Tatiana Yevgenyevna Samoilova was a Soviet and Russian film actress best known for her lead role in The Cranes Are Flying (1957). She received a number of awards for the film, including a special mention at the Cannes Film Festival. Samoilova had several major roles in the 1960s before largely disappearing from public life. In 1993, she was named a People's Artist of Russia. She made a comeback in the 2000s and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2007 Moscow Film Festival.

The Cranes Are Flying is a 1957 Soviet film about the Second World War. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage done to the Soviet psyche as a result of war, which was known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.