Debauches of Soviet celebrities: a dream in the salad of the Bulgarian Secretary General, fights and scandal in the hotel
'20.06.2021'
Source: Life.ru
The stars of Soviet show business sometimes allowed themselves to violate the commandments of the moral code of the builder of communism, and some of them are also the Criminal Code. Sleep in the salad of the Bulgarian secretary general, hysteria for a hotel room and a fight with security officers - this is not a complete list of antics of famous personalities of the USSR, says Life.ru.
The drunken ride of the artist Mikhail Efremov, which ended in the death of a person, continues to be one of the most discussed topics of the summer. The actor has repeatedly become a defendant in high-profile scandals before, but without serious consequences.
Celebrity scandals have become an integral part of show business since its inception. Even in Soviet times, when the behavior of artists was monitored very strictly, and the slightest scandal threatened with very serious consequences for a career, they managed to get into unpleasant stories and make debauchery.
The star of the Stalin era and the fight with the Chekists
Boris Andreev was one of the most popular artists of the Stalin era. His first movie role made him a star. The film "Tractor Drivers" turned out to be an absolute hit in the Soviet box office, and the colorful big guy Nazar Duma, played by Andreev, was loved and remembered by the audience. But almost immediately after the release of the film, Andreev began to get into trouble.
In 1939, together with his friend and colleague from the "Tractor Drivers" Peter Aleinikov, he made a row in Kiev. Having pretty much taken alcohol, the artists decided to take a nap on a soft sofa. Everything would be fine, but only the sofa was in the shop window - to get to it, you had to break the glass. The next morning, the police found the people's favorites sleeping peacefully on the sofa surrounded by broken glass. The story was hushed up, since the police turned out to be fans of the artists and released them in exchange for a joint photo.
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In the summer of 1941, Andreev became a participant in a scandal that could turn out to be very serious consequences for him. In one of the capital's restaurants (in the first days of the war they were still working) Andreev met two men who kept him company. Realizing for three, they quarreled. A fight ensued, as a result of which the strong Andreev knocked out both rivals. It turned out that the defeated drinking companions were quite high-ranking Chekists. The artist was arrested for a while, but was eventually released without criminal prosecution. It is believed that the miraculous release took place after Stalin's personal intervention.
In 1955, already in the Khrushchev era, Andreev again landed in history. During the filming of the film "Ilya Muromets", he threw a policeman into the sea. True, this time the initiative came from a representative of the law who was on the set. In between filming, he approached the "hero" and offered to fight on the seashore and find out which of them is stronger. Andreev accepted the challenge, overcame the policeman, and for edification threw him into the water.
However, all these scandals did not prevent the actor from steadily getting roles in major projects, earning the Order of Lenin, the title of People's Artist of the USSR and becoming a laureate of two Stalin Prizes.
"Stalker" and a fight with a vigilante
The star of the films “At home among strangers” and “Stalker” Alexander Kaidanovsky had a very violent disposition and more than once became a participant in fights. Back in the early 70s, the actor almost ended up behind bars. He was facing a serious sentence for beating a warrior. Kaidanovsky and his colleagues celebrated the premiere of the film with his participation in one of the restaurants in the capital. But, having gone outside for a few minutes, he grappled with a vigilante who wanted to detain him. The actor did not want to obey him and began to fight back. Kaidanovsky did not inflict any serious injuries on him, but the face of the vigilante was badly broken, in addition, he was on duty. The situation was complicated by the fact that the vigilante was almost twice the age of the young actor. Mikhail Ulyanov saved Kaidanovsky from prison, speaking in defense of his colleague in court, as well as the fact that his wife was pregnant. As a result, the actor got off with a suspended sentence.
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In the future, Kaidanovsky took part in fights more than once, one of which caused some damage to his career. In the early 80s, he was not allowed to film with Tarkovsky (the director wanted to give him the main role in the famous "Nostalgia") as punishment for another fight in a restaurant.
The golden voice of the Soviet stage and the beating of the administrator
In the early 70s, Sergei Zakharov rapidly burst onto the Soviet stage. After winning several prestigious music competitions, he literally signed up for TV, becoming a regular in all major concerts. His performances have invariably been sold out, and in 1976 the artist made a brilliant film debut. But in 1977, at the very peak of his fame, the musician disappeared from the screens. But residents of the city of Slantsy had the opportunity to see the singer live at one of the city's construction sites, where prisoners worked under supervision.
The fatal fight, which seriously damaged Zakharov’s career, began because of a mere trifle. The singer grappled with the chief administrator of the Leningrad Music Hall because of the backlash (free passes to the event). A verbal skirmish began, which turned into a fight. The men were separated, and the conflict seemed to be settled. But during the intermission, the singer approached the opponent and invited him to sort things out on the street after the event. Zakharov brought several friends to the showdown. Together, they finished off the administrator so much that he was in the hospital that month.
As a result, Zakharov received a year in prison and a ban on speaking at the venues in the capital. After his release, he toured for several years only in provincial cities and returned to the big stage only during the years of perestroika.
Legendary actor and international scandal
Oleg Efremov was one of the most famous and popular actors and directors of the Soviet Union. There is no need to once again list the films in which he starred and the theaters that he directed. Efremov’s painful craving for alcohol was not a secret, and in Soviet times, in the actor’s circles, there were legends about his binges. Alexander Shirvindt recalled that he had more than a dozen times to drop everything and rush to calm down the sorted companion. According to him, especially in this state, he loved to destroy cars parked near the theater. Moreover, in some cases, the artist's personal car became the object of dissatisfaction, and in others - other people's cars.
The Moscow Art Theater knew about these weaknesses of Efremov, so after another scandal they brought in a special “commissar for sobriety” on the staff. He was designed as an assistant director, but had nothing to do with creativity. His only task was to follow the artist tirelessly and every second, especially at important events.
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In 1973, during a tour of the Moscow Art Theater in Bulgaria, Efremov almost provoked an international scandal. According to the memoirs of Vsevolod Shilovsky, Efremov seized the moment and escaped the watchful eye of the assistant. A gala banquet was planned that evening with the participation of Soviet artists and the head of Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov. The secretary general went away for a while, and when he returned, he found that his place had already been taken. Efremov was sitting there. More precisely, he was lying in an unconscious state, dropping his head in a plate with a salad intended for Zhivkov. And when the Bulgarian leader came closer to consider this miracle, he calmly raised his head, cursed greeted the Secretary General and lay back in the salad.
Fortunately, Zhivkov turned out to be a man with humor and reacted to the scandalous situation absolutely calmly. This trick had no consequences for the artist.
The prima donna of the Soviet stage and the battle for the hotel room
Alla Pugacheva was not only the most popular singer of the Brezhnev era and perestroika times, but also the most scandalous. However, these scandals were not debauches in their classical sense, but rather whims. But, since in the USSR whims in the style of Western stars were categorically discouraged, the singer periodically got it for them. So, in 1980, by the strong-willed decision of "Mosfilm", the filming of the film "Recital", in which Pugacheva was filmed, was stopped. The reason was the scandal that she made on the set because of her dissatisfaction with the remark from one of the members of the film crew. Although no one was hurt, except for one of the administrators' coat and the glass of the car, the project was closed.
One of the loudest scandals in the history of Soviet show business happened in 1987. During her visit to Leningrad, the singer tried to check into her favorite room at the Pribaltiyskaya Hotel, which had been previously booked by her administrator. But the hotel staff confused something and put another person in her room, and the singer herself was asked to take a similar one. Pugacheva, who was in a bad mood that day, flatly refused. At first, the conversation was calm, but the tone grew louder by the minute. The chief administrator of the hotel came to the noise, who decided to “teach the singer a lesson” and further inflamed the conflict that was taking place in front of numerous witnesses. Finally, Pugacheva gave up and went to another room. But the story did not end there, the administrator turned out to be a very principled person and decided to “disturb the public”. First, the police came to Pugacheva's room and interrogated her. A day later, on behalf of the administrator, a letter was published in one of the major Soviet newspapers denouncing "a capricious singer who must be put in place."
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There was a tradition in the Soviet media to write feuilleton and critical articles about delinquent celebrities. But these campaigns have always been limited to one or two articles. However, in 1987, publicity was in full swing, so the singer got it in full. Not a single scandal in the history of Soviet show business has had such coverage. Almost all the Soviet publications that came out in multi-million copies wrote about the conflict in the hotel. About him filmed reports for TV. Even the leading Western publications did not stand aside. The whole country discussed Pugacheva's behavior in queues, divided into two camps: some believed that the singer had star fever and it was time to put her in her place, others believed that she was in her right.
After three weeks, the unprecedented campaign was terminated on the personal order of the influential Alexander Yakovlev, who stood up for the singer at the highest level. This scandal did not have serious negative consequences for Pugacheva, however, people who found the Soviet era still remember it.
