Vladimir Vysotsky and Marina Vladi. Their uneasy romance lasted 12 years. All this time they fought: with the distance between the two countries, the Soviet authorities and bans on traveling abroad, alcohol and a serious illness. Who won and who lost this fight?
The 1967 Moscow International Film Festival not only became a significant event for the country, but also marked the beginning of a difficult relationship between two very different people. She is a foreigner, Frenchwoman of Russian origin, world famous actress and beauty Marina Vlady. He is a Soviet actor, a popular singer-songwriter, a forbidden poet, a living legend Vladimir Vysotsky. What could they have in common? Nothing. International novels of Soviet citizens were not welcomed by the authorities and were instantly suppressed. But love does not choose. Vladi and Vysotsky plunged into their romance with their heads, as if into a whirlpool, without thinking how much grief and suffering it would bring to both.
At first sight
After the performance at the Taganka Theater, a traditional banquet was held. Among the laid tables with champagne and delicacies, which were attacked by the inexperienced Soviet public, the invited foreign actress Marina Vlady was frankly bored. She hardly spoke Russian, none of the guests knew French. And then a short, stocky man approached her, who stood out among those invited by his too modest, even rustic clothes and a soulful, brightly burning gaze of sparkling intelligent eyes. Marina did not immediately recognize in the stranger Vysotsky, who struck her with his talent, whom she had seen on stage two hours ago. An hour after they met, Vladimir sat down at her feet and sang several romantic songs, and then knelt down and confessed his love. She considered it a theatrical gesture and turned it into a joke. The actress did not know thenhow sincere and unrestrained in his impulses Vysotsky is, how his avalanche temperament conquers women - not a single representative of the fair sex has ever resisted him. But not Marina! She was almost 30 years old, and she had already seen and experienced a lot. In France, she had three sons from two failed marriages. Her first husband was the handsome actor Robert Hossein, the second was the pilot and owner of the airline Jean-Claude Bruillet. In her life there was beauty and talent, expensive gifts and romantic advances, shocking deeds and wide gestures of men, whom Vladi no longer believed. And this mysterious Russian bard with a hoarse voice and excessive self-confidence is no match for her. In her purse lay a return ticket home, and soon Marina boarded the plane and flew to France.how his avalanche temperament conquers women - not a single representative of the fair sex has ever resisted him. But not Marina! She was almost 30 years old, and she had already seen and experienced a lot. In France, she had three sons from two failed marriages. Her first husband was the handsome actor Robert Hossein, the second was the pilot and owner of the airline Jean-Claude Bruillet. In her life there was beauty and talent, expensive gifts and romantic advances, shocking deeds and wide gestures of men, whom Vladi no longer believed. And this mysterious Russian bard with a hoarse voice and excessive self-confidence is no match for her. In her purse lay a return ticket home, and soon Marina boarded the plane and flew to France.how his avalanche temperament conquers women - not a single representative of the fair sex has ever resisted him. But not Marina! She was almost 30 years old, and she had already seen and experienced a lot. In France, she had three sons from two failed marriages. Her first husband was the handsome actor Robert Hossein, the second was the pilot and owner of the airline Jean-Claude Bruillet. In her life there was beauty and talent, expensive gifts and romantic advances, shocking deeds and wide gestures of men, whom Vladi no longer believed. And this mysterious Russian bard with a hoarse voice and excessive self-confidence is no match for her. In her purse lay a return ticket home, and soon Marina boarded the plane and flew to France.and she has already seen and experienced a lot. In France, she had three sons from two failed marriages. Her first husband was the handsome actor Robert Hossein, the second was the pilot and owner of the airline Jean-Claude Bruillet. In her life there was beauty and talent, expensive gifts and romantic advances, shocking deeds and wide gestures of men, whom Vladi no longer believed. And this mysterious Russian bard with a hoarse voice and excessive self-confidence is no match for her. In her purse lay a return ticket home, and soon Marina boarded the plane and flew to France.and she has already seen and experienced a lot. In France, she had three sons from two failed marriages. Her first husband was the handsome actor Robert Hossein, the second was the pilot and owner of the airline Jean-Claude Bruillet. In her life there was beauty and talent, expensive gifts and romantic advances, shocking deeds and wide gestures of men, whom Vladi no longer believed. And this mysterious Russian bard with a hoarse voice and excessive self-confidence is no match for her. In her purse lay a return ticket home, and soon Marina boarded the plane and flew to France.which Vladi no longer believed. And this mysterious Russian bard with a hoarse voice and excessive self-confidence is no match for her. In her purse lay a return ticket home, and soon Marina boarded the plane and flew to France.which Vladi no longer believed. And this mysterious Russian bard with a hoarse voice and excessive self-confidence is no match for her. In her purse lay a return ticket home, and soon Marina boarded the plane and flew to France.
Vysotsky did not find a place for himself. He did not know refusals. As soon as I saw Marina, I immediately decided: here is my woman, she will become my wife. The French actress was a real mystery to him, the Snow Queen. And that is why the singer wanted to melt it even more. It is not known what connections Vysotsky used, but he got hold of Vladi's home phone number and soon breathed rapidly into the receiver, waiting for an international connection. What happened to him when he heard her voice! Answered! By that time, Marina herself realized that she had fallen in love. She promised to come up with something and fly back to Moscow. It happened a month later: Vladi agreed to star in a Soviet film. Unfortunately, at that time Vysotsky was in Siberia, working on a role in the film "Master of the Taiga". Their romance remained for a long time by telephone, but still the lovers managed to meet.
Terrible secret
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Before offering his beloved his hand and heart, Vladimir revealed his secret to her. For many years he suffered from a terrible addiction. At first everything was innocent. Student feasts, get-togethers with fellow actors from the theater. Who doesn't drink in the acting environment? Alcohol was the only way to relieve tension after a concert or performance. After all, Vysotsky devoted himself completely to his profession, worked for wear and tear. In another way, he simply could not. Vladimir did not notice how he was captured by the green snake: he went into long drinking bouts, disrupted rehearsals and concerts, allowed himself to appear drunk at performances. He was taken to the hospital several times, where the doctors managed to pump him out - over and over again. A weak heart, a lack of sleep at night, hard work, taking sleeping pills in parallel with alcohol played a cruel joke. Doctors diagnosed Vysotsky with psychopathy and chronic alcoholism. Constant creative searches and the struggle with pain forced Vysotsky to look for stronger means. So he became addicted to morphine. I got it through familiar doctors, often by deception. The line between pain relief and drug addiction was increasingly blurred. But, having met Marina, Vysotsky vowed to quit.
The terrible confession did not stop Vladi. She noticed long ago that Vladimir had a very strange look, he suffered from absent-mindedness, he could forget something or suddenly "disconnect" even while driving. Addiction to psychotropic drugs explained everything. Like many women in love, she decided that she would free her beloved from the trap. But she did not know that this was no longer possible.
Abroad
In December 1970, Marina Vladi and Vladimir Vysotsky officially became husband and wife. It is surprising that the Soviet authorities turned a blind eye to this marriage. However, the poet was not given permission to leave the country. Vladimir and Marina continued to live in two countries. They were in no hurry to give Vysotsky a visa, and Vladi did not want to give up French citizenship: after all, her sons remained there, and you never know what would happen. However, she forced her husband not to back down and again and again ask permission to leave. Six years passed before their request was granted. Later in an interview, Vladi said that she opened the world for Vysotsky. It's true. Biographers have calculated: 70 visas, 300 flights. She took him out not only to France, but also to Poland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, USA, Canada and even Tahiti, introduced him to world-class stars, including Russian dissidents. Arranged his concerts, bustled in front of friends so that Vysotsky was offered roles in films, albeit episodic, invited to participate in television programs. Of course, all this expanded both the consciousness and the creative potential of Vladimir Vysotsky. He opened up a talent for languages: he learned French just by communicating with the family and acquaintances of Marina Vlady. As a man with a Soviet mentality, Vysotsky sometimes fell into ridiculous stories. For example, once, having parked his Renault in front of Marina's house, he habitually began to unscrew the mirrors and wipers. A French policeman saw this and, mistaking Vladimir for a thief, wanted to arrest him. Marina looked out of the window at the noise and explained to the police that this was not a violator, but the owner of the car.invited to participate in television programs. Of course, all this expanded both the consciousness and the creative potential of Vladimir Vysotsky. He opened up a talent for languages: he learned French just by communicating with the family and acquaintances of Marina Vlady. As a man with a Soviet mentality, Vysotsky sometimes fell into ridiculous stories. For example, once, having parked his Renault in front of Marina's house, he habitually began to unscrew the mirrors and wipers. A French policeman saw this and, mistaking Vladimir for a thief, wanted to arrest him. Marina looked out of the window at the noise and explained to the police that this was not a violator, but the owner of the car.invited to participate in television programs. Of course, all this expanded both the consciousness and the creative potential of Vladimir Vysotsky. He opened up a talent for languages: he learned French just by communicating with the family and acquaintances of Marina Vlady. As a man with a Soviet mentality, Vysotsky sometimes fell into ridiculous stories. For example, once, having parked his Renault in front of Marina's house, he habitually began to unscrew the mirrors and wipers. A French policeman saw this and, mistaking Vladimir for a thief, wanted to arrest him. Marina looked out of the window at the noise and explained to the police that this was not a violator, but the owner of the car. As a man with a Soviet mentality, Vysotsky sometimes fell into ridiculous stories. For example, once, having parked his Renault in front of Marina's house, he habitually began to unscrew the mirrors and wipers. A French policeman saw this and, mistaking Vladimir for a thief, wanted to arrest him. Marina looked out of the window at the noise and explained to the police that this was not a violator, but the owner of the car. As a man with a Soviet mentality, Vysotsky sometimes fell into ridiculous stories. For example, once, having parked his Renault in front of Marina's house, he habitually began to unscrew the mirrors and wipers. A French policeman saw this and, mistaking Vladimir for a thief, wanted to arrest him. Marina looked out of the window at the noise and explained to the police that this was not a violator, but the owner of the car.
Vysotsky could not always cope with foreign temptations. So, when he first appeared in the casino, he plunged into the game with the passion of a madman. In Monte Carlo, he won a large sum and wanted to continue: he would have lost to smithereens if Marina had not taken him to his hotel room by force. And in Las Vegas, he no longer listened to her: he lost all the money - first his own, then Marina. And then he made her give up everything that they put aside for the return trip. He also lost … Of course, because of all this, the relationship cracked - a series of quarrels and scandals began.
Vain sacrifices
The role of the savior, which Marina took upon herself in marriage, was not very successful for her. For the sake of her husband, she gave up a career and a luxurious life in France. She tried to spend as much time as possible with her husband, and he … did not come home to spend the night - more and more often. From a sophisticated French movie star Marina Vlady turned into an ordinary Soviet citizen, the wife of an alcoholic. In the middle of the night, Marina got up, dressed and went to one of her friends, then to others in search of a husband. Finally, in one of the apartments, she managed to find him, dead drunk. She put Vladimir on her shoulders and dragged him to a taxi, then to the house. I put it, undressed it, spooned it off like a child. One morning she found Vysotsky on the bathroom floor, grabbed his hand - the pulse could not be felt. I called an ambulance, but the doctors refused to take the actor to the hospital: they say, they have a plan,and this is not a tenant. And then Marina lay at the doctors' feet, sobbing, begging. Time after time the doctors felt sorry for her, gave her a chance, pulling Vysotsky out of the other world. Until another attack.
It was impossible to live like this. Kind people regularly reported to Marina about Vysotsky's betrayals. Yes, he himself called Marina by a different name more than once. In the book of memoirs, Vladi described how humiliating she felt: then she did not know that drugs were the cause of his male failure.
Vysotsky came, asked for forgiveness, swore that he did not love anyone except her. She was not only his wife, but also a muse, an eternal source of inspiration. He dedicated his most beautiful poems and songs to her. He promised to quit drugs, dreamed of a new life - for her, Marina. She forgave because she loved and believed. But he could neither understand nor appreciate her sacrifice and suffering: Vysotsky, the idol of millions, had already begun a personality disorder. Vladimir periodically complained to friends that he sees himself as if from the outside, it seemed to him all the time that there was someone else in the room, and his double was performing at concerts. Marina took Vysotsky to the best psychotherapist she could find. But the result of the treatment was unexpected: Vladimir decided that it was Marina who was the source of all his problems, the “black cloud” in his life and he needed to divorce her. Many of Vysotsky's friends supported this idea because they did not like Marina. Someone even considered her to be mercantile: they say, she is with Vysotsky because of the money, and everything is not enough for her. Apartments in Moscow are not enough, it requires a dacha and a country house. But did the beautiful actress in France have few wealthy admirers, moreover, non-drinkers?
On the last journey
In 1979, during a tour in Bukhara, Vysotsky experienced clinical death: his heart stopped. But help arrived in time, the actor was rescued. However, the body was so worn out that the doctors unanimously assured: Vysotsky would not last long. And so it happened. 1980 was remembered by Soviet people for two events: the Moscow Olympics and the death of Vysotsky. Marina lived in Paris, but at the very first call from her husband she would go to Moscow. He was supposed to fly to her in Paris, but on the eve of Marina had a terrible dream. And in the morning the phone rang: "Volodya died …".
She didn't even understand who exactly said it. The official cause of Vysotsky's death was never named, since his father did not allow an autopsy. According to one version, it was asphyxia, according to the other - myocardial infarction, according to the third - drug overdose.
It was hard to live with Vysotsky, but without him it became unbearable. Marina fell into the deepest depression, tried to drown her grief in alcohol and almost committed suicide. Fortunately, next to her was a caring person - her future husband, oncologist Leon Schwarzenberg. He supported Marina, for many months he listened to her many hours of stories about Vladimir - she could not talk about anything else - and advised her to write a book about Vysotsky. Marina Vladi listened to his advice, and in 1989 her autobiographical book "Vladimir, or Interrupted Flight" was published. In it, she threw out all her pain, told about the previously unknown details of their life together. She compared the life of Vysotsky with a splinter of a star that flashed in the sky and interrupted its flight, falling to the ground. You can't say more precisely.
Songs for the KGB
For a long time, Vladimir Vysotsky could not go abroad and every day he called Marina Vlady in Paris. They talked all night long, knowing full well that their line was being tapped. Sometimes Vladimir spoke into the phone: “Guys, I need to say something very personal, give me a minute! And then I will perform my songs for you. After clicking, the wiretapping was turned off. And then Vysotsky sang to the guitar for the KGB officers.
Magazine: Secrets of the USSR No. 5