Is it true that Yegor Letov is alive. What was Yegor Letov really

We remember Yegor Letov. They share their memories and opinions about him with us:
Vadim Kuzmin (Cherny Lukich), Yigal Rozenberg, leader of the Zionism group, Ilya Mamontov, Epidemia group, Pavel Grigoriev, leader of the Gulag group, and Valentin (Jack) Sokharev (Medved Shatun group).

Soldiers are not born...

As a child, he suffered clinical death 14 times. He was never afraid of death, she walked with him toe to toe. He knew her by sight. For someone he was a great musician, for someone a poet, writer, philosopher ... He had many talents. For me Igor Fedorovich Letov was a soldier who fought in peacetime. But why was it? Egor continues to live, he remained in the minds of thousands of people. After all, he who is not afraid of death cannot die! And so that he remains alive, at least for me and a few other people who read my thoughts, I decided to write about him. “What else can you write about Letov?! EVERYTHING has already been said! many of you will say. Can. You can write about him endlessly, and still not reveal everything. He was a very extraordinary person, he constantly contradicted his words, changed his views in everything: in politics, in music, in his life position. But one principle remained unchanged: “I will always be against it!” He was against ideals, stereotypes, the system, against himself. Because of this principle, many have tried to break it, but neither the asylum, nor misunderstanding, nor even the threat of death has broken it. He remained the same soldier as before.

Many rock musicians grew up and brought up on Yegor's songs, maybe even thanks to Yegor they became such. I decided to find out from these same musicians who Letov is for them. Of course, many of them simply ignored my request, but some fans of "Gr.ob." agreed to talk a little about Igor Fedorovich.

No one could say so accurately about Yegor as a person who knew him personally, he is a good poet, musician, and just a wonderful person - Vadim Kuzmin, also known as Black Lukich.

-Tell me, how did Igor Fedorovich and Civil Defense influence the youth, because thousands listened to him?

It is difficult for me to judge how he influenced the youth of that time, since I was no longer young. I can say one thing: the punks who listened to Letov adopted a lot of nihilism from him. Although he wasn't. Our guys were generally very kind. I can say about myself. Very strongly influenced. Because many teams, if you can call them that, played, got tired and left. And Yegor was “obsessed” with music. He was ready to create day and night, which attracted me very much in him as a musician. Perseverance and talent did their job. A lot of bands have "grown" out of it. We cooperated with him, but in the end we ran away. But, I think it's good that it happened, since our work was very different from Letov's music. It's like in a bouquet: if all the flowers are the same, then the bouquet will not be as beautiful as with different flowers.

-Yegor often contradicted himself. Changed views. What is it connected with?

A very interesting question. He changed his views, probably because he was a very enthusiastic person. It was enough for him to read one book to change his point of view. So, for example, in politics. In his youth he was an ardent anarchist. Later he became one of the founders of the NBP. I also supported the National Bolsheviks, but not the top of the party, but ordinary guys who are fighting for the rights of the people. But all our guys always supported the Soviet government and treated it very well. In general, I believe that the USSR was destroyed by thieves and traitors. But as Churchill said: "He who was not a radical in his youth - he has no heart, who did not become a conservative in his maturity - he has no mind."

--And what kind of relationship did you have with Letov? Were you friends or just co-workers?

In 1987 - early 1988 we were very good friends, I think we were even best friends. But from the middle of 1988, we practically stopped communicating. We might not see each other for years. Maybe because he didn't know how to admit his mistakes. He had the talent to turn everything around so that he had nothing to do with it. He could bring a bunch of arguments, and convince everyone that he alone was right. And he also had some kind of innate self-confidence, or something. Igor has always been a leader, and tried to keep everyone in his fist. This is good to some extent, but not in friendship. I would even say that he was a prisoner of his own ideas.

-How was he with alcohol and drugs?

In his youth, he did not drink at all. While the manager and I smoked, and Kuzya smoked too, he did not even touch a cigarette. Later I drank a little, but it was not constant, these were isolated cases. As for drugs, I think he talked more about it. Maybe when he started playing psychedelic, he tried a few times to get a feel for what it was, but those were also isolated cases. But this is purely my opinion, I do not know how it really happened. I remember we gave a concert either in Moscow or in St. Petersburg, and after the concert we went to a bar to relax and have a drink. So while everyone was drinking, Yegor just sat at the table. I drank one bottle of beer last night. In general, we drank more.

-What about you? How has your music changed during this time? It is clear that tastes change with age, but in what direction?

Don't even know. Somehow after the recording of the first album, we sat and listened to what happened, and after recording, I said: "That's it, I'll play children's songs." So, to this day I play. I would call most of my songs that way. But I'm probably the only person out of all our guys who played what he really wanted to play. And to this day I play. I don't limit myself. Once played punk, but now it has become uninteresting. I just play what I want and that's it.

-The leader of the Zionism group, Yigal Rosenberg, said no less interestingly:

-Yigal, tell me, who is Yegor Letov for you?

First of all - the most original and influential rock musician of the post-Soviet space. A person who is equal in terms of the scale of creativity, not only in the ex-USSR, but throughout the world, is very small. For me personally, Egor is a very important spiritual person who influenced me as a musician and in general as a person. And, of course, I am grateful to Igor Fedorovich for shutting up the mouths of all techies and formalists from rock. He proved that even if you do not know how to play musical instruments very technically, you can achieve a lot.

-How did he influence the youth of those years?

Actually, I can hardly imagine how Letov influenced your youth? I can talk about those with whom I grew up. The impact, of course, was great. Mostly with the right youth. Letov's gopota didn't listen to us, more than Krug. Musically, Letov is a total figure. It's hard to be a fan of "Civil Defense" and, say, DDT.

-Can his music be considered punk rock? And Yegor - punk?

Don't know. Question from the series "was Bob Dylan a hip?". Based on the fact that the hippies love him and Dylan himself loved LSD and weed. Letov apparently at first wanted to be a punk himself. Then it became, probably, not relevant. In any case, there is nothing in common between Civil Defense and, say, Green Day ...

-What contribution did he make to Soviet (Russian) rock?

I don't know what Russian rock is. If, for example, I am a Jew, an Israeli, I write a song in Russian, will it be Russian rock? I consider Yegor a figure of international scale, the significance of which has yet to be comprehended. He made a huge contribution to rock music. But more broadly, this is a rare justification for the existence of rock music in your country.

-And why did so many young people listen to him?

I do not think that a large number of young people listened to him. I think Letov's ratings were lower than those of Alice or even Yura the musician. This is exactly what created the exclusive club of "GO" lovers.

-A very interesting point of view from Ilya Mamontov (epidemic group)

- I heard it at school, at the beginning of the decline of the peak of popularity - the year 92-93, probably. The phenomenon was so strong that his name and surname became a household name almost immediately. The well-known image ("Everything is going according to plan"), as well as the symbolism and image, and even the details of the image, became no less nominal. It was so unique and influential that it often completely absorbed acquaintances. I knew the owners of huge collections of his countless records, as well as people who listened to his songs daily, or began to create under the influence of his work. We can definitely say that once listening to Yegor, it is impossible to confuse him with anyone. I can't even define his style. Punk, on the other hand, is rather a description of a lifestyle or a buzzword that attracted young people, especially since in the late 80s this term began to be discussed a lot. I think that if they called themselves that, it was only at first. After living for some time and listening to music, I came to the conclusion that the essence of the vast majority of Soviet-Russian rock in music is borrowing from Western culture, which is often divorced from reality, due to its foreignness. So, Yegor Letov is one of the few phenomena that reflect exactly the Soviet-Russian realities, a phenomenon that truly shows what rock is in the USSR and Russia. Even in terms of equipment and production, this is a 100% domestic phenomenon. It is pointless to talk about the contribution, since, in fact, he is the personification of Soviet-Russian rock. It’s hard to say about the influence of “GO”, I imagine it rather as a kind of translator, mouthpiece of the era and a prominent representative and creator of the genre. Therefore, everyone found their own in his work, which often served as a catalyst for experiences. In addition, it is difficult to take it literally, it is rather an energy message, first of all, and the transfer of the atmosphere, and with a limited set of means. I consider Yegor a person who received less attention than he should have. And definitely the brightest and most original representative of the national rock music.

-A few lines were written by the leader of the Gulag group, Pavel Grigoriev:

For me, Yegor Letov is a talented musician, poet and artist. His music is thoroughly saturated with the spirit of rebellion of the 90s. People like Egor are born once in a hundred, maybe a thousand years... He didn't just repeat after someone, he founded his own style - Siberian punk rock. Based on the creativity of Igor Fedorovich, we created the punk project "GULAG". The youth loved him and continues to love him. Probably for the rebellious spirit. In my opinion, Letov is the brightest representative of Russian rock, absolutely unlike any other group.

-But among rock musicians, not everyone thinks so about Yegor Letov. So, for example, Valentin (Jack) Sokharev (Medved Shatun group) thinks:

- I did not like Letov. Not as an author, but as a phenomenon. Janka against his background was much more charismatic. But I have always considered "The Mousetrap" and "Jump-Hop" to be masterpieces, to which many people and I are still very, very far away. For me, Yegor Letov was nobody. Maybe only one of the few authors whose two or three albums I was quite pleased with. Yes, he made some contribution to music, but discussing the magnitude of this contribution is a thankless task. And it had a devastating impact on the youth. More than half of my friends and acquaintances listened to and idolized "GO". I have lost 17 people in 20 years to alcohol, drugs and suicide. But he was so popular due to the fact that at the beginning of 1989, Yuri Yulianovich Shevchuk was already boring to everyone. The youth needed a different, updated flag. And then they jumped out like devils from a snuffbox, on the one hand - Tender May, on the other - Civil Defense. In short, "Civil Defense" was the real pop, only growling and badly recorded. And our people have always loved pop music. Also because Letov's work was universal. Who wanted to hear in it obscene punk-rock songs about our Russian truth-womb, who wanted to - all sorts of philosophical and esoteric abstruseness. In general, it so happened that Letov's work was in demand by quite different segments of the population.
Everyone saw Yegor Letov the way he wanted. Therein lies its uniqueness. It seems to me that it’s not necessary to love Civil Defense, it’s not even necessary to be a fan of Yegor’s talent, but it’s important just not to forget him ... Let Yegor live at least in our minds ...

Letov's interview.

Recording of the concert 20 years of civil defense.

Melekhovets Dmitry, Pinsk

Egor Letov- Soviet and Russian musician and poet, founder of the group " civil defense».

Biography of Yegor Letov

Egor Letov was born on September 10, 1964 in Omsk. Egor's mother was a doctor, and his father was a military man who went through the Great Patriotic War, later taking the post of secretary of the district committee of the Communist Party. Yegor also has an older Sergey - musician and saxophonist.

After graduation Letov moved to the Moscow region to his brother to enter the Moscow construction vocational school. However, shortly after admission, he was expelled for poor performance and returned to his hometown. In 1982 Egor formed a rock band Sowing”, named after the socio-political magazine.

Two years later, Letov formed the group " civil defense". Soon after the creation, the group became popular outside of Siberia. In 1985 Letov was forcibly hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital, where he stayed for several months.

By the early 1990s, the Civil Defense group recorded several albums and became one of the most popular Soviet rock bands. In May 2007, the group's last album was released, entitled "Why Dreams?", which was later recognized as the best album Letova.

On February 19, 2008, the musician died suddenly at the age of 43 due to cardiac arrest.

In memory of Egor Letov several documentaries were filmed and several volumes with the musician's poems were published. At the moment, Letov is one of the brightest representatives of Russian rock and a key figure in the "Siberian underground".

Yegor Letov was a passionate football fan. He said about himself that he "grew out of football, played all his childhood, as a midfielder-dispatcher." Throughout his life, his passions changed, but he always “sick” professionally. He understood football tactics, he could describe with fervor the advantages and disadvantages of a particular team.

Letov's passion for CSKA lasted the longest. It must have been the influence of his military father. In recent years, he began to root for Chelsea. Oddly enough, he associated his sympathy for this club with the name of Abramovich: “Firstly, I was struck by the very fact that for the first time in the history of Russian business, a person did not spend money on shit, but created something really great almost from scratch and immediately . And secondly, I like the way Chelsea plays, even now, this is the most all-out war in the Premier League. Maybe it's not as beautiful and sweeping as Manchester, but it's more violent and uncompromising. And thirdly, I really like players like Terry, Lampard, Cech, Drogba."

In football, Letov saw more than just a game. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he admitted: “In general, football for me is not a sport, it’s rock and roll, punk rock, extreme art, philosophy and politics.”

The future "patriarch of Siberian rock" Igor Letov (Egor is a pseudonym) was born on September 10, 1964 in Omsk, in an ordinary Soviet family. Yegor's father was a military man, then he served as secretary of the city district committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, his mother worked as a doctor. According to rumors, in childhood, Letov suffered clinical death 14 times.

From childhood, the boy had a living example of an inexhaustible love for music before his eyes: Yegor's older brother Sergey is a famous saxophonist, a musician who works in different styles. Yegor studied at secondary school No. 45 in the city of Omsk, which he successfully graduated in 1982. After graduating from school, Letov went to his brother in the Moscow region. There, Yegor entered a construction vocational school, but a year later he was expelled for poor progress.

Returning to Omsk, Letov continued to work on a project called "Sowing", which he founded in 1982. Since then, the biography and life of the pioneer of "Russian punk rock" has been inextricably linked with music and creativity.

In those years, Yegor Letov worked at the tire and motor-building plants in Omsk. As an artist, the musician painted portraits of Ilyich and propaganda posters for communist rallies and meetings, later worked as a janitor and plasterer.

Music

The group "Posev" recorded their songs on magnetic albums. This process took place in ordinary apartments on primitive equipment, due to which the sound turned out to be deaf, rattling and fuzzy. Subsequently, even having access to normal recording equipment, Letov did not abandon the "apartment" method, making the "garage sound" his corporate style.

The uniqueness of the artisanal sound, which was also characteristic of the later "Civil Defense", was largely due to the musical preferences of the leader of both groups. In an interview, Letov repeatedly mentioned that his songs were influenced by American garage rock of the 1960s and the work of performers working in the spirit of experimental, punk, psychedelic rock.

The Posev group ended its existence in 1984. Around the same time, the legendary "Civil Defense", also known as "G.O." or "Grob". Letov continued to work in his favorite "garage" style, at the same time opening an independent recording studio "Grob-records".

The studio was located in an ordinary Omsk Khrushchev apartment. With the money raised from the concerts, Yegor published the albums "G.O." and other groups related to Siberian punk rock.

Released albums, underground concerts, hand-held recordings and a completely unique performance style, along with obscene lyrics filled with deep meaning, brought Civil Defense a resounding popularity among Soviet youth. Letov's songs are distinguished by unprecedented energy, recognizable rhythm and original sound.

According to his colleagues in the workshop, Yegor was able to prove that it is possible to play rock without even knowing how to masterfully take complex chords or brilliantly use a drum set. Surprisingly, Letov himself never considered himself a member of the punk movement, he was simply always "against". Against the order, the system, established stereotypes, against himself. And this nihilism, along with the criticality of the lyrics, was taken as a model by subsequent Soviet and Russian punk bands.

Intelligence agencies and psychiatric hospital

At the dawn of his musical career, the leader of "G.O." was a staunch opponent of communism and the established system, although he never spoke out against Soviet power itself. However, the political and philosophical context of his songs was so clearly visible through the affected punk indifference that the relevant authorities could not help but be interested in the group and its creator.

Yegor was repeatedly made suggestions by the KGB officers. They demanded to stop the activities of the group. Since Letov refused, in 1985 he was placed in a psychiatric hospital. Violent methods of treatment were used to the musician, pumping him with the strongest antipsychotics. Such drugs were used to completely change the psyche of the "patient", and Letov himself compared their effect with a lobotomy.

Fortunately, the conclusion lasted only 4 months. Egor was helped out of the psychiatric hospital by his brother Sergei, who threatened to publish in the Western media a story about how in the USSR they were fighting objectionable musicians.

Creation

In the period from 1987 to 1988, Yegor returned to the Civil Defense project and recorded several albums, including Mousetrap, Everything Goes According to Plan, and others. He himself performs songs, plays instruments, acts as a sound engineer and sound producer. In 1988, the bootleg "Russian Field of Experiment" was recorded at Firsov's studio.

In 1989, albums of Yegor's new project "Communism" were recorded, a little earlier he met and began working with an outstanding rock singer, songwriter, whose life was tragically cut short in 1991. After the death of Yanka, Yegor completed and released her last album, Shame and Shame.

In 1990, Letov disbanded Civil Defense by playing a concert in Tallinn. Deciding that his project was turning into pop music, the musician became interested in psychedelic rock. The result of this hobby was the next project "Egor and O ... Zdenevshie", within the framework of which two albums were released. In 1993, Letov revived Civil Defense, continuing to work as part of both musical groups.

In subsequent years, the musician released several albums, some of which were composed of re-recorded old songs. The last concert of "GO" took place in Yekaterinburg on February 9, 2008.

At the turn of the century, Letov became interested in politics, was a member of the NBP, made friends with Limonov, Anpilov, Dugin. In 2004, Yegor Letov officially renounced politics.

Personal life

The personal life of such an extraordinary person as Letov was quite stormy. Friends described him as a very versatile person. Egor was able to repeatedly change his views. His opinion could easily be influenced by a film, a book, while he was a born leader, next to whom all the rest faded.

In rare photos, the musician is depicted during concerts, with friends or with associates in rock bands, and at home - exclusively with cats, but this does not mean that there were no women in his life. Letov was officially married once, unofficially - twice, the musician had no children.

In the late 80s, the civil wife of the leader of the "Civil Defense" was Yanka Diaghileva, Letov's lover, muse and colleague. Together they recorded several albums and played a lot of home concerts.

After the tragic and mysterious death of Yanka, Diaghileva's girlfriend Anna Volkova, who also took part in the recording of some of the G.O. albums, became the musician's wife. In 1997, Letov married Natalya Chumakova, who is also a bass player in the band.

Death

Yegor had a lot of creative ideas, including a film project based on Cortazar's novel "The Hopscotch Game" and alternative musical projects. However, these plans were not destined to materialize.

On February 19, 2008, the musician and singer passed away. The cause of Letov's death was officially named cardiac arrest, but an alternative version was subsequently made public: acute respiratory failure as a result of ethanol poisoning.

The funeral, which was attended by many people, including from both capitals, was accompanied by a civil memorial service. Yegor Letov was buried in Omsk next to his mother's grave.

Discography

Solo albums:

• "Russian field of experiment", 1988;
• "Concert in the hero city of Leningrad", 1994;
• "Egor Letov, concert at the rock club "Polygon"", 1997;
• The Letov Brothers (with Sergei Letov), ​​2002;
• "Egor Letov, GO, The Best" (collection of St. Petersburg concerts), 2003;
• "Tops and Roots", 2005;
• "Everything is like with people", 2005;
• "Orange. Acoustics", 2011.

Other projects:

• "Songs to the Void" (acoustics with E. Filatov), ​​1986;
• "Music of Spring" (pirated collection), 1990-1993;
• "Border detachment of civil defense", 1988.

Best songs:

• "Russian field of experiments";
• "Eternal Spring";
• "About the fool";
• "Everything goes according to plan";
• "I will always be against";
• "Zoo";
• "My defense" and others.

There are only rumors: as if Yegor choked on vomit in a dream, allegedly his heart stopped because of alcohol poisoning ... The most interesting thing is that even relatives of the deceased do not know (or carefully hide?) The whole truth. At the very least, Yegor's elder brother - "widely known in narrow circles" Moscow jazzman Sergei Letov - still does not understand what happened to his brother.

For the last four years, Igor (Egor's real name) and I have not communicated, - Sergey tells EG. - We quarreled again. Before that, we had quarrels, after which we did not communicate for two or three years.

- And the last time that they did not share?

The quarrel happened in absentia. We agreed that I would come to Omsk to record Igor's new album. Shortly before that, I bought him a professional digital tape recorder, since by that time this technique had fallen into decay with my brother. The GrOb Records studio was only called a studio, in fact it was a room in my father's three-room Khrushchev, our former nursery ... Shortly before the trip, I had financial difficulties. And I wrote to Igor by e-mail that I would come to Omsk if he paid for my air ticket at least one way. He seemed to be terribly offended and did not even answer. Since then, my brother and I have hardly spoken.

- But you, as a brother, probably know under what circumstances Yegor died?

For myself, this is a mystery. I have even more suspicions than the published versions. I talked with the director of the group, Sergei Popkov, he is the most reliable person in his brother's circle. Sergei said that according to the testimony of the ambulance workers, death occurred around noon (relatives discovered that Yegor was dead at about five o'clock in the evening).

- It seems strange to some that Yegor died in a new apartment, having not lived in it even for three months ...

Egor Letov. Concert photo from the official website of "Civil Defense"

Indeed, at the end of December 2007, he and his wife Natalya Chumakova, the guitarist of Civil Defense, moved into a new three-room apartment in an elite district of Omsk. And they didn’t take their 82-year-old father with them. Perhaps this played a fatal role. After all, dad always followed Igor and, if anything, called an ambulance.

Best of the day

- And how often did you have to call? Did Yegor have serious health problems?

My father told me that six months before his death, Igor had a respiratory arrest. Dad immediately called an ambulance, and the doctors resuscitated his brother with mouth-to-mouth breathing and heart stimulation. In general, during his life, Igor experienced 14-15 clinical deaths. My father and I carried him to the ambulance more than once on sheets ... The fact is that our mother is from Semipalatinsk. She received a decent dose of radiation. And, as a result, my brother and I did not get out of hospitals all our childhood. Igor was extremely ill - he had congenital pancreatic insufficiency.

- Is it true that Yegor and his father lived like a cat with a dog? They say your brother could raise a hand against him?

I would not like to talk about it ... But I think it could. Strange, because his parents adored him and allowed literally everything. It was believed that Igor was not a tenant in this world, so his every desire was immediately fulfilled. Once a brother saw a pot with a cactus in some window and said that he wanted the same one. So the father went to that apartment and asked for a "baby" from the plant! At the same time, Igor had a very difficult relationship with his father all his life. But with his mother, on the contrary, he had a very close contact. She died at 53 from cancer, like her mother, my grandmother. Since then, every year on December 31, Igor went alone to his mother’s grave and decorated a New Year tree for her!

- Sergei, such a version of death as a drug overdose is also being discussed. Could this be? Yegor has repeatedly said in an interview that he used LSD ...

I never saw him take drugs. He didn't even smoke! True, when I had problems with a girl, he advised me to take LSD. But he himself tried drugs only once or twice. He had another problem...

- Alcohol?

Unfortunately yes. I suspect that he began to drink alcohol in order to withstand two-hour concerts. He needed doping for drive, for inspiration. By the way, I myself drank alcohol before the performance only a few times - and only when I played with Civil Defense. During the concert and during the break, everyone drank. Not for drunkenness, no. To have enough strength to bring the concert to the end.

The fact that my brother had problems with alcohol, I first heard in 1996 from his administrator Zhenya Grekhov. Then, two years later, his publisher Yevgeny Kolesov turned to me with the same request: “You are the only one whom Igor will obey.” And I fought. Force-fed him with pills.

- Did it help?

Sometimes. I analyzed why this is happening to him. And I remembered that there was one alcoholic among our ancestors. Our maternal grandfather, the Cossack Martemyanov, who was repressed in 1937, wrote to my grandmother: “There were five of us with our parents.” But he only listed four. It always seemed strange to me. And everything was explained as follows: grandfather had a brother Volodya, an alcoholic, and his grandfather was shy, bought him clothes, gave him money, so long as he did not show himself to his eyes.

- Have you tried to convince Yegor to encode?

The psychiatrists told me it shouldn't be coded. Since he is a man of very strong will, he is not afraid of anything. And the fear of death will not stop him.

- Sergey, as I understand it, your relationship with Yegor was not warm. Not talking for four years is hard...

This is the wrong conclusion. Yes, we occasionally had lengthy quarrels. And it happened that every week I received from him from Omsk a letter of 5-6 pages! But then the correspondence was interrupted - the KGB fought with Igor, he was put on compulsory psychiatric treatment. We even talked dryly on the phone - in the late 80s they tapped the line.

But our relations cannot be called strained. It was probably when I began to bring records to 8-year-old Igor that he decided to become a musician. As a child, my parents assigned me to a music school, but this swotting quickly got sick of me, and I left my mother and father for a Novosibirsk physics and mathematics boarding school. And there .. yearned for music. A few years later he bought a saxophone and moved to Moscow. And after some time, 16-year-old Igor came to me and announced that he wanted to learn how to play the bass guitar. And we found this guitar for him - with the help of the famous St. Petersburg sound engineer Andrey Tropillo, who recorded "Aquarium" and "Cinema". By the way, my brother lived his life musically illiterate, he never studied anywhere...

- I don’t understand how the parents let their teenage son go to Moscow ...

Igor was a rather difficult person in everyday life. And then there’s the transitional age ... His parents sobbed from him and wrote letters to me: “Sergey, take him to you.” He easily lost his temper. It could be brought to a white heat by a working TV. He perceived Soviet propaganda as hostile. And our father was an army political worker, so they quarreled throughout their lives.

- I was always interested in where Yegor got this opposition?

All his life he had such a position: “But I am against it!”. I had patriotic convictions in the 80s, because of which he often called me a fascist, a nationalist, we quarreled, did not communicate for a long time ... At the same time, Igor was very easily influenced. Someone will tell him something bright - and now the brother begins to defend a new point of view with fervor. Look, at the end of his life he renamed all his albums. There was a "Solstice" - there was a "Lunar Revolution". I renounced a lot.

In the early 1990s, our opposition tried to take advantage of his popularity. My brother first succumbed to their influence, and then he told me: “I realized that the opposition is the same power as the official one. Only some play a red clown, while others play a white one. A good investigator and an evil one. In a word, he came to the conclusion that the opposition, no less than the government, is responsible for what is happening in the country.

- Yegor dreamed of fame?

He was always interested in the recognition of the masses. And in this we differed greatly. For me, it's better to play for 15-20 people, but for those whom you respect yourself. And Igor condemned me for elitism. He said: “I play in stadiums. Good music should please everyone.” I immediately retorted: “So it turns out that the best musician is Kirkorov?” But with this desire for popularity, he never dreamed of wealth. He needed money to be creative, buy books and records. He left a huge library and record library. He was generally much more developed than most rockers and even more so - punk musicians. He did not lead a rocker lifestyle at all. After all, how does a rocker live? He drank, met girls, or better - with two, caught courage on stage, broke his instrument ... And Igor in Moscow first of all went to a bookstore and took 20-30 kilograms of books to Omsk. And then for months he sat in his apartment in Khrushchev in Chkalovsky village, did not communicate with anyone, read books and composed new music.

- Sergey, a few words about women in Yegor's life. Some blame him for the fact that his first common-law wife, the singer Yanka Diaghileva, committed suicide ...

What nonsense! Igor treated her very well. I didn't get it at first. I remember that they came to me in Moscow together, and I was amazed at my brother's lack of taste: Yanka was ugly, plump, absolutely not feminine. I remember I even said something to him about it. The fact that she wrote poetry and songs, I learned only after her death. The brother was so worried about this that he even inflicted two deep cross cuts on his arm with a knife. To muffle the pain of the soul with physical pain. By the way, there is also a lot of obscurity in the death of the Yankee. It is believed that it was suicide, that she drowned in the Ina River, but they say that when her corpse was taken out of the water, it was noticeable that her skull was broken ...

- In general, Yegor was a lover of women?

Absolutely not. It can be said that throughout his life he had stable relationships with three women: Yanka, Anya Volkova and his last wife Natalya Chumakova, the daughter of a Novosibirsk professor. With her, Igor's only marriage was officially registered.

- Which of your brother's wives did you like the most?

To be honest, Anya Volkova. Tall, beautiful, a master of all trades ... I think that if she and her brother had not parted, he would be alive now. She soldered wires, “built” everyone, carried guitars on herself when the musicians were not “in condition”. And she could also slap the cheeks in order to bring those who were too “relaxed” to their senses!

Why did Anya and Yegor break up?

Because at the very beginning of 1998, my brother fell in love with some 19-year-old married lady who was then living in Moscow. I don't know who she is. But I know that this is what led to a quarrel and a break with Anya.