At the age of 76, Leonid Elin, the former host of the TV program “Time,” passed away. His wife Vera Petrovna and his close friend, journalist Arkady Ratner, told Moskvichka about interesting facts from the journalist’s biography.
“As a native Muscovite, he was devoted all his life to his city and place of birth – Chistye Prudy. He always remembered his youth, and it was all connected with them,” says Arkady Ratner.
In 1964, Elin graduated from the Faculty of Philology of the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute. V.I. Lenin. In the same year, he came to Central Television: he worked first in the sports department, then in the Main Editorial Office of Socio-Political Programs, and from 1968 - in the Main Editorial Office of Central Television (the “Time” program) as a special correspondent, commentator, and columnist. The main topics of reports and essays were issues of construction, architecture and transport. From 1992 to 1996 he was a commentator for the Sports Program Studio of the RGTRK Ostankino.
Elin devoted 50 years of his life to journalism. He was a commentator on socio-political programs, made documentaries, was a news announcer, and a commentator for a sports broadcast studio.
According to his wife, “he was a very beautiful person. He had everything that is included in the concept of “beauty”: intelligence, decency, intelligence, masculinity, responsibility, high professionalism, love for the profession.”
Leonid Efimovich died on January 17 at 23.45.
16 facts from the biography of Leonid Elin
1.
“At the age of 14, Leonid was left without a mother, and Olga Ivanovna was everything to him. The father died four years later. He stayed with his sister and, one might say, made himself.” (Vera Elina)
2.
In 1959, Leonid Efimovich entered the acting department of the State Institute of Theater Arts. A.V. Lunacharsky. “He really wanted to go to theater school. And he entered GITIS. The famous Moscow Art Theater artist Anatoly Ktorov told him: “You will be a famous artist.” And Efremov invited him to the theater, but it so happened that in the 2nd year he stood up at a meeting for a fellow student who did not want to take Marxism-Leninism. He was expelled from the institute, and for him this was the second blow after the death of his parents. He went to the Pedagogical University named after. Lenin. But he had a “trail of anti-Soviet” behind him, although he was never a dissident and was not interested in politics. “He always said what he thought, he was never a hypocrite. And I suffered a little from this.” (Vera Elina)
3.
“Leonid Ellin was passionate about art all his life and knew all the famous opera arias by heart.” (V.E.)
4.
Elin was fired from the Vremya program after the State Emergency Committee putsch: on August 27, 1991, the last episode of the program was released, and at the end of August the composition of the program’s presenters was changed. “As for his work in the Vremya program, he was one of the best, and perhaps the best reporter, because as a correspondent he took on the most difficult, so to speak, “inconvenient” stories,” says Arkady Ratner. –He had three areas of work: first of all, Aeroflot, in connection with which he was given the title “Honorary Pilot”: he participated in all test flights. The same thing happened with railway transport. And third: he was a specialist and expert in the construction of Moscow. He always took on the riskiest shoots. I remember his famous interview at the top of one of the 16-story buildings that was then just beginning to be built with our famous builder Zlobin, and he stood swayed by the wind, and Zlobin told him how they were building this complex. When he hosted the Vremya program, he was a regular correspondent on Red Square, traditionally standing on the podium and interviewing famous people.
5.
Personal life. Elin was married twice, in his first marriage he had a son. “For him, oddly enough, the putsch turned out to be an event about which they say: “if there had been no happiness, but happiness would not have helped.” After the putsch, the editorial office was dispersed, and Leonid was transferred to the Main Editorial Office of Propaganda. At that moment he was a single man and there he met his current wife Vera, whom I simply bow to. Because in recent months she literally did not leave his bedside.” (A.R.)
6.
Sports edition. “Something didn’t work out for him in the propaganda department, and in 1992 he was transferred to the sports department. I was the deputy editor-in-chief there. He did more thematic programs, because as a commentator he came too late: at that time there were Ozerov, Maslachenko and Mayorov. Leonid was an expert in sports, both football and hockey, in no way inferior to the legendary commentators. And he was always aware of any information. He did not speak at the microphone, but was always ready to give any information about records, achievements, masters. He did little reporting, but hosted the program “Sports and Art,” where he invited famous fans (he had good connections in the artistic world) and famous athletes.” (A.R.)
7.
Hobby. Leonid Elin was a versatile person, but most of all he loved sports. “His main hobby is football. He adored him and was a passionate fan of the Dynamo club. This devotion was appreciated by the Society. In recent years, he was invited to host ceremonies for the opening of memorial plaques on houses where Yashin, Khomich, Beskov and others lived. And his second hobby is theater. Leonid was a fan of the old Moscow Art Theater, he idolized its “great old men” Massalsky, Gribov, Ktorov.” (A.R.)
8.
BAM reporter. “He actively participated in covering the construction of BAM, especially recently. I admire how he and his regular cameraman Yuri Prokofiev climbed tunnels and mines and showed how miners work. I believe this is his greatest strength as a journalist reporting on the ground.” (A.R.)
9.
Elin often worked on television in tandem with presenter Tatyana Vedeneeva.
10.
He loved to visit the Central House of Artists and hosted anniversary evenings there.
11.
Elin is the author of many documentaries, for example “Vladimir Kokkinaki”, “The Purpose of Life” - about aircraft designer Alexander Yakovlev, etc.
12.
Leonid Efimovich is a laureate of the USSR Union of Journalists award for 1973 and 1985.
13.
Elin wrote the book “In and Behind the Scenes,” in which he talked about his life, work on television, meetings with aircraft designers Tupolev, Yakovlev and Antonov, Arctic explorer Papanin, actor Marcello Mastroianni, and so on.
14.
Until 1996, Elin and his wife Vera worked at Central Television. Then they made the program “Runway” together for another 8 years. In recent years, Leonid Efimovich was an adviser to the general director of the Sukhoi Design Bureau for public relations.
15.
Leonid Elin died suddenly. According to his wife, everything happened “literally over the holidays. First the kidneys failed, then cancer was discovered. He became ill on December 20 at the Central Design Bureau of Civil Aviation. There were wonderful conditions there, he was treated wonderfully, but then he had to register due to kidney disease. They suggested Botkin Hospital or No. 52. But he said: “My father died in Botkinskaya. No way." And I chose the 52nd hospital. The kidneys were cured and oncology began, which already happened 11.5 years ago. He had problems with the esophagus and Academician Davydov, director of the oncology center on Kashirka, performed surgery on him at the hospital on Molodezhnaya. The doctor came there specifically to perform the operation. Lenya didn’t know he had cancer for 5 years. We climbed out, and she overtook him again.”
16.
Leonid Elin will be buried at the Vvedenskoye Cemetery in Moscow along with his parents, presumably on Tuesday, January 21.
Writer, entrepreneur, New Age activist. He is primarily known for the series of books “The Ringing Cedars of Russia.”
Vladimir was born in the village of Kuznichi, Gorodnyansky district, Chernigov region, Ukrainian SSR. Maigret spent most of his childhood years with his grandmother; Efrosinya Verkhusha was a rural healer - in fact, it was she who introduced her grandson into the world of mysticism. Vladimir received a lot from his friendship with the rector of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Father Theodoret.
At the age of 16, Puzakov began an independent life. In 1974, Vladimir settled in Novosibirsk; at that time he worked as a photographer at Novosibirskblfoto. When perestroika began, Puzakov concentrated on business and even became president of the Interregional Association of Entrepreneurs of Siberia. Around the same time, Vladimir got married and took his wife’s last name, Megre. The marriage ended in divorce, but Vladimir did not want to become Puzakov again.
In the early 90s, Vladimir made a living by all possible and impossible means - he launched river cruises and photo shoots for tourists, and sold alcohol and souvenirs. In the spring of 1994, Megre sent a commercial expedition along the Ob River - the so-called “Merchant Caravan” moved along the route Novosibirsk - Salekhard
– Novosibirsk was called upon to “establish economic ties with the regions of the Far North.” The expedition turned out to be quite successful; during the course of it, Vladimir learned about the so-called “Ringing Cedar” - and got the idea to find it. It was in search of Cedar that the second expedition set out; according to Maigret, it was during this that he met a new spiritual mentor - the Siberian hermit-psychic Anastasia. 10 books from the Ringing Cedars of Russia series, published between 1996 and 2010, were dedicated to Anastasia. In 1999, Megret created the Vladimir Foundation for Culture and Support of Creativity “Anastasia”.
For some time, Vladimir told all his readers that the heroine of his series - which includes the books “Anastasia”, “Ringing Cedars of Russia”, “Space of Love”, “Creation”, “Who Are We?”, “The Family Book”, “Energy of Life”, “New Civilization”, “Rites of Love” and “Anasta” - a real-life Siberian sorceress whom he met during the search for the Ringing Cedar. Later, however, Maigret admitted that Anastasia is a fictional character, created exclusively for a commercial work
Vladimir Nikolaevich Megre was born: July 23, 1950, Kuznichi village, Gorodnyansky district, Chernigov region. Since 1974 he lived in Novosibirsk and worked as a photographer at Novosibirskoblfoto. At the beginning of perestroika, he was president of the Interregional Association of Entrepreneurs of Siberia. After getting married, Puzakov took his wife’s surname - Megre - when registering. He subsequently divorced, leaving his wife's surname.
In the early 1990s, Maigret was involved in organizing river cruises, photographing tourists, and selling alcohol and souvenirs in the lower reaches of the Ob River. In the spring of 1994, he organized the commercial expedition “Merchant Caravan” along the Ob River on river boats along the route Novosibirsk - Salekhard - Novosibirsk. The purpose of the expedition was “to establish economic ties with the regions of the Far North.” In 1995, Maigret repeated the expedition to search for the “Ringing Cedar”, which he learned about during the first expedition. According to Maigret, on the expedition he met Anastasia, a Siberian hermit with paranormal abilities.
In the period 1996-2010, he wrote 10 fiction books about Anastasia, part of the “Ringing Cedars of Russia” series. In 2010, another book “Anasta” was published. In 1999, Vladimir Megre founded the Vladimir Foundation for Culture and Support of Creativity “Anastasia”, opened the website “anastasia.ru”. Currently he speaks at reader and press conferences in Russia and abroad. The author plans to write a script on the topic of the books.
On March 21, in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the second version of the oratorio “St. Matthew Passion” will be performed for the first time by the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra. P.I. Tchaikovsky and the Moscow Synodal Choir.PRAVMIR offers readers an interview with the conductor of the oratorio, director of the Synodal Choir Alexei Puzakov.
Alexei Puzakov can be called a regent with a capital “R”, a regent by vocation. The leader of the Synodal Choir, which he revived, he embodies the living connection of centuries and generations of musicians who devoted their strength to serving the Church. In his very manner of speaking one can see something out of date in the good sense of the word, something that recalls the former Moscow intelligentsia, the pre-revolutionary way of life.
We met with Alexey Alexandrovich in the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” on Bolshaya Ordynka.
Alexey Alexandrovich Puzakov
Born in Moscow in May 1966.
He did not receive any special musical education.
At the age of sixteen, Alexei accidentally attended the Holy Week service with the reading of the Twelve Gospels in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” on Bolshaya Ordynka. The extraordinary beauty and depth of the service, the dim light, the quiet, harmonious singing of the famous Matveevsky Choir - everything struck me and did not allow me to leave the church until the end of the service. Soon Alexey was baptized and began to attend church.
Once on the patronal feast day the temple was crowded with people. In the crush, Alexey was pushed to the left choir. “Why are you standing and silent, sing along,” said one of the singers. From that day on, church singing became Alexei’s life’s work.
At the age of 18 he was hired as a reader and altar boy, and at the age of nineteen he began to act as regent.
In 1994, Alexey Puzakov, with the support of the rector of the Church-Museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi, Archpriest Nikolai Sokolov, and the staff of the Tretyakov Gallery, founded a church-state choir at this famous museum.
In 2009 he headed the revived Moscow Synodal Choir.
Honored Artist of Russia. He was awarded the church orders of St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. Innocent of Moscow.
The “Sorrowful” Church remains my alma mater
– Alexey Alexandrovich, please tell us how you came to faith? Who influenced you most in terms of personal development?
– The main mentors in life for me were my father, mother, now deceased, and, with whom we have known each other for 30 years, since I crossed the threshold of this temple. He always shared with me the experience of his Christian life, spiritual literature, and musical knowledge. This communication continues to this day; for me he is an example of life and activity in the Church.
I began working in the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Church under Archbishop Cyprian (Zernov), and after his death I worked here for some time. Around 1987, Bishop Hilarion went as a novice to the Holy Spirit Monastery in Vilnius. I also followed him from this temple. And now I returned here when he became a bishop, then an archbishop and then a metropolitan.
But before that, I worked as a regent at Vagankovo, in Nikolo-Kuznetsy, then for 15 years I directed the choir in the Church of St. Nicholas at the Tretyakov Gallery. However, the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” remains for me an alma mater, where I was baptized, received my first experience of Christian life, and the foundations of my profession.
– Tell us who your parents were. How can you identify the most important thing they taught you?
– Mom graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University and worked as a proofreader, and dad graduated from the Institute of Foreign Languages and worked as a translator at a research institute. They were modest people, but very talented, and sang beautifully. My father was the man who brought me to church, thanks to him I was baptized at 16 years old.
The main thing my parents taught me was a love for nature, music, and art. Since childhood, they took me to classical music concerts, took me on trips, we visited churches and monasteries. Many of them were closed then, but it was interesting and exciting for me. They also instilled in me a love of literature and painting. We went to museums, my parents gave me art books to read.
Mom was a very kind person. She was for me an example of kindness in relationships, openness, simplicity, which we so lack now. My father went through the search for truth in adulthood, like many of his peers in that era. He came to Orthodoxy and brought me to the temple.
I owe everything that is good in me, both my profession and the fact that I am in the church.
– Did your parents live better in the Soviet era than you?
“In those years there was a certain stability, everyone knew how to live within their means and were quite happy with this life. Now people have incomparably more opportunities for self-realization, but at the same time there is no stability. At the same time, we have before our eyes examples of luxurious life that provoke many to live beyond their means.
Every time requires making sacrifices to achieve one goal or another. In the Soviet era, people often compromised with their conscience; now they make compromises of a different kind. Therefore, I cannot say which is worse or better now. Nowadays everything is just different. Although, using the opportunities of this time and, above all, freedom in art, a lot can be done.
I was formed as a musician under the influence of Matveev
– At what age have you been directing a choir?
– I have been regent since I was 18 years old, that is, since 1984, I learned everything in the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Church on Ordynka. I consider Nikolai Vasilievich Matveev to be my main teacher. Although he did not directly work with me, I was formed as a musician, as a church choir director under the influence of his work.
Under Matveev, I directed the left choir of this church, stood on the choir opposite it, and we often sang antiphonally. I followed his work, his gesture, and I consider this my most important school. The training continued for several years. I first began directing the right choir at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on Vagankovo, but before that I spent some time as director at the Vilnius Cathedral in Lithuania.
– So, you did not receive a special regency education?
- In those years, special education for church conductors was given in, where there were regency courses, but they were just founded by Matveev, with whom I studied. At the same time, in the church “Joy of All Who Sorrow” I carried out my obediences, attended daily services, worked as an altar boy and subdeacon for His Eminence Archbishop Cyprian, who blessed me to preside over the left choir in this church in the 80s.
– How did you perceive the work of the regent at the beginning of your journey and how do you see it now? What has changed in your perception?
– I have a happy destiny creatively. Just as I found something that interests me at the age of 16, I still do it. I have never had the desire to look for something else.
Working with a choir and working in a church is so multifaceted that it fills one’s entire life and provides endless opportunities for searching both in the repertoire and in performing means. This happens because worship is not something formal. This is our living offering to the throne of God, which is in tune with today, today's time. And it should be in tune.
This is the voice of the Holy Scriptures, troparia, kontakia, stichera, unchangeable chants. They are based on sacred texts created by people who were filled with the holy spirit. We, modern people, through church art, become familiar with this holiness. The path to excellence is endless. But even when you place one foot on it, you find yourself on a par with our holy ancestors, at least during worship.
In my nightmares I dream that I am not ready for the bishop's meeting
– Were there any difficult moments in your work when something didn’t work out and you wanted to leave it?
- No, never. I was sometimes afraid of some kind of divine services, especially bishop’s services at first, since this is a big responsibility. I have often had and repeat this nightmare dream: I have to direct the choir, the bishop is coming, and I don’t have the notes ready for the meeting.
This happens because the feeling of responsibility and the associated fear accompanies me all my life. However, I never felt disappointment or despondency.
It happens that singing during a service is not at the level we would like, but this is not a disappointment. These disorders provide an incentive to correct mistakes and look for new approaches in communicating with singers, which in itself is a very interesting process. Every year I find something new and new for myself.
– What do you like most about your job? What's not?
– What I like most is singing during worship. I also enjoy rehearsals. In the first years, I didn’t really like them, I was even a little afraid, since here you need to clearly formulate the task and be able to explain your intentions in words. At first, when I, as a young man, worked with professionals twice my age, I felt awkward because these were people who had gone through a certain path and were condescending and even critical of young people.
Over time, I tried to cope with this and now I really love rehearsing, because only during rehearsal can you achieve what you want: the right accent, shade, pronunciation of a word. You can always stop and repeat a musical phrase, you can get from the choir what you want, the desired sound, timbre. And this brings great joy.
I really like performing at sacred music concerts, since at this time the choir is in a state of mobilization and complete composure. During the service, the singers, willy-nilly, are distracted by something, passing notes, discussing some news. This, of course, should not be, but we cannot demand from everyone at this very moment the perfection of prayer life and perfection of performance. And at a concert, singers are not distracted by trifles, and therefore here they can achieve even greater results than in the service, greater success from the point of view of the musical side. The attention of the audience also helps.
What I don't like is keeping charts, counting, making phone calls, and doing routine administrative work. Luckily, I have assistants who do this for me, so I mostly just do what I love.
Now there is no analogue to the Synodal Choir in Russia
Moscow Synodal Choir
One of the oldest Russian professional choirs. It was created in 1710 (according to other sources, in 1721) on the basis of the male choir of patriarchal singing clerks (Moscow). Founded in the late 16th century, it was famous for its excellent singers selected from other church choirs; Along with singing in church, he also performed at court festivities.
In 1830, the Moscow Synodal School of Church Singing was opened at the choir, where young singers began to study.
At the end of the 19th century, the choir began to take part in secular concerts.
In 1899, a concert of the Synodal Choir in Vienna was held with great success. In 1911 the group toured in Italy, Austria, and Germany; his performances were a true triumph of Russian choral culture.
The Synodal Choir existed until 1919. It was revived in the spring of 2009.
– What can you call the main achievement in working with the Synodal Choir to date?
– I don’t think that we have any achievements, and I think that I don’t quite meet the tasks that are facing me. But I do this, realizing that time passes, generations change, and if I don’t do this, someone else doesn’t, then our business will stop. I am convinced that every person who loves the Orthodox Church must do everything in his or her place to ensure that church art develops.
I believe that the main thing we need to work on now is to ensure the possibility of further development of our large team, which currently numbers 80 people. In order for such a choir to exist, with the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion, the Fund for Assistance to the Revival of the Synodal Choir was created, which helps us resolve financial issues.
The Synodal Choir, which existed before the revolution, was a kind of laboratory of church art, where new techniques were honed, where the best choir directors, composers, and researchers in the field of church music worked. Such a team is still needed today, since nothing stops developing.
Despite the ban that was imposed on church art in Soviet times, people of my generation found masters who remembered the Synodal Choir. The synodal choir was different in different historical periods. At first it was only for men, then boys started singing in the choir. Now the parts of the upper voices are performed by women, since today it is impossible to have a professional choir in the church with the participation of boys, due to the fact that education is separated from the Church. Therefore, the structure of the choir changes over time.
Now there is no analogue to the Synodal Choir. There is a very good choir of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, but it is a group of 30-40 people. And in order to perform the music of Rachmaninov, Golovanov, Sviridov at the level of design, 40 people are not enough.
– Do you have any new major musical projects in your plans?
– This spring marks 5 years since the first performance of “St. Matthew Passion” to the music of Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) for a symphony orchestra, choir and soloists. This work is intended, through the means of classical art, to reveal to modern man the story of the Saving Passion of Jesus Christ and through this to contribute to the spiritual enlightenment of modern society.
On March 21, the second version of this work will be performed for the first time in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. The peculiarity of the second version is the reading of the Gospel not in the manner typical of reading in church, but the combination of reading with music, when the word is superimposed on the musical themes of the work. Metropolitan Hilarion himself will read the Gospel.
The Big Symphony Orchestra named after P.I. will also take part in the concert. Tchaikovsky.
Not every church needs to sing original chants
– What, in your opinion, are the main problems of modern church singing? There is a point of view that the level of church singing is decreasing due to the fact that seminary graduates become regents, where a large number of obediences does not allow people to devote sufficient time to education. Can you agree with this?
– Now we can state that the general musical culture of the Russian people is declining. Previously, families sang, and people who did not receive a musical education were still musically developed in one way or another. Now, under the pressure of mass culture, the overall level has noticeably dropped.
But there is also a positive aspect: in Rus' many churches are being built, in which services are held, and there are more clergy. Since not a single divine service is complete without singing, we see what a huge space for action lies before us, and what a responsible task in terms of educating a new generation of choristers and choristers. We cannot take them from another planet; we must grow them ourselves.
I am confident that by God’s grace it is possible to revive in our people the good seed that was sown in them in the Kyiv baptismal font. The tasks that are set now cannot be solved by human efforts.
It's too early to talk about any level. Our task is to have divine services at which someone would sing and to which someone would come. I believe that over time, the quantitative tasks we face will turn into quality.
– By what criteria do you select chants for the service?
– It is difficult to define criteria, since the musical heritage with which we work in the church is very diverse and stylistically heterogeneous. This is everyday life, Kievan, Greek, Znamenny chant, author’s chants of the 18th–21st centuries. The heritage is very rich, so we would not want to give up anything, also because everything was created by our ancestors and contemporaries with prayer and living faith.
Of course, there are services whose style is determined by the mood of the service, for example, Lenten. When constructing them, I start, so to speak, from the dramaturgy of the service itself, from its main tonality. I try to select chants accordingly, but they are not always of the same style. The same applies to the services of Easter Week.
We also perform the entire All-Night Vigil and the Liturgies of Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. I also like to combine works by the same composer, but from different opuses.
When choosing chants, I am guided by the knowledge I received from Matveev, who was brought up in the traditions of pre-revolutionary musical art.
Stage presence is not always enough
– Have you ever thought about leaving, because good conductors and regents are in great demand abroad?
– Remembering my work in Lithuania, I must say that in the West the average musical culture is often higher than in Russia. When I participated in spiritual and musical projects in Norway and Latvia, I was pleased with how the singers clearly intoned, sight-read, and merged into an ensemble. I also went through a good school in Vilnius. The choir there was well sung, knew the repertoire and I didn’t have to teach them - I could study myself and “get my hands on” in conducting technique.
At the same time, I never wanted to stay abroad forever, since I love Moscow very much. I was born here, in this church, under the influence of church art and under the leadership of Archbishop Cyprian, I acquired the Orthodox faith and was baptized. This is all very dear to me, and I never wanted to change my place of residence or profession.
I am not a supporter of comparisons, since each nation has its own soul and its own calling. Russian vocal nature is richer, but we lack the skill of merging into ensembles; everyone feels like a soloist. We are able to perform feats in harmony, and in everyday life we are often similar to the characters in Krylov’s fable “The Swan, the Crayfish and the Pike.”
– How can you characterize your creative path?
– Creativity is an endless road. Of course, in it a person must constantly force himself to make efforts, for example, to blend into the ensemble. However, it gives great joy when something didn’t work out for you, and suddenly you find the strength to overcome it. Everything is given from the Lord, but a person must always make an effort to receive this help.
– You are a famous person, one might say a media person. How do you perceive this?
– I never noticed this. But if this is so, I have a hard time with it. On the one hand, I don't like to be the center of attention. But the profession also requires the ability to act on stage, which I don’t always succeed in and what I try to work on, and the ability to communicate. That is, fame is one of the aspects of my work that I cannot do without.
Over the years, Tchaikovsky's music becomes more understandable
– Do you have a hobby that is not related to your main job?
– I like to walk, ride a bike, swim. Honestly, I like to just lie or sit in the garden on a swing and dream.
– What is your favorite book? A piece of music?
– Favorite book – “The Brothers Karamazov”.
As for music, I generally love it very much, since this is a mysterious area and the most detached from the earthly of all the arts. The works of Bach, Rachmaninov, Mussorgsky are very close to me.
There are musical works that you love from your youth – Rachmaninov’s “Vespers”, Bach’s “Matthew Passion”, Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, but there is music that you discover in a new way with age. In my youth I did not understand Tchaikovsky, but now he is closer to me than when I was 17-20 years old. I also love Prokofiev and Mahler. Recently I discovered the sacred music of Verdi in a new way.
Creative insights can be compared to prayerful ones
– What day can you call the happiest in your life?
- There are many happy days. Most often, I remember not about days, but about moments. When you see a ray of light or hear a word spoken in a temple. This is such a moment when you feel as if you are in the Kingdom of Heaven, you feel joy and lightness. Fortunately, such moments happen often.
It’s like a breath of wind that comes from nowhere, an insight, a state. This is often associated with the completion of some work. Creative insights can be compared to prayerful ones, when a person prepares for confession, overcomes himself, and receives communion. Such overcomings happen in creative life too.
Sometimes just looking at our world, created by God, fills you with extraordinary delight and bright joy.
– Have you ever encountered betrayal in your life?
- Almost no. You shouldn't expect much from human relationships. You can hope for a lot, but you need to demand not from others, but from yourself.
There have always been rough edges in relationships with people. For example, I don’t always know how to tell a person what I think to his face. This is wrong, because then the relationship can get to the point where you have to break up with people. For example, this could be in a team. Maybe it would be more correct for the person to immediately say: “I don’t like such and such, and please don’t do that.”
There are difficulties in relationships with people, but this should not be dramatized, since people are imperfect, just as I myself am imperfect. Unfortunately, we all make mistakes. However, the correct position, in my opinion, is to be able to analyze mistakes and not look around for those to blame, since most often you yourself are the reason for what happens to you.
Do not demand from a person more than he can do at that moment
– What is family for you?
– Family is what you live with, what makes you happy, what supports you. This is the world that I am a part of.
– Tell us how you met your future wife?
– We met in the temple. Long before we had a family, I was a regent, and Elena was a singer. It was in the Nikolo-Kuznetsky Church, where I was regent after working in the temple on Vagankovo. We've been married for about 10 years now. We have a daughter, she studies at the Central Music School, majoring in piano. She's already starting to sing along, she's 8 years old now.
I have an older son who also sings in my choir. He joined the army, where he serves in the orchestra of the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. His name is Dmitry, and his daughter is Euphrosyne.
– What do you think is the most difficult thing in family life?
- Patience. One must be able to endure and be able not to demand from a person more than what he can do at the moment. Perhaps this is not even necessary. We must accept him as he is, and not project onto him his comparisons with this or that. I attribute this primarily to myself, because I understand that with me you need a lot of patience.
There is no need to prove anything, but, on the contrary, to avoid sharp corners, be able to listen and understand the point of view of a loved one. The main thing in a family is love, and it, like creativity, requires constant work, like any gift from God, it requires effort from a person. We must try to take the first step towards a meeting, be the first to ask for forgiveness. Humility is needed. Conflicts arise because everyone wants to be right. You must be able to tell yourself that perhaps you are wrong.
– What would you like to pass on to your children?
“I’m probably not a very good father.” I am a person who is selfishly more occupied with my projects, the interests of the business, the team. In my worries I cannot pay due attention to the children. But my wife makes up for it all. She doesn’t work, but when she has time, she sings in the choir. I still want to convey my caring attitude towards life and business.
I've never had to punch a wall with my forehead
– Do you have a dream in your life that has not yet come true?
- Yes, of course. Now the main thing is for the Synodal Choir to gain financial stability, since we have a good team, good human relationships within it, and I really value all the singers.
– Can you call yourself a happy person?
– I can, because I have a favorite job, a beloved family, and I have always felt Divine providence. I never had to break through walls with my forehead; the Lord always sent the right people and the necessary funds to implement my projects.
The only thing I am not happy with is myself, since I am a lazy person, sometimes I am not persistent enough, and I often lack energy. The thing that really frustrates me in life is my imperfection.
Interviewed by Marina Glazkova
Since 1974 he lived in Novosibirsk and worked as a photographer at Novosibirskoblfoto. At the beginning of perestroika, he was president of the Interregional Association of Entrepreneurs of Siberia. After getting married, Puzakov took his wife’s surname - Megre - when registering. He subsequently divorced, leaving his wife's surname.
In the early 1990s, Maigret was involved in organizing river cruises, photographing tourists, and selling alcohol and souvenirs in the lower reaches of the Ob River. In the spring of 1994, he organized the commercial expedition “Merchant Caravan” along the Ob River on river boats along the route Novosibirsk - Salekhard - Novosibirsk. The purpose of the expedition was “to establish economic ties with the regions of the Far North.” In 1995, Maigret repeated the expedition to search for the “Ringing Cedar”, which he learned about during the first expedition. According to Maigret, on the expedition he met Anastasia, a Siberian hermit with paranormal abilities, who taught him to write books.
At the end of 1999, Maigret, in a lawsuit filed in court for violation of his copyrights, stated that Anastasia is an independent artistic image that “has an emotionally allegorical meaning.”
In the period 1996-2010, he wrote 10 fiction books about Anastasia, part of the “Ringing Cedars of Russia” series. In 2010, another book “Anasta” was published.
In 1999, Vladimir Megre founded the Vladimir Foundation for Culture and Support of Creativity “Anastasia” and opened the website “anastasia.ru”.
In 2011 he became a laureate of the Gusi International Peace Prize for literature.
Currently speaking at readership and press conferences in Russia and abroad. The author plans to write a script on the topic of the books.
Movement
Some readers of the books in the series “Ringing Cedars of Russia” participate in the social movement of the same name to create “patrimonial settlements” (eco-villages), consisting of “patrimonial estates”, arranged on the basis of the ideas and principles set out in the books of V. N. Megre.
Some religious scholars classify this social movement as a “New Age movement.” Some representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church also attribute it to destructive cults and sects.
