Elina Avraamovna Bystritskaya was born on April 4, 1928 in Kiev. Father - Bystritskiy Avraam Petrovich, honored doctor, who participated in the Civil and Great Patriotic War as a military doctor. He was buried in Vilnius. Mother - Bystritskaya Esfir Isaakovna. Sister - Bystritskaya Sofia Avraamovna.

Bystritskaya spent her childhood and youth in Ukraine. The name Elina means "wise". Parents named their daughter after one of the characters from a play written by Knut Hamsun. They picked this name, not knowing how truly prophetic it will be in Elina’s destiny.

Bystritskaya, actress and legend of the silver screen, had to overcome numerous obstacles to become nation’s beloved actress. It is hardly possible to imagine her outside the acting profession. Overt beauty, power of personality, talent and style – she was born to become an actress. Although since early years, she was preparing for a different life: her father, the military doctor, believed that the daughter should follow his professional path. For many years Elina herself thought that she should go along this path. Before the war, her father was assigned to Nizhyn. And then the war started. Her parents worked in the hospital, which soon became a frontline hospital. Elina decided that she had to do something for the front, for the victory herself. She became a volunteer in the hospital, where her parents worked. Elina completed training and became a nurse, and after became a laboratory assistant at the hospital's clinical laboratory. She was tempered by the sacrifices of the war and having witnessed cruelty and brutality of the war, as well as human sacrifices and heroic exploits, she realized that a person can do a lot. She always followed her father's life credo: as a military man, he believed that all decisions have to be made and obstacles have to be overcome.

• Order of Merit for the Fatherland;
• 1st class (4 April 2008) – for outstanding contributions to the development of domestic theatrical and cinematic arts, many years of creative activity;
• 2nd class (1 April 1998) – for outstanding contribution to the development of national culture and art;
• Order of the October Revolution;
• Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class (1985);
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour;
• Order of the Badge of Honour, twice;
• Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945";
• Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1964);
• People's Artist of RSFSR (1966);
• People's Artist of USSR (1978);
• People's Artist of the Georgian SSR;
• People's Artist of Azerbaijan SSR;
• People's Artist of the Kazakh SSSR;
• Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of culture (2006);
• Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin";
• Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945";
• Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945";
• Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945";
• Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945";
• Jubilee Medal "60 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945";
• Jubilee Medal "65 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945";
• Zhukov Medal;
• Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow";
• Medal "Veteran of Labour";
• A minor planet, 6180 Bystritskaya, is named after her.

Bystritskaya paid tribute to all defenders of the Fatherland by playing in «Random Waltz», a production based on Svetlana Aleksievich’s book «The War Does Not Have a Woman's Face», staged at the Estrada Theatre. This production was dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Victory. Bystritskaya played eight different roles that merged into a single portrait of women during the war.

In the fall of 1944 Bystritskaya returned to Nezhin (since their house in Kiev was destroyed) and went to a medical college. In 1947 she graduated from the college, receiving a diploma with honors, which gave her the right to continue her studies at a medical institute. In the college she joined the amateur-talent group and appeared on stage for the very first time. Having witnessed success with the audience, she seriously started thinking about professional acting. She entered the ballet class of the music school to achieve freedom and efficiency in balance and posture.

She made her first professional appearance on stage in the Nezhin Drama Theatre in «Marousia Boguslavka», where she danced the Oriental dance. Her parents were against her ambitions to become a professional actress. Elina temporizes with her parents and enters the Nezhinsky Pedagogical Institute. But a year later she quits it and enters the drama school.

After she entered Kyiv Theatre Institute named after I.K. Karpenko-Kary, where she met remarkable teachers I.I. Chabanenko and L.A. Oleynik. After her graduation in 1953, she worked for three seasons in the Vilnius Russian Drama Theatre.

Bystritskaya first appeared on the big-screen in «The Unfinished Story» (1955) directed by the prominent director Friedrich Emler. She worked alongside such masters as Erast Garin, Evgeniy Samoylov, Sofia Giatsintova, Sergey Bondarchuk. The movie was released soon after the war. The wounds were not healed and people were not fully recovered from the trials of wartime. The nation was longing for kindness and beauty. Having understood that, Bystritskaya endowed her character, doctor Elizaveta Maksimovna, with amazing loveliness and charm. According to the poll conducted by the «Soviet Culture» newspaper, Elina Bystritskaya was recognized for this role and was named the best actress of the year.

This role also brought Bystritskaya international fame. In 1955, as a member of the delegation of filmmakers, she went to the first Week of the Soviet film in Paris, where she met the greatest screen legends: Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, Michèle Morgan and Gérard Philipe, writers Elsa Triolet and Louis Aragon, artist Nadia Léger . She realized what a thorny path one has to travel in order to become a true «star».

In Paris Bystritskaya learned that Sergey Gerasimov is filming «And Quiet Flows the Don» based on the novel of the same title by Mikhail Sholokhov. She was dreaming about the role of Aksiniya since drama school. After returning to Moscow, Bystritskaya rushed to screen-test and boldly and fearlessly said: «I want this role. I will nail it.» The auditions lasted for six months. Finally, Sholokhov himself approved Bistritskaya as Aksiniya.

This breakout role became the real victory of the actress, her hour of triumph. Sergey Gerasimov taught Bystritskaya how to hone her acting techniques for film, TV, and stage. He was a very demanding director, who demanded maximum truth even in minor details. He helped Elina Avraamovna better understand her own capabilities. For this role, Elina Bystritskaya was awarded the “honorary Cossack” title.

Bystritskaya she received numerous offers to star in foreign films, but all of them remained in the Union of Cinematographers.

In 1958 Bystritskaya joined the company of the Maly Theatre. She made her stage debut in 1959 as Lady Windermere in «Lady Windermere's Fan» by Oscar Wilde. One of the oldest actresses of the theatre Alexandra Yablokchkina said about the debutante: «I understood everything that she said and did». Bystritskaya had to leave her glory behind and start everything from the very beginning. Theatre required her to pass another artistic exam. In the Maly Theatre had a chance to work along such outstanding partners as: Mikhail Tsaryov, Elena Gogoleva, Nikolay Annenkov, Mikhail Zharov, Vera Pashennaya, Elena Shatrova and many others. She worked with wonderful directors: Boris Babochkin, Leonid Varpakhovskiy, Pyotr Fomenko, Viktor Komissarzhevsky, Boris Lvov-Anokhin and others. She never considered it to be a disgrace to learn from the true masters of the stage.

Many of Bystritskaya's creations received public recognition. Elina Avraamovna is not merely beautiful but commandingly intelligent and complex actress. Whatever character Bistritskaya portrayed, her heroines are extremely bright and extraordinary personalities. Her work in «The Masquerade» (directed by L.V. Varpakhovskiy) was especially praised by the composer Igor Stravinsky, who came to Moscow in 1962 and praised her Baroness Shtral, as a musically sounding in the production. To this day Lermontov remains one of the favorite poets of the actress.

In the Maly Theatre there are certain traditions linked to performing roles in the plays by Alexander Ostrovsky. Elina Bystritskaya managed not only to preserve them, but also to introduce her style into the performing manner in the plays «Wolves and Sheep» and «Money To Burn». «The image of Lydia, created by Bystritskaya, will take an independent place in the stage history of «Money To Burn» over the past decade», wrote the well-known critic Boris Alpers. «It has the necessary integrity and complexity, very rarely achieved by the performers of this role.»

Bystritskaya is widely regarded as a cinematic and stage legend. She is among the nation's most prolific actresses. Elina Avraamovna shared her professional experience with the younger generations of actors and actresses. She taught in the Lunacharsky State Institute for Theatre Arts (GITIS) and at the Mikhail Semyonovich Shchepkin Higher Theatre School.

Constant work is her credo. She believes that for the actor it is important to work non-stop, having no rest, since the actor is charged with a special kind of energy that has to be given away. And in her spare time she prefers playing chess, billiards, in different years was fond of rowing and indoor shooting.