Helen Zapashnaya: Without my husband, I can’t sleep in our huge bed! Helen Zapashnaya (Raikhlin) - wife of circus artist Askold Zapashny: biography, nationality, children

I was simply amazed. “Well, I think, as they say, they called me...” And on that ill-fated evening, trying in every way to distract Helen from the nightmare she had experienced, I suggested that she watch something funny on the computer. I took the laptop, settled down on the bed next to her, and out of inertia, the first thing I did was enter the email and... I was dumbfounded: a letter from an unfamiliar address with the heading “To my beloved.” What kind of mura? Helen asks to open it. I open it and read: “Skull, skeleton, scythe... Death will come, and it will have your eyes!.. Askoldi, give me a child! You can’t get away from me, the choice fell on you.” Helen is in tears: “What is this?!” - “And these are unbalanced fans, there are such people too. And you, since you are going to connect your life with me, must be ready for this.” Well, what can we do, my brother and I became show business artists, and our fame, like that of any person on the screen, has its costs.

Askold Zapashny - producer, Honored and People's Artist of the Russian Federation. He is the artistic director of the Great Moscow Circus, which is located on Vernadsky Avenue. To see the grand shows of legendary trainers called “Sadko”, “Camelot” and “Legend”, “K.U.K.L.A.” and “System”, many spectators regularly come and leave the circus performance in a state of complete admiration.

Askold Valterovich Zapashny is the youngest representative of the famous circus dynasty Zapashnykh. A dynasty that spans four generations. Not only their parents, but also their grandparents and great-grandfathers were circus performers. He is a German by birth, the eccentric clown Carl Thompson, who performed in Russia under the stage name Milton.

It is difficult to say exactly what nationality Askold and his brother are, because the family has different roots.

To follow in the footsteps of famous ancestors and continue the glorious circus dynasty was destined for the great-grandsons of Milton - and Askold Zapashny. Parents even gave bright names to their children so that they would sound beautiful under the circus big top and be remembered well.

The family toured the country - such a “nomadic” fate for circus performers. The eldest son Edgard was born in Yalta, but for a year junior Askold was born in September 1977 in Kharkov, Ukraine.

Zapashnye specialized in training predatory animals. This most dangerous profession more than once put the lives of parents, Walter and Tatyana Zapashny, on a fine line beyond which this life could end. Terrible wounds were left on the mother's legs after the tiger attacked. And one can talk for hours about the injuries received by his father: numerous broken limbs, lacerations and even a broken neck, after which Walter Zapashny miraculously returned to life.

However, such a life - always on the edge - turned out to be the only possible and familiar one for the parents. She became the same for Askold Zapashny and his older brother.

The future trainers studied in the same class, although there was a one-year difference between them. This was the decision of the father, who saw the future of his sons under the circus big top. The family traveled a lot major cities Russia, so the boys changed several schools. However, this did not give them the right to study in any way: the boys’ progress was monitored strict father. And although he was terribly tired after exhausting training and difficult attractions, he always found time to raise his sons.

The circus biography of Askold Zapashny began in early age. He went to the arena as a child, but the boy took part in his first circus act when he was 10 years old. The official debut is considered to be entering the stage at the age of 11. Then, in the winter of 1988-89, the Zapashnys toured in Riga. Askold and Edgard took part in the “Time Machine” number, which was warmly received by the audience.

Career

In 1991, Askold Zapashny and his family went to the Middle Kingdom. The advent of the “dashing 90s” brought their charges to the brink of starvation, because the required provisions for lions and tigers were a considerable expense every day. And in the 90s, it became more and more difficult to buy food for animals every day.

Fortunately, a solution was found. The Chinese offered the parents a lucrative contract. At that time, the sons graduated from school. There were no obstacles to traveling abroad.

IN famous place recreation, Safari Park in the suburbs of Shenzhen, a summer circus was erected for the Zapashnys. Walter Zapashny's responsibilities included training Chinese trainers. The sons also participated in the process. And to be different from the Chinese, they became blondes.

Askold Zapashny learned the complex Chinese language, which he still speaks today. During these years, he learned to juggle while standing on horses and train monkeys. Later, in this type of training, he and his brother reached such heights that they received the main prize “Golden Troika” from the First All-Russian festival-competition of circus art, which was held in Yaroslavl in 1997.

In addition, Askold Zapashny is an excellent vaulting acrobat, tightrope walker, Segway juggler and roller acrobat.

After the end of the Chinese contract, the circus family returned to Moscow. During these years they toured a lot, visiting everything big cities post-Soviet space, and distant foreign countries. We even visited Japan.

Also, Askold and Edgard Zapashny began working with lions and tigers at this time. In 1998, the father passed on the famous attraction “Among Predators” to his sons. Askold and his brother adopted from him the wisdom of training predatory animals and developed this dangerous and beautiful art. Askold Zapashny with his author's trick “The longest jump on a lion” is included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Soon the brothers created their own circus, calling it the “Zapashny Brothers Circus.” He is distinguished by a special style that none of his colleagues have either in the country or abroad.

In 2012, Askold Zapashny became the artistic director of the Great Moscow State Circus. Edgard took over as director.

In 2013, the brothers presented the show “Emotions...” at the Fontanka Circus. The peculiarity of this program is that each performance can be considered the main one. That same year, the artist shared in an interview that they began building a 5D circus. And by 2018, or maximum by 2021, such a circus will be created in Russia.

Askold Zapashny – real star. Therefore, a man is often invited to television shows. He and he became a participant in the 4th season of the TV show “Ice Age” in 2013. He also appeared in the top-rated television projects “The Safronov Brothers”, “Veselaya Street”, “One Hundred to One” and “Dinner Party”.

Askold Zapashny actively participates in the socio-political life of the country. In 2011, he and his brother signed an Appeal from members of the public, which condemned the pressure on the judicial system in the case of Yukos leaders.

And in the spring of 2014, Zapashny Jr. signed an appeal from cultural figures of the Russian Federation who expressed support for the president’s policy on the issue of annexing Crimea.

In 2015, Zapashny became the hero of the “Legends of the Circus” project, where the trainer’s brother acted as the host.

In the same year, the artist participated in the filming of a series about life. At the work site, Askold was unexpectedly attacked by the tigress Shakira and cut the artist’s thigh with a blow of her paw. Zapashny was immediately sent to the hospital.

In January 2016, Askold Valterovich participated in the program “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Paired with famous artist played by an actress.

In September, Askold, like his brother, participated in the State Duma elections VII convocation became a confidant of the United Russia party.

Personal life

For a long time the famous trainer was considered eligible bachelor. Handsome, famous, rich, prominent (Askold’s height is 177 cm) - after his heart young man Crowds of beauties were hunting. But later it became known that Askold Zapashny’s personal life was arranged. He also had two charming daughters with sonorous names, like everyone else in this glorious circus dynasty, Eva and Elsa.

The artist met his wife Ellen Raichlin, who has Israeli citizenship, in Minsk while on tour. The girl is Jewish by nationality. At the time of the meeting he turned 27. Behind him was an 8-year-old civil marriage Elena Baranenko, also a circus performer, with whom Askold never decided to marry. Helen was born in Belarus, but as a child she moved with her parents to Israel. Higher education received in my small homeland.

The beautiful student and several other friends were brought with him to the circus by Zapashny’s friend Andrey. Askold immediately liked the girl. She turned out to be not only charming, but also an intelligent conversationalist, and interesting personality. But the main thing that intrigued the trainer, spoiled by female attention, was that Helen did not know or hear anything about him until the moment of the meeting.

They dated for three years. These were occasional meetings, because the girl did not give up her studies, and Askold Zapashny could not cancel the planned tour.

Obstacles on the way beautiful couple it turned out to be more than one could imagine. The relatives of each of the young people were not too happy about this union. Helen Reichlin's parents dreamed of a Jewish son-in-law, preferably a doctor. And the family circus artist I saw Askold’s wife as a girl from the “circus” circle, who would understand and share a specific lifestyle.

However, love overcame obstacles, and two charming daughters only cemented this marriage.

In one interview, Askold’s mother, Tatyana Zapashnaya, recalled that at first she did not treat her daughter-in-law very well, and then fell in love with the girl. The woman also mentioned the spree of her son from his wife. Then Tatyana told Askold that even if he broke up with Helen, she would remain in the family.

In 2016, Eva and Elsa performed for the first time under the circus big top together with famous dad and uncle. If they tie future life with the circus, they will turn out to be circus performers in the 5th generation, continuing the glorious Zapashny dynasty.

Thousands of fans watch the artist on social networks “ Instagram", where Askold posts personal and work photos and videos. Often, animal rights activists write in the comments to the pictures asking the trainers to close the show.

Zapashny also leads "

Askold Zapashny with his wife Helen and little daughter Eva live on wheels, traveling with the Zapashny Brothers Circus tour from one city to another. We managed to catch the family in Moscow - new circus performances are in full swing here. Askold and Helen told our correspondents about how the past year has changed their lives, what it’s like to be millionaires, and whether children and women can be trained.

You better go to your mom...

Askold: It's funny, but our child has three copies of every item. Three cribs, three strollers, three high chairs, and so on. One set is in Moscow, another is in Israel with my wife’s parents, the third is traveling with us in containers. This is how all circus people live. Where to go? I'm happy that we - me, Helen and little Eva - are together now.

I became a dad on the second day of the year. If my daughter was born on the first of January, I would probably be upset. All her life her holiday would have been combined with New Year's. And Helen and I on the night under New Year asked their daughter: “Wait! It's not time yet." And she listened to her parents - good girl! She was born at four o'clock, when I had a break between two performances. In the morning I took Helen to the maternity hospital, and I went to the performance. And in the afternoon I receive a text message from my wife: “Eva and I are waiting for you.” It was at this moment that life seemed to be divided into before and after. I stand with a mobile phone in my hands, look at the screen, re-read it and smile. Colleagues remarked: “Well, what’s there? What? Has your wife given birth? Whom?" - "Daughter!!!" I arrived at the maternity hospital after the performance. I don’t know how to put into words the feelings that filled me at that moment. Responsibility appeared, some special love for the child awoke. I take Eva in my arms and imagine: she will grow up and begin to greet me with joyful cries:
“Daddy has come!” Sentimental and touching...

Helen: When our friends had a daughter, I was very interested to see my husband’s reaction. I took her in my arms and said: “Askold, look what good girl! Here - hold her." He took the child in his arms and immediately gave it to him. And I thought: “No, my husband won’t babysit the children.” But my intuition let me down - she’s babysitting, and how!

Askold: I have never been touched by other people's children. But I’m ready to look at my daughter for hours. It seems to me that a person generally matures not through years, but through serious events, decisions taken. Fatherhood is a major change in the life of any man. When my older brother, Edgard, was born, our dad interrupted the performance, jumped out onto the streets of Yalta, where he was touring, and set off fireworks. In the evening, I made the whole team drunk to celebrate and drank myself, although I didn’t drink at all! They had a great time! And of course - the heir appeared!

- Is having an heir so important for a man?

Of course, the son will continue the family name. And for the circus this is especially important. My wife agrees with me, now we both want a boy. But when we had Evochka, I was incredibly happy.

- And a few weeks later they left their wife and child...

What was there to do? The tour began at the end of January. Don't drag a newborn baby with you.

Helen: When Askold said that it was better for me to go with the child to my mother, I burst into tears. Of course, as a loving wife, I wanted to be with my husband.

Askold: I only went to Israel with them in March and for only a week. Only in the fall we were finally reunited - now Helen and Eva go everywhere with me.

- And how do you, Helen, live the life of a circus performer’s wife?

Helen: Touring life turned out to be quite comfortable. We don’t live in trailers, as they show in old films. Quite decent hotels with two- and three-room rooms, a kitchen, and spacious bathrooms. I adapt quickly, literally in two or three days, and get comfortable. Although before, any change in my usual routine brought me to tears. As soon as my parents sent me to the camp, I began to bombard them with letters of pity and tried to get them to take me away. I also cried in the army: I was ready to serve at least a year more, if only they would let me go home for the night (Ellen, as an Israeli citizen, served military service. - Note "ZN").

Askold and I have been living apart for the five years that we have known each other. If before I was still somehow patient, then when I gave birth to my daughter, I started going crazy. I was afraid that one day my daughter wouldn’t recognize her father. In Haifa, where my parents live, there are many photographs of Askold near Eva’s crib. And when dad arrived, she immediately went into his arms and smiled. I felt my own blood.

Helen, you sacrificed a lot for your family: emigration alone is worth it. And they abandoned their career as a doctor. Aren't there many victims?

Yes, my career is very important to me. When, after serving in the army, I entered the Belarusian State Medical University, I didn’t think that I would become the wife of a circus performer. State exams I took the test when I was already pregnant, so I postponed entering a residency or internship. Now I’m just a wife and mother, but I’m already eager to leave home. And as soon as we decide who to leave Eve to, I will study further.

Askold is against kindergartens and nannies. To some extent he is right. My mother, who is also a doctor, went to work when I was four months old. I was raised by nannies, grandmothers, aunts and uncles. There is nothing bad in this, but nothing good either: the woman does not see how the child grows. Mom says that I came to her work and asked: “Is this your home?”

Where are the tigers?

- According to Forbes, the annual income of the Zapashny brothers is $5.7 million. And what is it like to be the wife of a millionaire?

Helen: You just drove me into a dead end with your question... Do not forget that the indicated amount is not in the pockets of the brothers. There are animals that need to be maintained, and this is very expensive. There is a team of two hundred people, expensive projects.
But Askold doesn’t deny me anything, he buys everything I want.

Askold:$5 million is the money that we have in circulation, in production. My brother and I earned them with our sweat and blood. Our lives with Edgard are proof of the formula for success: dreams come true if you put effort into it. They tell us: “Well, yes, you are the children of Walter Zapashny, your last name has paved the way with roses!” I say: “Excuse me, please, we also have a sister, my dad’s daughter from his first marriage - Maritza, and a nephew, they are also circus people. There is the direction of Mstislav Zapashny and Igor Zapashny, father’s brothers. They worked together and were very successful acrobats.” Do you know as much about them? No, unfortunately, they don’t have the kind of success we have yet! I say this because a surname is not an indicator of success. I believe that money comes as a consequence of work. And by the way, I treat them very calmly, only as a means of acquiring amenities - good home, cars.
My wife has the opportunity to buy whatever and as much as she wants. But he doesn’t abuse it, which makes me incredibly happy. She treats money correctly and, for example, does not ask for a Ferrari, although, in principle, I could buy her one.

- Helen is Israeli, and you met her in Belarus, where you were touring then. How did fate bring her there?

Helen's parents hoped to marry her to a dentist, and she was even engaged, but, realizing that she did not love her groom, she broke off the engagement and fled to Minsk, under the supervision of relatives. An old friend of Edgard and I brought her to the performance. I liked the girl right away. Both his appearance is unusual, and his manner of speaking is strange, with a slight drawl. She had a slight accent; her native language was Hebrew.

Helen: I was 26 years old then - it was time to get married. I subconsciously tried on all the men I met for the role of husband and father of the unborn child. And yet, at that time, I was much more occupied with my studies - third year, the very peak, I live in a dormitory, I don’t go anywhere much, because I’m poring over textbooks. I only saw posters - some tiger brothers unknown to me were performing - and that’s all! Askold led our relationship right up to the registry office. It was he who conquered me, he behaved like that, he said such words that I fell in love very quickly.

- Askold, in your early interviews you said that you would marry only the girl who manages to greatly surprise you with something. What struck you about Helen?

Askold: Surprisingly unbiased attitude towards me. She behaved very naturally. She is not boring, not amorphous. Well, I don’t like people who float rather than run through life!

Helen: Our first date took place in Askold’s car. He played his favorite horror films on DVD to see how I would react. If a friend had not warned that Askold was a respected man, not some kind of scoundrel, he would have gotten up and gone. But I wanted to see what would happen next. Well, I finished watching it... I really, really liked it.

We immediately began to spend a lot of time together, walked until four or five in the morning, and at eight I ran to study... I didn’t get much sleep, but I flew like on wings - I fell in love. Askold leaves and immediately sends a text message: “Darling, I want to be close, I don’t want to leave you at all.” I answered: “The tour will end, you will begin a different life, without me. And I’ll stay shedding tears.” I never even thought that we could become a family. And yet, I wrote all his sincere, wonderful text messages in my diary and re-read them a hundred times.

- Helen, words are words, but a man’s actions speak for him...

There were enough actions. We met for a month and a half - and Askold left for Moscow. And then he started running back to me in Minsk - he drove 800 km at night, and back in the morning. That’s when I realized: his words were not empty at all. But she continued to resist, repeating: “Leave me alone, nothing will work out for us.” Another would have waved his hand, but Askold didn’t. He had the strength to break through my mistrust and fear of love. Naturally, I was jealous of him, threw hysterics, cried: “Girls are always hanging around you.” And he had the strength to assure me: “Darling, everything is fine, I am yours, even when there are thousands of kilometers between us.”

They say that Walter Zapashny produced future wife an indelible impression when I went on a date with a tiger on a leash.

Yes, I heard this wonderful story. When Askold and I were dating, I dreamed during lectures: now the door will open and my prince with a tiger will enter the audience. It was probably easier for Walter Mikhailovich to do this, times were different. Askold cannot take the tiger and put it in the car. Transporting a tiger is whole story. And so it’s getting ridiculous: traffic cops stop and, looking out the window, ask: “Where are the tigers?” Moreover, everyone thinks that they joked well. The guys answer: “Now they’ll catch up!”

Xin en how!

Helen: Time has shown: Askold is my soul mate. I’m in a foreign country, but next to him I feel calm and confident. And I even fell in love with the harsh Russian winters... Probably this is the state mental comfort every woman is looking for.
Family life made Askold a little softer. Previously, he was more domineering: he said it bluntly. Now you can argue with him. I won’t praise our life anymore, I’m superstitious - I’m afraid I’ll jinx it!

Askold: Our life is not ideal, we often get into arguments: sometimes about the child, sometimes over some trivial matter. Recently Helen says: let's go to the cinema. I was tired after the rehearsal, but I thought, okay, I need to please my wife. I called my friends, gathered a crowd - we love company. Everyone went crazy different ends Moscow rushed to the cinema. There are ten minutes left before the session, we haven’t gotten there yet, and then Helen says: “I’m dying, I’m hungry! Let's go have dinner." I ask: “What about cinema?” - “We’ll have a movie later, or we’ll do without it altogether; we’d better eat.” Let’s call my friends again: I’m persuading them to go to a restaurant. In general, you won’t get bored with my wife, she is unpredictable. Especially, as it turned out, in everything that concerns the child. When I was pregnant, I asserted: “I will be strict, and the baby will probably twist ropes out of you.” And so I am surprised to see how, in front of Ellen, my daughter opens some kind of cream with her teeth. I say: “Take it! She’ll be poisoned!” The wife calmly replies: “Nothing will happen, he’s not scary.” I get excited: “This one is not scary, but the other one will be scary.” I take the tube away, Eva yells in a voice that is not her own, because she has already learned to demand. And our mother gets blown up and runs for another cream - just so that her daughter doesn’t cry... At this point I explode. Yes, I may be a tough parent, but I love my child and do everything to ensure his safety. Although I don’t intend to lay down straw either. Our baby is crawling around the room, Helen screams: oh, she will hit the chair, the table. I say: “Sit still! He’ll hit you a little and he’ll understand how painful it can be.” I have a lot of experience in this regard, because I am a trainer. Stupid people sometimes say that training is violence. Not a damn thing like that! Training is, of course, the imposition of one's will. But the will intelligent creature- stupid. I can’t wait for the tiger to figure it out and answer me something like that. I will make him submit. It’s the same with children, actually. Training is education. If a predator attacks you, he needs to be punished. If the child doesn’t listen, so does that. Another question is how...
Eva already understands everything. I recently unplugged the antenna cord from the outlet. I strictly say: “Eva!” And she immediately brought it to me.

- How were you punished as a child?

They put me in a corner - just to stand and think. Dad sometimes scared me: “Oh, I’ll whip you!” But he never spanked me... Once, when my brother and I were seven or nine years old and my father’s circus was touring in an Asian republic, Edgard suggested: “Let’s go to the river with the boys.” I got scared and said: “Garik, don’t, we don’t know how to swim.” And he: “Come on! Don't be afraid." And I followed him out of desperation. They arrived, and there was a raging river... Local boys immediately, in their clothes, jumped into the water, and they were carried away by the current... I look at all this horror and understand that I would not go there for any price. Suddenly I notice: my brother is undressing: “I’ll dive in too, look!” I was so scared, terrified! I’m crying, trying to dissuade him - it’s no use! Edgard jumped. And when he got out, our Aunt Olya runs out of nowhere. He waves his hands, his face is frightened and pale. And then dad appears on the horizon - right in makeup. They told him that we were missing, he interrupted the performance and rushed to look for us. Saw. He slowly approached and hissed - well, just like a snake: “March home, wait, I’ll come soon.” We are scared - terrified. In the evening, my father returned home, went into our room, pulled the mattresses off the beds, turned them over and said: “You don’t respect your parents - that means you sleep on the floor!” He never raised his hand against us.

But for rudeness we got the full price! I could never snap at him, or at my mother or grandmother. Once at a rehearsal, my brother was performing a trick on a horse, he did something wrong, dad corrected him and heard in response: “Yes, right now!” I didn’t even have time to think of anything - my brother had already hit me in the ass with a whip. That's all. Very good upbringing.

Askold, you lived in China for four years. Is it true that, having fallen in love with a Chinese woman, you learned the most difficult Chinese language?

I learned the language because we immediately signed a contract for three years. Languages ​​come easy to me. I teach according to my own system: I take a lot of thick notebooks, write down all the words by category: everything related to a restaurant, a store, culture. Yes, of course, I didn’t know grammar, but I had a very rich vocabulary!

And yes, there was love. But this is a kid, I was only 15. The first girl was a Chinese Mongolian, a little older than me. The second one is Chinese. She and I didn’t even live together for long, and then she went to Hong Kong to act in films. Her departure became a tragedy for me: “Ahhhh... I’ll go to the ends of the world for her.” Mom smiled and patted me on the shoulder: “Hold on! Maybe I'll see you soon." She liked the girl, but she understood: it was all childish. The distance immediately separated us. Then there was no mobile phone, no internet. I remember sending her two cards - with the hieroglyphs “I love you” (“Wo ai ni”) and “Happy New Year” (“Xin en hau”), literally translated, “The New Year is good.”

- Well, what do you dream about in the new year, 2011?

I'm like anyone normal person, I only dream about good things. Recently we were in Magnitogorsk, our friend took us up a mountain on which a tree of wishes grows - everyone attaches ribbons to it. I tied it too. I don’t need anything specific, just the health of my loved ones and my own. And the rest is in my power.

Alla ZANIMONETS, Telenedelya LLC, Moscow (especially for ZN), photo by Vitaly FEDOROV

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early years

Several generations of the family were inextricably linked with the circus. Although the children saw how dangerous the work of training wild animals was, they began to enter the tiger cage early and soon truly fell in love with the circus craft.

Career

Two years later, the Zapashny family was forced to move to China due to a lack of money to maintain animals in Russia. Representatives of the Celestial Empire offered a long-term contract for good conditions and built a circus near the city of Shenzhen. Zapashny's performances with predators became a local curiosity that was enjoyed in great demand. Then, wanting to stand out, Askold began to bleach his hair. While working in China, the brothers also actively toured the world.

Thanks to such an actively developing international career, Zapashny not only learned Chinese and English, but also acquired a number of valuable circus skills. In addition to training, he juggled, rode a unicycle, performed acts with horses and more.

After returning to Russia, Askold received the title of Honored Artist in 1999. Zapashny's signature trick was the recognized longest jump on a lion. This helped the trainer to appear on the pages of the Guinness Book of Records for the first time, and later Askold and his brother more than once found themselves on the list of the best with various achievements.

In 2012, Askold was awarded the title of People's Artist. He joined Edgard in managing the Great Moscow State Circus, where he took up the post of artistic director. Zapashny had no intention of giving up performing and continued to develop as a trainer.

Part of Askold’s career can be considered his public activities. He constantly appears on television and social events. Activity in the media allows him to promote circus programs and advertise new shows. Among other things, Zapashny participated in “Ice Age” paired with Maria Petrova, repeatedly answered questions from Dmitry Dibrov in “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”, helped the Safronov brothers in their show and played a cameo role in the program of Garik Kharlamov and Timur Batrutdinov “HB "

Askold Zapashny and Maria Petrova in the show “Ice Age”

Personal life of Askold Zapashny

At one of the performances with his participation in the summer of 2018, an emergency occurred: a tiger and a lion got into a fight. Other predators also behaved atypically due to the commotion. Askold and his brother controlled the situation, reacting to every movement of the animals. Zapashny Jr. even fired from special pistol to separate the grappling rebels, thanks to which tragedy was avoided.

Famous predator trainer younger brother from the circus Zapashny dynasty. Askold is a fourth generation circus artist, honored and National artist Russia. Together with his older brother Edgar, he specializes in training wild animals.

Askold Zapashny. Biography

Askold Zapashny born in Kharkov in 1977. He is one year and two months younger than Edgar. Askold entered a cage with tigers for the first time at the age of 10. All childhood Zapashny brothers took place behind the scenes of the circus.

At school, the Zapashny brothers studied together, and due to the fact that Askold was a year younger, he had to work hard on his textbooks so as not to fall behind in the class. Since the Zapashny circus toured all over Soviet Union, then the boys had to change many schools in ten years. But after receiving certificates, their father took up their circus education. He taught them acrobatics, balancing act, juggling and training.

Debut Askold Zapashny took place on stage in Riga in 1988. At that time he was already actively working with animals. But neither he nor Edgar remember the real first time.

Edgard and I don’t remember the first time we went to the arena. According to interviews with relatives and my mother, it turned out that my brother was seven and I was six years old. But again, this is not a fact. And there are no photographs confirming our “debut”.

In 1991, the Zapashny family moved to China, where they were offered a lucrative contract. The Chinese authorities built a summer circus especially for the circus dynasty and their animals. Ibid. Askold and Edgar changed their image, becoming blondes. So they began to differ sharply from the public there.

Askolda and Edgar began their careers by creating their own “Zapashny Brothers Circus”. In 2012, the artists began touring with their program “K.U.K.L.A.”, in which Askold Zapashny was the scriptwriter and production director.

Askold Zapashny: “The reason I love the circus is that, on the one hand, it has stereotypes, and on the other, it is limitless. The circus does not limit itself, it is limited by people.”

According to the trainer himself, he is proud that he was born into the family of an acrobat who found himself in the circus and proved to everyone that he could tame any animal.

In 2012, Askold Zapashny was awarded Honorary title People's Artist of Russia.

In 2013 Askold Zapashny took part in the filming of the film “12 Months”, as well as in the program “Ice Age”, where he skated together with Maria Petrova. In addition, in one of the episodes of the program “Empire of Illusions: The Safronov Brothers” (February 2015), Askold appeared as an illusionist, participated in the TV game “One Hundred to One”, played cameo roles in the sketch show “KhB” on the TNT channel and in the film -fairy tale “12 months”, starred in a small role in the biopic “Margarita Nazarova”.

My dad is a fan,” Askold shares his memories. - He can be called an “abnormal” person. He devoted himself entirely to his work. He endlessly struggled, injured an infinite number of times, covered in fractures from attacks by predators, with a broken neck from a tiger bite. Dad accomplished a feat, achieving the opportunity to work with predators; it was extremely difficult. On his premiere, he was attacked by a tigress, and he ended up in intensive care, the professionals were ready to say: “You see, we told you - he won’t cope...” And dad, leaving the hospital, returned to the arena to continue. After dad began to weaken, closer to old age, mom took everything into her own hands and supported the family. Mom became the director of our circus, she is a very smart woman, very educated, she greatly raised the team.

Askold Zapashny. Personal life

Zapashny's younger brother is married to Helen Zapashnaya (Raichlin), whom they met in Minsk. A mutual friend Andrei invited her to perform at the circus. Askold drew attention to the girl and asked for her phone number. But Helen refused, citing that she had a boyfriend, and the tour performers would leave in a few days. But as a true tiger tamer, Askold did not give up, and now they are raising two daughters Eva and Elsa.