OLEG RYASKOV

Biography 

Oleg Ryaskov is a Russian film director, screenwriter, producer, and painter whose historical films and literary works have earned widespread recognition both in Russia and internationally.

He studied architecture at university. While still a student, he began working in television and the film industry. His professional career started with the legendary Russian television program "Tema", hosted by Vladislav Listyev.

From 1992 to 2004, he directed the television program "Nostalgie". He later served as Chief Director of Stolitsa TV, then as Chief Director of the morning broadcasts on TV-6, and subsequently as Chief Director of the Ostankino TV Company.

Oleg Ryaskov directed film adaptations of more than twenty ballets at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre. He also supervised the documentary series "Mysteries of the Century" for Channel One Russia.

Since 2002, Oleg Ryaskov has specialized in historical films. His best-known feature film, "The Sovereign's Servant", was released in more than twenty countries. He has represented his films at international film festivals in Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Russia.

In the 2020s, Oleg Ryaskov focused primarily on writing novels, screenplays, and developing new historical film projects.

Several of his novels have also been released as audiobooks, narrated by acclaimed actors Alexander Klyukvin and Sergey Chonishvili. Among them are "Notes of the Secret Chancellery Courier", "Boarding School", "She-Wolves", and "Black Lake", which have enjoyed lasting popularity among listeners.

He is currently developing several historical and adventure feature film projects. Among them are the historical epic "She-Wolves: Rivers of Valhalla", which is being developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence technologies, and the international adventure film "The Treasures of the Chinese Seas", produced in partnership with international co-producers.

The director's cut of "The Sovereign's Servant" was released in late summer 2022. As listed on IMDb, the new version was prepared in high-definition digital format for television broadcasts and streaming platforms across Russia and the former CIS countries.

In addition to directing, Oleg creates professional storyboards for feature films and television commercials.

Interesting Facts

In 1988, the producers of the popular television program "Vzglyad" became interested in Oleg's music videos. This led to his first professional work in television with the VID Television Company.

During the August 1991 events in Moscow, he worked as a cameraman together with television correspondent Vladimir Molchanov. His exclusive footage from the KGB headquarters, including interviews with General Dmitry Yazov and KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov, was broadcast by television networks around the world.

His daughter, Natalya Ryaskova (1996), appeared in several of his films: "The Sovereign's Servant" (2007) as a village girl and "The Ulyanovs" (2003) as the young Vladimir Lenin. From 2016 to 2019, she worked as a makeup artist at the Bolshoi Theatre. Today, she is one of the leading realism tattoo artists. She regularly participates in international tattoo conventions and has won numerous prestigious first-place awards in Austria, Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, and Russia over the past several years.

His son, Evgeny Ryaskov (1986–2026), graduated from the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the Russian Academy of Education. He worked as a freelance translator. He passed away suddenly from a heart attack in June 2026.

His wife, Julia Labutina, worked as the costume designer on all of his feature films.

Today, Oleg Ryaskov continues to write novels and screenplays while developing international film projects inspired by history, adventure, and mythology.