# Elya Baskin

Ilya Zalmanovich Baskin (Russian: Илья Залманович Баскин; born 11 August 1950), known professionally as Elya Baskin, is a Latvian-born Soviet-American character actor. He first gained attention for his role in Moscow on the Hudson (1984), as Robin Williams' character's best friend Anatoly. He is best known for playing Peter Parker's landlord, Mr. Ditkovich, in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007). He also played cosmonaut Max Brailovsky in 1984's 2010: The Year We Make Contact.

## Early life

Baskin was born to a Jewish family in Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union, the son of Frieda and Zalman Baskin. He attended the Theatre and Variety Arts College in Moscow and won a Festival of Young Actors Award at the Moscow Comedy Theatre.

## Personal life

He emigrated to the United States in 1976. He is often cast as Eastern European characters.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Film | Role |
| 1974 | Telegram (Телеграмма) | Teacher (uncredited) |
| 1974 | Not a Word About Football (Ни слова о футболе) | Music teacher |
| 1974 | Three Days in Moscow (Три дня в Москве) | Passerby |
| 1977 | The World's Greatest Lover | Actor with Bad Breath |
| 1979 | Butch and Sundance: The Early Days | Book-keeper |
| 1979 | Being There | Karpatov |
| 1980 | Raise the Titanic | Marganin |
| 1981 | American Pop | Tuba Player |
| 1984 | Moscow on the Hudson | Anatoly Cherkasov |
| 1984 | 2010 | Maxim Brailovsky |
| 1986 | The Name of the Rose | Severinus |
| 1986 | Streets of Gold | Klebanov |
| 1986 | Combat High | Interpreter |
| 1988 | Vice Versa | Professor Kerschner |
| 1988 | Zits | Vladimir Timoshenko |
| 1989 | DeepStar Six | Dr. Burciaga |
| 1989 | The Slice of Life | Foreign Man |
| 1989 | Enemies: A Love Story | Yasha Kobik |
| 1993 | The Pickle | Russian Cab Driver |
| 1994 | Love Affair | Ship Captain |
| 1994 | New York Skyride | |
| 1996 | Spy Hard | Professor Ukrinsky |
| 1996 | Forest Warrior | Buster |
| 1997 | Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery | General Borschevsky |
| 1997 | Air Force One | Andrei Kolchak |
| 1999 | October Sky | Ike Bykovsky |
| 1999 | Running Red | Strelkin |
| 2000 | Thirteen Days | Anatoly Dobrynin |
| 2001 | Heartbreakers | Vladimir, Kremlin Waiter |
| 2004 | 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover | Dr. Stepniak |
| 2004 | Spider-Man 2 | Mr. Ditkovich |
| 2005 | Wheelmen | Vladimir |
| 2005 | Confessions of a Pit Fighter | Nick |
| 2006 | The Elder Son | Uncle Fedya |
| 2006 | Color of the Cross | Caiphas |
| 2007 | Spider-Man 3 | Mr. Ditkovich |
| 2007 | The Dukes | Murph |
| 2007 | Say It in Russian | Victor |
| 2008 | God's Smile or The Odessa Story | Tad, a lawyer |
| 2009 | Angels & Demons | Cardinal Petrov |
| 2011 | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | Cosmonaut Dimitri |
| 2013 | Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian | Dr. Jokl |
| 2014 | The Hive | Yuri Yegorov |
| 2015 | Silent Screams | Andrei |
| 2019 | Supervized | Brian |
| 2024 | Reagan | B.E. Kertchman |

### Television

| Year | Series | Role |
| 1972 | Big School-Break (Большая перемена) | Student |
| 1986-1987 | MacGyver | Yuri Demetri |
| 1989 | Roseanne | Foreign Man |
| 1989-1990 | True Blue | Yuri |
| 1991 | Northern Exposure | Nikolai Appolanov |
| 1991 | Quantum Leap | Major Yuri Kosenko |
| 1993-1996 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Corp. Yuri Petrovsky / Misha |
| 1995 | The Larry Sanders Show | Nicolae |
| 1996 | Ellen | Sergei |
| 1996-1997 | Mad About You | Vladimir |
| 1999 | Felicity | Bela |
| 1999-2000 | Becker | Alexi |
| 2001 | The Invisible Man | Dimitri Yevchenko |
| 2001 | Deadly Force 2 (Убойная сила-2) | Makarov |
| 2005 | The West Wing | Mr. Zubatov |
| 2005 | Alias | Dr. Josef Vlachko |
| 2007 | Criminal Minds | Arseny Lysowsky |
| 2007 | Heroes | Ivan Spector |
| 2012-2013 | Rizzoli and Isles | Dr. Vladmir Papov |
| 2014 | Castle | Sergei Vetotchkin |
| 2016 | MacGyver | Alexander Orlov |
| 2017 | Madam Secretary | Dito Pirosmani |
| 2018 | Homeland | Viktor Makarov, Russian ambassador |
| 2021 | Chicago Med | Dr. Mischa Lenkov |

### Video games

* Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge (2001) - Additional voices
* SOCOM II U.S. Navy SEALs (2003) - Additional Russia VO
* Prey (2017) - Yuri Andronov
* Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021) - Boris Petrov
* The Lamplighters League (2023) - Fedir Volchymorda