In the early 2000s, the name Decl became an almost famous Russian brand. This boy gave the start to the movement of a massive wave of hip-hop in our country. The popular teenager quickly became an idol and the envy of millions of children. And no school disco would be complete without his famous track “Party at Decl’s House.”
But not everyone knows what Decl’s own father, music producer Alexander Tolmatsky, showed the world. It was he who felt the enormous potential in his son, which is why he took a risk and invested a lot of money and effort in Kirill. Alexander was right. But what did this popularity cost both of them later?
About Father Decl
The biography of Alexander Tolmatsky is full of many contradictory facts. It is interesting, for example, that the future producer received two educations that were far from music. Alexander Yakovlevich Tolmatsky graduated first from the Moscow Institute of National Economy, and then from the Institute of Dairy and Meat Industry. But this did not stop him from becoming the first successful DJ in Moscow, and then the producer of Oleg Gazmanov, the groups “Combination” and “Vostok”.
But, despite all Alexander’s creative achievements, many remember and know him exclusively as the person who revealed Decl to the world.
About the Decl family
At the age of 23, Alexander Tolmatsky marries the girl Irina. After a while married couple son Kirill was born.
According to his wife Irina, Alexander Yakovlevich Tolmatsky had great talent in the field of tailoring. “He sewed like a god,” said Irina. Therefore, initially he made jeans to order, from which he fed his family.
In fact, because of this, according to the story of his wife Irina, he once even ended up in prison. The real reasons Alexander’s getting there is a thing of the distant past, but one of the versions is considered to be the man’s illegal use of branded stripes.
The moment of arrest was difficult for all family members. But it was especially difficult for Irina. While her husband was in prison, searches were carried out in their apartment, but nothing was found. After all, all the money comes from small business the Tolmatsky family simply ate away. There was simply no money left to save anything.
But soon it difficult time ends. Alexander begins to legally earn serious money, advance as a producer and win himself a high rank in the field Russian show-business.
About the emerging love for turnips
When Kirill turned 12 years old, his father decided to send him to study at a closed Swiss school. There the boy gets acquainted with rap. It was this time that marked the beginning of Kirill’s first serious passion for hip-hop culture.
A year later, the future Decl returns home. Alexander Tolmatsky sees dreadlocks on his son’s head, notices his interests revolving around turnips, and decides to try to make the child a star in this area. I must say that mother Irina was categorically against this.
About the appearance of Decl
When Kirill turned 14, his father decided to give him a music video starring him as a gift. This was the beginning of Decl’s grandiose career and his appearance on the stage. The clip blew up all the television charts and took the top places in the charts. No one expected such success, not even Alexander himself.
Kirill begins his successful career. He writes songs and tours them all over the country. We can say for sure that Decl became a child symbolizing the era of the 90s. Everyone learned about him: from children to old people.
About the collapse of the Tolmatsky family
But it turned out that this was not forever. In the early 2000s, Alexander Tolmatsky met dancer Anna, the same age as Decl, in one of the nightclubs. At that time, both the son and the producer’s chosen one were 17 years old. A man falls in love and subsequently leaves her family.
Decl's mother Irina is having a hard time with the separation. But it was even more difficult for Kirill. Due to a huge resentment towards his father, the guy breaks off all relations with his father. Unfortunately, this affected not only their personal relationships, but also professional activity. Decl leaves the stage and stops all concert activities.
About the new life of the Tolmatskys
In his marriage to Anna, Alexander Tolmatsky has two children: a boy Fedor and a girl Anfisa. The children know about the existence of Kirill, his photograph is even on their father’s table, but nothing more. Kirill's resentment towards Alexander turned out to be so strong that he refused to maintain any relationship with his brothers and sisters.
Kirill also got married and had a son. Alexander Tolmatsky saw his grandson only a few times.
Today's time
To this day, the relationship between father and son, unfortunately, has not been established. According to Alexander Tolmatsky, he tried for 10 years to start communicating with his son again. But now he has already come to terms with this state of affairs.
The true reason for their quarrel has not yet been clarified. Each side has its own point of view. Alexander believes that Kirill cannot forgive him for leaving his family and understand that sometimes people simply drift apart.
Irina, Decl’s mother, says that her son was only a musical project for his father. Alexander was often too demanding, rude and unfair to Kirill. And it is precisely because of this that relations between generations have not yet been restored.
Kirill simply does not comment on this situation in most interviews.
Now Kirill continues to write music, but his enormous popularity is a thing of the past. Perhaps someday Decl will appear on the big stage again and millions will sing along with him, as before.
We also hope that someday father and son will find a common language again and restore the connection between generations that is important for every person.
In the mid-nineties and early 2000s, there were many pop idols in our country. Just look at the creativity of Andrei Gubin or the Ladybug group. Many of their hits will be remembered for the rest of our lives. They still have fans, despite the fact that the performers of the famous hits have long disappeared from view. On the birthday of singer Natalya Vetlitskaya, Woman’s Day found out what happened to the twenty most popular performers of that time.
Natalia Vetlitskaya, 2010
Unexpected departure
The ex-soloist of the popular group “Mirage” for many years managed to occupy the niche of a sexy singing blonde in the domestic show business. And the shots with her raised skirt from the Playboy video became one of the symbols of the nineties. Natasha released a couple of albums that were literally swept off the shelves by fans, and then suddenly disappeared from the public eye.
There were many reasons why the pop diva left the stage. She left the world of show business silently, without giving a farewell concert and without explaining herself to the public. The disappearance of Natalya Vetlitskaya, who turned 50 in the fall of 2014, was her conscious decision.
Birth of a daughter
Vetlitskaya decided to radically change her life after the birth of her daughter Ulyana in 2004. According to a source close to the singer, she wanted to terminate her pregnancy. She was persuaded to leave the child by producer Viktor Yudin, who became last years her right hand and close friend. The name of the child’s father, Vetlitskaya, has not been made public to this day.
New life in Spain
In addition, after the birth of her daughter, the pop diva decided to leave not only the stage, but also Russia. When Ulyana was four years old, they moved to live in sunny Spain forever.
Today Natasha tries not to come to the attention of journalists, is raising her daughter and does not like to comment on her past. Although in her personal life there was also a lot interesting events- for example, a ten-day marriage to Yevgeny Belousov, an affair with the domestic oligarch Kerimov (who, as journalists said, gave her a plane). But if Vetlitskaya used to choose exclusively the rich and famous, today she is married to her yoga mentor.
Andrey Gubin
Tramp boy
He was a favorite of schoolgirls, and cassettes with his hits were sold like hot cakes. His angelic appearance and voice broke more than one girl’s heart, and songs such as “Tramp Boy” or “Winter Cold” were heard throughout the country.
Everything changed in 2007, when Gubin suddenly disappeared from television screens. They said that the singer had problems with alcohol due to unrequited love for a girl. And someone even claimed that he left Russia. To clarify the situation, we need to go back far into the past.
First album
His musical career began in the late eighties, not without the support of his father, Viktor Viktorovich Gubin, former research fellow and a cartoonist, and by that time vice-president of the Russian Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, owner of several recording studios.
Andrey’s first professional album was released only in 1995, after Gubin met the famous musician Leonid Agutin. This album bore the name of the singer’s debut song, “Tramp Boy,” and very quickly conquered the top of all popularity ratings.
Sudden disappearance
However, after his unprecedented rise in the second half of the nineties, Andrei suddenly disappeared from view. The peak of his popularity came in 2000, when Andrei toured not only the cities of Russia, but also the United States, Israel, Germany, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. After this, Gubin did not give any new concerts, although he released another new album and a collection of his best songs.
Father's death
Recession creative activity Andrei is undoubtedly associated with the deteriorating health of his father, who not only helped his son get into the world of show business, but also constantly supported him, largely directing the singer’s career. After all, Andrei, according to his colleagues, had a very gentle character and needed fatherly control.
The death of Viktor Viktorovich in 2007 led to the virtual cessation of his son’s creative activity. For some time, fans, out of inertia, were interested in the ups and downs of their hero, and then slowly began to forget him.
Andrey Gubin, 2008
Disease
Then rumors spread that Andrei had been diagnosed with the disease nervous system, which caused constant severe pain in the facial area. Doctors helped to overcome the mental crisis. He says that he was treated twice at the neurosis clinic.
Now
Today Andrei is already over 40. The ex-idol leads a reclusive life in Moscow, has gained noticeable weight, but still dreams of returning to the stage.
“I look bad now, that’s why I’m not performing. If I get into shape, I’ll definitely perform, but I’m not ready yet,” says the singer. “I write music all the time, I compose poetry, but for myself, I train my soul.”
Popularity
Alexander Aivazov is known to the general public as Sasha Aivazov as a pop singer of the 90s, who then sang the hit about “Lilies” and “Butterfly Moon”. A popular but critically underrated singer, Sasha Aivazov became famous back in 1989. At the same time, his first hit, “Lily,” sounded. The image of a romantic teenager singing sincere and simple songs about love was confirmed by the first two albums: “Don't be sad” and “Where are you?”
The super hit “I beg you, don’t cry” becomes, as it were, a farewell to the singer’s teenage period. The song brings the matured Aivazov all-Russian popularity, which is soon confirmed by the third album. It was released at the end of 1996, and in it Sasha also appears as a composer. “Butterfly Moon”, “Time River”, “It’s Just a Game” are the undisputed hits of the latest release.
In general, the disc turns out to be very successful due to the hitness of the melodies, the lightness and excitement of the performance and the very colorful synthesis of flamenco, rockabilly and pop music. And the matured and matured Alexander himself appears in the guise of a kind of macho man that is attractive to fans, not at all reminiscent of the lyrically touching Sasha of yesteryear.
In 1998, fashionable “remixers”, in particular Roman Ryabtsev, DJ Valdai, made dance versions of “Butterfly Moon”. The performer himself has a noticeable creative crisis - having found his own style in “Butterfly Moon”, Aivazov again embarked on experiments. And in the end he turned into an ordinary pop singer, only, unlike many colleagues, he no longer promotes himself on television and radio.
His new hit “I’ll Unravel You,” which appeared in the fall of 1998, also did not impress. And in 1999, Alexander Aivazov, alas, who did not develop the success of “Butterfly Moon”, unfortunately for fans, left the charts.
Alexander Aivazov at the concert “Legends of Retro FM”, 2012
Alcoholism
The artist has never hidden the fact that he is rarely on friendly terms with alcohol. Aivazov loved to sit with friends over a white bottle and almost never refused a glass or two at social events. Gradually the habit grew into a serious addiction. The singer, who was depressed, completely forgot about his former popularity and almost lost his family.
A year ago, Sasha’s wife Irina left along with their three-year-old son Nikita. She was tired of putting up with her husband's drunkenness. To regain his wife’s trust, the 41-year-old singer went to a drug treatment clinic for treatment.
“I got so drunk that I was on IVs every day,” Alexander said then. – It’s all my fault! But if Ira sends a lawyer, I will not sign any documents. I don’t want to divorce her, I will fight for love. I realized everything and want to fix everything. If she forgives me, I will never touch alcohol again in my life.”
Rehabilitation at the Marshak drug treatment clinic
In the hospital, Aivazov courageously fought his addiction. All for the sake of having his beloved wife and son nearby. The thought that he would eventually lose his family was unthinkable to him.
Every morning in the hospital he started by jogging. fresh air around the hospital park and from yoga classes in the ward. Then he underwent many rehabilitation procedures and conversations with a psychologist. In the end everything worked out! Sasha stopped drinking and managed to save his family. Now he lives happily and is engaged in creativity. True, his popularity left him forever.
Successful in everything
Not all women who sold clothes and cosmetics in tents in the 90s became famous singers and owners of their own serious businesses. Irina Saltykova succeeded in both, one after another.
Since childhood, Irina was a purposeful and independent child. In addition to school, she was involved in a cutting and sewing club, was fond of knitting, and went to rhythmic gymnastics training.
Unsuccessful marriage
In 1986, something happened in Irina’s life fateful meeting with her future husband Viktor Saltykov. Victor was struck by Irina’s beauty and charm. They got married, and a year later their daughter Alice was born.
Their marriage did not last long. According to the singer, this happened due to Victor’s addiction to alcohol. After separating from her husband, Irina went into business, but the profits were barely enough to live on, and then Saltykova decided to return to the stage and start a solo career.
Solo career
After the release of the “Gray Eyes” video, the whole country knew Irina. She was immediately dubbed a sex symbol and a new rising star. With each new song, the singer only strengthened her popularity.
She has six albums in total, and she dedicated the third, “Alice,” to her daughter. Actor career Irina’s career was also quite successful: having played in the films “Brother-1, -2”, she received critical acclaim.
Irina Saltykova, 2014
Business
Now Irina is successfully running a business, she has a beauty and style house “Irina Saltykova”, her own boutique and beauty salon. Little is known about the singer’s personal life: she has a beloved man, but the singer keeps who he is a secret. Songs remained in her life as a pleasant hobby.
Good start
Sergei's songs became popular in the early 90s. They captivated the audience with their special energy. Surely everyone sang “Don’t offend the young girl, groom,” at karaoke. It all started in Moscow back in 1972.
A simple Moscow boy who graduated from a mechanical engineering college did not dream of becoming a star. However, fate gave him a ticket to the world of music. It all happened thanks to a chance acquaintance with the poet Alexander Shaganov in 1988.
He became the producer of the young talented performer. In addition, Alexander had the necessary contacts on television. Thanks to this, Sergei entered the Morning Star competition, although he always sang only by ear. The first songs were generally rehearsed to the accordion. Of course, he had a desire to master musical notation, but he was too much of a hooligan guy. I was expelled from music school for bad behavior.
Popularity
Since the beginning of 1991, Sergei has been successfully recording new hits, giving concerts and going on tour. A few years later, the young singer quarrels with producer Shaganov and leaves him.
Igor Azarov becomes Sergei’s new producer. The album “Go For a Walk” is released. The singer begins to work in the style of Western music of the 50s and 60s. His works were influenced by notable performers such as Elvis Presley, Paul Anka, Luis Prima. During this period, the singer, who was losing popularity, even made peace with Alexander Shaganov. The third album, “Like the First Time,” includes several songs based on his poems. However, Chumakov's attempt to perform Western music failed. The album was a complete failure, and Chumakov disappeared from the screens.
Sergey Chumakov, 2012
Leaving the stage
There were rumors that Alla Pugacheva helped Chumakov both get on stage and leave it. They say that the song “Don’t hurt me, groom,” which made Chumakov famous, was originally intended for the then favorite of the Diva, Sergei Chelobanov. For this, Pugacheva was offended and “closed” Chumakov’s path to show business.
“Alla Pugacheva kindly invited me to sing at her “Christmas meetings,” says Chumakov. “Immediately after that, I was bombarded with offers for tours. As for the song, I didn’t know that Shaganov first wrote it for Chelobanov and Chelobanov had already sung it. Therefore, when Pugacheva told me: “Sergei, don’t sing this song anymore,” I was indignant. After all, the song became popular precisely in my performance. I answered Alla Borisovna: “How can I not sing? What should I answer to people: did you forbid me to sing or have I lost my memory?” And he continued to perform it. But I don’t think I disappeared from the screens because of this. I just couldn’t pay such huge amounts of money for broadcasts like Pugacheva or Kirkorov did.”
Return
Today, Sergei is happily married to a woman who supports him in everything. He has noticeably gotten better and is eager to fight again. He started recording songs and is even preparing to release a new album in the near future.
Group Demo
Peak of popularity
Any school disco of the late nineties was not complete without the hits of the Demo group. Alexandra Zvereva, the lead singer of the group, never had outstanding vocal abilities. But this was not required of her.
Parting with the producer
In 2002, Zvereva and her producer Vadim Polyakov terminated their contract with the ARS company. Demo clips began to disappear from the airwaves of music channels. And then the lead singer announced that she was expecting a child, and since then we haven’t heard anything about Demo.
Sasha Zvereva, 2010
Demo now
It turned out that the Demo group still exists, just with a different lineup. Well, Sasha Zvereva records solo songs from time to time, and also sews clothes for the brand she owns.
“We did not stop touring, I traveled to cities and countries even in the last months of pregnancy,” says twice-mother Sasha Zvereva. – Over the years, Demo has released 7 albums. The group is not bothered by their absence from the airwaves: the tour continues, they have money to live on. My main income is my man, and Demo is more of a hobby. We live separately, have a club of fans and believe that people will separate the wheat from the chaff and understand what is made artificially to make money, and what is made from the heart.”
Former popularity
Previously, no one had passed without Tanya Ovsienko’s performances. big concert, not a single solemn ceremony. And today they completely forgot about her.
Once upon a time famous singer Tatyana Ovsienko had everything: money, career, fame. But one day she exchanged all this for the happy smile of a child. At one time, in pursuit of millions, the singer did not think about children until one moment.
Foster-son
One day fate gave her an amazing meeting. Once Tatyana gave a concert in orphanage and drew attention to little boy, Igor. Later, the singer was told that the parents abandoned the child when he was diagnosed with an advanced heart defect. According to the teachers, Igor was homeless, he needed a very complicated operation, but the orphanage did not have the money for it.
And then Tatyana seemed to have an epiphany, she realized that she could save this child. She immediately went to one of the best Moscow clinics, agreed on the operation, paid fabulous money for it, and Igor was successfully operated on. When the boy recovered from the operation, Tatyana took him to her home.
Ovsienko granted him guardianship, and Igor officially became her son. In order to cook porridge for the baby and change diapers, Tatyana gave up work and lived with her unloved husband Vladimir Dubovnitsky for 18 years, so as not to traumatize the child’s psyche with a divorce. She would probably still be sharing a bed with him if he had not found someone else and announced that he was leaving.
Tatiana Ovsienko, 2015
New love
Now Tatyana is preparing for a new marriage. Her chosen one was businessman Alexander Merkulov. The proposal was made quite a long time ago, but the celebration had to be postponed: the fact is that Merkulov spent 3.5 years in a pre-trial detention center under investigation. All this time, Tatyana morally supported her beloved, wrote letters, carried packages, and also gave 20 concerts a month to earn money for lawyers. In early June, Alexander was found not guilty. The 47-year-old singer met him at the courthouse. And now nothing prevents the lovers from getting married. The wedding is tentatively scheduled for the fall.
Famous hit
The project, created by singer, composer and arranger Vladimir Volenko, gained wide popularity in the mid-nineties. Then the album “Granite Pebble” was released.
In 1997, “Ladybug” became one of the first projects of the new major audio and production company ORT-Records, headed by general producer Joseph Prigozhin. The label of this company releases two more discs of the group “My Queen” and “Woman of Dreams”. In 1999, another success for the project was Leonid Azbel’s song “A Ship Up the Volga,” which immediately became the second hit after “Granite Pebble.” A disc with this track, as well as several songs by Elena Vaenga written for “ Ladybug", published by Grand Records.
Lineup change
In 2000, the composition of the group changed radically, and Inna Anzorova was replaced by Natalya Poleshchuk, who was immediately given the pseudonym Shokoladkina by Vladimir Volenko for her excessive love of sweets. In 2004, a daughter, Dasha, was born into the family of Vladimir Volenko and Natalya Shokoladkina, and in 2008, Vladimir Jr. Therefore, during this period, the group appears less often in the media space, but continues to actively give concerts. Last bright creative solution became the wedding duet “First Dance of the Young,” where the Volenko couple involved their own children in the filming of the video.
Vladimir Volenko, 2012
The end of popularity
In recent years, the group has not been on television, but BK continues to perform and record albums.
Here’s how Vladimir comments on the situation: “I’m not an oligarch, not a “blue” and not a Jew. I am a simple Russian citizen, a talented and hardworking musician, but today this is not enough. Today, to be visible, you must either have millions in investments or belong to a certain clan. You can also be under contract with some serious company, where they will immediately make you understand that the channel or producer is everything, and you are nothing. As a person and as an artist, I preferred independence, therefore, today we are not on the blue screens. But it doesn’t bother me.”
As for earnings, there is enough for the group to live, but, unfortunately, not enough for development. However, Vladimir does not really regret his fate. He is happily married and has two children.
From the orphanage to the stars, or the Orenburg orphan
“Tender May” is a cult musical group of the late 80s – early 90s. The first teenage group in the USSR was born in boarding school No. 2 in the city of Orenburg. Musical director Sergei Kuznetsov, who led the music club in the orphanage, became the author of all the songs. And the calling card of the group (which would later change several members) and the idol of millions of fans is 15-year-old orphanage resident Yura Shatunov.
“Thanks to the fact that I spent my childhood in an orphanage, I was able to preserve myself and not go astray. Because in the orphanage they don’t like greedy people, they don’t like sneaks, that is, they don’t like weak people. There, in order to live in a community, you need to adhere to certain laws. Otherwise you will be expelled from the team. And the same thing happened in adult life. But I was already ready for it. I can’t communicate with people from the point of view of “you’re nobody, but I’m a star.” First of all, you need to think that this person today may be a nobody, but in a year he can become much cooler than you. Although if I come across unpleasant people, then I simply don’t talk to them, no matter how high a level they stand. I say: “Sorry, but I can’t, I don’t want to. I don’t feel comfortable being around you.”
The first album, “White Roses,” was recorded in February 1988 on a household tape recorder and sold by Kuznetsov to a recording kiosk for 30 rubles. A few months later, the recording got to Andrei Razin (at that time the administrator of the Mirage group), who pulled off an incredible combination for those times and transported Shatunov, Kuznetsov and several other orphanage boys to Moscow, where he organized a studio for gifted children “LM”. In January 1989, the “White Roses” video was shown for the first time on Central Television in “Morning Mail”, after which a real all-Union boom began - the songs of “Tender May” were heard everywhere, and millions of fans simply went crazy for the blue-eyed young prince with a charming dimple on his cheek . The group gathered the largest concert venues throughout the country and set a record for the number of concerts per day (sometimes there were 5-6 per day).
Solo voyage and years of oblivion
However, despite the overwhelming success and popularity, at the beginning of 1992 the group broke up. 18-year-old Shatunov leaves Andrei Razin and tries to build a solo career. For some time, he was even supported by Alla Borisovna Pugacheva, who invited Yura to perform at her “Christmas meetings” in December 1992. But, despite the first one released by the PolyGram Russia recording studio in 1994 solo album“Do you remember” and several videos that were shot, it turned out to be difficult to stay afloat. Finding yourself in a difficult life situation, Shatunov leaves to live and work in Germany, where he studies to become a sound engineer and leaves the stage for several years.
“At the age of 25–30 I began to look for myself. Then I wanted a lot at once, but I needed to understand what I really, truly needed. And don’t look at those around you: these young guys, they drive nice cars, with beautiful girls and so on. That is, at first you look at them and think: how cool, I want it too, and then you realize that this is not cool at all, this beautiful life is not so beautiful, it’s better in some other way. And this “different” needs to be found. At that time I worked in many ways, even as a system administrator. He worked a lot in the studio, but did not engage in his own creativity and his career. And now I can say with one hundred percent confidence that that step was truly correct and true, because now I have everything and even more: a beloved wife, a beloved son and daughter, I have a place to live, I have a job I love, I have everything . I am a happy man".
Yuri Shatunov, 2012
Return of the idol
In the early 2000s, Shatunov nevertheless returned to Russia to continue his solo career, and released several albums one after another: “Remember May”, “Leaves are Falling”, “If you want, don’t be afraid”, “Record my voice”, "I believe". In September 2009, the singer went on a big tour of Russian cities in support of the feature film “Tender May”. A year later, Yura took part in the filming of the series “Happy Together”, where he played himself. Today, Shatunov continues to record songs and remain one of the most sought-after artists in the reserves.
“I visit Russia much more often than at home, in Germany. But this does not in the least prevent me from communicating with my family, seeing my children and raising them. There is Skype, there is the Internet, there is a telephone, after all. And then there’s the plane: I board, two hours and I’m home.”
Found personal happiness in Germany
Shatunov met his future wife, lawyer Svetlana, in Germany in December 2000: “People often ask: do you believe in love at first sight and is it even possible? Maybe. This is exactly what happened to me. It was enough just to look at each other - that’s all.”
They dated for a long time and decided to get married only in January 2007, six months after Svetlana gave birth to her son Dennis. Six years later, on March 13, 2013, their second child, daughter Estella, was born in Bad Homburg. As Yuri admits, there are very few close people in his life: “There are actually few people I trust. In fact, you can count them on the fingers of one hand. Firstly, this is Svetlana – my wife. Secondly, Arkady, my director, with whom I have been working together for more than 27 years. Well, and a couple more guys, time-tested friends.”
Last September, Shatunov celebrated his 41st birthday; he continued to live and work in two countries, having a Russian passport and a residence permit in Germany. Yuri has a house, wife and children in Frankfurt am Main, but in the summer they often come with the whole family to relax in Russia, in particular to Sochi, where Shatunov has a large house, bought back during the “Tender May”.
Star from Vykhino
In the second half of the 90s, when her main hits, “Palms” and “Give Me Music,” were released, 25-year-old Svetlana became wildly popular. The video for the song “Palms” featured then-young theater students Maxim Averin and Leonid Barats. In 1997, the album “Palms” became the best-selling album of the year, and the singer herself received $1,350 from those million-dollar sales. As Svetlana admitted, having come to conquer Moscow from Krasnoyarsk, she lived in a rented apartment in Vykhino, dressed at the same Vykhino market, traveled by metro and saw almost no money. At the same time, three albums were released and tours continued continuously.
“After the release of the third album, I honestly asked my producer Arkady Yurkevich: “Where is the money?” He explained that all these two years we were paying off debts for the first album. But I knew all the debts from his words, I believed him, because we had known each other for a very long time. We had a father-daughter relationship, I lived for some time in his family and took all his words at face value. To the point that even when they gave me some gifts on tour (and back then it was fashionable for men to take a massive chain off their neck and put it on you), I brought everything to him and didn’t leave a balloon for myself. But 1998 became a very difficult year for me, my dad became very ill, and his treatment cost a lot of money. And there was no one to pay but me. And against the backdrop of this difficult situation, I raised the issue of fees.”
Gang violence and the death of a loved one
When a conflict broke out with the producer, fun times came for the singer. Arkady set bandits against his former ward, who began to demand from her the return of non-existent debts. There was no help from anyone, including her husband, whom Svetlana married at the age of 18. Tired of carrying the whole load on herself, Svetlana divorced her husband and, with grief, finally broke up with the producer. I tried to work on my own, but only stayed afloat for a couple of years.
“Everywhere you had to pay, every broadcast on radio and television, every talk show. I couldn't do it. Besides, I’ll be honest: at some point I became disgusted with entertaining drunken kids. There were a lot of criminal situations on tour. For example, in Tyumen I’m performing in an expensive establishment, my brothers come: someone looking around the city has a birthday, and they need a singer for the holiday. Moreover, they arrived with money, but at the same time in the number of 12 people and with weapons. And where was there to go? In the same Tyumen, I was once stolen from an airplane.”
At the same time, Roerich met the main love of her life - the commander of the Grozny riot police Sergei, who was killed in 2001.
“He surrounded me then with such love and care, gave me such a feeling of care and security that I understood: God forbid they hurt me tomorrow in some city, in a day this city will not exist. The man was not a cool oligarch, he was not very rich, but on the first 8th of March he was given a car, touchingly tied with bows. We were together for three years, but, unfortunately, I was unable to give birth to him.”
Svetlana Roerich, 2011
Glory
This tall brunette with a low, enchanting voice and the fabulous name Kai is another star of the forgotten nineties. Success came to Kai Metov in 1992, after the release of his comic song “Mom! I want to be a pioneer." And then there was the crazy popular hit “Position No. 2.”
In the late 90s, Kai went into the shadows - he continued to tour and release albums, but his songs were heard less and less on the radio.
Today you can’t see him on screens or hear him on the radio, but the period of fading popularity passed painlessly for Metov.
Kai Metov, 2014
Business
Thanks to his entrepreneurial spirit, the artist managed to change his field of activity in time - he opened his own nightclub. He named it after himself: “Kai Metov - Metropol.” Kai tried to produce cosmetics, which, due to their dubious quality, were never able to gain a foothold in the market. In addition, the former singer opened a production center. Love for oneself is also evident here: the center is named after the singer.
And in 2009, the artist prepared a surprise for his fans and released an unusual album “What would you do, dear, if I weren’t there...”.
Success and recognition
Once upon a time, Shura, aka Alexander Medvedev, amazed the public with his own image and was one of the most discussed personalities on the domestic stage. A bright blond man without teeth shouted songs rather than sang, and behaved, to put it mildly, strangely.
However, this only helped many to believe that he had talent. Popularity became too much of a psychological burden for Shura; he became addicted to drugs, which almost became fatal for him.
Terrible disease and drug addiction
The singer fell ill with cancer, but managed to overcome both illnesses by undergoing chemotherapy and drug addiction treatment. Of course, we had to move away from the previous image. But Shura clearly did not want to look like a normal person.
Shura, 2014
Return
The singer inserted himself artificial teeth, went under the scalpel of plastic surgeons several times and returned to the stage in an even stranger image - openly homosexual. Nevertheless, it still has its audience to this day.
Carier start
Apina began her career in the group “Combination” and became popular thanks to her. Then the singer began her solo career and presented listeners with many memorable songs - for example, “The Knot Will Tie”, “Electric Train”.
However, if you look even further into the past, then history creative career Alena Apina can be compared to the story of Cinderella. Arriving from Saratov to Moscow, the young singer had to spend the night at the station. Already being a soloist famous group The “combination” wandered around rented apartments, which were robbed more than once. She lost, found and lost again, as if fate itself was testing her strength. And yet Alena managed to catch luck by the tail, and quite deservedly, like Cinderella, received an award - public recognition, fame, her beloved husband and daughter.
Alena Apina with her daughter Ksyusha, 2012
Now
Years passed, popularity faded, and I had to pay attention to everyday matters - family and children. Alena Apina is the happy wife of producer Boris Iratov and a caring mother of her daughter Ksyusha. Fans have no time popular singer They were worried about where their favorite had gone, who no longer gives concerts and does not appear on screens.
Alena has said more than once that she made the decision to end her singing career without difficulty, feeling that she was needed by her family.
Not long ago, the star decided to change her role. Now Apina teaches music at the gymnasium of the Odintsovo Humanitarian Institute, where her daughter Ksyusha studies.
“The main reason why I started teaching children is that neither my daughter nor her friends understood what music was at all. They listen to and love the music that plays on iTunes and CD players. But music is much more and more interesting! They didn’t even know how huge and beautiful the world of music is, since they were not familiar with the music of Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky. I really wanted to introduce them to the work of great composers. Music is a huge world that you need to get acquainted with in childhood.
I don’t have any pedagogical or innovative methods, or any invented super systems for working with children, but I have a great desire to teach children to listen to music. Of course, it is impossible to teach to love music, but to be an active listener, to understand what you are listening to, to understand music is a great skill even for an adult. And this needs to be learned from childhood.
By and large, communicating with children is very interesting, but troublesome, because after all, this is not my main job. But my main work has been and remains the same - these are concerts, tours, recording songs, participating in television projects and also an author’s program on the radio, again about music.”
Carier start
In the early nineties, Marina Volkova, who looked like a doll that had become fashionable, took the stage name Barbie. She sang several songs, including the hit: “You paint your eyelashes bright blue. You’re waiting for beautiful love, but it’s still not there.” And then she disappeared from the stage.
Unexpected departure
Producers Lyubov Voropaeva and Viktor Dobronravov indignantly explained to curious journalists: “She had a stellar future and career ahead of her. And she got married and terminated the contract.” Fans quickly forgot the pretty starlet.
Marina admits that the producers simply cut off her oxygen, did not allow her to communicate with anyone, or be friends with boys. Apart from working 24 hours a day and loneliness, there was nothing in her life. On this basis, the girl quarreled with the producers and terminated her contract. She then tried to build a solo career on her own, which she failed to do.
Marina Volkova, 2013
It’s a pity that this was the fate of a young promising and talented girl. Expressive, emotional, with frantic energy and a positive attitude, she gave joy to the audience. Marina’s personal life didn’t work out either: she still has neither a family nor higher education, and she works as the secretary of the general director, receiving, according to her, a very average salary.
Life is high
She started in the “Women’s Council” group with Svetlana Lazareva and Alena Vitebskaya at the very height of perestroika. But the public quickly became tired of the songs about social problems, and the group’s popularity faded away. But Lada was not going to give up. And when an opportunity came up in the person of the composer of the Tekhnologiya group, Leonid Velichkovsky, she did not fail to take advantage of it. And she made it to the top ten. “Girl-Night” and “You need to live in high spirits” are the songs by which Lada Dance began to be recognized by sight. In fact, the maiden name of the singer is Volkova, but sonorous name and the sonorous pseudonym came in handy. In 1993, her debut “Night Album” was released.
Car-man and car-woman
What was the subject of her quarrel with Velichkovsky has long been covered with the patina of time, but for Lada it became another challenge. And she did it. And even though at first she sang as a backing vocalist for Philip Kirkorov, and a little later for half an hour as an opening act for the group “Kar-man”, but these were frontmen of the 90s. There is also a story thanks to which she became successful: supposedly Lada, due to a lack of her songs, stole Lika Star’s phonograms from the studio. Who will check this now? But then she rocked so hard that Sergei Lemokh announced after the performance: “It was Lada! And everything behind her is dancing!”, pointing to the girls on the backup dancers.
It's all jazz
Narrow frames Russian stage Lada soon felt like it wasn’t enough. Moreover, she always has a trump card up her sleeve - her voice. Bold, bright, jazzy. She regularly begins to travel to Europe, they give her melodies German composers, but this did not lead to serious contracts abroad. One of her most striking achievements is her performance at the Popkomm 95 festival. But her love for jazz and the desire to realize herself in this field haunt her. In the album “Fantasies,” which she recorded with Oleg Lundstrem’s orchestra, Dance included foreign jazz compositions. But attempts to realize how jazz singer I had to interrupt again. In 1997, Lada had a son, Ilya. Two years later - daughter Lisa. A few months later, the personal situation was aggravated by divorce. Lada broke up with Pavel Svirsky, the father of her children.
Lada Dance, 2012
I myself
“After the divorce, I was left alone, without a livelihood, with two children in my arms,” admitted Lada. – Lisa was nine months old, her son was two years older. All I had was a name. Every day I had to think about what to feed the children today. When I became pregnant, I immediately stopped performing. And then again I was forced to start working closely, giving almost 30 concerts a month. As a result, she not only raised children, but also built a house of 750 square meters at her own expense. The pregnant woman was running around with projects, as I remember - horror, I would never take on this again, but now I am an ace in construction. But if I had not worked then and all these years, I would not have been able to give anything to the children - no travel, no teachers, no trips to the theater, no entertainment... I myself provided for the children until they started going to school, that’s just then their ex-husband, their father, began to help a little. For more than 10 years, Pavel didn’t think much about them. And then suddenly I decided to connect..."
Another path
In 2004, Lada - new stage in life. She is invited to the role of one of four friends in the series “Balzac's Age, or All Men Are Theirs...”. Now she is also an actress.
“My heroine is outwardly cool, but inside she is very vulnerable, dependent on relationships. Everything proves something, fights with someone. Everything is calmer for me. I'm not fighting for anyone. I have a favorite profession that does not require active action from me.”
All of Dance's personal problems are focused on children
“Ilya and Lisa have never been just children for me, more like brother and sister. And for them I am a senior comrade. Maybe that’s why their problems are easier for me to understand. I don't always keep up with their hobbies. Nowadays, children pick up a lot from the Internet. The son learned to dance so much that he created his own breakdancing group. They participate in competitions and post videos on YouTube. Thanks to the Internet, Lisa learned how to do makeup better than I did. Everyone in our family has artistic abilities. I myself have been drawing well since childhood; my daughter graduated from Serov School.
And they also have a serious school. They are so tired that on weekends all they want to do is lie around at home. The most they agree to is to go to the movies with me. Sometimes we go to the Istra region, 300 kilometers from Moscow, and ride snowmobiles along the river. About three years ago I became interested in hunting, and my son also became interested. My daughter is creative, with good taste, I dream that she will study in London to become a designer, architect or actress. But the boy needs a good legal or financial education. If they want to get it abroad, I won’t object. And I’ll move to them then...”
Both the reaper and the trumpet player
“My income is from show business. There I am satisfied with the fees and conditions. Cinema is a status, a different level of perception of me and my second passion besides the stage. But it's hellish work. Although incredibly interesting and exciting. It’s nice that recently it has finally begun to be paid a little financially. Jazz remains my hobby; I sing it for the elite. You can’t go far with jazz, but I have to feed my family.”
But Lada’s music alone is not enough. She is the owner of the agency "Impeccable Personnel".
“Once upon a time, my business, a recruitment agency, began with the search for a nanny for children. I changed several nannies when I decided to take the initiative into my own hands and at the same time help others. That's how my business was born. It started with 20 people, now we have 200 specialists on our staff - governesses, housekeepers, maids, cooks, gardeners, landscape designers, drivers. On average, monthly salaries for nannies and governesses are 60-70 thousand rubles, housekeepers - 60 thousand, drivers - 50-150 thousand, cooks - 70-120 thousand. The agency has existed for 10 years, and its name “Impeccable Staff” speaks for itself.
If I had been given a good education at one time, I would have been an idea developer, a creative person. I love everything extraordinary. I used to sew, knit, and even make shoes. Now I have a team that carries out my plans. And my love for extraordinary things has turned into a hobby: I like to look for unusual things around the world. I collect old furniture, jewelry, costume jewelry, and clothes. I might open a store where I would sell them. But... it's a pity. Therefore, I carry things myself, and furniture and objects decorate my home and feel great there.”
Meet a cool person
“Yes, I’m officially not married. But I don’t think this is happiness. In general, I would dissuade all women from getting married in order not to be lonely. This is a complete utopia. Women are in a hurry to get married for fear that they will point fingers at them or to show others that, well, I managed to do it. If I meet a person who is just as cool, who feels good with himself, but for some reason he also wants to be with me, I’ll get married.”
“On the same site I created my social network. Maybe not as large-scale, but believe me, there will be enough users for me to run for president. (Laughs.) And the most important thing is that they are all like-minded people. I regularly hold competitions among the “non-boring” people, and annually give away trips to the shores of the Indian Ocean, to Ceylon.
In addition, several years ago I came up with such a thing as “reservation”. I don’t set a concert date in advance and don’t spend a lot of money on announcements, as most of our artists do. There is a risk that the costs will not be recouped. On social media I ask who is ready to come to the concert. And when a certain number of spectators is reached in a particular city, we together set a date and place for the performance. I generally have a warm and close relationship with the audience. That’s why they often give me fish, gingerbread and honey. They just know that I love. So at my performances, people with a bouquet in one hand and bream in the other are a normal phenomenon.”
MP
Another thing “for the soul” is work in the municipal assembly of the Vykhino-Zhulebino district. I live next to the Zhulebinsky forest. In May 2011, intensive construction of a snow melting point began on the outskirts of this massif. I think those who live next to such structures will understand me. The stench and health hazards from these items can hardly be overestimated. In the face of real danger, an initiative group was quickly formed. We found out that the construction was being carried out illegally, they called, wrote, shouted - to no avail. He was seriously angry - he organized two rallies, filmed a scandalous video with Serega Minaev, posted it on the Internet, and called on his friends on the social network for help. Result: they reached the mayor, and he personally canceled the construction.
Vladimir Markin, 2013
What happened
In the early 90s, his songs “Lilac Fog” and “I’m Ready to Kiss the Sand” were heard from every window. True, Markin then disappeared from television screens.
Now
For the last 20 years, Markin has been combining at least two professions - artist and director of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute Palace of Culture, and he also produces tea.
“The idea to produce tea was born several years ago, when I first came to Sri Lanka. It was there that I realized how our brother-customers are being fooled in stores, calling something that essentially is not Ceylon tea. Since this is my favorite drink since childhood, I decided to delve into the issue of production and organize the supply of goods to our country. I didn’t buy any plantations, but I met with leading producers. All tea grown in Ceylon can be divided into 27 grades. The grades are obtained from one sheet, but differ from each other in appearance and taste. By combining grades from different plantations in different proportions, blends (cocktails) are obtained. A special blend for me was developed by Ceylon professional tea tasters. The result was a whole product line. And the recipe is always strictly followed. Then the tea is delivered to Russia.”
I was lucky, I have a branded surname, so the name of the product turned out to be branded. I named my product “Markin tea”.
It’s almost impossible to enter retail chains with a quality product; I spent two years on this. In the end, you have to choose, either you produce real tea and are not in stores, or forget about quality and sell straw. So, either as a joke or seriously, they offered me this in a major retail chain. Therefore, my tea cannot be found in stores, but you can always order it on my website markin.ru.
This will probably sound immodest, but Mireille Mathieu drinks only my tea, and I personally delivered it to her in Paris more than once.
In addition to tea, I also produce Arabica coffee in the same way, and I import the raw materials from Colombia and Brazil.
What happened
In 2000, when he was 17, he released the album Who Are You? The disc became popular, especially among teenagers. It was among the best-selling albums in Russia with a circulation of more than 1 million copies. Many, however, associated this success with good promotion. The singer's father is producer Alexander Tolmatsky. Then another disc came out, and then Decl disappeared. They say he quarreled with his father.
Decl (Kirill Tolmatsky), 2010
What now
“I’m working on a triple album “Decilillon”, two parts have already been released - Dancehall Mania and MXXXIII. Soon I want to go to Jamaica for a few weeks to work - many people there have a positive perception of what I do. I recently worked in Mallorca, and about 2.5 thousand people came to my concert, although no one knows me there.
In Moscow, of course, I also sing. But performances here are not as profitable as abroad: there are a lot of acquaintances, friends - you’ll get a discount here, a discount there... However, I don’t lose heart. He played in the play “Here and Now” at the Praktika Theater. I read my poems. He also had film experience: he starred in a short film directed by Elena Muromtseva. I wanted to understand how I would look on camera. I also participate in a competition held by the AASA International Space Academy. Its winner will go into space. I really want to be chosen. I'm a fan of this thing. I also have computer programs where I control the shuttle. I also believe in UFOs - it’s stupid to think that we are alone in the Universe!
As for show business itself, they suggested to me many times, let’s do this and that, and you’ll shoot again. But this “this and that” has never been the meaning of my existence. I have always understood that for a person, especially for a man, the most important thing is his reputation. Yes, at one time I received bonuses and was in the public eye, but what did that give me? I just felt like a serf: first with my father, then with other “uncles”, then with the label... I freed myself from this and chose the path of a loner, which has no deadlines. And I don’t want to obey anyone anymore.”
First album
Bulanova’s musical career began with a meeting with Nikolai Tagrin, the leader of the “Summer Garden” group. Together with this group, Tatyana recorded her first compositions, and in 1990 she released the album “25 Carnations”. By the way, Tagrin became the singer’s first husband and the father of her eldest son.
But perhaps finest hour Bulanova became famous in 1995, when the album “Strange Meeting”, written by the poet Sergei Patrushev, was released. It was for this record that the hits “Lullaby” and “Tell me the truth, Ataman” were recorded. With these songs Tatyana won the “Song of the Year”. At the same time, Tatyana Bulanova and “Summer Garden” turned out to be leaders in the number of cassettes sold - more than 200 thousand copies. In 1996, another hit was released - “My Clear Light”. And here is another wave of popularity, “Song of the Year” and “Golden Gramophone”. Then there was participation in “Old Songs about the Main Thing,” sold-out shows at the Rossiya State Cultural Center, filming in the TV series “Streets of Broken Lanterns” and “Gangster Petersburg,” and recording soundtracks for them.
Sudden disappearance from the airwaves
In the early 2000s, in addition to creating new records, Bulanova, together with DJs, made remixes of her golden hits. However, she begins to have problems on television. According to rumors, the management of Channel One was offended by Tatyana because she signed an agreement with the ARS company. The girl was no longer invited to new television concerts, and the old ones were simply cut out from the recordings. Despite this, on November 23, 2004, Bulanova was awarded the title “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.”
In 2005, Tatyana divorced Nikolai Tagrin, and in October she married football player Vladislav Radimov. On March 8, 2007, their son Nikita is born. In the same year, Bulanova released her autobiography “Territory of a Woman” and starred in the film “Love Can Still Be...”.
In 2008, Bulanova was invited to the “Superstar 2008” project, where she reached the finals. She hosts the program “It’s Not a Man’s Business” on the STO channel. At the same time, her songs continue to collect awards from radio stations.
The present
“A couple of years ago I graduated from the University of Culture and Arts. I wanted to try myself in a new path. In addition, there was a mercantile reason for going there. I didn't have a higher education. At one time I studied at both a pedagogical institute and a polytechnic college, but never received a diploma anywhere. Now I would really like to get involved in directing in earnest, to show all the skills that I have acquired.
My specialty is “director of mass performances and celebrations.” True, for now I test my knowledge only on friends and my performances. I know how to turn a simple corporate event into a real show. Now I’m doing my own big project. This is peculiar musical performance with the title “A little bit according to Freud.” This solo concert and a theatrical performance in one. A person has appeared who is ready to support this endeavor.
So this year, I hope I can make it happen. In addition, I like to design interiors and clothing. I really like to sew. I sew outfits and donate them, I remake my old clothes. And I do all the housework myself. I can do absolutely anything. But I didn’t learn how to hammer nails. Maybe this means that I’m still a fragile woman?”
I want to become a grandmother!
“Just recently my son got married. So our family has grown. While children are looking for themselves in life. Dasha, my son’s wife, is studying. Seryozhka is creative, writing beats and lyrics for rappers. I like that he does what he loves. True, it doesn’t bring much money yet. So, as they say, everything is on me. It happens that even my parents help us. So it's a little hard right now. But I was not against my son’s profession. On the contrary, she constantly told him that he needed to find his place, and he could make good money there. They don't always pay him as much as they promise. I was also deceived and deceived. But you can't give up. Sometimes you need to be an altruist. Why not? Work for the name, then the name will work for you.”
Swore off getting married
“In my personal life, not everything is so smooth either. As they say, “it goes out, then it goes out.” The older you get, the more you start to find fault. The criteria for the ideal man are growing, and finding one is becoming increasingly difficult. And it’s very difficult to change someone. And it's not necessary. After all, you must accept a person as he is. And it often happens that they cannot accept me like this.
However, a couple of years ago they proposed to me again. True, it never reached the registry office. At first I really loved this man. He is a pilot, a German citizen. When I saw him, I immediately stamped the man that he was mine. future husband. At the time of the meeting, he was not divorced. True, he said that he does not live with his wife.
He didn’t have his own apartment in Moscow, so he lived with me. After some time, our life together turned into existence. I began to catch myself thinking that when I lived alone, I was happier. Constant squabbles and arguments turned the relationship into a nightmare. Although initially they were so important to me.
There was no assault, but there were constant conflicts. I was so tired of this during my life with my first husband that I simply didn’t want to repeat it all. And if there is no love, then what, just live out your life together? I didn't want this. There were also gigolos who lived at my expense. But it just infuriates me when I become a wallet for a man. Therefore, such relationships quickly ended.”
What happened
In 1992 he released the album “70th Latitude”. The album was a huge success, more than half of the songs from it became hits. Osin says: “I sang romantic songs by non-professional authors that no one wanted to release. All my compositions can be compared to home songs with a guitar. These are things that touch because they are written from the heart. Nowadays there are a lot of corrupt authors who write to order. All their writings are about nothing, just rhyming phrases. My songs may not be very literate, but they are real.” However, the author of the lyrics of the song “The Girl is Crying in the Machine,” which became the main hit of the album, was Andrei Voznesensky, and the composer of the song “Portrait of Pablo Picasso” was the Polish pianist and composer Vladislav Shpilman (Roman Polyansky’s film “The Pianist” is about him).
This was my only chance to be closer to Agnia, and not become exclusively a “Sunday dad”. Fortunately, I have some pedagogical education. I graduated from the Institute for Advanced Training of Cultural Workers and received the right to direct an amateur ensemble. True, no one there explained to me how to communicate with children. In fact, everything turned out to be very difficult. You need to find a common language with them, find an individual approach to each. Children do not forgive mistakes. They can pretend that they have forgiven, but they themselves harbor a grudge. It’s hard, of course, but I can manage. They recently said that I was a drunkard. And it’s as if my wife forbids me to see my daughter because of this. This is complete nonsense! No one would keep me at school or let me near children if I abused alcohol.”
The singer gained popularity in 1997. Thanks to her, everyone started drinking a “cup of coffee” and fell in love with “slanting rains.” Marina began to be invited to all national concerts, she actively toured and wrote one new hit after another. In April 1999, the disc “Photo Album” was released, in 2001 - the album “My Sun, Rise Up.” And suddenly, at the peak of Klebnikov’s popularity, he disappears...
Path to glory
Marina Khlebnikova was born into a family of radio physicists. But with musical passions. My father played the guitar, and my mother played the piano.
"I'm self-taught. As a child, they gave me a mandolin, I taught myself to play it, then I mastered the trophy accordion, and then I also learned to play the guitar,” said the singer’s father Arnold Sergeevich.
“When I was a child, I went to music school, and I really wanted all this to be passed on to my daughter,” added mother Irina Vasilievna.
The parents' wish was fulfilled, and the daughter, despite all her successes in physics, dreamed of the stage since childhood. After school, Marina entered the Gnessin School, where she was taught by Lev Leshchenko, Alexander Gradsky and Joseph Kobzon. Khlebnikova was an excellent student, and therefore she easily entered the Gnessin Institute after college. As a result, Marina Khlebnikova received as many as seven specializations!
“I am a concert piano performer, soloist of a chamber ensemble, accompanist, teacher music school, plus I have three vocal specializations: soloist, ensemble soloist and pop singing teacher,” Marina says about herself.
In 1989, while still a student at the institute, Marina Khlebnikova was noticed by Bari Alibasov and invited to take the place of lead singer in the Integral group. Then her first little bit of fame and her first love came to her.
Marina Khlebnikova married Anton Loginov, who, as it turned out later, was just a dummy character. According to rumors, in such a cunning way Bari Alibasov wanted to keep the young promising singer in his group.
But it did not help. And Khlebnikova quickly divorced her first husband and found a better match. The singer married the general director of the recording company Gramophone Records, Mikhail Maydanich. In 1999, their daughter Dominica was born, whom the singer carefully hid for many years.
“I just didn’t want to fall out of the picture.” Barik taught me this: an artist should always remain single in order to be as attractive to the public as possible,” Khlebnikova said in an interview. “I didn’t disappear during maternity leave, I continued to perform, and no one noticed anything. I’m small, so I put on a wide suit and went on stage like that until the 8th month. And already on the 20th day after giving birth I was working at a concert. Well, she gave birth and gave birth. Who cares?"
Divorce
As an artist, Marina Khlebnikova was gaining momentum. But in my personal life everything developed in the opposite direction. Almost immediately after giving birth, the singer was abandoned by her second husband. From which the singer began to hide her daughter even more carefully.
“If I were screaming at every corner: “My husband, such a bastard, left me with the children and beat me even more. And so I spent a whole month in the hospital with black eyes! Save me, good people! Does this look normal? I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself like this for the whole country.”
At the same time, Marina found the strength not to interfere with her daughter’s communication with her ex-husband: “I think that women make a big mistake by not allowing their children to meet their fathers. She doesn't have the worst dad. He helps us, but I don’t communicate with him. She and Dominika agree on everything themselves, and they inform me.”
Marina Khlebnikova, 2012
Disease
“These are the consequences of my illness. It turns out that a dental cyst was to blame. All these years it grew and destroyed bone tissue, the only sign of its presence was sinusitis, which none of the ENT doctors ever connected with dentistry. And there were many doctors. Time has passed, and everything has taken on dire consequences. When I had a toothache and the first picture was taken, the cyst had grown three centimeters, and the bone tissue had turned into a sponge.”
Because of this, it even became difficult for Khlebnikova to sing. Then a series of operations began, after which, naturally, she could not perform. “Why work there, I couldn’t eat or speak. “And my teeth hurt,” the artist admitted.
Still, she tried not to fall out of the cage. In 2012, she performed in Naryan-Mar literally after another operation. Right during the performance, a stitch in my mouth split open. What happened after, Marina never told.
Where is she now
Two years ago, Marina Khlebnikova hosted the program “While Everyone is Home.” The singer’s father and mother and her daughter Nika were sitting at the table. There was no man nearby. And for some reason the question never arose about what the singer is doing now. She does not have tours or major concerts. And, as Marina herself has admitted more than once, she can’t do anything else except sing.
“I can’t do anything except music. I know well how it works, it’s like mathematics, I was taught this for many years. I can still dig the ground, plant trees and flowers. Sometimes I’m so tempted to become a taxi driver – so that no one knows. I love driving, but it's a difficult job. Now I’m thinking: can I do it without a concert? No I can not! While I’m standing, I’ll sing on stage.”
Decl is one of the first Russian performers to truly open the rap style to a wide audience of Russians. He may not have been the first rap artist in the post-Soviet space, but he definitely became a pioneer of Russian commercial hip-hop. At the beginning of the 2000s, he was at the peak of his popularity, but the artist remained true to himself and chose creative development and self-realization over money and fame. Having broken off relations with his father-producer, Decl disappeared for some period from the general public, continuing to create under the pseudonyms Le Truk and Giuseppe Zhestko. In February 2019, he died of cardiac arrest.Decl's early years, beginning of his career
Kirill Tolmatsky was born on July 22, 1983 in Moscow, in the family of the famous producer Alexander Tolmatsky, who once produced Oleg Gazmanov and the Combination group, and his wife Irina. 
To a large extent, it was the father’s occupation that predetermined all future fate performer. He grew up in a golden cage and never lacked for anything. Decl studied in Moscow, then studied in Switzerland.
According to legend, the singer’s love for rap music was awakened by his then roommate, the son of the President of Zambia. The music that the African listened to all day long simply drove Kirill crazy, and at some point he asked to move his neighbor to another room. The administration of the Swiss hostel met him halfway, however this fact For some reason the future singer was not pleased. Left without the music that had rather bored him, Decl suddenly realized that he could no longer live without it.
Returning to Moscow, Kirill began to disappear more and more often at various rap parties. He gave himself dreadlocks, and also began taking breakdancing classes and participating in various festivals. To some extent, all this left its mark on the artist’s further work. He started reading poetry Russian classics to an energetic beat, which shocked my parents in a good way.
Music career
In those years, the hip-hop scene was already emerging in Russia. Its unofficial leader was Vlad Valov (aka Sheff) from Bad B. Alliance. He filmed Kirill in the video for Legalize’s song “Pack of Cigarettes,” where the teenager played a petty hooligan who stole cigarettes from a store.Decl in the video for Legalize
Then Kirill begged his father to help film a video for the song “Tears” as a birthday present. It was included in the rotation of MTV, and soon bags of songs for Tolmatsky Jr. began to arrive at the television studio.
"Tears". Decl's first video
Then Decl recorded the song “Friday”, with which some time later he appeared before the audience of the Adidas StreetBall Challenge festival.
“Decl” in slang means something like “a little, a little bit.” So a sonorous nickname for a short 14-year-old boy was just right.
Decl graduated from the British International School, but even during his studies he devoted all his time to his career: in the morning he could wake up in one city, perform, then fly to the other end of the country. According to the performer’s mother Irina Tolmatskaya, his father insisted on this state of affairs, who saw enormous commercial potential in his son. “As a producer, he did the right thing, but not as a father...” she said in an interview. In her opinion, it was in those years that Alexander Tolmatsky lost his son, who turned into his next production product. The relationship between father and son remained strained for the rest of their lives. The parents' divorce also added fuel to the fire; Alexander went to new woman, almost the same age as Decl. 
In 2000, his first album “Who? You” appeared on the shelves of music stores, released with the support of Sheff and Legalize. Soon the artist’s videos (the legendary “Party”, “My Blood, Blood”) also entered the hot rotation of Russian TV channels. Decl has become the most recognizable youth brand. He advertised Pepsi, notebooks with his images were sold in every bookstore, dreadlocks became perhaps the most popular hairstyle among the younger generation, Decl became the face of the MTV channel, appearing in popular shows like “12 Evil Spectators.” Tolmatsky Sr. did not hesitate to use even openly black PR, such as, for example, computer game“Kill Decl,” after which the young rapper’s mother insisted that he hire security.
Decl – Party
Decl gave the start to the career of the now popular rapper Timati: he was on Kirill’s backing vocals (the songs “Moscow - New York”, “We are resting”) and more than once “shone” in his videos. However, there was no special friendship between the guys, and subsequently their paths diverged in everything, including political views - in his work Decl criticized the authorities, while Timati did exactly the opposite and was friends with Ramzan Kadyrov.
Decl's second studio album didn't take long to wait. It was released in 2001, also with the support of the creative association Bad B. Alliance, but this time most of the lyrics were written by Kirill personally. The subject matter of the lyrics touched on more adult topics, such as the increasingly popular Nazi skinhead movement (“Letter”). By the way, for this song Decl and singer Marusya Simanovskaya, who performed the female part, won the Golden Gramophone. A year later, Marusya died of a cancerous tumor.
Decl – Letter
In 2003, Decl starred in the reality show “ Last Hero"(Season 4). He, like Nikolai Drozdov, entered the Scorpio tribe. According to the recollections of the most famous zoologist in Russia, Kirill knew how to insist on his own, was very hard-working, and always preferred to do rather than talk.
Le Truk
Despite the enormous success of the project, by this time Kirill’s relationship with his father had reached a boiling point. After the next conflict Decl left the recording studio of Alexander Tolmatsky with a scandal and started everything with clean slate. Now he was responsible for his creativity independently, without the help of old friends like Vlad Valov. The pseudonym has also become new - Detsl aka Le Truk. Under this name, the album “aka Le Truk” was released in 2004, symbolizing a new beginning. . 
Soon, Kirill Tolmatsky, under the new pseudonym Le Truk, appeared in videos shot for the songs “Let’s Potabachim”, “God Is”, “Legalize” (the latter, filmed in animated form, was banned from showing on television due to its hint of promoting soft drugs ).
In the mid-2000s, a scandal broke out over the use of the Decl brand, which belonged to the producer and father of the performer Alexander Tolmatsky. This question became especially relevant after the idea of a smooth transition to the pseudonym Le Truk failed miserably. As a result, the performer added a hard sign to his pseudonym. .
In 2008, Decl released his fourth studio album “Mos Vegas 2012”, which included 19 compositions, including features with Smokey Mo, MC Molodoy, and the group Gunmakaz. A socially oriented album with a classic underground sound was recorded in collaboration with St. Petersburg musician Beat-Maker-Beat. It was well received in certain circles, but did not gain widespread popularity. The album was available for download on the Internet, but the disc on physical media was not put on mass sale; it could only be purchased at the singer’s concerts.
How Decl's style changed
2018 was marked by the release of the album “Acoustic” - these are Decl’s old songs, re-recorded together with the Animal Jazz group.
Personal life of Decl
In the first half of the 2000s, Decl married former Nizhny Novgorod model Yulia Kiseleva (now Tolmatskaya). On June 7, 2005, the couple had a son, Anthony (Tony). Decl himself delivered the baby, which took place in the pool. 
Death
On the morning of February 3, 2019, news publications reported the death of Decl. Soon the information was confirmed by his concert manager and wife. The rapper passed away on the night from Saturday to Sunday. The day before he played a concert. According to eyewitnesses, Kirill simply sat down in a chair and a few seconds later his heart stopped. Attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful. 
Official reason Doctors called Decl's death cardiac arrest. He had not previously complained of health problems. There was a version on the Internet that the rapper could have used drugs, but his concert director denied this information. According to him, recently the musician has been promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Kirill Tolmatsiky, better known to the general public as Decl, is considered the first rapper in Russian show business. Today, Decl’s biography attracts not only his former fans. A bright, talented personality has faded into the shadows. Fame, millions of fans, concerts, tours - all this disappeared from Kirill’s life. What's left? What happened to the man who blew up the youth of the 90s?
Carier start
So where did that same Decl come from, whose biography is still hidden from a wide audience? We should start with the fact that Kirill was initially lucky with his parents. Father - Alexander Tolmatsky - a famous music producer, gave an excellent education to his son. Decl studied in Switzerland, and then at the prestigious Moscow school “British International”, where he received his nickname for his short stature.
Decl’s stage biography begins with a bright performance at the capital’s Adidas StreetBall Challenge festival with the composition “Friday”. The audience was delighted with the young, unconventional performer.
The resounding success gave impetus to further creativity. Almost immediately, in 2000, Kirill Tolmatsky’s first album, “Who, are you?”, was released; the incredible circulation of a million discs was completely sold out. Hits from this album were played on many music channels for a long time.
Instant popularity
This is exactly how Decl’s biography began on the Russian stage. Many critics considered it “bloated” and “bought with daddy’s money.” However, there is some truth in these words. Powerful support in the form of authors, producers, mentors, and advertising companies played their role. Decl himself, who at that time had just left school, participated in promotions Pepsi company. This made him recognizable in every family with a teenager.
Huge advertising posters with images of the young rapper were displayed on the streets of large and small cities. The artist himself later admitted that his father intensively “promoted” him at every concert and such PR “could drive you crazy.” It is not surprising that with such popularity, a second album was released, with a circulation larger than the first, after which there followed a pause that lasted for three whole years. Not only did emerging competitors begin to cross the road, but the alliance between Tolmatsky Sr. and the lyricist also disintegrated
New life
Decl’s biography took on a new twist after the artist decided to become independent. Having left his wealthy parents, Kirill turned into a “party animal”. Moscow Rastafarians, marijuana, and closed clubs appeared in his life.
As a result, “Le Truck” appeared - a new stage name, under which Decl’s music album was released in 2008. As it turned out, the public was closer to the old image. Therefore, the next album, “Here and Now,” recorded in 2010, was under the artist’s former name.
Currently, the performer is working on several projects at once. Texts are written in English language. In addition to this, Decl is working on the sound, attracting Jamaican and African artists to collaborate. The previous style and manner of performance have changed noticeably. Essentially, Decl plays jazz. Now Kirill has a family. He is married and has a son, Anthony.
Kirill Alexandrovich Tolmatsky(born July 22, Moscow) - Russian rapper. Gained fame under the pseudonym DeCl. Other aliases - Le Truk, Giuseppe Hard. Since 2008, it has been stylized as “DeTsl” on the covers of its albums.
Former member of the rap association “Bad B. Alliance”.
The artist’s debut album “Who? You" is one of the best-selling albums in Russia with a circulation of more than 1 million copies.
Biography
Decl's first performance took place at the Adidas StreetBall Challenge festival in Moscow. After this, the rapper’s face was placed on the cover of the November issue of PTYUCH magazine; this was the beginning of a large number of articles dedicated to Decl.
2000 - Who? You
Debut album “Who? you,” released in 2000, sold more than a million copies (excluding pirated copies). For this album, Decl received the Record 2000 award in the Debut of the Year category. Videos for songs from the album (such as “Tears”, “Party”, “My Blood, Blood”) were in hot rotation on radio and television for a long time. At this time, Decl became the face of the long-running Pepsi advertising campaign “Pepsi, pager, MTV”.
2001 - Street Fighter
Decl’s second album “Street Fighter” also became very successful; for it he received several awards, including Muz-TV, Unesco (best cover of the year), “Stopudovy hit” and “MTV Music Awards” (Russian audience choice).
2004 - Detsl a.k.a. Le Truk
Two years later, a third completely new album was released under the laconic name “aka Le Truk”, which marked the birth of a new Decl as an independent artist. Decl no longer collaborated with his former studio partners (in particular, Vlad Valov), and wrote all the texts himself. Among the album's composers were A. Karpunin, MC Beat, DJ Shooroop, Dj Tonic, Max Homich, Dj 108th, Dj La. Decl himself also acted as a sound producer. The album has a lot of live instruments and female vocals (Karina Serbina, Knara). Songs such as “Let’s Potabachim”, “Legalize” and “God Is” became real hits. Videos were shot for all three compositions, two of which received wide rotation on MTV. The animated video for the song "Legalize" was banned from television due to the song's controversial themes.
2008 - MosVegas
2014-2016 - Decillion
Currently, Decl is writing three albums at once, which will be released, presumably, during 2014-2016. The artist's new releases will be created in several languages, as the rapper works with musicians from different countries: Jamaican, American, Japanese, French and Spanish.
The first to be released is an album under the working title “DancehallMania” in the style of reggae-dancehall (there is a track with the same name on the album “Here and Now”). The disc sampler will appear online on August 31 on Decl's pages in social networks. According to the artist, this is an album with a completely new sound - it is recorded in English with melodic choruses and, unlike latest works, is more danceable. Thomas DaVilli, the soul4soul project, Medycin Man, Imal, X-Factor and other Jamaican and African performers took part in the creation of the disc.
The second to be released is a classic hip-hop album, which will include tracks with Decl’s colleagues from America, Europe and Asia, where Kirill himself also plans to use English lyrics.
The third is a Russian-language album, on which Kirill is being helped by El Toro and his brother Black Jacket, Johnny Johnson from the group Animal Jazz, and others. Some tracks from the upcoming album are already in rotation on radio stations in New York and Jamaica. In addition, last year several tracks were recorded with the Spanish band Yall, and this year they are already being heard in European clubs.
DancehallMania
In March 2014, the first album from the Decillion trilogy, DancehallMania, was released. The album was recorded together with Jamaican musicians on local dialect Patois. This album is the first serious international album in Russia, recorded in the reggae-dancehall genre, which received recognition from local residents in Jamaica itself. The album featured such musicians as Medycin Man, Thomas Da’Ville, Soul4Soul, Imal, Jah Bari.
MXXXIII
In September 2014, the second album of the Decillion trilogy, MXXXIII, was released. The album is a mixture of different genres: trap, dirty south, jazzy hip-hop, electro and R&B - the record incorporates the best traditions of the EDM and hip-hop genres. Colleagues from the USA and Japan took part in the album; the songs were recorded in English, Russian and Japanese. The presentation of the album took place in Spain, in Barcelona.
On June 22, 2016, the Favela Funk mini-album was released, inspired by Kirill Tolmatsky's visit to Brazil.
Personal life
Discography
| Solo albums | Year |
|---|---|
| Who? You | |
| Street Fighter | |
| Detsl aka Le Truk | |
| MosVegas 2012 | |
| Dancehall Mania | |
| MXXXIII | |
| Favela Funk EP | 2016 |
| Compilations | Year |
| aka Le Truk The Best 18 | |
| Singles | Year |
| Party | |
| Tears | |
| My blood, my blood | |
| Letter (feat. Marusya) | |
| For you (feat. Knara) | |
| Let's smoke | |
| Be Free (feat. Lil' Kong and D. Masta) | |
| Give it to me (feat. Noggano) | |
| Connection (feat. Yall) | |
| Fire (DJ Groove pop rmx) (RADIO) (feat. Da"Ville) | |
| Ocean of Delight (feat. Show"em Million & Kelpie) |