Now, Veniamin Smekhov is sure, everything is bought and sold, including awards. It was necessary to give “tsatski” even in youth, and immediately to the entire troupe of the Taganka Theater. But Soviet officials followed politics, not art. Therefore, those who share the point of view of the screen star were not surprised when, on his 70th birthday, he refused to accept the title of People's Artist of Russia.
Childhood and youth
Veniamin Borisovich was born in August 1940, Jewish by nationality. Father - Doctor of Economics, mother was in charge of a department in a Moscow clinic.
In the lower grades, Smekhov began attending the drama circle of the Palace of Pioneers, which he patronized. After graduating from school, he entered the Shchukin Theater School. The head of the course a year later transferred the too timid Benjamin to volunteers with a probationary period, but soon enrolled him back with the highest mark for acting skills.
He played several roles in Sovremennik, and in 1987 he returned to Taganka.
Movies
The first item in Smekhov's filmography appeared back in 1968 - the cult military drama Two Comrades Were Serving. All-Union fame, crowds of fans and bags of letters to the actor were provided by The Three Musketeers and the role of a sad philosopher.
Veniamin Borisovich returned to this image in 1992, starring in a sequel called The Musketeers 20 Years Later. This film was also filmed, with the same stellar cast -,. In "The Return of the Musketeers" they were joined by and.
Benjamin's incarnation of the heroes of the parable "Seven Screams in the Ocean", the detective story "A Trap for a Lonely Man", the series "Montecristo" and "Furtsev", the comedy "Toy Seller" is considered successful. The actor flashed in the melodrama "Balzac's age, or All men are theirs ...", in which the daughter shone.
In "Marriage in Russian" she became his on-screen daughter. In the crime film "Bones", the Russian adaptation of the American series of the same name with David Boreanaz, Smekhov played the head of a research laboratory. Father and son Viktor and Ivan Merezhko entrusted their friend to play a negative role in the film "Princess Lyagushkina".
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Veniamin Smekhov and wife Galina Aksenova
Smekhov's personal life changed in 1980. Then, after a painful divorce from Alla, film critic Galina Aksenova became his wife. She is a candidate of art history and an associate professor at the Moscow Art Theater School.
A respectable man (height 186 cm, weight 90 kg) does not intend to give up for years. Although Veniamin Borisovich believes that as an actor he has already said everything, he would not refuse to work with outstanding directors of our time. Nikita Mikhalkov, Alexey Uchitel and
Almost all famous actors have a role by which he is recognized everywhere. For Veniamin Smekhov, undoubtedly, such a calling card is the role of the sadly mysterious Athos in the legendary film-musical "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers".
But Smekhov is not offended by fate for this role, because thanks to the hero Dumas, he became loved by the whole country. Although, of course, in creative life, according to him, there were more significant works. For example, the role of Woland, which he played for several decades in Yuri Lyubimov's production of The Master and Margarita at the Taganka Theater. He also counts his luck musical performance"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", in which he became the author of poetry and script. In Krasnoyarsk, the famous actor performed in a new role for his fans: as a reader. In the program "I came to you with poems" performed by Smekhov, accompanied by the Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic Orchestra named after A. Bardin, the poetry of Pushkin, Nekrasov, Mayakovsky, Yesenin, Gumilyov, Mezhirov, Vizbor was performed. On the eve of the concert, we met with Veniamin Borisovich.
- In your opinion, what happened to Taganka, why did the conflict arise between Yuri Lyubimov and the troupe?
I am not inclined to comment on this, because the situation is similar to a family one. Something about the Taganka theater, of course, I can say. This theater is my luck in life. Lyubimov is a great artist, and I consider him my teacher. The performance "Antimira" by Andrei Voznesensky - the discovery of Yuri Lyubimov - laid the foundation for poetic performance in Russia. Now there is a lot of this, and not only in our country. But the Antimirs were the first. And I'm glad I was among the pioneers. It was the same Taganka, which can be spoken of as a unique phenomenon. But such special stages in the life of the theater are short-lived. Once Nemirovich-Danchenko said: "The term of the theater is fifteen years." Taganka set a record here too. We lived for twenty years. In 1984, when Lyubimov was forced to emigrate, the period of the wonderful stay of this theater in Russian culture actually ended. Now Taganka is just one of the many theaters in the country. There are very worthy and interesting things there, but the uniqueness is gone. Although it is not for me to judge this - I completed my story with Taganka in 1998. But even before that, for about ten years, I served not only with Lyubimov, but also staged performances myself, studied television projects. He only occasionally returned to the theater to play Woland in the play The Master and Margarita. So my Taganka, which I can talk about competently, is no more. I wrote about my theater in the book The Golden Age of Taganka, which was recently published.
- That is, nothing connects you with Taganka today?
No, it connects new project, which we are preparing with Valery Zolotukhin, the current artistic director of the theater. I have always been interested in combining literature and acting. Today, with a break on tour in Krasnoyarsk and in Paris, I am rehearsing the play "No Years", which I named after the lines of Yevtushenko's wonderful poem. Zolotukhin, I, as well as many young people participate in it. The leader of the sixties Yevgeny Yevtushenko suggested that I take on the production. I read the script according to Yevtushenko for those who wish to participate in the performance of the actors of the Taganka Theater. Today, unfortunately, not everyone wants to work on stage. As they explained to me, when the actors see their last name on the notice board, crossed out from the list of those involved in the performance, they breathe a sigh of relief.
- Why?
Because work in the theater distracts from TV shows, making money on the side and so on.
- And for what reason did you leave the repertory theater?
I didn't leave on purpose, it just happened. It is connected with different moments of my life: good and terrible. In my acting life, there were both victories and disappointments. The moment came when Borovsky, Filatov and Shapovalov and I left the theatre. Apparently, the stage has been passed.
It seems to me that, most likely, I was born a writer, but on the way I turned into two theater institutes and stuck in acting for life. But I always loved the word, it is the beginning of all beginnings for me, I think that it was not without reason that God gave us the music of Russian speech. I left the actors, I was disappointed in myself, but the word was always with me. I have written books, done productions abroad and on television. In addition, I have my own small corporate party called "Me and my wife." And this corporation is bound not only by love and a long life together, we also help each other in our work. I am Galya Aksyonova, she is me. We have many joint projects.
By the way, do you know why Krasnoyarsk has always attracted me? One of the heroes of the Krasnoyarsk HPP was Gennady Mikhailovich Aksyonov, an outstanding power engineer who received the highest orders and titles. This is my father-in-law, the father of Glasha's wife. Another thread that connects me with your city, my friend is a bard, writer, actor, journalist, screenwriter Yuri Vizbor, who got burned for the word Yenisei in the song. Remember: "We also make rockets and blocked the Yenisei ..."? He was not allowed to sing this song. In general, he was banned as a performer, but allowed as a screenwriter. This could only happen in our country.
- “Ahead lies a rocky ridge, a river flows behind - Time. If I were going on a long journey, I would call Venya Smekhova ”- Vizbor dedicated these lines to you. What did this friendship mean to you?
Our relationship began with my love for his songs. We were introduced by Borya Khmelnitsky, who starred with Vizbor in The Red Tent and sang his songs at the piano ... We became so close with Yura that at some point he helped me make a fateful decision: I created a new family. I have a wonderful and respectful attitude towards both sides of the globe of my life, but I am still grateful to Yura that he encouraged me to take a step towards my current half, Galya Aksyonova. This happiness has already lasted for thirty-four years, and my wife and I do not forget sometimes to look into the heavens and say thank you to Yuri Iosifovich. Friendship, in my opinion, is an indissoluble concept, fundamental in the Russian mentality. It is a pity that today the word "friendship" is damaged, but I am sure that it will not disappear from our lives.
When Vizbor died, he could not listen to his songs for a long time, because tears constantly flowed from his eyes. When he sang, it seemed that he was talking personally into your ear. A surprise for us, his friends, who considered his work very intimate, it turned out that even after many years - he left in 1984 - Vizbor is remembered, loved and known. Undoubtedly, he is one of the kings, part of the holy army of Bulat Okudzhava. Like Vysotsky, who today has become the ruler of souls. Although Vladimir Semyonovich and I worked together in the theater for sixteen years, sat together at the table and even confessed our love and friendship to each other, I always felt a certain distance, a border between us. Therefore, unlike Vizbor, I would not call Vysotsky my friend.
- Is it true that you refused the title of People's Artist?
The Internet lies a lot. In 2010, when I turned 70, someone wrote on the Internet that I was forcibly awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia, but for some reason I refused. This is nonsense. Most likely, the legs of this story grow from here. During perestroika, the acting union was headed by Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov. These two values in Russian art have proposed to abandon all these Soviet tsatsek - titles and awards. Because these were handouts from the regime, nothing more. I agreed with them. And just at that time I was nominated for the title of people. I had to fill out forms and sign something. And I just didn’t do it, deciding that I had already earned favor with myself through the labors and accidents of fate. Because Ecclesiastes says: "A good name is more important than a ringing suit." By the way, when I was filming Monte Cristo, I was probably the only artist without a title, and around me were young comrades who already had the honorary or folk prefix. But everyone has their own destiny. Zolotukhin, when today's story with the production of Yevtushenko was brewed, was very surprised that I did not have a title.
If you came to our city with poems, I want to ask this question. Many actors read and read poetry from the stage, but among them there are those who do it in a special way, so that it is remembered and remains in you forever. Who is your benchmark in this business?
Among the ideals is undoubtedly Zinovy Efimovich Gerdt. We worked with the great animator David Cherkassky in Captain Vrungel (I voiced the Admiral, and Gerdt voiced Vrungel). I took a volume of Pasternak with me to the shooting. We sat in the room and Zyamochka said: "Well, Venechka, start something." I flipped through a few pages and started reading. He, turning to the wall, continued the poem as a memento. It was, of course, a miracle. A small episode opens up everything big in my life. Here we are again back to literature, the Russian language. Reading poetry is not only a school of reading and familiarization with the culture of the language, but also of life. In my personal life, I consider Zinovy Gerdt, Igor Kvasha, Sergey Yursky as teachers.
- Recently, you have often performed in tandem with your daughter Alika.
She makes me very happy. Creatively, she is doing very well now. Now we have two joint projects. The first is the musical and literary performance "Twelve Months of Tango", where my texts after "Ali Baba" are the second success in life. The second performance is "Old Fashioned Confession", which also has a lot of music and beautiful poetry.
Times don't choose
Veniamin SMOKHOV: “On behalf of everyone who was wounded forever by the Second World War, I am ready not in interviews, but in life to yell: stop talking about right and wrong, for God's sake, stop the bloody play! Peace at any cost, at any cost!"
Russian actor, director and writer Veniamin Smekhov, in an interview with the GORDON online publication, spoke about what he thinks about the war between Russia and Ukraine, why he stopped trusting the media and why Vladimir Vysotsky was angry with him
Four years ago, Veniamin Smekhov refused the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation, offered to him for his 70th birthday. He generally doesn’t like to talk about this, but once he explained his act like this: “I like that Pushkin was not a member of the Writers' Union, and Vysotsky was also not awarded, by the way. But this is a personal matter, we will not blame anyone. Who likes tsatski, and who likes just their own name.
Veniamin Smekhov's own name is associated with honor and dignity, which is also inherent in one of his main screen characters - Athos from the truly popular film "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers". He calls himself an actor, director, writer and traveller. After parting with the Taganka Theater, where dozens of roles were played, including in the production of The Master and Margarita, thanks to which the audience called him the “first Woland of Russia”, he often tours with performances and creative evenings, hosts programs on television, writes prose , poems, memoirs. And he looks at life through the prism of sad irony - as a person who understands everything in this imperfect world. Therefore, he tries to “correct” it with his work.
- Veniamin Borisovich, the topic of relations between Russia and Ukraine is so painful today that many bypass it - so as not to quarrel with friends or for security reasons. Do you mind if we talk about this today?
- Firstly, I'm not a politician, my profession is an actor. As my hero says in the play "Master and Margarita", "each department should go about its own business." Secondly, lately I have ceased to trust the media. Often our media are confident and shameless in their questions: “Do you believe in God?”, “Are you a patriot, do you support what is happening in the Kremlin?”, “How are you and your wife?”. As a private person, I am not obliged to confess, even to very respected journalists.
So, let's talk about universal values. True, relations between Russia and Ukraine lie in the plane of this topic too ... You were friends with Vladimir Vysotsky. How would he react to today's events?
“I think he would have acted honorably, as always. But I can't speak for him. Vladimir Semenovich, probably, would have been happy to read the lines of the wonderful poet Sergei Gandlevsky: “They fought the throat for freedom of speech, as if there was something to say, but the sonnet of the 66th cannot be shouted down.” I have now plunged into Shakespeare's 66th sonnet, which is in tune with our today's anxieties - both for Russia, and for Israel, and even more so for Ukraine.
By the way, four years ago in Donetsk I performed in the same hall as Volodya once. I was told that he was angry with me for not going with him to Donetsk, which he fell in love with, but I could not then, I had shootings. So, when I was in Donetsk, I started my speech with this and asked: “Who remembers that concert of Vladimir Vysotsky?” A tear broke through me when the hands of elderly people flew up. And from the stage I read Vysotsky's poems, written by him once for the miners:
Sat, drank random Madeira,
old man, St. John's wort,
And suddenly we are all called to the slaughter -
up to one!
We have a Stakhanovite, a Gaganovite,
zagladovets,
And it is necessary, after all, to fill up
it's his...
- “We’ll dig it up - it will again begin to fulfill the three norms, start giving coal to the country - and Khan to us!” "A case at the mine" is called. In Donbass they loved this song very much.
- But in Gorbachev's times, it was the miners who were the first to demand justice. As far as I know, in last years they had meager salaries, but they continued to work hard. Those who are lower are always the losers ... However, this is politics again, and I hate it.
I went through a personal test in the 1950s and 1980s and a few days ago I told a friend, one of our most ardent human rights activists, listing the then fears of threats and reprisals, that my generation is now protected by a previous era of hopelessness. It was the era of ideological arrests: Andrei Sinyavsky, Yuli Daniel, Alexander Ginzburg... It was a time of bitter unhappiness in the city of Gorky, where Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was in exile. And then, in 1984, Yuri Lyubimov was expelled from the country, several actors of the Taganka Theater were followed by a KGB car, one of the main dirty tricks - the leaders of Soviet culture, who controlled the fate of theaters and people, told me in person that he was waiting for me. Everything is gone. Today I live between two phrases of great Russian poets: “You need to understand that everything is lost, and then it’s not scary” by Tsvetaeva and “In Russia you need to live long” by Akhmatova ...
“Are you saying that there have been worse times than today?”
“There is a war going on, whether it is called a war or not. It concerns two historically native countries. Countries are beautiful, and all states, authorities are fatally sinful before their people. The crack between our countries ran through human fates through families, through friendships. But, I am sure, the script of life is written much higher than us.
Are you talking about high officials who decide people's destinies under the Kremlin stars, or are you talking about heavenly heights?
- Once in Bonn, my wife and I happened to listen to a lecture by Karamzin of our time - historian Nathan Eidelman. It was a time when the iron curtain had just fallen and a wind of great hopes blew in the USSR. I got a visa to Germany, where I had concerts (before I could not even dream of this), and now I am surrounded by wonderful people- dissident and writer Lev Kopelev, his wife Raisa Orlova, artist Boris Berger - we listened to readings by Natan Eidelman for historians from different countries.
It was December 1988. They discussed the Jewish question, the Crimean Tatar question, the war in Afghanistan, they asked about Sakharov, who had recently been released - in a word, they talked about everything that was of keen interest to the world community. Eidelman answered these questions like a truly great historian. I recalled Karamzin's times, Radishchev, who was arrested for the book Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, Chaadaev, who was declared insane for his works, and, in general, this whole axis of the state - the people. Eidelman succeeded in satisfying the curiosity of most scientists.
But there were also those who were dissatisfied with the “caution” of the Soviet historian, someone wanted him to certainly “shoot” at the Kremlin and Lenin’s Mausoleum, and he was just a Russian historian and Jewish sage, remembering the words of Ecclesiastes: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity .. The generation passes, and the generation comes, but the earth remains forever... The sun rises, and the sun sets, and hurries to its place where it rises...”.
- Today's events will also go down in history - as an example of a cruel and, most importantly, senseless war ...
“All our peoples need today is a ceasefire at all costs. Some leader must take the first step. I'm sure everything will end well. After all, we, like you, have a centuries-old black earth soil of goodness and culture. Good, of course, will win... For detente: I figured out what was the mistake of the economic policy of the Soviet state. That they took away the good from the kulaks. And "good should be with fists."
- Karamzin, Radishchev, Chaadaev, Ginzburg, Sinyavsky and Daniel, Sakharov - you mention the names of those who led Russia to freedom. Ukraine is also trying with all its might to gain freedom. But why is Russia, which has such a bright heritage of freethinking, not striving for freedom today?
- Don't generalize, please! I see and know the kind of Russia in which, to use the words of the poet Dmitry Prigov, there are many “meaningful” citizens and good deeds. And there are those in power who instill fear in people, but there are others who fear for our own troubles: for the poverty of millions, for dying cities and villages, for bad medicine, for the unreliability of the police, for homeless children and for many other things. other.
- The poetic performance based on the poems of Yevgeny Yevtushenko “No Years”, with which you have already traveled more than one country, included the poem “Tanks are moving through Prague” about the events of 1968, when the USSR intervened in the affairs of another country. This shame still haunts many former Soviet conscientious people. Almost half a century later, Russia, as the true successor of the USSR, is trying to crush Ukrainian freedom with tank tracks, while not sparing its soldiers, who are being brought home from the Donbass with a “load of 200”. But many Russian poets are still silent about this ...
- Poets just do not remain silent ... I think this nightmare must be stopped at the human level. This is what I want, my wife, my children, the people I'm friends with, because whoever kills a person kills me too. I hear about facts of boundless cruelty on both sides, I am horrified by explosions of mutual hatred... I repeat, I don't understand politics, but I understand culture. Culture is a parallel Russia.
“But despite all the laws of geometry, it still intersects with politics. For a concert for IDPs in Donbass, Andrei Makarevich was accused of betrayal of his homeland...
- I know that Andrei Makarevich, an honest man and a brilliant musician, came there not for a fee, but in order to support the unfortunate people who survived the war. I belong to the last generation of those who survived the war, I remember the evacuation, hunger, childhood without a father, because he fought. On behalf of all those who are forever wounded by the Second World War, I am ready not in an interview, but in life to yell: stop talking about right and wrong! For God's sake, stop the bloody play! At any cost peace, at any cost!
- You told how, together with Vladimir Vysotsky and Ivan Dykhovichny, you opened the Mlyn restaurant near Kyiv many years ago. You must have been treated to Ukrainian borscht with donuts there. But Ukrainian borscht is now hard to find in other Moscow restaurants. Rather, borscht is served to visitors, but on the menu it is encrypted as “Russian soup”. Say, cooking is also out of politics?
You are giving incorrect information. In the popular Pushkin restaurant on Tverskoy Boulevard, they boldly serve fraternal borscht. Yes, and we, if you like, as a sign of protest on the eve of September 1 in the house of Alika Smekhova, seeing off my grandchildren - first-grader Makar and ninth-grader Artem - on the harsh school road, the family noted this fact with Ukrainian borscht.
- You are friends with the amazing clown Vyacheslav Polunin, thanks to whose art the world becomes brighter and kinder. Could you ask him to send a personalized invitation to the performance to one big man of small stature, so that he, too, would be kinder and stop the war in Ukraine?
- I don’t know if politicians are subject to the miracle that Slava Polunin creates, but when he walks on the backs of chairs in the Snow Show, people always stretch out their hands towards him. In England, which is considered the birthplace of clowning, he was named the best clown in the world. But, speaking at the Parisian Casino de Paris, he was worried about how the snobby French would accept him ... You see, we are generalizing again, but this cannot be done ...
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Many artists sit for years without honorary titles.
It turns out that some of them are being avenged by officials, and some of them are refusing titles themselves.
Recently, the Honored Artist of the RSFSR Stas Sadalsky posted on his Internet blog a collective portrait of "Non-People's Artists", as he called them.
Among them are Natalya Varley, Natalya Andreichenko, Elena Proklova, Marianna Vertinskaya, Irina Pechernikova, Vladimir Konkin, Leonid Kanevsky, Veniamin Smekhov ...
Well, Sadalsky, of course.
I am sometimes asked: is it not a shame that I am still not a folk? - shared the sore artist. - I used to get frustrated. Twice I was nominated for this title, and twice I was refused. And now, when I see with whom I will have to share it, I say sincerely - no.
Or maybe abolish acting titles altogether? They don't exist in Hollywood.
I also do not understand why these titles? - supported Sadalsky Tatyana Dogileva, who, however, still has the title of people.
- Previously, at least the people's pension was higher than that of a simple artist.
Now there is no difference, not even benefits for paying for "communal".
"DOWN WITH THE SOVIET TSATSKI!"
For what reasons did certain people's favorites not receive the title, although, it would seem, they deserved it? Many didn't need it. Oleg Dal and Vladimir Vysotsky, for example, had no titles. That does not make them less loved by the people. The case when a good name is more expensive than a sonorous suit. Theatre. Many times I wanted to introduce Vakhtangov to the title of his actor Maxim Sukhanov. But Sukhanov begged not to do this: they say that culture is a territory of equality and respect, regardless of rank and length of service. And this position deserves respect.
Veniamin Smekhov also refused the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation, which he was offered for his 70th birthday.
Today you can buy everything, but it is not valuable to me, - Veniamin Borisovich explained. - Once upon a time, Taganka actors were forbidden to give titles for political reasons. Then Lyubimov left the country. And after that, no talk at all about titles. And then, on the contrary, the time came when I was forced to agree, because all the young people are already well-deserved and popular, but I am not. But Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov said: let's give up these Soviet tsatseks. And they even stopped signing themselves as people's artists. I liked it so much...
Only from the third call, Natalya Varley received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. And this was 22 years after the release of the comedy "Prisoner of the Caucasus", which glorified her heroine - an athlete, a Komsomol member and a beauty - throughout the country. Not to mention dozens of other paintings in which the artist played. But when the Union of Cinematographers presented her to the title, the award commission twice returned the documents. They say that one of her influential admirers, an official of the Committee on Cinematography, took revenge on the actress for her intractability. He allegedly knocked on Natalya's hotel room at night - she did not open it. Then the situation repeated itself with another influential person. Maybe this is an accident, or maybe not ... Natalya Vladimirovna says that now the title no longer matters as much as in her youth. But on the other hand, when strength and health are placed on the altar of art, and this is not appreciated, it is also a shame.
PENSION SUPPLEMENT AND SERVICE CAR
I take titles calmly, because I know very well how they are given, - Elena Proklova, who has served at the Moscow Art Theater for almost 20 years and has many bright roles in popular films, told us. - Someone gets for long service, someone - for a special relationship with the artistic director. background great amount. And the audience doesn't care if the actor has a title or not. The public treats me very well, despite the fact that I am not popular.
And the title does not give any privileges. It used to be important because the rank meant an increase in a pension or a company car. Today this is not the case. Therefore, to grieve is simply ridiculous. Tranquility and good mood more important. Here I am now in Sochi, sitting in my apartment and looking at the sea. The weather is amazing, the cicadas are chirping ... What difference does it make to me: I am a people's, honored or just an artist? If I truly deserved the title of people, I would have it. So she didn't deserve it. And let Stas Sadalsky please people not with titles, but with his work. Especially since the public loves it.
WE ARE NOT HOLLYWOOD
But there is another point of view. The title is an official recognition and status, an intangible encouragement that allows the artist to maintain creative energy. And then we are not Hollywood. Our patriarchal Russian theater has its own traditions. Titles, regalia, badges and letters matter. Let them not give material benefits. Well, except that the people's artist will be provided with a business class flight, and an ordinary one with economy class. A trifle, but nice.
Today, theater workers have been waiting for decades for an honorary title, as if it is given for length of service, and not for talent and skill, - says Alexander Kalyagin, chairman of the Union of Theater Workers of Russia. - Sometimes artists pass away without waiting for anything. My soul hurts for the amazing artists of the Russian provinces. And it is not their fault that the city officials do not know them. Not a single honorary title gives any special privileges, does not provide for any mandatory additional payments to wages and even to pensions. So what's the deal? Why the State Awards Commission, not knowing, not seeing creative works candidates, refuses the absolute majority?
HELP "KP"
Who is entitled to this title
A person applying for the title of an honored artist must work for 20 years (!) Or more and achieve public recognition in the cinema, theater, ballet, stage, music or circus, as well as radio and television workers, and so on. This means that a candidate for honored artists will receive his title at the best at 38 years old, provided that he started working in the profession from 18. But we also need fame, public recognition, diplomas and all kinds of encouragement. If the artist meets all the requirements, you can apply for the title of honored. To do this, you need to apply for an award. This is done, for example, by the theater director. Further - several instances. Head decision required municipality or the mayor of the city, the expert council of the Ministry of Culture ... The final authority is the Commission on State Awards under the President of the Russian Federation. The mechanism of approval is complex. At each stage, the applicant may be refused or replaced with a title for another promotion - an order or a certificate of honor. It is even more difficult to become a people's artist. You have to wait another 10 years after receiving the title of honored. The Ministry of Culture has developed proposals on how to simplify the scheme for obtaining titles and, above all, to reduce the length of service for opera and ballet soloists or circus performers. Agree: it is impossible to dance in ballet until the age of 50, unless, of course, you are Maya Plisetskaya.
AND THERE WAS ANOTHER CASE
People's Artist of the Russian Federation Boris Khimichev received the title in 1993, jumping over the title of honored. He acted in films a lot, worked in the theater, but there was no official recognition. Actor's ego suffered. Helping to rectify the situation was his wife, Galina Sizova, who worked as a government guide, gave tours for Politburo members, Republican leaders, and had connections. As her daughter Elena said: “For my mother, there were no unsolvable issues.”
But there was no one to care for the great Rina Zelenaya. “If I am awarded, it will certainly be 40 minutes before my death,” she said jokingly. That is exactly what happened. On April 1, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev issued a decree awarding Rina Zelenaya the title of People's Artist of the USSR. On the same day, a few hours later, Rina Vasilievna died. And they never gave her a title.
“We were brought up on good Vologda oil…”
The popular actor, director, screenwriter, writer, winner of the Tsarskoye Selo Art Prize Veniamin Smekhov is famous not only for his many years of service in the legendary Taganka Theater (in company with Vladimir Vysotsky, Leonid Filatov, Alla Demidova) and star roles. Despite the fact that his Athos from "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers", Baron Krause from "Two Comrades Served", Mustafa from "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" are far from all cinematic images loved by the Soviet, Russian and, I think, viewers , planetary, Veniamin Borisovich also distinguished himself by the fact that he refused the proposed title of "People's Artist of Russia".
We discussed this and other topics during Smekhov's recent visit to Voronezh; he came to us with his wife, theater critic and film critic Galina Aksenova. Judging by the care with which, almost maternal, this beautiful woman spouse, seated at a table in a cafe, tea with lemon - family life the couple, if not cloudless, then clearly prosperous. What about creative?
Company Charm
Veniamin Borisovich, how often do you act in films now? And I would like to know about the audience preferences ...
I have never filmed as much as I do now. It’s another matter that not everyone knows about it, and they don’t have to: today all information is at odds ... I’m actively filming, yes, but I can afford to refuse a bad role, a bad company. As for preferences: for me, one of the most beloved directors close to me is Pavel Lungin. I like almost everything about him, starting with The Wedding, which I have already watched four times. Andrei Smirnov is also a wonderful director. I'm talking about those who are already called classics. And a lot of new names appeared.
- For example?
I really love the film “Playing the Victim” by Kirill Serebrennikov. This is one of those things that is not done primarily for money. And there are enough such directors. But with all that, naturally, sometimes I get to people who churn out a nightmare. And they disfigure the language: this is also a lot. But I am pleased that with some of my own, maybe experience, I have earned an exclusive, as they say in non-Russian now, the right to change the text. Here is a series that I am proud of, "Monte Cristo", which, as you understand, has nothing to do with Dumas: a modern-day tracing-paper from the famous Argentine film. And I am happy that, for example, Julius Kim, whom I adore, said that he was addicted to this needle, although he does not understand why. A typical serial mura, starting with the twentieth series. But Kim says, "There was the charm of the company." Of course, this genius of poetry hit the mark: good actors and intellectuals really gathered there. Well, that's so lucky ... Then: Yuri Grymov, Alexei Uchitel - these are all the gift names of today's cinematography.
The name is more valuable than the suit
- Your daughter Alika Smekhova is also a famous actress. Do you watch her films and roles with an evaluating look?
She is a good artist. As for ratings, their criteria change over time. About the fact that today is the norm, twenty years ago they would say: dregs, nonsense. The same thing was said twenty years ago about films made fifty years ago and now classics. I'm not very attentive to films like "All men are theirs ...", in which Alika starred. In general, I am not very knowledgeable in this area: there are so many things to do that if I have time to see at least something - well, thank God!
- And if the daughter calls and insistently asks: “Dad, watch this movie”?
I will definitely look. I press the TV button - and ... I look through a piece, say, with Nagiyev. At the same time, I understand what happened around and around the filming: he himself starred with this Dima in The Return of the Musketeers ... In general, Alika did a good job, copes with a very difficult burden today.
- Difficult - in terms of provocativeness?
Of course. There are eternal laws human existence in art in general and cinema in particular. But this is not the case in our country. In our country, the very word "human" is almost never pronounced. Usually they say - "people". Or "the people".
By the way, about the people. Or rather, the title of "People's Artist", which you once refused. But didn't the charm of the company speak in favor of making a different decision? How many "folk" in fact are folk, loved by viewers of several generations. Why not stand in line with them?
You see, now everything can be bought. When we, the Taganka artists of my generation, were to be given titles, this was forbidden for political reasons. And when trouble happened - Lyubimov was expelled from the country - I, Filatov, Shapovalov, Borovskikh found themselves under the rays of touching attention of the KGB. And there was simply no more talk about titles. And then the time came when, on the contrary, I was forced to accept the title. Because all the young people have long been honored and popular, but I still can’t ...
- And you're not alone.
Yes, then both Ulyanov and Lavrov said: "Let's give up these Soviet tsatsok." And they stopped calling themselves people's artists, writing titles in programs; I liked it so much! .. And recently they wanted to give me this title - for the anniversary. But my wife, knowing me well, explained to one big man that I would be offended. I don't need it... Ecclesiastes remarkably said for all of us: "A good name is more precious than a ringing suit." Vysotsky was posthumously awarded the title of laureate of the State Prize. But Pushkin, as you know, still has not been assigned anything.
Stop Malakhov
You once called our age a time of forced disunity. Do you think that the friendship that connected the three musketeers from perhaps the most famous film with your participation is possible now?
We have the right to approach with our tastes and views to any site modern life. And as for the "Musketeers" ... Apparently, at the time of the appearance of this film, the field of cinema was such that "The White Sun of the Desert", "The meeting place cannot be changed", "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers" and three or four more films stood out on their own yourself. Well, they say, because it is with friendship that everything is clean there ...
- And cleanliness is now in short supply, not only with regards to personal relationships - right?
Alas. The businessman of human misfortune Malakhov, who, God bless him, does not cast a shadow, recently made the program “Tonight”, dedicated to the 35th anniversary of our film. From there they cut out my words that, probably, the solidity and calmness of all of us - those who participated in this film, regardless of how lucky they were with the role - were explained by the fact that we were brought up on good Vologda butter. That is, we are all theater actors, and even what ones! Efros, Vladimirov, Freindlich, Boyarsky - Leningrad City Council Theater. Plus BDT, Taganka, Goncharov Theater; that's how it happened, luckily. It is not clear how such companies appear ... And I also quoted the great Erdman in that program, who claimed that everything depends on the company. What kind of company you have - such successes.
- Well, in "Musketeers" not only the acting company is shock ...
Of course. What song Yuri Ryashentsev wrote! And again, they cut out the words of Mikhail Boyarsky from Malakhov’s program that there would be no film and all of us, if such words, such a song would not have sounded. At that time, after all, the songs were stuffy, trashy. Others simply forbade it. So Dunayevsky and Ryashentsev are also the pioneers of the picture's success. As well as the cameraman Alexander Polynnikov, whom no one remembers at all. And he is an operator! That is, we, the heroes, are his luck. And he is our luck.
You talk about the transfer of Malakhov with undisguised indignation. But why did you go to shoot with this person, if it has long been known and clear for what purpose he gathers guests in the studio?
And I didn't go, I refused. But then my daughter called me, said that Malakhov was crying: “Veniamin Borisovich is angry with me ...” And he asked Alika to tell dad that he was “ready to come and fall on his knees so that Veniamin Borisovich agreed to participate in the filming. Because I am such an admirer of his film! ..” He said that everyone else had already agreed, only Smekhov remained. In general, now I don’t even regret that I went: I looked at the disgusting thing - well, I’m not its author.
- And what ugly was shown there?
The beginning and end of the program were voiced, of course, without us - it is absolutely impossible to watch and listen to it. Gone are the days when taste in Russia was dictated by great literature... It's just hooliganism: to show a haggard, unfortunate disabled person who played a fatal beauty in a film. And let everyone know that time will pass- and everyone else, Smirnitsky and others like him, will be just as unhappy ... This delight, this ecstasy of people's misfortune in the desire to hear from the public: "Cool!" - such earnings, such business. And - everything is fine: they brought up an audience for themselves and now they are hiding behind ratings.