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Marija Leiko
Marija Leiko
Marija Leiko
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Marija Leiko (14 August 1887 – 3 February 1938), also known as Marija Leyko, was a Latvian stage and silent film actress in Europe, especially popular in Latvia, Germany,[1] and Russia.

Key Information

Life and film career

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Leiko conquered the German big screen first, starring in The Diamond Foundation (1917), Kain (1918), Ewiger Strom (1919), Die Frau im Käfig (1919) and Lola Montez (1919) as the dancer.[1]

When the silent movie era ended Leiko retired from film acting. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, she returned to her native Latvia. In 1935 she visited the Soviet Union and stayed to join the company of the Latvian State Theatre in Moscow.[1]

During the so-called "Latvian Operation" the theatre was shut down, and on 15 December 1937, Leiko was arrested on charges of belonging to a "Latvian nationalist conspiracy". On 3 February 1938 at the age of 50 she was shot and buried in a mass grave at the secret NKVD killing field at Butovo, near Moscow.[1]

Maria Leiko was posthumously rehabilitated for the absence of a crime (corpus delicti) on May 12, 1958.[1]

Memory

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A memorial sign, Last Address of Maria Karlovna Leiko, was put up on the wall of house 9, building 3 at Obolensky lane in Moscow on May 14, 2017.[2]

Filmography

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References

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Sources

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  • Guna Zeltina, Anita Uzulniece Russian: Мария Лейко : Актриса театра и кино, 1887-1937 Language: Latvian Riga Liesma 155 pages (Illustrated) January 1989 ISBN 5-410-00276-8 ISBN 9785410002769
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Marija Leiko

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Marija Leiko is a Latvian actress known for her prominent career in German silent cinema and avant-garde theater during the early 20th century, as well as her tragic death as a victim of Stalin's Great Purge in 1938. Born on 14 August 1887 in Riga, then part of the Russian Empire, Leiko made her stage debut at age 19 at Riga's Apollo Theatre before fleeing to Austria in 1908 and later settling in Germany, where she studied acting in Vienna and built a notable career in Berlin. She performed with Max Reinhardt's company from 1917 to 1920 and later with Erwin Piscator's political theater, taking on roles such as Ophelia and Gertrude in Hamlet, Gretchen in Faust, and the title role in the film Lola Montez (1919), while appearing in 26 silent films including F. W. Murnau's Satanas (1920). Following the Nazi rise to power in 1933, Leiko returned to Latvia, but in 1935 she traveled to the Soviet Union to care for her young granddaughter after her daughter's death. Delayed in Moscow, she accepted a position with the Latvian State Theatre (Skatuve), only to be arrested in December 1937 during Stalin's xenophobic national operations targeting ethnic minorities including Latvians; she was executed by shooting on 3 February 1938 and buried in a mass grave at Butovo near Moscow.

Early life

Birth and family background

Marija Leiko was born Marija Linka on 14 August 1887 in Āgenskalns, a neighborhood on the Pārdaugava side of Riga, then part of the Russian Empire (present-day Latvia). She grew up in a modest Latvian family as the daughter of Kārlis Linka, who worked as a small shopkeeper and owned a wooden house at Ventspils iela 4 in Pārdaugava. In 1893, when Leiko was six years old, her father died, leaving her mother to raise five children alone. The family sold their house and relocated elsewhere within Pārdaugava, reflecting the economic challenges faced by many working-class households in late 19th-century Riga, a rapidly industrializing and multi-ethnic port city under Russian imperial rule. Riga's position as a major commercial hub with a growing Latvian population shaped the early environment of families like Leiko's, though specific details of her childhood beyond these family circumstances remain limited in available records.

Entry into acting in Riga

Marija Leiko began her professional acting career in Riga at the Apollo Theater in 1907, marking her entry into the performing arts in her hometown. She remained engaged with the Apollo Theater through 1908, during which time she gained initial stage experience in the local Latvian theater scene. In 1908, Leiko left Latvia alongside her partner Jānis Gūters, relocating abroad and subsequently pursuing further acting studies in Vienna.

Career in Germany

Relocation and early years

Marija Leiko relocated to Germany in 1910 after initially fleeing Riga in 1908 with her partner, the actor and future director Johannes Guter, due to suspicions of political involvement. Having studied at Vienna's Imperial Academy of Music and Dramatic Art following her arrival in Austria, she established herself in the German theater world during her early years there. She worked at several regional theaters, including the New Theater in Frankfurt, the City Theater in Leipzig, and the Chamber Theater in Munich, as she adapted to the German stage and built her reputation as a performer. These engagements allowed her to transition from her earlier acting experience in Riga to the professional theater circuit in Germany before she settled in Berlin around 1917 and became associated with Max Reinhardt's troupe. This period marked her gradual integration into the German cultural scene amid the broader upheavals of the era.

Theater work

Marija Leiko built a notable stage career in Germany during the 1910s and 1920s, establishing herself through engagements at prominent theaters and under influential directors. She began with her first engagement at the Neues Theater in Frankfurt am Main in 1911, later performing in Dresden before settling in Berlin in 1917. Her most prominent period came with Max Reinhardt's company from 1917 to 1920, where she appeared frequently in classical plays. Her repertory during these years included challenging roles such as Ophelia and Gertrude in Hamlet, Gretchen in Faust, and Natasha in The Lower Depths. In 1926, she performed with Erwin Piscator's political theater. After the transition to sound films in the late 1920s, she largely withdrew from cinema to concentrate exclusively on theater work until the Nazi seizure of power prompted her departure from Germany in 1933.

Silent film career

Marija Leiko established herself as a prominent figure in German silent cinema following her relocation to Berlin, appearing in 26 silent films from 1917 until the late 1920s. Her screen debut came with a role in Die Diamantenstiftung (1917), marking the start of a prolific period in which she became known as a dramatic diva of European silent film. Among her most notable works was Satanas (1920), directed by F. W. Murnau. She also took the title role in Lola Montez (1919), portraying the famous dancer and adventurer. Other films from this era included Freie Liebe (1919) and Die Frau im Käfig (1919), contributing to her reputation in German expressionist-influenced cinema. Leiko's film work extended into the 1920s, with roles in Torgus (1921) and later titles such as Die Räuberbande (1928) and The Green Alley (1928). Her collaborations with directors like Murnau highlighted her versatility in dramatic roles during the height of German silent cinema. By the end of the silent era, she had built a substantial body of work in German films before retiring from the screen.

Personal life

Relationships and family

Marija Leiko's most significant personal relationship was her long-term partnership with fellow Latvian Johannes Guter (also known as Jānis Gūters), an actor who later became a film director. In 1908, the couple fled Riga for Austria after Guter was suspected of involvement in the murder of a policeman. They lived together as life partners for many years, eventually settling in Germany. Leiko had one daughter, Nora Gūters (later Čečevaja), from this relationship. Nora married a retired Soviet diplomat and resided in Georgia, where she died in childbirth in 1935. This left an infant granddaughter (also named Nora). The need to care for her granddaughter profoundly influenced Leiko's personal decisions, leading her to travel to the Soviet Union in 1935 to retrieve the child and raise her in Riga. The granddaughter's subsequent fate is unknown. No other significant romantic partnerships or immediate family members are documented in available sources.

Return to the Soviet Union

Decision to relocate

In 1935, following the death of her daughter Nora in childbirth in Tbilisi, Marija Leiko traveled to Tbilisi in the Soviet Union to retrieve her infant granddaughter (also named Nora) and raise the child in her native Latvia. While passing through Moscow on the return trip, Leiko was delayed and received an invitation to join the Latvian State Theatre "Skatuve" as a member for several seasons. She accepted the offer and decided to remain in Moscow to perform with the company, marking a return to stage work after leaving Germany following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. This choice led her to settle in the Soviet Union. Due to the circumstances of her acceptance into the theatre and the prevailing political environment, Leiko was unable to continue her journey to Latvia or return to Germany. Some accounts describe her as effectively prevented from leaving with her granddaughter, though details vary across sources.

Activities and circumstances in Moscow

In 1935, Marija Leiko arrived in Moscow during a stopover on her journey from Tbilisi back to Riga, having taken custody of her infant granddaughter after her daughter's death in childbirth. The director of the Latvian State Theatre "Skatuve," Osvalds Glaznieks, persuaded her to remain in the Soviet capital and join the troupe for several seasons, an offer she accepted. She settled with her granddaughter at an apartment on Obelensky Lane, house 9, building 3, apartment 58, which was described as spacious and decently furnished, complete with a prepared crib for the child. The housing arrangement was facilitated by Yakov Peters, an old acquaintance from her youth, who met them at the station and transported them in an official vehicle. In Moscow, Leiko worked as an actress in the Latvian State Theatre "Skatuve," a national theatre operating in the Soviet capital for the Latvian community. She balanced her theatrical engagements with the primary responsibility of caring for her young granddaughter during this period. The fate of the granddaughter after Leiko's arrest is unknown. Her residence and professional life unfolded amid the intensifying political atmosphere of Stalin-era USSR, where national minorities faced increasing scrutiny.

Arrest, execution, and legacy

Victim of the Great Purge

Marija Leiko became a victim of Stalin's Great Purge when she was arrested on 15 December 1937 amid the NKVD's targeted campaign against the Latvian diaspora in the Soviet Union. She was accused of belonging to a counter-revolutionary nationalist fascist organization within the Latvian State Theatre "Skatuve," conducting espionage on behalf of Latvia, and engaging in anti-Soviet agitation among Latvians. These fabricated charges were typical of the NKVD's "Latvian Operation," a wave of national repressions in 1937–1938 that led to the shutdown of Skatuve and the arrest of nearly its entire company on suspicion of espionage and nationalism. After a short imprisonment and investigation, Leiko was sentenced to death. She was executed by shooting on 3 February 1938 at the Butovo firing range near Moscow, alongside over 200 other Latvians, including most of her Skatuve colleagues, and buried in a mass grave at the NKVD killing field. Leiko was one of many cultural figures and ethnic minorities eliminated during the height of the Great Purge as Stalin sought to eradicate perceived foreign threats and internal enemies.

Posthumous recognition

Marija Leiko was posthumously rehabilitated in 1958 after the authorities determined there was an absence of corpus delicti in the charges that led to her execution. This formal acknowledgment came during the Khrushchev-era review of Great Purge cases, clearing her name and recognizing the fabricated nature of the accusations against her and other members of the Latvian State Theatre in Moscow. On May 14, 2017, a memorial plaque was installed at her last known address in Moscow—Obolensky Lane 9, building 3—as part of the Last Address project, which places signs to commemorate victims of Soviet political repression. The plaque serves as a public recognition of her life and tragic fate, contributing to the broader effort to preserve the memory of those persecuted during the Stalinist era.

Recent depictions

The 2024 Latvian-Lithuanian historical drama Maria's Silence (Marijas klusums), directed by Dāvis Sīmanis, presents a dramatized portrayal of Marija Leiko's final years and tragic fate under Stalinist repression. The film centers on her 1937 journey to Moscow, where she is summoned by secret police officer Jēkabs Peterss, learns of her daughter's death in childbirth, and decides to remain to care for her infant granddaughter while working at the Latvian Skatuve Theatre alongside Asja Lācis. Leiko is depicted as a dignified, internationally recognized silent film actress who becomes an unwitting victim of the Soviet terror during the so-called Latvian Operation, highlighting her naiveté toward the regime's dangers and her eventual silence both on stage and in the face of forced confessions. Olga Šepicka-Slapjuma stars as Leiko, portraying her as a proud and professional figure torn between personal ideals, familial love, and the brutal realities of totalitarianism, with the narrative deliberately de-emphasizing graphic violence to focus on the psychological and moral mechanisms of repression. Sīmanis chose Leiko's biography for its symbolic resonance, using it to warn against the perils of regimes that persecute those who do not fit their narrative and to underscore that no individual is untouchable under such systems. The film premiered in the Forum section of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024, where it was noted for its visual restraint, strong central performance, and urgent political relevance as an artistic reflection on historical and contemporary authoritarianism. As a dramatized account rather than a documentary reconstruction, it draws on Leiko's real-life victimization during the Great Purge to explore themes of artistic integrity and defiance.

References

  1. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65565200/marija-leiko
  2. https://cineuropa.org/en/interview/457199/
  3. https://industry.poff.ee/project/marias-silence2023/
  4. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0500408/bio/
  5. https://zudusilatvija.lv/objects/object/32406/
  6. https://www.literatura.lv/personas/marija-leiko
  7. https://100.teatris.lv/personality/63
  8. https://www.womage.lv/en/persons/marija-leiko
  9. https://imdb.com/name/nm0500408/trivia/
  10. https://www.filmneweurope.com/news/latvia-news/item/125528-fne-at-berlinale-2024-world-premiere-of-latvian-maria-s-silence-by-davis-simanis-in-berlin
  11. https://www.cyranos.ch/smleik-e.htm
  12. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0500408/trivia/
  13. https://issuu.com/eestifilmisihtasutus/docs/baltic_film_01_2023_150/s/18932094
  14. https://thefilmverdict.com/marias-silence/
  15. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0500408/
  16. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0011654/
  17. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430310/
  18. https://watch.plex.tv/person/marija-leiko
  19. https://www.geni.com/people/Nora-%C4%8Ce%C4%8Devaja/6000000024999859602
  20. https://ru.openlist.wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BA%D0%BE_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0_(1887)
  21. https://www.poslednyadres.ru/news/news449.htm
  22. https://bessmertnybarak.ru/article/rasstrelyannyy_teatr_skatuve/
  23. https://timenote.info/en/events/Communist-genocides-All-the-actors-editors-and-workers-of-Latvian-theatre-in-Moscow-Skatuveshot-this-day
  24. https://www.berlinale.de/en/2024/programme/202406756.html
  25. https://intheirownleague.com/2024/03/01/berlinale-2024-review-marias-silence-marijas-klusums/
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