theatre, but over time, interesting roles became increasingly scarce. The actress painfully experienced the lack of work. Sometimes it seemed to her that directors simply stopped noticing her. Due to constant worries, her health deteriorated, and at one point, Ekaterina even temporarily left the theater. The last production in which she appeared on the stage of her native theater was the play "White Rabbit," which premiered in 1992. However, her desire to act did not disappear. In 2006, while on tour in Montreal, Raikina candidly spoke about how difficult it was for her to endure professional neglect. An invitation to perform in the play "Indian Summer" became an opportunity for her to feel needed by the audience again. It was especially painful that the Vakhtangov Theatre remained a home for Ekaterina. She came there as a very young girl, spent her youth on its stage, experienced several theatrical eras, and worked alongside artists she sincerely considered masters. Even when new roles stopped appearing, she continued to take an interest in the life of the troupe and worry about her colleagues. In 2009, Ekaterina Raikina finally left the Vakhtangov Theatre. After that, she devoted more time to her family and preserving her father's creative legacy.  _Ekaterina and Konstantin Raikins._ ## Brother Konstantin and Last Memories of Father With special tenderness, Ekaterina Raikina always spoke of her younger brother Konstantin. Despite the age difference and busy work schedules, she considered him one of her closest people. The actress admired his talent, pedagogical activities, and devotion to the Satire Theatre. She recalled the last years of Arkadi Raikin's life with equal emotion. Her father was seriously ill. He found it difficult to move, speak, and manage daily tasks independently. During tours in America, Ekaterina helped him dress, shave, and eat. But as soon as Arkadi Raikin stepped onto the stage, a remarkable transformation occurred. Before the audience, an energetic, witty, and incredibly charming artist reappeared, loved by millions. For his daughter, these moments remained some of the strongest memories of her father. ## Last Months of Life In the fall of 2026, reports emerged about a sharp deterioration in Ekaterina Raikina's health. The elderly actress practically stopped moving independently. In October, she was hospitalized, presumably due to internal bleeding. Doctors tried to stabilize the actress's condition, but her strength gradually waned. On November 3, it was announced that Ekaterina Raikina had passed away in a Moscow hospital at the age of 88. She was survived by her son Alexei, granddaughter Elizaveta, and younger brother Konstantin Raikin. And for the audience — memories of her theatrical works, recordings of performances and television productions, including "Ladies and Hussars" and "Pious Martha." Ekaterina Raikina lived a life filled with bright love, disappointments, and losses. But her attachment to the stage remained unchanged — a world she entered as a child and dedicated a significant part of her fate to.
