Edgard Zapashny: “My uncle did not communicate with my father for several years. The famous Zapashny circus dynasty - tragedies and secrets Which of the Zapashny brothers died

Died in Sochi National artist USSR Mstislav Zapashny. “I was just informed that my uncle, a famous circus artist and trainer Mstislav Mikhailovich Zapashny, has died. This happened in Sochi,” TASS quotes his nephew, general director of the Bolshoi Moscow Circus Edgard Zapashny.

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According to Askold Zapashny, his uncle was a legend in the circus world and made an invaluable contribution as an artist. Moreover, he was a pioneer. The famous trainer devoted his entire life to the circus. “He was a man who not only formed the foundation for the Zapashny family, but also set the bar for young people,” he noted.

The farewell to the People's Artist of the USSR will take place at the Great Moscow State Circus on Vernadsky Avenue. According to preliminary data, the funeral ceremony will take place on September 26. As pop singer Joseph Kobzon told the media, most likely the trainer will be buried at the Domodedovo cemetery next to the grave of his mother.

Let us remind you that on August 24, trainer Mstislav Zapashny was urgently taken to a hospital in Sochi. Doctors diagnosed him with a strangulated hernia. Zapashny underwent emergency surgery.

Mstislav Zapashny was born on May 16, 1938 in Leningrad, into a famous circus family. The founder of the dynasty was Mikhail Zapashny (1900-1982), the father of People's Artists of the RSFSR Mstislav and Walter Zapashny. Edgar and Askold are nephews of Mstislav Zapashny. Mstislav Zapashny became known as a trainer of predatory animals and a stage director; he has repeatedly received the highest awards in the field of circus art. From May 2003 to December 2009, Zapashny was the general director of the Russian State Circus. He was a member of the Zapashny Brothers circus group.

The wife of the legendary trainer Walter Zapashny talks about the passions that seethed in the famous circus dynasty, its tragedies and secrets.

I often think: “How happy I am! There is such a miracle in my life as a circus!” And brought me to this Magic world my husband Walter...

It was in the summer of 1975 in my native Kalinin, now Tver. I was rushing to work from my lunch break and met an acquaintance. He was with some man with a cast on his arm and introduced us to each other. The stranger turned out to be trainer Walter Zapashny. His hand was injured by a panther on tour in Omsk, after which the artist was sent to Kalinin to rest and receive treatment.

While on sick leave, Zapashny languished from idleness, walked around the city and met girls. I was very showy - I wore a mini and dyed my hair red. Walter immediately took an eye.

Tanya, let me invite you to the restaurant!

Yes, I just had lunch and have to run to work.

Don't worry, I'll sort everything out and come to an agreement. Let's go, please!

He persuaded me so persistently that I had to agree. Since this all started. I was nineteen, he was forty-seven. Nowadays such a couple would hardly surprise anyone, but back then I often caught sidelong glances at myself.

I was born and raised on the outskirts of Kalinin, in the village of Pervomaisky, in a simple family. Dad is a military man, mom is an accountant. I have a sister, Olga, who is one year and two months older. She and I are very close, although we are completely different in character and temperament. I am energetic, explosive, Olya is quiet, homely. Perhaps this is what unites us. Opposites, as we know, attract. My sister has been living with me for forty years now, and we never leave each other...

But let's return to Kalinin. In those days, young people were more mature and independent than now, they did not expect gifts from fate, they achieved everything themselves. Girls did not dream of marrying a wealthy man and sitting on his neck.

Of course, I wanted to dress beautifully, so I had to earn extra money. In the summer I weeded the beds on the nearest collective farm and all year round sewed up friends and acquaintances. The trousers were especially successful. The so-called bells were in fashion, everyone ordered them. Sewing, of course, was more profitable than working hard on a collective farm. Weeding fifty meters of beets cost twenty-five rubles, and stocking boots—the dream of girls of that time—cost thirty rubles.

After school, I entered the Polytechnic Institute at the Faculty of Industrial and Civil Engineering. Should have become a civil engineer. We had only two universities in Kalinin - medical and polytechnic. The latter was located closer to home, so I chose it. I never thought about leaving to study in another city. She was inextricably linked with her family, wanted her to live better, so she went to the evening department. In parallel with her studies, she worked at the local Model House as a seamstress-machine operator, a typist in the traffic police and a roulette operator in the BTI. She took on everything.

Of course, she found time for movies and dates, but did not strive for a serious relationship. I thought that first I needed to study and get a profession. Adulthood It's just beginning, what's the rush? And then Walter Zapashny fell on my head.

He was far from handsome. Short, bald. My dad looked better, although he was a little older and dressed much more simply. Zapashny sported super-fashionable jackets, bell-bottoms and platform boots. In our provincial town it looked a little strange, but he wasn't embarrassed. Accustomed to being the center of attention. But Walter was a brilliant storyteller, which, in fact, is what won me over. I “cooked” in a very narrow circle of the most ordinary people and I’ve never heard such tales as from him. He made up a lot of things and then repeated them dozens of times, but I understood this later, when we started living together, and I forgave my husband for his sin. If you tell a little lie, you can’t tell the story!

Zapashny had an extraordinary gift of persuasion and frantic energy. I have never met such people before. She herself is quite emotional and temperamental, but he was just a hurricane. Wherever he appeared, he filled the entire space. In this sense, our eldest son Edgard is similar to him. By the way, they are both Dragons according to the horoscope. I read that people belonging to this sign are terrible owners and will never let go of theirs. Walter immediately grabbed hold of me and didn’t let me go another step.

Having found out where I was studying, I organized a creative evening at the polytechnic. He showed up there with a tiger on a leash and caused a sensation. He rode to my house on a circus horse - wearing a cowboy jacket and hat. The residents were shocked, I didn’t know where to go from embarrassment. If now Edgard or Askold appeared in this form at his beloved’s house, everyone would be happy. Neighbors would ask for autographs, and the girl would take selfies and write enthusiastic posts. Forty years ago, morals were different.

It was I who invited Walter home to introduce him to his parents. By that time I was already fascinated by him, we practically never parted. The fact that my chosen one is old enough to be my father was somehow forgotten. And the parents were upset, especially my mother; they imagined their future son-in-law differently, but they realized that there was no point in objecting. Zapashny immediately declared: “Tatyana will be my wife and the mother of my children.” He knew how to say so that everything became clear the first time. Walter didn’t really ask me if I would marry him! I mentally wrote it into my picture of life and didn’t give me a chance to answer no.

Much later, having lived with my husband for more than one year, I realized that he was looking not just for a wife and mother of his children, but for an assistant, an ally, who could continue his work. AND amazingly I guessed her in a Kalinin girl I met by chance on the street! Perhaps Walter had the gift of foresight, I do not rule it out, or he simply managed to educate me correctly. After all, he was a brilliant trainer, and the education of animals and people has a lot in common.

Once asked:

Walter, everything happened so quickly for us then. Did you fall in love at first sight?

No, not from the first, but I immediately felt what kind of energy you had. You didn’t just talk, you were bursting with emotions, actively gesticulating, squealing, and squealing.


Over the years, I haven’t changed much, I’m constantly rushing and squashing. Sometimes I can feel depressed, but I quickly come to my senses and begin to act and solve problems. I was always interested in Walter, I listened to him as if spellbound, but at first I did not experience love and did not deceive either him or myself on this score. The present great feeling came later. Edgard and Askold are often offended when I talk about this in an interview:

Why do you say that you didn’t love dad?!

But it's true! Our marriage was an agreement between an adult man and a young girl who understood that in hometown nothing awaits her. And then I fell in love with him.

I have always strived for an interesting and vibrant life. When I was twelve or thirteen, I first came to Moscow, saw how different it was from Kalinin, and wanted to live in a big city. They say that if a person really wants something, the gods help him. And they apparently helped me.

Our romance lasted a month and a half. As soon as Walter healed his hand, we went on tour together to Magnitogorsk. They got married three years later - for a very prosaic reason. My family had to get new apartment. The barracks in Pervomaisky were being demolished. If I had gotten married and registered with my husband in Moscow, my parents and sister would have been given a smaller area, so Walter and I decided to wait. As a result, they registered a marriage, being the parents of two sons. I also registered them in Pervomaisky, but everything turned out to be in vain: an old house it hasn't been demolished yet.

The wedding, of course, was no longer celebrated. Wedding ring Walter gave it three years earlier at the monument Soviet soldiers in Kalinin. Years passed, we went on vacation at the seaside. The sons were already nine or ten years old. I was throwing pebbles into the water and didn’t notice how the ring flew off my finger. Upset: " Bad sign!” But after that, my husband and I lived for more than twenty years...

Thanks to Walter, I found myself in another world - fabulously beautiful and a little scary. Circus people are special people, not like everyone else. And the circus is not art or show business, but a special society. They don’t just work there, they live there, help each other and become brothers and sisters. Here, more than anywhere else, the motto “One for all and all for one” is true. Circuses have their own laws. They don't like strangers and don't accept them. I was a stranger to the circus for a very long time. They didn’t communicate with me, didn’t invite me to drink tea or play backgammon, and I kept to myself because I felt uncomfortable. It took time to accept the lifestyle and way of thinking of these people, to be imbued with their love for the playpen. Over the years I have changed and become just like them. Now I'm like a duck to water here. I often think: “How happy I am! There is such a miracle in my life as a circus!” And my husband Walter brought me to this magical world.

At the time we met, he was still married to his first wife, Maritza. The couple worked in the same attraction for many years. When I appeared, of course, rumors began to spread: some girl destroyed the star family! But I didn't destroy anything. Walter and Maritza have not lived together for three years, and the divorce was not filed only so that there would be no difficulties when traveling abroad. IN Soviet time they monitored the moral character of the artists, and they were also party members and raised their daughter, Maritsa Jr.


In the arena, the Zapashnys made a wonderful couple. They had everything very well thought out: first the brutal Walter entered the cage, and then the charming Maritza fluttered in, waved her graceful hand, and the tiger obediently did pirouettes. The audience loved the game strong man and a weak woman. I was also delighted and asked: “Maritsa Mikhailovna, please don’t leave the attraction! Work together with Walter! I’ll be there since it all happened this way, but I won’t interfere.” She didn’t believe it, she thought that I was rushing to take her place. For circus artist It’s unthinkable not to strive for such a number, and “ good people“They probably cheated her. I tried to improve the relationship ex-spouses, and they worked together for another year, and then finally separated.

Years passed, I finally found myself in Maritsa’s place, which I’ll tell you about later, and I realized that the Zapashny couple had been separated by work. They walked on the edge of a knife all the time and gradually became antagonists. Working with predators inevitably makes people tough. You can't be kind or relaxed with tigers. When you see death in the eyes of an animal, you somehow don’t want to smile and be touched. Walter and Maritza were very strong personalities, but in the cage they were simply demonic, and when leaving the arena, they could not switch. They argued and swore. He was a dictator, and she did not want to give in to him, to forgive his rudeness. True, it seemed to me that even after the Zapashnys broke up, Maritza continued to love Walter, although she tried not to meet with him. While on tour, I lived on another floor of the hotel; after finishing my room, I immediately left.

I respect this woman immensely and believe that a monument should be erected to her for having lived with such a person for so many years. difficult person like Walter. Maritsa failed to save her marriage - she is not as flexible as I am. So I can get out of any situation, understand, forgive. At first, Maritza treated me rather coldly, but I understood her. What kind of woman would like that her husband had new passion, and even younger ex-wife for twelve years?

In principle, there was an agreement between the Zapashnys that everyone would live their own lives. Over the course of three years, both spouses had affairs, but it was probably unpleasant for her to see me. Over time, passions subsided, Maritsa realized that we had nothing to share, and relations improved.

Walter and I almost immediately stood in line for the cooperative, but while the house was being built, we lived in a four-room apartment with his wife in the South-West of Moscow. We occupied two rooms with the children. Maritsa lived in the other two with her daughter, and then with her new husband. Each family had its own “half”, but due to the busy touring schedule we practically did not intersect. Circus performers may not appear in Moscow for a year or two.

After the divorce, the Zapashnys lost a lot. Before that, they were one of the best circus couples in the USSR and did not leave foreign tours, but then they immediately became “restricted to travel.” Walter's younger brother Mstislav tried to dissuade him from officially breaking up with his wife. He came to us specifically to set us on the right path. I sat in the next room and heard everything. The door was closed, but they were very noisy. Mstislav shouted:


- What are you planning? Crazy! You will get a planner along the party line. You'll ruin your career!

It’s okay, I won’t get lost!

How could you exchange Maritza for this girl?! Come to your senses before it's too late!

It's out of the question!

It is interesting that a few years later Mstislav himself left his beloved wife Dolores, also a circus performer, and went to a young ballerina. Then a legend was born in the Zapashny clan that the men of this family find happiness only in a second marriage - in my opinion, quite dubious. I myself saw how Mstislav loved his wife, and I am sure that Walter loved Maritza, otherwise he would not have lived with her for so many years. No, this is all fiction.

In principle, it was the eldest of the brothers, Sergei Zapashny, who was supposed to teach Walter wisdom. But after a severe stroke he had health problems. Five years later, Sergei Mikhailovich died. There were five Zapashnys in total: four brothers - Sergei, Walter, Mstislav, Igor and sister Anna, whom everyone calls Nonna for some reason. The brothers continued the circus dynasty that had existed since the 19th century, and she married a theater actor and chose a different path. Walter was offended by his sister for exchanging the circus for family life. He was a real fan of his work.

Gradually I met almost all of my husband’s relatives. Only I didn’t see my younger brother, Igor, soon. First he was in prison, then in a penal colony for the murder of his wife, circus performer Olga Lapiado.

This dark story. There are several versions of the tragedy, I stick to the one I heard from Walter. Igor loved his wife madly, but was pathologically jealous. The couple constantly quarreled and one day decided to separate. Soon Olga had new man. She asked for a divorce, but Igor did not want to give it. One of the debates on this topic ended in a stormy scene. Zapashny lost his head and, in a state of passion, killed Olga.

About twenty stab wounds were recorded on the woman’s body. The crime was classified as committed with particular cruelty. I relied on him the death penalty. They whispered in the circus that Walter refused to intercede for his brother, but Mstislav fought for him, went through the authorities, trying to commute the sentence. Galina Brezhneva, who had a special affection for circus performers, helped him.

Her first husband was tightrope walker Evgeniy Milaev, who made brilliant career thanks to his marriage to his daughter Secretary General Central Committee of the CPSU - from an ordinary acrobat to the head of the Great Moscow Circus on Vernadsky Avenue. Galina Leonidovna’s second husband could have been another circus performer, Igor Kio, if the angry father had not ordered the annulment of his daughter’s marriage to the young illusionist. So, according to rumors, Galya asked Leonid Ilyich to commute the sentence of a talented artist who had lost his head because of love. Instead of a prison term, Igor Zapashny was given fifteen years.


Whether this is true or not, I don’t know. But I can admit that it was difficult for Walter to understand and forgive his brother, he was too categorical and direct. In addition, Igor’s crime cast a shadow on the entire family. Mstislav had a softer and more flexible character, he never cut from the shoulder, and Igor was closer to him. They have an age difference of only two years, and not twelve years, like Igor and Walter.

My husband did not like to remember this story, and I was young and not particularly interested in ancient legends. She lived her own life and didn’t meddle in other people’s affairs. Just once a month I collected a parcel for my brother-in-law - canned meat, condensed milk, and other simple products - and took it to the post office. As I remember now, Igor was sitting in the Cherdynsky district Perm region. As soon as he was released and came to Moscow, we took him into our team to support him financially. Igor even went on tour with us to Japan and earned money for a car.

As far as I understood from the stories of his relatives, prison made him a different person. Closed, taciturn. He is probably the most silent of the Zapashny brothers. At the settlement, Igor married for the second time and brought his wife and daughter from there. Tanya is already an adult, she has a family and children. We call each other. She lives in St. Petersburg, like her parents. Igor has not worked in the circus for a long time; he is seventy-six.

Walter had difficult relationship with younger brothers. Especially with Mstislav. Much has been said and written about the irreconcilable enmity of the two famous trainers, and I do not want to exaggerate this topic. I will say one thing: I tried to unite them. She invited Slava to visit us. I hoped that the brothers would drink a glass of champagne (both of them practically did not drink alcohol), relax and forget the grievances. Mstislav came. We sat down at the table, but after ten minutes it began: “And you!” - "And you!" Reproaches, showdown. After an hour, a maximum of an hour and a half, the brothers scattered in different directions. Slava slammed the door in his hearts, but Walter did not stop him.

They started out together as vaulting acrobats. Walter and Mstislav had a wonderful act that received prizes at international festivals, but the brothers very quickly became competitors and were unable to share leadership not only in the circus, but also in the family. And perhaps in love. It was rumored that Mstislav was the first to meet Maritsa, and Walter took her away. In any case, over the years they have accumulated a lot of mutual claims, which turned into open hostility.

Brothers shouldn't act like that. Having seen enough of Walter and Mstislav, I once told my sons: “If you ever fight, I’ll curse you!” Even from the other world!” That’s why we named our enterprise “Zapashny Brothers Circus”. I always insisted on the brotherhood of Edgard and Askold, tried not to single anyone out, and they are still together. In the circus on Vernadsky Avenue, everyone does their own thing: Edgard - administrative work as CEO, Askold - creativity as artistic director. Sometimes they, of course, quarrel, run away to their offices, but then they make up, because they cannot live without each other and without the circus.


We have such a concept - born in sawdust. Today this is nothing more than a spectacular phrase - there is no sawdust in the arena for a long time! - but nevertheless, our children do not know or see any other life other than the circus. When father and mother are rehearsing, the child is always nearby. He is not sent to any nurseries or kindergartens, and he very quickly gets used to this order of things and can no longer imagine anything else for himself. Wants to be like his parents.

At the circus on Vernadsky Avenue, I hold the post of first deputy general director, I monitor compliance with safety regulations and pretend to scold parents and kick kids out of the arena (and more often I just turn a blind eye to it).

What is this?!

Aunt Tanya, we need to rehearse!

It's too early for you! The time has not yet come.

I swear, but to be honest, I understand them. Our guys were also eager to get into the arena, and Walter supported them. At the age of four he put Edgard on a horse.

Our first-born was born on tour in Yalta, but we received the certificate already in Krivoy Rog. Askold was born on tour in Kharkov. The brothers are one year and two months apart, just like me and older sister. I would have given birth to a third child - the doctors forbade it. Walter and I had a rare blood type incompatibility that causes hemolytic disease of the newborn. Edgard had it in a mild form, while Askold had it in a rather severe form. They only allowed me to give birth with stimulation, they induced labor for a month ahead of schedule. And still the boy had to undergo a blood transfusion.

They often ask why our sons have such unusual names. In general, this is a circus tradition. I named the eldest one - “based on” the popular film “Edgar and Christina”, there was once such a melodrama. But at the registry office in Krivoy Rog, the letter “d” was added to the name of the hero I loved! They threatened that otherwise they would not register the child. I tried to argue, but they were stubborn: there is no name Edgar, only Edgard, even if you crack it.

We chose the name for the youngest together with Walter. At that time, there was a handsome and popular announcer on television, Octavian Kornich, and the husband wanted to name his son Octavian. I liked the name Richard better. IN medical card I wrote down the younger one that way. After which an argument broke out between Walter and I. He didn’t want to listen to anything: “You never know what you like! My son will be called what I want!” Fatima Gadzhikurbanova-Mednikova, a hereditary circus artist with whom we were on tour in Kharkov, judged us. She suggested: “Let’s throw pieces of paper with names into the hat, one for each. I'll write too. Whatever name comes up, that’s what you’ll give the baby.” Walter and I agreed. As a result, they pulled out Fatima’s piece of paper, on which “Askold” was written, and they calmed down.

When my son grew up, I told him everything and asked:

What if they still called you Octavian?

I would go crazy!

And Richard?

I like Richard.


I couldn't argue with my husband. It was no use. To achieve his goal, he had to seize the moment when he was in a calm and peaceful state, in no hurry. For example, I would watch TV. Lie down next to me on the sofa, snuggle up - Walter was very warm and always warmed me - and purr: “Val, please, I beg you! You love me!” And go against it - under no circumstances! He growled: “Don’t pull it on yourself! I said so! Even if it’s bad and wrong, it will still be my way!” Walter taught me that he was in charge, and I didn’t resist, I behaved diplomatically, because I understood: marriage is not only love, but also a lot of work. Sometimes you have to break yourself and not notice something in your loved one.

It wasn't easy with Walter. Not only was he a dictator by nature, but he was also very jealous, and for no reason. There were no other men for me, I didn’t look at anyone, but my husband apparently knew how easy it was to seduce a woman, he had a lot of experience in this area, and was terribly afraid that someone would take me away. After all, I was twenty-eight years younger and didn’t have time to play around, I got married early. Before Walter Serious relationships wasn't with anyone. And one more thing: he was afraid of losing me, because for him I was not just his wife, but also practically his only friend. Walter did not allow anyone into his soul and family. It was just our space, us and our children...

Motherhood was not just happiness for me, but a real shock. After the first birth, I cried for several hours and did not allow anyone to approach the baby. She protected me like a wolf. It was “mine”, although I didn’t know what to do with this “mine”. I was very scared when I took the child in my arms. Then everything fell into place. After the birth of my son Edgard, I realized that I belonged to Walter, because it was he who gave me this happiness, and I began to treat my husband completely differently, I fell in love with him for the rest of my life.

My sister always helped me with the children. Olya came when Edgard was born and stayed with us. At that time, my mother could not escape, she was caring for my grandmother. She was already old and blind. Little Edgard unexpectedly became the best nanny for Askold. We then lived in a circus hostel in Kharkov, and while Olya and I were doing laundry and cooking in the shared kitchen, he was sitting in the room with the baby. If Askold started to whine, Edgard would run towards us along the corridor shouting: “Lala is crying! Lyalya is crying! That's what he called his brother. I could watch him smile and coo for hours.

We have practically never been to Moscow. We toured the country all the time. For circuses, where there is a tour, there is a home. Everywhere they tried to arrange life and create comfort. They took with them pots, plates, tablecloths, bed linen, curtains. The luggage took up two or three containers. I am Spartan by nature, I get by with a minimum of things, but Walter liked it to be beautiful. On the table there is an embroidered tablecloth and a favorite tea set made of the finest porcelain.


He was an esthete. He told his sons: “Be at home like the king, then you will be at home with the king.” Although our wealth was not at all royal. Big money could only be earned on foreign tours, but Walter was not allowed to go abroad for twenty years. We didn’t grieve too much, because during this time we raised our sons and gave them a good education. If they were wandering around on trips abroad, they would not see us, but we were nearby and could give them all our free time.

Walter was a wonderful father. He always woke up his sons himself, even after tiring night rehearsals, and did exercises with them. Then Olya and I fed them breakfast and sent them to school. As children, my mother accompanied the boys. She moved in with us when her grandmother died. Edgard and Askold complained that they were ashamed to go to school “under escort,” although grandma kept her distance, but Walter rightly believed that children should not be left unattended in a strange city.

He was strict because he loved his sons very much and wanted them to be the best in everything. We studied only with straight A's. Walter himself was once an excellent student and even a Stalinist scholarship recipient. The guys changed a lot of schools, but we tried to keep them up and always get ahead of the program.

Edgard and Askold also tried. There were no problems with them as a child. Well, when they turned fifteen and fourteen years old and they went on tour with us to China, I, of course, was worried. The guys were hormonal, they even learned Chinese to have affairs with local girls, and I was afraid that they would be imprisoned. According to Chinese laws, girls' relationships with foreigners were not encouraged, and I was going crazy.

We lived not richly, but amicably and cheerfully. As soon as we bought the Volga, the whole family began to go outdoors and on vacation. It was such happiness! I remember we were driving south, stopping wherever we wanted and seeing all the sights along the way.

At first I only wore the house, but for circus performers the house and the circus are one and the same thing. In the morning I came to the arena with my husband and spent eight hours there while he rehearsed. Then she would leave for a short time, pick up the children from school, feed them lunch and bring them to the next rehearsal. In the evening, during the performances, I was also at the circus. And so every day. My husband didn’t try to make me a second Bugrimova or Nazarova, I didn’t strive for this myself, but I still hung around.

At work, Zapashny was very tough and demanding, he argued not only with his colleagues, but also with his superiors. There were always reasons: sawdust was not delivered to the animals on time, the rehearsal was delayed, no care was taken to ensure that the beds of the artists in the dormitory did not creak. Walter wanted people to fulfill their duties clearly. Once we arrived in Kazan, the circus director sent a car for us, and other artists got to the hotel public transport- They couldn’t afford a taxi - and they could barely drag their luggage. How Walter betrayed him to his superiors for this! Another time they collected new program. He told one artist that everything was wrong with him, and another: “What kind of aerial act is this? Gymnasts don’t wear their socks, the makeup is no good!” They reared up. A scandal broke out.


I asked:

Why are you saying all this?

Why should I remain silent? It's true!

And what? You're just ruining your relationship with everyone!

Walter was a truth teller and an idealist, he believed that he could correct people. I didn’t want him to worry in vain, and I tried to distract him. My husband played chess very well. As soon as we arrived in a city, I found him a partner and sat him down at the board, while I took care of business. I ran to the directorate, sorted out food, employees, cages, paint, and salaries.

Gradually she became its administrator, because, unlike Walter, she found people mutual language. But at the same time she was still with him at rehearsals, drove out and drove the animals, looked after them, fed and watered them. One day he asked: “Come into the cage with me and help me, I need to relieve the tiger.” And I started going in and helping him “rehearse the animals” (that’s what we say).

It wasn't scary with Walter. With him, all the predators sat quietly. They knew that I was their owner’s woman and they couldn’t touch me. I didn’t demand anything from them, I just helped my husband. Later, when we were already working on the Christmas trees at the circus on Vernadsky Avenue, Walter took me into the arena to release and remove the animals. Dressed in overalls like the other assistants. One day after a performance, Lyudmila Petrovna Yairova, general director of the Soyuzgostsirk company, approached him: let’s go and talk. In the office I asked:

Well, why don’t you let such a beautiful girl work?

Are you talking about Tanya? - Walter was surprised.

Well, of course! Does she fit into the cage?

But of course!

So what are you waiting for? Make a couple with her!

Returning, Walter told everything and summarized:

Tomorrow you will go to work with me.

I do not need it. She released the animals, corralled them, cleaned them up - and that’s it.

And I say - tomorrow you go to work!

Will not go!

Just say the word!

I had to obey. I started teaching him how to move around the arena and give compliments. I didn't like all this. I felt much more comfortable behind Walter’s back. Now he has become not just a husband, but a partner, and absolutely ruthless.

Once at the Rostov circus she performed a rather difficult trick. It consisted of me flying over the arena while sitting on a trapeze and a tigress jumping over me. There was a cabinet below where I sat. That evening, Zitka missed, knocking me down in a jump, and I, like an archangel, flew off the trapeze and slammed from a height of three meters onto this pedestal. And the cow flew head over heels, upside down. I’m lying in the arena and thinking: “Well, there’s a beauty!” And Walter runs up and, instead of pitying and comforting, pulls his hand: “Get up! Let's repeat the trick! The audience froze in horror when I fell, there was silence in the hall. It seemed to me that I could hear my heart beating. I whisper:

Walter, I can't! My head is spinning.

And he barks:

We repeat, I said it!

Nothing to do. I sit on the trapeze and think: “Now I’m going crazy!” Everything is swimming before my eyes. Hands are shaking. But she accomplished the trick. She went backstage all in tears. Walter ran up and hugged him:


- Why are you crying?

You can't imagine how scared I was!

Why? I present. But work is work.

Already in another circus, a tiger grabbed her finger when she was feeding the animals in the evening. I walked around the circus with a bloody hand in complete confusion - it was eleven o’clock, the first aid station was not open. Suitable Walter:

What do you have?

Achilles' finger was pierced.

Well, come into the dressing room! - he offers quite calmly. He opens the door and I faint. After a couple of minutes I come to my senses and wait - now it will pick me up. And Walter: - Why are you lying down? Get up. Just think, they scratched her finger!

It became so offensive. What a man! Like a beast myself! No sympathy. I wanted to be a weak woman at least in such moments, but he didn’t let me become limp, he forced me to pull myself together. Probably preparing for independent work and life and wanted to make me even stronger.

Of course they were flowers. When serious troubles happened, Walter behaved differently. On tour in Kislovodsk, I almost lost an eye. In our work we used noise revolvers with special cartridges. They not only scared away animals, but also burned. One day I accidentally dropped my weapon on the cement floor. It worked, there was a shot, and the flame from it hit me in the eye.

Against the backdrop of a severe burn, inflammation of the cornea began. In Kislovodsk there was only one standing ophthalmologist in the whole city, he was sick at that time and was at home. He simply couldn’t walk, and Walter almost carried him in his arms to me at the hospital. The doctor spent quite a long time cleaning gunpowder from his eyes and giving injections to prevent her from going blind. The inflammation was miraculously stopped.

In Bryansk I got into another trouble. Walter went to the station to load the equipment, and I was preparing the cages with predators for loading and, in order to clean and close the bars, I climbed between two cages. There, sticking out their paws, three tigers grabbed me at once, and all the men standing nearby got scared and ran out of the enclosure, closing the door behind them. In principle, there is nothing to blame them for. These were not trainers, but engineering staff and loaders. I forcibly pulled my legs out of the tigers’ claws, losing consciousness. A piece of flesh was torn out of his leg and blood was gushing out. Fortunately, the ambulance arrived quickly enough. The hospital immediately sent me to the operating room.

Waking up after anesthesia, I heard Walter’s heart-rending scream outside the door: “Let me go to her! Tanya! Tanechka! And again she fell into oblivion. The sisters later said: “How your husband was killed! He shouted: “Why did I leave you alone! How could I!" The next day he picked me up, put me in a car and drove me to Moscow. Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin got him into a very good clinic, but the wounds were deep and then festered for a very long time and did not heal.

Walter was torn by tigers more than once. He was all wounded, traumatized, sewn and altered by doctors. He joked: “If there was a dollar for every scar, I would be a rich man!” When I sunbathed, all the scars immediately “appeared” on the body. They used to sew differently than they do now, without particularly caring about aesthetics, and the seams came out crooked and scary. And the wounds from the tiger’s fangs are not simple, jagged, so the spectacle was impressive. My father saw them, but for some reason he showed amazing carelessness...


After leaving the reserves, he also came to us. Dad had a peculiar relationship with his son-in-law. He accepted Walter and never conflicted with him, but sometimes he looked a little wary. In general, my father was a taciturn, calm and reasonable person. All the more surprising is what happened to him.

It was on tour in Samara. On that fateful day, Walter and I went to Moscow to try on costumes, and my father had a drink with the circus workers and, apparently, decided to show off: look, I’m as cool as my son-in-law, I’m not afraid of tigers. He stuck his hand into the cage to stroke it, not realizing that not all animals can be touched. In a group of predators there is usually only one tame one. The tigers attacked him and tore off his arm. A few hours later, the father died in the hospital. So they buried him without a hand. I didn’t find him alive, Walter and I didn’t have time to arrive, and I didn’t go to bury him. I couldn't see!

I had a strange feeling that my father had abandoned me. I loved him so much! Was real daddy's daughter! And he suddenly up and left! Why? Who gave him the right to die so early?! And How?! Dumber than death It was impossible to come up with, it’s like throwing yourself headlong under a car - maybe you won’t run over it. I didn't blame the animals for anything. A tiger is a tiger, he acts at the behest of instinct - to kill prey and eat. And it was as if some kind of eclipse had come over dad...

Walter was much older, more experienced and, in a sense, replaced my father. I called him Father, Father. And he called me Tanya, Tanya, Lapulya. But only outside the circus. There, all of Walter’s tenderness disappeared somewhere. Sometimes it seemed like he had a split personality. At work, the husband was tough and rude, but as soon as he crossed the threshold of the house, he became different - kind, flexible. It was as if the circus was in a state of war, in constant readiness reflect blows. That's why he didn't even spare me.

It was a shame to the point of tears. I asked:

Walter, why are you doing this?

My girl, what did I say bad to you?

Yes, as soon as he didn’t call it! With the very last words!

I?! What did you come up with?

Should I write it down, or what? Ask people if you don’t believe me, many have heard!

Tanya, I never said that!

It seemed like he really didn't remember anything. At first I was shocked. Then I got used to it. Okay, let it be this way: at work Walter is one person, at home he is another.

The happiest days in our family were holidays - New Year, birthdays, especially for sons. Walter always prepared in advance; he loved buying gifts. At first they were modest, then, when funds became available, they were simply gorgeous: he gave me a gold bracelet with diamonds and earrings. For the twentieth anniversary life together I received an expensive floor-length mink coat from him. We had just returned from Japan. Walter loved me madly!

As time went. My husband and I, as they say in the circus, “worked” the cage, while Edgard and Askold worked on the horses and monkeys. They had two of their own rooms. One day, trouble happened to Walter - due to old injuries, it became necessary to replace hip joint. They performed an operation, but after it a long rehabilitation was required. I realized that my husband would not only be able to perform in the arena for a long time, but also to walk, and it was necessary to introduce my sons to work with tigers and lions. Before this, they had already helped and entered the cage with their father, but they did not know the tigers.

I can’t say that at that time Edgard and Askold were very inspired by the prospect of working with predators, but we all still had no alternative. We couldn't ruin our father's life's work. For the first time, I took on the role of leader. The animals knew me and obeyed me. It was probably a gamble, but it all worked out. The guys understood the responsibility they had, gave their best and very quickly got used to their new role.

Little by little we got carried away, began to buy and add other animals, and came up with new tricks - on our own. I moved away from training and took up administrative work and organizing tours. Walter never entered the cage again. When I recovered from one misfortune, others began to fall. After all, he was over seventy years old. But until the end of his days he remained the permanent artistic director of our team. I watched all the performances and scolded the artists, as before. And I had to seriously go into business and even graduate from the Institute of Management.

Life forced me to become a breadwinner, to master a computer and a car. I started to drive with fear, but there was no choice, Walter had to be taken to the circus and to the doctors. A lot of money was required for the treatment of her husband and sons. The guys often got injured. Once Edgard injured his knee at a performance - doctors diagnosed a rupture cruciate ligament. I had to have two surgeries. For the first we paid fifteen thousand dollars, for the second - nine. It was a lot for us back then. So it was necessary to spin and earn money to provide for the family.

In 2003, Walter had a stroke. We took him out, he even went on tour with us. Everyone in the team helped, looked after him if I had to go to another city on business. Walter was respected and loved by everyone. They called: “Tatyana Vasilievna, don’t worry, we had a walk with Walter Mikhailovich! Olya fed him.” This went on for four years. At one time it seemed that he was recovering, but then he had another stroke. Walter just returned with us from Saratov. There he sat at all the speeches and made comments in a quiet, quiet voice. And at home he persuaded: “Don’t swear, don’t shout...” Before his death he became so quiet and calm! Shortly before his departure, when it was already very bad, he asked not to leave for a minute, to be close, close:

Tanya, give me a little of your energy! Oh please!

Yes, take it all! You know that I am ready to give you everything.

For the last two weeks he has not gotten up and refused to eat. They started giving him IVs. Doctors said:

You see that he is leaving. Don't torture the person, leave him alone.

I won't leave! How can you say such a thing?!

I didn't believe that he would leave. It seemed to me: just a little more - and Walter would get up.

On his last evening, I sat in the room next to our bedroom with Lena Baranenko, ex-girlfriend Askold. She is like family to me and still lives in my house. Suddenly, our dog, a Dogue de Bordeaux, appeared on the threshold of the bedroom and looked at the sleeping Walter in a special way, with a long, long look. Lena realized: “Probably something happened to Walter Mikhailovich.” I walked up to him and saw that it was all over. She closed his eyes and called an ambulance. She behaved surprisingly calmly, apparently did not fully understand what had happened. And when they came for the body and covered Walter with a sheet, it was as if they had stabbed me with a knife. She screamed and rushed to the doctors:


With my Lenas - Baranenko and Petrikova

Wait! Don't take it!

The nurse, a tall, strong woman, pulled away and said quietly:

Don't come. No need...

In the morning I entered the bedroom and burst into tears. There were Walter’s things all around - shirts, jackets, trousers, watches, and looking at them, I became incredibly aware that he was no longer there. The man who was everything to me has left: husband, lover, teacher, comrade-in-arms - and it’s unclear how to live on...

Nine years have passed since he died, but there is the same pain in my soul, nothing has changed. Walter is not around, but I’m talking to him: “Dad, don’t leave me, help me! I think you don’t leave me there either, you’re keeping an eye on me.” And it seems to be helping.

I'm alone. The sons are worried:

You don't have to get married, you can just date someone.

You probably don't understand what your father was like. Against his background, all other men pale. There is no better one, but I don’t need anything worse. It is impossible to put someone next to you and let someone into your heart. And anyway, why do I need this? Thanks to Walter, I am now stronger than any man.

This is probably how I work, I can’t forget my loved one. She lived with her husband for thirty-three years and wanted her sons to have one love for the rest of their lives. Did not work out. Edgard and Askold broke up with their girlfriends, Lena Petrikova and Lena Baranenko, with whom they lived for many years, but I couldn’t - I love both of them madly. Lena stayed with me.

Some are surprised: “The sons separated from these women a long time ago, and they live in your house. It’s not supposed to be like that!” This situation seems absolutely natural to me. They are simply exceptional girls, they put their lives on the altar of love. I used to compare myself with them: could I behave the same way towards Walter? And I honestly admitted - no. The guys didn’t appreciate it, but the girls weren’t to blame for anything and remained as good as before. How can I kick them out, erase them from my life, my family? They are both like daughters to me! And I am dear to them.

Lena Petrikova has already talked about herself in your magazine, and I’ll tell you about another Lena - Baranenko. I first heard about her many years ago from my friend Ella, a circus performer. Lena's parents were aerialists and during a performance at the Riga Circus they fell into trouble. high altitude. The mother fell to her death. The father survived, and the daughter took care of him and her younger brother. Ella admired her: “I never thought that a little girl could feed and serve two men!” Lena also worked in the circus, they had a family act - jugglers on horses.

Years have passed. After returning from China, we went on tour to Rostov. One day Askold let a pretty girl down:

Mom, meet me, this is Lena Baranenko. Can we take her into the team?

I immediately remembered Ella’s story and was delighted:

Certainly!

Lena then performed with hula hoops. The guys fell in love with each other, began to live together, and I couldn’t be happier with them. We usually rehearse early with the tigers, around seven or eight in the morning, and Lena got up incredibly early to put out the dough and prepare Askold his favorite pancakes for breakfast. She tinkered because she loved it. I cleaned my ears with a cotton swab, like a little one! She carried packages of his favorite soda! I admired her, and when Askold’s love ended, I thought that Lena did not deserve to be thrown out of our lives. Furthermore- She, as if to reproach my son, became an extraordinary aerialist. And then he is generally a jack of all trades: he performs on horses, and with parrots, and lets tigers in and out of cages. And he works as the chief administrator in our circus. Day and night she is ready to prove her indispensability for the family. In my opinion, this is worth a lot!

I asked Askold not to leave Lena, or at least to do it as tactfully as possible so as not to hurt her. I remember we were driving together in the car, he said that it was all over for them, and I began to persuade: “Well, wait! At least a little bit! Don’t cut from the shoulder!” I wanted to soften the blow so that everything would happen gradually and Lena would get used to the fact that Askold was no longer around. But he was stubborn - there was no point in chopping off the tail piece by piece, and she showed pride. Now that everything has calmed down, the son, of course, agrees that perhaps it was not worth forcing events.

Edgard also asked Askold not to get excited, he didn’t want him to kick Baranenko out. And then he did the exact same thing - he fell in love with the fitness instructor Olga, who later bore him two daughters, and said: let Petrikova leave. I was surprised:

How so? You yourself asked your brother not to hurt Lenka! And now you’re hurting your own!

I have another woman, and you must support her!

For some reason, he and Askold believe that if they fell in love with someone, then I should also fall in love with this woman and stop loving their former chosen one. To this I say: “You guys, everything is too simple. And if I love, then I love. I’ve idolized your father all my life.” We probably have different ideas about this feeling. For them it is passion, desire, for me it is something more.

We even had a fight about this. Then the relationship with my sons somehow improved, but they are no longer as trusting as before. Well, I guess over time, children inevitably move away from their mothers. This is the law of life.

At first I didn’t get along very well with Askold’s wife Helen Raichlin, but then I fell in love with her as I got to know her better. When my son had a spree, she immediately said:

Even if you break up with Helen, she will remain in my family!

You couldn't stand her!

Nothing like this. I just had a hard time accepting it. And now I don’t want you to bring a stranger into your family. Why should I let him into my personal space?

I live in mine cozy world, which I created for many years. If someone doesn't like it, create your own, and please leave me alone. I completed the “minimum program” - I built a house, planted trees, raised children, and already have four granddaughters. Soon to be sixty. Well, let me finally live the way I want!


With granddaughters: from left to right - daughters Askold, Elsa and Eva, and daughters Edgarda, Stefania and Gloria

I'm proud of my age, I like it. I would not want to become a girl again, because I have reached the level of mental and everyday comfort that I have always dreamed of. Five of us live in a large four-story house - my mother, sister Olya, two Lenas and me. Mom is eighty-nine, but she feels well. I take care of her, I get her good medicine. Of course, there are problems with memory, sometimes he asks the same thing three or four times. But she takes care of herself and walks.

The sons live separately. We often get together and celebrate holidays. And we see each other every day at work. Edgard did not marry Olga. Why - I don't ask. This is his life, why interfere? Askold, I hope, is happily married. Now he and Helen are doing well, which I am very happy about. They went through a difficult period that lasted about two years.

I communicate with all my granddaughters - there are four of them, but I especially love Askold and Helen’s eldest daughter, Eva. She is closer to me in terms of energy and is generally very smart. Perhaps later I’ll make friends with the youngest, Elsa, she’s still just small. I like it and eldest daughter Edgarda Stefania, a very intelligent girl. The younger Gloria is different, but also small and not very outgoing yet. I would love to communicate with them, but it doesn’t work out. Edgard's children most spend time with my mother, and Eva and Elsa live in my house three days a week.

I consider Evka my heir. She's so thoughtful! You can smell Jewish blood! None of my granddaughters caress me like that. He calls: “Grandma-Tanyulechka, shall we go watch a new cartoon?” I am a Sunday grandmother for them and Elsa; on weekends I take them to the cinema. Then the girls play on the playground and steal a bunch of unnecessary things from their grandmother - sweets, toys. We also make sure to eat ice cream and play slot machines.

When we return, Eva goes to bed with Lena Baranenko. She her best friend. Interestingly, Lena’s late mother’s name was Eva! Some kind of mysticism. When they named a girl, no one thought about it. Eva loves Baranenko so much that she is even jealous of her sister. Lena - godmother Elsa. She was baptized in Helen's homeland in Israel in Christian temple. It was in Israel that everything finally fell into place in the relationship between Askold and Lena. They calmed down, made peace, and I asked her to become the godmother of the youngest girl. Now Eva is jealous of her! Lena is just a friend for her, but for Elsa she is a “second mother”! It's cooler.

Helen does not object to this friendship at all; on the contrary, she is very pleased. Eva is six, Elsa is five. Edgard's girls are five and four. Eva and Elsa are eager to get into the playpen themselves. Eva really likes Lena Baranenko’s performances and her costumes. I've already tried on all the hats and dresses - such a fashionista! - and climbs onto the airy canvases after her. Will she really become a gymnast?


I didn’t dream about the circus, everything just happened. This is probably what Heaven decided. Why did Walter choose me? I'm not that good, I'm full of shortcomings. Sometimes I am unfair, too categorical. Or, conversely, I can’t quickly decide on a position. But there is no point in guessing - everything turned out as it turned out and I live as I live. Previously, the energy was overflowing, but now sometimes I want to close myself at home, sit with a book or flowers in the winter garden and not see or hear anyone.

One day I confessed to my sons that I was tired and was thinking about quitting my job, and they shouted: “Mother, have you gone crazy? Stop blackmailing us! Press for pity!” But I don’t blackmail and I don’t like pity. It just seems that enough has already been done - let them now do everything themselves, and not train the mother to suit themselves and force her to carry out orders that are not always correct. But sometimes it sounds: “And in general, I am your director, and you are my deputy!”

Edgard's fatherly habits are slipping through. Although I only person, who will always lay down straws if he decides to stumble. My sons are forty years old, and I worry about them like they are little. We are like-minded people. But they brew in an artistic environment, and I am responsible for finances and a bunch of other serious things, and I am often forced to say when they come with different ideas: this is not possible, here state organization, you need a corresponding document, a basis. They listen to me, admit that the mother has more life experience.

I am for stability. I don’t like shocks that turn life upside down. I remain faithful to the chosen path, I try not to deviate from it. Empty curiosity can lead too far. And sometimes they want to start a “revolution”, to show what they are capable of. Please! But only with the mind. I know that I won’t be left without work and that I’ll even find something to do at home. I will grow flowers! I'll open the salon! I certainly won’t whine: what should I do? I'm strong...