Russian and Soviet film actors who went abroad. Domestic celebrities in exile (50 photos)

Nuriev became the first defector. In June 1961, the Kirov (now the Mariinsky) Theater went on tour to Paris. Nuriev was looking forward to this trip, he had long dreamed of seeing Europe and even applied for a tourist visa several times, but each time he was refused.

After the tour in France, Nureyev was supposed to continue performing in England, the artist's name was already included in the lists for a trip to London, but the authorities did not have to detain Nureyev at the last moment and remove him from the tour, which, in fact, happened.

In France, the ballet dancer very quickly became friends with the Parisian bohemia, which irritated the KGB officers, who always followed their compatriots on foreign trips. On June 3, the following entry appeared in the KGB reports: "Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich violates the rules of conduct for Soviet citizens abroad, one leaves for the city and returns to the hotel late at night. In addition, he established close relationships with French artists, among whom were homosexuals.

As soon as I stuck my nose out of the hotel door, the quickly disappearing shadow of a policeman, who was instructed to keep an eye on me, flashed by. One day my friend waited for me all evening on the lower floor of the hotel while I tried in vain to get rid of surveillance. I understood that they were just waiting to catch me in some mistaken step, the result of which would be an immediate send home.

from the autobiography of Rudolf Nureyev

Ballet expert Violetta Mainiece confirms that Nureyev lived the way he wanted, and behaved in Paris in a way that Soviet people were not allowed to.

This was one of the reasons for his non-return. In general, he was delighted with the Danish Prime Minister Eric Bruno, whom he saw during his tour in Russia. Once in the West, he met him, and a long-term friendship and love arose between them, - says Mainiece. - Nureyev understood that if he does not behave as it should be for a Soviet person, he should not go back.

On June 16, when the theater troupe was supposed to fly on further tour to London, the KGB detained Nureyev at Le Bourget airport and wanted to forcefully send him to Soviet Union. According to ballet expert Natalya Zozulina, it was then that the artist decided not to return.

He realized that in the USSR, difficulties await him: if he returns, he faces arrest for up to 7 years. Before the tour, Nuriev did not think about emigration. There are several facts confirming this: he was going home, thinking about creativity in the troupe, buying costumes, - says Natalia.

And Nuriev, without luggage and with 30 francs in his pocket, made the famous "leap to freedom" from the control zone at the airport into the hands of the Paris police and asked for political asylum from the French authorities. According to Violetta Mainiece,The situation at Le Bourget was somewhat embellished by journalists:

He didn't jump! And in general, it was a prearranged situation - that he should surrender himself to the French police and ask for political asylum.

Nuriev remained in Paris, but the Paris Opera did not invite him to work for the simple reason that France did not want complications with the Soviet Union. England, which had bad relations with Moscow, was not afraid to give him a place in the Covent Garden troupe. There he became a major star.

Natalia Makarova

When in the autumn of 1970 Makarova came on tour to London with the troupe of the Kirov Theater, she had no idea not to return to the Soviet Union. The ballerina never scolded her country and did not put forward political slogans. There was no reason for this - Makarova was the leading ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater. The London tour was a success, the name of Makarova was the first on the list of guest performers. She bought a car for herself, gifts for her relatives. But when she arrived at the airport to fly back to Leningrad with the troupe, she unexpectedly asked the authorities for political asylum.

Ballet expert Violetta Mainiece believes that Makarova did this because she is an impulsive person:

She suddenly decided that she would stay there, and she did. I thought that life in the West would be better and more interesting. She had acquaintances there, but there was no certainty that she would immediately be given a job.

The next day, of course, a commotion arose in the troupe - gossip began, for everyone the news of my defection was like a thunderbolt. Still, I myself did not expect such a turn. Especially, as I was told, my dresser Valechka was killed. She got drunk and sobbed, saying: “Who would have thought that Natasha, our Natasha would remain! Everyone thought - Baryshnikov, Baryshnikov

from the autobiography of Natalia Makarova

According to ballet expert Natalia Zozulina, the reason for Makarova's non-return lies in the fact that she did not have the opportunity to reveal herself in the USSR.

It is very difficult for a creative person to live when there is no work, no new things, when they are forced to exist without development. And when a person understands that there is an opportunity to realize himself in creativity in a completely different way, he makes a similar decision, before not assuming that he will do so. And she could not assume, she was unknown western life, - says Zozulina.

Makarova wanted to dance in London "Covent Garden", but the artists of the Royal Theater told the directorate that they would not go on stage with Makarova. Natalya Zozulina believes that the troupe refused to work with her, because Makarova was better, and they were simply afraid of the competition - no one wanted such a rival.

Soon Makarova went to the USA, from where she received an invitation from American Ballet Theatre. And there she was able to achieve worldwide recognition.

In the USSR, everyone saw potential in her, but there were no choreographers who would stage a ballet designed for her talent, says Zozulina. - When brilliant Western choreographers - George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Anthony Tudor, Serge Lifar, Glen Tetley - began to work with her - then she opened up and became a world star. But she, like other defectors, managed to make a career in the West, because she was perfectly learned in our country.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

In the summer of 1974, a touring group of the most famous artists ballet of the USSR went to Canada, from the Kirov Theater only Irina Kolpakova and Mikhail Baryshnikov participated in it.A few days later, Baryshnikov was visited by his former colleague Alexander Mints, who had emigrated to the United States two years earlier. Mints wanted not only to see a friend, but also to convey that they wanted Baryshnikovaccept into the troupe of the American Ballet Theatre, he did not persuade the artist, but simply gave him time to think.

Baryshnikov dreamed all his life of being an American, says Violetta Mainiece. - He knew that he was a great dancer and wanted to be appreciated not onlyin terms of creative success but also financially. Misha said: "I keep dancing and dancing, but I barely earned money for some kind of car."

Baryshnikov made the final decision not to return to the Soviet Union two days before the end of his tour in Toronto. The artist was very nervous: at the last performances, during support, his hands even shook.

It was clear to me that it was easier for me to jump, as they say in Russia, headlong from the bridge into the water now, than to return

Mikhail Baryshnikov

On June 29, before the final concert, Baryshnikov met with a lawyer and signed papers asking for political asylum. After the performance, his friends were supposed to meet him in a car and take him to a safe place. After the performance, Baryshnikov left a note for Kolpakova in the dressing room: “Forgive me and goodbye. Don’t be angry with me,” and then, according to the troupe’s plan, the artist had to go to the banquet, accompanied by KGB agents.

When Baryshnikov left the theatre, a crowd of spectators was waiting for him. He signed some programs, and then he apologized and said that he needed to step aside for a minute, and walked along the street. From the car in which the KGB agents were waiting for him, they shouted: "Where are you going?" And then Baryshnikov ran.

The artist was so nervous that he ran past the car where his friends were waiting for him. The car followed him, and Baryshnikov jumped into it on the move. The pursuers did not catch up with them, and they safely reached a farm near Toronto. Once everything was done Required documents, Baryshnikov moved to the USA.

Valery Panov

The desire to emigrate to Israel was expressed by the ballet dancer of the Kirov Theater Panov and his wife Galina Rogozina as early as 1972. They applied for a visa to Israel, and they were immediately banned from leaving. Ballet expert Natalya Zozulina believes that it is impossible to say for sure whether Panov thought about the consequences or not.

He just wanted to leave. At that time, there was a huge number of people of Jewish nationality who wanted to leave the USSR - Israel accepted them. It was the only way to the West,” says Zozulina. - Panov dreamed of new creative possibilities. Therefore, he went this way and received the full program: dismissal from work, threats, beatings, deduction of departure and uncertainty - they played with him like a cat with a mouse. Everything so that he was scared and took the application for a visa.

The career of Panov and his wife was cut short, they could not get a job, they were interrupted by odd jobs. According to Violetta Mainiece, for a ballet dancer, the inability to train and be in shape is like death.

The professional background is lost, which is very difficult to return back, he studied at home, but this is not the same, - says Mainiece. - Many friends and colleagues stopped communicating with him, because they were afraid that the shadow of an objectionable anti-Soviet person would also fall on them. The ideological norms at that time were very clear.

But Panov did not retreat, just as the Soviet government did not retreat: the artist was arrested and spent several months in prison. But his situation was discussed in companies, rumors from which reached the world community. From different ballet theaters of the world, Panov began to receive invitations to work. But only after a 24-day hunger strike, Panov and his wife were allowed to leave for Israel, where he immediately received citizenship. In subsequent years, he performed with tours around the world.

Alexander Godunov

For four years Godunov was restricted to travel abroad, when the troupe went on tour, he remained in Moscow. And all because it was clear to everyone:he won't come back if they let him out either. He had a material incentive: he believed that he would live better in the West than in the Soviet Union.

Yuri Grigorovich took him to the Bolshoi Theater, but the ballet dancersThey tried to make their relationship deteriorate, and then the troupe completely broke up into three groups, where internecine battles were fought, - says Mainiece. - Godunov began to perform with Plisetskaya, it was a "counter" to Grigorovich, and he no longer gave him parts in his performances. Sasha was brought.

Before a tour of the Bolshoi Theater in New York in 1979, Grigorovich was summoned to the KGB, where they asked if he could guarantee that Godunov would come back, to which he replied: "No." But these tours were very important, they could not do without Godunov. And he was allowed to travel to the US.

August 19 Godunov played in the play "Romeo and Juliet" in New York, after which he had three days off, so his disappearance was not evident to anyone. Even his wife Lyudmila Vlasova was not aware, she thought that he had spent the night with friends. But when Godunov did not return home the next morning, it became clear that he was negotiating for political asylum. The leaders of the delegation asked Vlasova what she intended to do, and the ballerina asked to be sent home to her mother.

Even before the news in the American press that the Soviet ballet dancer Godunov asked for political asylum, FBI agents appeared at the hotel where Vlasova lived. But on August 23, when Godunov asked for political asylum, the KGB took the artist out of the hotel unnoticed by the American intelligence services and delivered her on board the plane flying to Moscow. When they found out about it American authorities, they blocked the runway for the departure of the Soviet airliner. The Americans were sure that Vlasova was being taken out by force, but she claimed the opposite. Natalya Zozulina believes that Godunov's wife returned to Russia only because her not let out of the plane

Next to her were our valiant organs, what else could she say but that she wanted to return to the Soviet Union. The US authorities did not allow the plane to take off, correctly understanding that she was being detained by force.

Violetta Mainiece, who is well acquainted with the spouses, confirms that initially, they were supposed to stay together in America.

Three days Soviet aircraft with 112 passengers on board, they were not allowed to fly. All this time, Godunov, along with his friend Joseph Brodsky, sat at the airport and begged his wife through the American authorities to return. But the confrontation ended and the plane still flew to Moscow. Godunov and Vlasova were called "Romeo and Juliet" cold war. Artisttried to get his wife back, but to no avail. A year later, their divorce was finalized. Vlasova continued to dance at the Bolshoi Theater, and Godunov got a job in the troupe of the American Ballet Theater, where he performed as a lead dancer.

June 14th, 2013

Millions know their voices, but few today recognize them by sight. They created the atmosphere of Soviet films, made songs from them incredibly popular, and for this they were sometimes not even included in the credits. Today Aida Vedischeva celebrates her birthday. In honor of this, I propose to recall her and other "offscreen" emigrant singers: how they lived, what they sang about, why they left.

Aida Vedischeva

Aida Weiss (married - Vedischeva) was born in musical family doctors. She was one of those children who begin to sing and dance almost before they talk and walk. And although the parents sent their daughter to a foreign language after school, this did not affect her future career in any way. Vedischeva sang in the ensembles of Oleg Lundstrem and Leonid Utesov. She even left the latter, which inexpressibly offended the master.

To Gaidai for the film Caucasian captive the singer got as if by accident. Vedischeva recalled that she did not understand that this was a test for a film. She was asked to sing a simple song, and she sang it.


After this song, she became the "first Soviet millionaire" - the record sold seven million copies. The singer became an all-Union celebrity - she was invited to films, to concerts, she created her own theatrical musical show "Singing Novels".

But there were also problems. Vedischeva herself is sure that Furtseva disliked her, and as a result she was included in the list of "undesirable" artists. Her records were demagnetized, her last name was not indicated in the credits of films, musicians were taken from her from the show. With the film The Diamond Arm, in which she sang the famous song "Help Me", a funny story happened in general. After him, letters were written to her from the Ministry of Culture demanding "to stop this disgrace."

It was as if she had been specially surviving. And they survived. It should be noted that Vedischeva did not leave immediately, later than many, only in 1980. In America, she began new life. Not easy and happy, but, on the contrary, complex and full of tragic events. She was not a star there, therefore, immediately forgetting about "star ambitions" she went to study. At 40. Here she again achieved some success, including directing a musical on Broadway.

But here in her life there were tragic stories. Suicide of the second husband. An unsuccessful marriage to a millionaire, which ended in a difficult divorce process. And the worst blow is cancer of the third degree. But she resisted, withstood, survived and overcame the disease. And now the singer, who turns 72 today, continues to perform in the image of the Statue of Liberty and does not lose optimism and love of life for a second.

What was her problem in the Soviet Union? The singer herself believes that "did not match the genre." She was drawn to musically theatrical shows like musicals, but nothing like that was accepted in our country then. And indeed, Vedischeva is distinguished by amazing artistry. How else to explain that the same woman could so sincerely sing the passionate song "Help Me!", the cheerful "Song about Bears" and the tender and touching composition "Forest Deer". But my favorite song by Vedischeva is definitely this one.

And you?

Larisa Mondrus

Among Soviet artists, going abroad was jokingly called "Operation Lara" in honor of Larisa Mondrus. The singer left quite early - back in 1973. But let's go in order.

Larisa grew up in Riga. Already at school, she was happy to skip classes (especially in mathematics) for the sake of performances at various holidays and sports competitions. The young performer quickly realized that perhaps her main talent was to evoke emotions in people. “When I sang Madagascar, people cried. And I suddenly realized that I could do something important from any text, if there is even a drop of feeling in it, and make the audience listen to me. I never started performances with songs like “Eh, boots, yes boots, "but on the contrary, I tried to focus the attention of the public from a deliberately" drunken ". And if I set the task of telling the audience a touching story and making them shed a tear, then I succeeded almost always," the singer recalled.

After school, the eternal question of all graduates arose: "Who should I work then, what should I do?" My stepfather advised me to go to the semiconductor factory, my mother recommended to enter the foreign language. And Larisa ... Larisa wanted to continue to sing, but did not know what to do for this.

By a lucky chance, she was invited to audition at the Riga Philharmonic, which she passed with flying colours. The singer was quickly noticed and was first called to work in the Eddie Rosner Orchestra, then in the Moscow Music Hall, then in the Mosconcert.

All-Union celebrity Larisa Mondrus became thanks to the "Blue Lights". And in 1965, she starred as a singer in the film Give me a plaintive book.

But my favorite song of Mondrus is off-screen, from the film Gentlemen of Fortune.

As I said, Larisa grew up in Riga. And Soviet Latvia - it was still not quite the same as the "rest" of the Soviet Union. The singer was brought up in a slightly different creative atmosphere, where instead of ideological songs she sang Western hits. Even the performance of the famous Lundstrem orchestra seemed "too Soviet" to her.

Maybe that's why she's having problems. It is believed that the Mosconcert officials strongly recommended that she take civil songs, and she defended her creative freedom.

Her songs were called too Western, the singer herself was criticized for mini-skirts and asked to sing something more modest. The singer recalled that this word "more modest" haunted her. She was asked to behave more modestly at concerts, during television broadcasts, to dance more modestly, and so on. She was reluctantly released on tour abroad. At some point in the "Moskontsert" they began to say: "there are no applications for Mondrus", although she was invited by the concert organizations of the GDR and Czechoslovakia. The singer was deprived of solo concerts and television broadcasts.
It all ended predictably: if you don’t let go for a little bit, I’ll leave forever. Under the pretext of caring for a fictitious sick uncle from Israel, the singer and her husband leave their homeland.

She was not forgiven and ... killed. In press. A story slipped through the newspapers that Larisa Mondrus asked to return her Soviet citizenship, and after the refusal she committed suicide. The Soviet media did not talk about her anymore.

In fact, in Germany, where Larisa Mondrus moved with her husband, everything turned out very well. She performed, recorded records in German and Latvian. And then the singer was born long-awaited son. Once, when she returned home after a six-month tour, the baby did not recognize her mother. At this point, the music was over. Larisa Mondrus devoted herself to her son, and at the same time created own business. Now she has a shoe store somewhere in Munich. I'll be there, I'll have to find it.

Nina Brodskaya

Career Larisa Mondrus seems pretty fast. But compared to Nina Brodskaya, she slowly crawled to the top, while the young singer took off there without visible effort.

Already at the age of 16 (!) Nina Brodskaya sings in Eddie Rosner's orchestra. At 17 - he voiced his first song for the film - "Love is a ring" for the film Women. But her most famous song from the film is perhaps this one.


We have heard her voice since childhood - it was she who voiced many songs for the film and the disc The Adventures of Pinocchio. She had tours, concerts, participation in international competitions. What was missing? Nina Alexandrovna herself says that she has become an "undesirable" singer. She was removed from television and radio. And once forced to return with international competition right before the show.

The singer left for America in 1979. There she began to write songs, release albums, and give concerts. After the 90s, she began to periodically travel to Russia. It turns out that here she is remembered and loved and invited to participate in major concerts.

After my article, one might get the impression that in the Soviet Union pop singers were not allowed to live at all, and emigration was the only way out. Of course it isn't. Some left, but many more musicians stayed. We will tell you about them next time.

What are your favorite songs from Soviet films? What kind of performers do you like who sang them?

MOSCOW, January 28 - RIA Novosti. Outstanding dancer, choreographer, actor, photographer, art collector and owner of the famous Russian Samovar restaurant Mikhail Baryshnikov celebrates his 70th birthday on January 28. In 1974, during a tour of the Bolshoi Theater troupe in Canada, he decided not to return to the USSR. Like many "defectors", for him this decision was not easy. But the main argument behind was the freedom of creativity. RIA Novosti recalls Soviet ballet dancers who remained in the West.

Rudolf Nureyev

Rudolf Nureyev made his famous "jump into freedom" during a Paris tour in 1961. Escape meant for him, as for all "defectors", not only a complete break with relatives, but also a sentence in absentia - Nureyev was convicted under the article "Treason to the Motherland" and sentenced in the USSR to seven years in prison.

In his interviews, he often said that life in the West gave him, above all, creative freedom. It is known that Nureyev was a difficult person, with an absurd character. But what really no one could refuse him was his incredible devotion to the profession and some kind of superhuman performance.

Rudolf Nureyev became famous not only as an outstanding dancer, but also as a ballet reformer: it was thanks to him that male dance began to develop in the second half of the 20th century. Nureyev's creative heritage is enormous: he created many editions of classical productions, danced with Margot Fonteyn for many years, and later directed the ballet troupe of the Paris Opera. Being seriously ill, he tried himself as a conductor.

Natalia Makarova

© AP Photo Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov in a scene from the ballet "Giselle" in New York

In 1970, soloist of the Kirov Theater Natalya Makarova asked for political asylum during the troupe's tour of the UK. A month later, her first performance in a new status took place, and Rudolf Nureyev became a stage partner.

Makarova danced at the American Ballet Theater (the American Ballet Theatre, which, by the way, is now directed by Alexei Ratmansky), was a guest star of the London Royal Ballet, and performed with troupes of the world's largest theaters. Performances were staged for her by one of the best choreographers of the 20th century, Roland Petit. In addition to Nureyev, she went on stage with other compatriots who later remained in the West - Mikhail Baryshnikov and Alexander Godunov.
In the late 1980s, thanks to the efforts of former colleagues, Natalia Makarova returned to the stage of the Kirov Ballet, performing several fragments from John Cranko's production of Onegin. Now lives in the USA.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

© AP Photo / Marty LederhandlerMikhail Baryshnikov during a rehearsal of the Broadway play "Metamorphoses"

© AP Photo / Marty Lederhandler

A native of Riga, Mikhail Baryshnikov was a graduate of the Leningrad Choreographic School (now the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A. Ya. Vaganova). Like Nureyev, he graduated from the class of the outstanding teacher Alexander Pushkin.

Having stayed in the West in 1974 during the tour of the Bolshoi Theater in Canada, Baryshnikov immediately received an invitation to one of the best troupes in the world - the American Ballet Theater (ABT). Later he was invited to dance by George Balanchine, and in 1988 Baryshnikov returned to ABT as artistic director.

As a dancer, he was famous for his incredible jump. It is known that his creative searches were never limited to the classical repertoire: Baryshnikov was actively involved in modern ballet, tried himself as a dramatic actor on stage and in films (his track record includes an Oscar nomination and participation in the popular TV series Sex and the City ").

© AP Photo / Randy Rasmussen

© AP Photo / Randy Rasmussen

Baryshnikov's classmate at the Riga Ballet School, Bolshoi Theater artist Alexander Godunov stayed in America during a tour in New York in 1979. His wife, ballerina Lyudmila Vlasova, who was also on this trip, the Soviet authorities decided to send back to Moscow. Events developed dramatically: American representatives detained the plane, as a result, Vlasova flew home only three days later. The couple could not reunite, in 1982 their divorce was filed.

Tall, handsome, blond and an excellent dancer, Godunov invariably attracted the attention of the public, dancing at the Bolshoi, was a welcome partner for many soloists. However, in America, his stage career did not work out. Having initially received an invitation to the same American Ballet Theater where Baryshnikov also danced, he was later unable to renew his contract with the troupe. Evil tongues said that a former classmate Baryshnikov saw Godunov as a serious competitor and, using his influence, interfered with his career.

In 1985, Godunov stopped dancing and began acting in films, playing several supporting roles. He died in 1995 at the age of 45.

We invite you to get acquainted with how the fate of the Soviet and Russian celebrities who left their homeland different time and for various reasons.

Alexander Godunov

The ballet dancer was predicted to have a great career at the Bolshoi Theatre, however, in 1979, during the Bolshoi's tour of New York, Godunov applied for political asylum.

In the USA, Godunov danced with M. Baryshnikov at the American Ballet Theatre. However, after a scandal with him in 1982, he left the theater.

For some time he performed with his own troupe. As a guest star, he toured extensively in the USA, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Israel, Europe, Japan.

Having married a Hollywood actress J. Bisset, he tried his hand at cinema. Film roles include an Amish farmer in The Witness (1985), an expressive orchestra conductor in The Debt Pit (1986).

On May 18, 1995, Godunov's friends sounded the alarm due to the lack of phone calls from him. A nurse was sent to Godunov's home in Shoreham Towers, West Hollywood, California, and found him dead. He was 45 years old.

According to doctors, the death was caused by complications of hepatitis caused by chronic alcoholism. The ashes of Godunov are scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Fyodor Chaliapin

Perhaps the most famous of Russian emigrants. At the time of his escape, Chaliapin was the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theater and was the first in the USSR to earn the title of People's Artist of the Republic.

Since 1922, the artist has been touring abroad, in particular in the United States, where Solomon Yurok was his American impresario. The singer left with his second wife, Maria Valentinovna.

In 1927, Chaliapin was deprived of the citizenship of the USSR and his title was taken away. At the end of the summer of 1932, the actor acted in films, performing leading role in the film by Georg Pabst "The Adventures of Don Quixote" based on the novel of the same name by Cervantes. The film was shot in two languages ​​at once - English and French, with two casts.

In 1935-1936, Chaliapin, together with accompanist Georges de Godzinsky, went on his last tour to Far East, where he gave 57 concerts in Manchuria, China and Japan.

In the spring of 1937, Chaliapin was diagnosed with leukemia, and on April 12, 1938, he died in Paris in the arms of his wife. The artist was buried at the Batignolles cemetery in Paris. In 1984, his son, Fedor Fedorovich, allowed the singer's ashes to be transferred from France to Russia.

Oleg Popov

Abroad, “the most famous clown in the world” emigrated from the USSR in 1991 from hopelessness, when the pension was no longer enough even for food.

Now Popov lives in a village near Nuremberg, works in the "Great Russian Circus" under the pseudonym "Happy Hans".

At 62, the clown married a 30-year-old German Gabrielle Lehmann: in 1990, Popov's future lover came from Germany to Austria for his performance, came up for an autograph, and he asked her for a phone number. The couple got married two years later.

“Gaby learned Russian with my help, so at home we speak our “mighty” one. But when I go to the market, I take a dictionary with me. turned 86 years old.

Nina Brodskaya

The performer of Soviet hits "The January Blizzard Rings", "Love-ring", "The Adventures of Pinocchio" has been living in the USA since 1979.

She had to leave the USSR because of nationality. “...Then there was an unspoken order from above: to remove all Jews from the stage. In general, persecution began on me. My songs were no longer played on television and radio,” she recalls.

“The first time in the USA was not easy for us, because we were going nowhere. My husband worked hard so that we could survive and give everything our son needed. I started writing my own songs. I found money and released the Moscow-New York disc. Live It’s not easy for us here even now, but there can be no talk of returning to our homeland,” says Nina.

Elena Solovey

The star of Soviet cinema at the age of 44 moved to America in the “dashing” 90s.

Now Elena teaches acting, works on Russian radio in New Jersey, for some time she hosted the author's program "Scenes". Created a children's creative studio "Etude" for children from Russian-speaking families.

Periodically plays in American cinema. After emigrating, she was only a few times in her homeland.

In the States, Elena starred in several short films, as well as in two films directed by James Gray "Masters of the Night", which starred such stars as Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix and Eva Mendes, and "Fatal Passion".

“It was easier for me to adapt here, because I didn’t have to earn a living - this was done by my husband Yura, who now works in an art gallery. The main thing is that I always had a home. And this is the salvation from any depression and adversity ... But anyway, this country is alien to me. Probably, it will be my own only for my grandchildren, "says the actress.

O
The blue-eyed heartthrob, who broke dozens of hearts of Soviet spectators, Maurice Gerald from the movie "The Headless Horseman", has been living in Malibu for 28 years.

For some time, Oleg and his wife were engaged in the reprinting of Soviet cartoons, then dubbing. The actor opened both a cargo transportation company and a drug clinic ...

“I didn’t go to America to be an actor. When I came here, I clearly understood that English is a very difficult language. I was sure that I would never be able to speak as quickly and accurately as the locals. Therefore, I did not expect anything beyond that from America. Alive, well-fed and thanks for that," he says now.

At the same time, the actor is infinitely grateful to the United States, because the move saved his life. “The local doctors found a benign tumor of the pituitary gland in me. If I had stayed in the Union, I would have died, because we did not perform the necessary operations. And in the USA it was an ordinary operation. Otherwise, I never got used to this country. Yes, I have a local passport, citizenship, a pension of $600, but in my heart I have remained Russian,” says Vidov.

Ilya Baskin

The actor from the movie "Big Break" made a really successful film career in the USA, which is rare for such cases.

He starred in 70 films, where his partners were such stars as Sean Connery, Hellen Miren and others.

Baskin was friends with Savely Kramarov for many years, at his invitation, he left for the United States in the early 1980s.

At first, Ilya worked in a restaurant, then in an insurance company, published the Russian-language newspaper Panorama.

"The actors are here happy people. You don't look for a job yourself, an agent finds it, he beats his head against the wall to get you a role, and, of course, receives a commission. When you get to the site, the trade unions take care of you, if you work more, you get paid extra,” says Baskin.

Alexey Serebryakov

The departure of the actor to Canada caused a rather violent reaction in Russia, although the actor himself was not going to make a big event out of this.

Together with his family, and with his wife Maria, he brings up his daughter Daria and sons Stepan and Danila, Serebryakov emigrated to Canada in 2012.

“I moved my family to Canada. I want my children to grow up and be brought up in a fundamentally different at least everyday ideology. I want them to understand that knowledge, hard work can be valued, that it is not necessary to push elbows, be rude, be aggressive and be afraid of people ... Unfortunately, here, no matter how I protect and isolate them, you can’t protect them from rudeness and aggression. It’s in the air. Ham won,” he commented.

The Serebryakov family chose a cozy townhouse in Toronto to live in and now they are quite successfully living in a new environment. According to the actor, his wife fully supported his idea of ​​leaving for the sake of the future of the children.

But it is not necessary to say that the actor nevertheless “burned all the bridges”, since no one canceled the shooting in domestic films. Since moving to Canada, the actor has starred in several fairly successful film projects by Russian directors.

Yanina Lisovskaya

The actress is known for the role of Lyudka - eldest daughter heroes of the painting "Love and doves".

Now Yanina Lisovskaya is a German citizen, together with her husband Wolf List she has been living in Germany for more than 15 years

Yanina, unlike many colleagues, left Russia not at all for political or career reasons, but simply fell in love with a German actor and left for him.

Then, in Moscow, Lisovskaya held successful career in the theater, but the work had to be sacrificed. Having learned German, Yana managed to find a job not only in her main specialty, but also mastered related professions, becoming a playwright-director and acting teacher.

During this time, she starred in the German films "Tatort. Traces of War", "Living by the Rhine", "Landing on the Moon", "Rendezvous", "Swallow's Nest".

Now the actress is happily married and is raising her daughter Vasilisa.

Zhanna Aguzarova

In 1991 Zhanna moved to Los Angeles and worked as a singer in the Black Sea restaurant. However, not converging in character with the owner, she was forced to leave.
It is known that Aguzarova worked in the United States as a DJ and even as a driver at the International Celebrity Center. Aguzarova soon became interested in producer Brian Eno, who worked with the U2 group. True, the cooperation between the singer and the producer did not take place.

In America, Alexander studied the language at the University of California and did not waste time in vain: he played an episodic role in Walter Hill's action movie "Negotiable", then in the thriller "Red Kite".

Soon Jean-Claude Van Damme offered Nevsky the role of a bandit from Odessa in his film. And Alexander ... refused, although the financial situation left much to be desired, because he did not want the image of a Russian villain to stick to him.

By 2008, the “Russian Schwarzenegger” already had six films in its piggy bank. Today, Alexander Nevsky lives in Los Angeles, but has Russian citizenship and often comes to his homeland, in particular, in order to continue his work.

On June 29, 1922, Fyodor Chaliapin, having gone on a tour, left the Russian land forever. We remember 7 great Russian emigrants, whose departure was a serious loss for Russia. Emigration hit Russia repeatedly. Someone left the country voluntarily, someone became an exile, forced to flee to save his life. Most of them, until the end of their days, kept the thin threads connecting them with their homeland, cherishing the dream of returning home sooner or later.

In pursuit of a dream

Fyodor Chaliapin, a man who had a huge impact on the world of opera, emigrated from the country on June 29, 1922. Officially - on the next tour. The decision to emigrate did not come immediately. However, already on his return from the second foreign tour, Chaliapin had a firm intention to "make his dream come true." The problem was that the family had little chance of following Fyodor Ivanovich. To obtain the coveted permission, he comes up with a version that, with his tours, he demonstrates “what kind of artists live and flourish in the“ councils ”. In 1927, Chaliapin donated all the proceeds from his concert to the children of emigrants. This gesture in the homeland is regarded as support for the Whites. August 24 of the same year, he loses his title People's Artist and the right to ever return to the USSR.

"Russian Knight"

The outstanding aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky created the world's first four-engine aircraft "Russian Knight" and "Ilya Muromets" in his homeland. Sikorsky's father adhered to monarchist views and was a Russian patriot. Because of the threat own life the aircraft designer emigrated first to Europe, but, not seeing opportunities for the development of aviation, he decided to emigrate in 1919 to the United States. Being a wealthy man in his homeland, he was forced to start everything from scratch in America. Sikorsky founded Sikorsky Aero Engineering. Until 1939, the aircraft designer created more than 15 types of aircraft, including the American Clipper, as well as a number of helicopter models, including the VS-300 with one main rotor and a small tail rotor, on the principle of which 90% of helicopters in the world are built today. Sikorsky always carried out the first flight on the new apparatus himself.

cursed days

Ivan Bunin for some time tried to "escape" from the Bolsheviks in his native country. He believed that "a house inhabited by a powerful family, consecrated by worship of God, the memory of the past" was devastated and turned into a nightmarishly bloody farce under the leadership of "a degenerate and moral idiot from birth" Lenin. In 1919, he moved from red Moscow to unoccupied Odessa, and only in 1920, when the Red Army approached the city, did he move to Paris. In France, Bunin will write his the best works: "Mitya's love", a cycle of stories " Dark alleys” and, finally, the autobiographical novel “The Life of Arseniev”. In 1933, Ivan Bunin, a stateless person, will be awarded Nobel Prize in Literature with the official wording "for the strict skill with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose."

"Blue Rider"

The founder of abstract art, the founder of the Blue Rider group, Wassily Kandinsky left Moscow in 1921 due to disagreement with the attitude of the country of the "soviet" to art. In Berlin, he teaches painting and becomes a prominent theoretician of the Bauhaus school, the theoretical premises of which are reduced to the concept of "functionalism". Soon he gets world recognition as one of the leaders of abstract art. In 1939, he flees from the Nazis to Paris, where he receives French citizenship. Since 2007, the Kandinsky Prize has been awarded annually in Russia for innovation that has influenced the situation in contemporary Russian art.

Father of gloss

The name is practically unknown in Russia. In the global industry of glossy magazines, advertising, graphic design of fashion photography, Brodovich is the same cult figure as, say, for cinema. And maybe even more. When Alexei was 16 years old, he, without telling his parents, went to fight in the First World War. True, the fugitive was returned home from the front and was sent to study military science at a cavalry school. However, the revolution of 1917 did not allow Brodovich to develop a career as a cavalryman: in 1920, he and his family emigrated to France, where he realized himself in a completely unexpected capacity - as an artist. In 1924, he won the competition for the best poster design for a charity ball, beating Pablo Picasso himself. This becomes a ticket in life for the former cavalryman. After only a few years, Alexey Brodovich becomes one of the most respected designers and photographers in Europe, changing the approach to both design and photography. He moved to the USA, where he became the art director of the famous fashion magazine Harper's Baazar, in which he made a real revolution in the design of advertising and glossy magazines.

In an era of catastrophes

As Nikolai Berdyaev himself wrote in his memoirs, too many events fell to his lot as a philosopher. Berdyaev survived three wars, two Russian revolutions, the spiritual renaissance of the beginning of the century, Russian communism, the global cultural crisis, but more ordeal became for him the transformation, adaptation and betrayal of people. He ended up in prison four times, two times under the old regime and two times under the new one, he spent 3 years in Siberian exile, went through a process that threatened him with eternal settlement in Siberia and, as a result, was expelled from his homeland in 1922. The investigator warned: if you appear on the border of the USSR, you will be shot. In exile, Berdyaev wrote his most famous works, The Meaning of History, The Philosophy of the Free Spirit, On the Appointment of Man, and a number of others.

Russian style

The Russian composer and virtuoso pianist Sergei Rachmaninov emigrated from the country shortly after the 1917 revolution, taking advantage of an unexpected invitation to give a series of concerts in Stockholm. Abroad, Rachmaninov created 6 works, which were the pinnacle of Russian and world classics. He created his own exceptional style, which harmoniously merged the traditions of Russian music and jazz, the old Russian znamenny chant and the "restaurant" stage of the 30s, the virtuosity of the style of the end of the century before last and the hard avant-garde. The works of the foreign period are distinguished by their fullness of philosophical sound: absurdity, cruelty of being in modern world and loss of spirituality. He first brought the Russian piano school to the world level, and his works are included in the repertoire of the world's leading pianists.