Baskin was born in Riga, the son of Frieda and Zalman Baskin.  He attended Moscow's prestigious Theatre and Variety Arts College and won a Festival of Young Actors Award at the Moscow Comedy Theatre. Baskin immigrated to the United States in 1976.  He has built a considerable career in TV and movies, and is often cast as a Russian, due to his ancestry and accent. He has ultimately become one of the most popular choices whenever a Russian is needed in a TV-episode or a major movie production.  He is also a regular on the long-running Internet program "Outlaw Radio" hosted by Matt Alan, where he makes amusing commentary on contemporary topics, and does comedic interaction with fellow actor Richard Tyson and author Burl Barer, among many others. Description above from the Wikipedia article Elya Baskin, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.    

Filmography

• 2026Dance With Me — Sasha
• 2025Guys' Night in The Thing — Voice of Mr. Ditkovich
• 2024Reagan — B.E. Kertchman
• The Rookie: Feds — Consul General Viktar Saroka
• 2021I Love Us — Ira Prince
• 2020Legacy — Boranovic
• 2019Hit Me — Voice of Mr. Ditkovich
• 2019Supervized — Brian
• 2018Jangan Benci Cintaku
• 2017Chicanery — Boris Namarov
• MacGyver — Alexander Orlov
• Chicago Med — Dr. Mischa Lenkov
• 2015Silent Screams — Andrei
• 2015The Hive — Yuri Yegorov
• Madam Secretary — Ditro Pirosmani, Dito Pirosmani
• 2013Jimmy P. — Dr. Jokl
• Homeland — Viktor
• 2011Transformers: Dark of the Moon — Cosmonaut Dimitri
• 2010Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright — Letvinko
• Rizzoli & Isles — Dr. Vladmir Papov
• 2009Angels & Demons — Cardinal Petrov
• Castle — Sergei Vetotchkin
• 2009God's Smile
• 2007Say It in Russian
• 2007Spider-Man 3 — Mr. Ditkovitch
• 2007The Dukes — Murph Sinitsky
• 2006Color of the Cross
• Heroes — Ivan Spector
• 2006The Elder Son — Uncle Fedya
• Criminal Minds — Arseny Lysowsky
• The Closer — Priest
• 2005Wheelmen — Vladimir
• 2004Spider-Man 2 — Mr. Ditkovitch
• Cold Case — Dr. Goran Petrovic
• Alias — Josef Vlachko
• The Agency — Borovinsky
• 2000Runaway Virus — Father Vadim
• The Invisible Man — Dimitri Yevchenko
• 2000Thirteen Days — Anotoly Dobrinyn
• 1999October Sky — Ike Bykovsky
• 1999Running Red — Strelkin
• The West Wing — Mr. Zubatov
• Becker — Alexei
• Felicity — Bela
• 1997Air Force One — Andrei Kolchak
• Alright Already
• 1997Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery — General Borschevsky
• 1997Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest — Boris
• Early Edition — Vadim
• 1996Forest Warrior — Buster
• Something So Right — Yuri
• 1996Spy Hard — Professor Ukrinsky
• VR.5 — Dr. Zoloft
• Ellen — Sergei
• 1994Love Affair — Ship Captain
• 1993The Pickle — Russian Cap Driver
• Walker, Texas Ranger — Misha, Corp. Yuri Petrovsky
• 1993Walker, Texas Ranger: One Riot, One Ranger — Misha
• Mad About You — Vladimir
• The Larry Sanders Show — Nicolae
• Sisters
• Northern Exposure — Nikolai Apalanov
• 1989Big Man on Campus — Taxi Driver (uncredited)
• Coach — Police Officer
• 1989DeepStar Six — Burciaga
• 1989Enemies, a Love Story — Yaska Kobik
• Quantum Leap — Major Yuri Kosenko
• True Blue — Yuri
• Roseanne
• 1988Vice Versa — Kerschner
• 1988Zits — Timoshenko
• CBS Summer Playhouse — Serge
• 1986Combat Academy — Interpreter
• 1986My Town — Slovack
• 1986Streets of Gold — Klebanov
• 1986The Name of the Rose — Severinus
• 1985Embassy — Aelx Serov
• MacGyver — Yuri Demetri
• The Comedy Factory — Sasha Zhukov
• 19842010 — Maxim Brailovsky
• 1984Moscow on the Hudson — Anatoly Cherkasov
• Masquerade — Nuclear Facility Clerk
• St. Elsewhere — Dr. Peltrovich
• 1981American Pop — Tuba Player (voice)
• 1980Raise the Titanic — Marganin
• 1979Being There — Karpatov
• 1979Butch and Sundance: The Early Days — Book-keeper
• The San Pedro Beach Bums
• 1977The World's Greatest Lover — Actor with Bad Breath
• 1972Telegram — Teacher (uncredited)
• 1972The Long Recess — red-haired student

Appearances as themselves (2)

• 2022An Oral History of: The Name of the Rose — Self
• Celebrity Ghost Stories — Self