South Africa
7 profiles with fame based in South Africa
South Africa — figures with Russian and Soviet roots
This page documents 7 notable figures based in South Africa whose biographies connect to the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, or the states that succeeded them — through birth, parentage, or earlier ancestry. Each profile is sourced and records the specific origin and connection.
Helen Suzman
Lithuanian-Russian Jewish South African who stood alone in parliament against apartheid for 13 years
Janet Suzman
Johannesburg-born actress and director, Royal Shakespeare Company member and Oscar nominee
Joe Slovo
Born in Obeliai, Lithuania, in 1926; South African Communist Party leader, MK chief of staff and Minister of Housing
Nadine Gordimer
South African novelist, Nobel Prize in Literature 1991; her father was a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania/Latvia, then the Russian Empire
Sol Kerzner
Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants in South Africa — built Sun City and One&Only into global resort empires
Tony Leon
South African opposition leader whose family came from Lithuania and Russia — led the Democratic Alliance against apartheid's legacy
William Kentridge
Johannesburg-born artist; grandson of the Lithuanian-born lawyer Morris Kentridge