Biography
Daria Yulianovna Semenova is considered a sought-after and famous artist of the Soviet Union and Russia. To make a name for herself, she had to go through a difficult path and endure many hardships and losses, which only made her stronger. From an early age, she reached out to the canvas to paint her own destiny.
She was born on June 12, 1958 in the capital of the Soviet Union. The girl was born into a family of creative people who devoted their lives to art and were considered famous figures in the cultural world. The young artist’s father is the world-famous writer, screenwriter, journalist and poet Yulian Semenov. The broad masses are known as the author of the detective genre.
Thanks to him, a real intelligence hero, Stirlitz, was born, whose works constitute an entire cultural layer of Soviet life. His works have been repeatedly adapted into films and TV series, a striking example of which is “Seventeen Moments of Spring.” This picture was a huge success among several generations of viewers and critics, and currently they continue to watch it with great pleasure. The author gave his character a whole series of spy novels, which can be attributed to the cultural heritage of the country. Her real name is Juliana Lyandres, and Semenov is a creative pseudonym. Her grandfather was Bukharin’s assistant at the front, for which he came under repression.
The mother of our heroine is Ekaterina Semenova Mikhalkova Sergeevna. By origin, she is the granddaughter of the famous people's artist Pyotr Konchalovsky and the great-granddaughter of the great master of canvas Vasily Ivanovich Surikov. Parents taught their daughter to art from an early age. Ten years later, a second daughter, Olga, appeared in the family, who was born on February 2, 1967.
In one of the interviews, Daria’s mother said that the marriage with Julian was concluded as a result of intense love, but did not bring happiness in their life together. The children were in the care of their father most of the time. Dad paid his wife's maintenance when she lived on the side. The woman constantly handed over jewelry to the pawnshop and bought it back. Then she had a close friend with whom she moved. During their life together, Catherine wrote for divorce eight times, but they never got to the registry office; most of the marriage they were apart from each other. The wife repeatedly wished death for her husband; after Julian’s stroke, she returned home and spent three years next to her husband. Only after the death of her husband, Catherine took his surname, but not out of respect and memory, but out of revenge against her adoptive father Sergei Mikhalkov. When she turned eighty, she wished to change her patronymic, after which Sergei deprived her of her inheritance.
In 1966, the little girl made her debut in big cinema. The painting was called “Not a very good day.” It was created on the basis of my father’s book “Dunya and Nikita”. The plot was built around a married couple trying to save their marriage. It is noteworthy that it was during this period that Daria’s parents were in a conflicting relationship. The director was Yuri Egorov. In addition to our heroine, young Nikita Mikhalkov took part in the film. According to the artist, the actors in the film tried to portray the difficult situation in the real Semyonov family.
After finishing school, the girl decided to choose a creative path, like her parents. She entered the Moscow State Academy of Arts in the theater and decoration department in 1973, from which she graduated in 1977. The student was drawn to fine arts, and she decided to continue her studies in a new direction. She submitted documents to the Moscow State Art Institute named after Surikov, majoring in painting, her supervisor was Professor Taira Salakhova. In 1983, she successfully graduated from higher education and a new world of creativity opened up before her. A new stage has begun in Daria’s life, her professional career.
Recently she stopped communicating with her mother; she said about her daughter that she wanted to kill her. Scammers began to appear around the widow, extracting money from the naive woman.
Olga and Daria tried to establish contact and invited her to live in France, but she refused. The conflict occurred over the writer’s apartment. Daria initially gave away the keys and excluded herself from the inheritance. The younger sister Olga continues to sue and sort it out. Olya lives in France and works as a writer.
News
For three days, viewers of the Rossiya K TV channel asked questions to the host of the Rules of Life and Genius programs, Alexey Begak, on our social networks. Alexey received a record number of questions - about 30, and there were even more comments with wishes and thanks! Alexey thanked our viewers for their kind words and tried to answer most of the questions.
User Zelimhan Ataev on Instagram asked: “Tell me about your childhood. What childhood hobbies have stayed with you throughout your life?
A.B. — I’ve always had one hobby – drawing. It remains. I remember little from my childhood. Apart from a few short flashes of memory, there is one long-lasting love - the smell of the garage in which my grandfather worked on his motorcycles and cars - he was a racer and managed the “Vertical Racing” auction in Gorky Park, where he raced his cars inside a wooden barrel. I myself have been driving for 40 years, and every time I start the engine I feel delighted.
This is a moment that I still feel physically. My grandfather gave me the first bicycle with two additional wheels on the back for stability. And so the wheels were removed, I was pedaling on a forest path, my grandfather was running behind me, holding the saddle, then letting go, I felt the balance and realized that now I was riding on my own.
And Vera Olsh asked: “Who were the parents, and how did they influence success?”
A.B. — My parents were ballet dancers at the Bolshoi Theater. They influenced my success in the following way: when they asked me if I wanted to dance like them at the Bolshoi Theater, I answered clearly - no, and they agreed with my decision. And second: my dad did a lot to support and develop my desire to draw.
Vlada.Kolchanova asked her question: “Alexey, what did you dream of as a child? And what are you dreaming about now? »
A.B. — As a child, I dreamed of a bicycle, which they didn’t buy for me because they were afraid of my free riding. But I still asked the neighbor boys for bikes and rode them on strangers. In my youth I dreamed that I would make the woman I loved happy. Now I don’t dream at all - I just live interestingly and do what I should and what I have planned for the day, week, month.
Polina Gurvich asked: “Which program on the Rossiya K TV channel do you like best and why?”
A.B. — I watch very little TV - sometimes just news, a little history and music. And then only at dinner and with half an eye. I like our program, or rather, I like doing it. Sometimes I look at something on the Internet to work on mistakes.
“How do you manage to communicate with a variety of experts with such ease?” , asked Tatyana Popova.
A.B. — Ease is the result of experience and, partly, installation. It's not always easy. In the first months of the project, I was so exhausted that on the way home from the studio I sometimes wanted to stop from the onset of nausea. Then it got used to it.
It’s easy with an interesting and open-to-dialogue interlocutor, but difficult with an arrogant, even competent one. But the basic principle is simple: I do not claim to have deep knowledge in all areas, in some I am simply a layman, and I declare this easily and honestly.
Ekaterina Shu wanted to know: “Do you have time left for painting? Doesn’t TV take time away from creativity?”
A.B. – Firstly, television for me is the same creative activity as architecture, design, construction and painting. Secondly, television is not the main rival of painting, there are other very favorite interferences: I listed some in the previous paragraph, and also travel , sports, feasts with friends and so on.
View Ieview also sent its question: “What are your favorite works? Who are your favorite artists?
A.B. – The picture changes throughout life. You correctly pose the first question - favorite works. The whole artist is rarely as close as his individual works. Eternal shock - Bruegel in Vienna, Piero Della Francesca in London, Sassetta in the Louvre, Vittorio Carpaccio in Venice and much more. Among the strong shocks of recent years are retrospective exhibitions (and I value them most) - Bonnard, Braque, Klee, Schiele, Bakst...
“In modern Russia, what role is assigned to the artist who creates contemporary art?” , asked Kamilla Zainieva on the VKontakte social network.
A.B. - He is assigned the role of a person about whom, most likely, no one in the world will ever know, because Russia is a country in the world that is a) unfashionable, b) oppressed in our time. Therefore, it is worth doing art only when you simply get great pleasure from it. I don’t understand at all about modern/non-modern, relevant/irrelevant - I have a dividing line elsewhere: art/not art.
“What helps you relax and take your mind off unpleasant thoughts?” , - SABIN A wanted to know.
A.B. — For the last 15 years, I’ve been doing sports. 3 times a week and without skipping - iron in the gym, in between - cycling, jogging, skiing according to the season. If stress is only movement. And there’s wine and feast only when the day is over, you look back and say: overall, it was not bad.
Andrey Duplyankin asked: “How do you feel about friendship on social networks? And do you have your own example?
A.B. - Well, this is a conventional designation. What kind of friendship can there be in networks? I have a good attitude towards the networks themselves; there are many issues that are resolved there. There is valuable information. Sometimes there are unexpected intersections, etc. A net is just a tool, like a hammer or pliers, and it all depends on the application - you can hammer a nail or pull it out, or you can hit it on the head or pinch your fingers.
“You enjoy tasting food during the program. What is the most unusual dish you have tried in your life? , asked Baniksvetlana.
A.B. - If I’m in a new place, then, of course, I ask for what’s in use there. But I never strive for the unusual in food. I prefer simple and quickly prepared. I don’t spend more than 10-15 minutes cooking. While the pasta is cooking, I make the sauce. Meat and fish don’t require more than 10-15 minutes either, vegetables just need to be washed, cheese just needs to be put on the table, bread is generally broken by hand, and the wine is decanted in the process.
Gulyan Anush also asked her question: “What rules of life do you follow? Are there many rules that have exceptions?
A.B. – The first thing is to move whenever possible. Second, drink a lot of water at the first signs of melancholy. Third, always be a creator: when you paint a picture, make a TV show, build a house, kiss a woman. Fourth, all rules have exceptions.
Photo: Vadim Shultz
society, Alexey Begak, TV presenter, program, Rules of Life, Ask the presenter
Daria Semenova and Alexey Begak
The personal life of our heroine is quite bright, like all her works on canvas. She entered into her first marriage while studying at the university. The groom's name is not advertised. Family life did not last long. A divorce took place by consent of the young people. The father repeatedly offered his daughter options for marriage, but she did not accept anyone. When they lived on Suvorovsky Boulevard in the house of polar explorers, their apartment was on the fourth floor. At that point in time, the girl began to smoke and often went out onto the balcony. This is exactly how she met her second husband.
As Daria says, one day she went out to smoke, and below stood a green Zhiguli and a young man Alexei Begak. She began to notice that the gentleman began to appear under her windows every night without interruption. The young beauty was flattered, and so a new romance began for our heroine. He was the only man with whom she wanted to have children. Some time later, in 1987, they had their first child, who was named Maxim.
This event greatly affected the head of the family. A wall of misunderstanding gradually and slowly began to grow between the parents. The love passed, but they still had a lot in common, which continued to keep them together. Daria herself initiated the divorce; she understood that nothing good would come from the marriage, and the couple broke up. From a life together that lasted 25 years, her youngest son, Philip Begak, was born in 1993. The girl’s ex-husband was also a creative person and artist.
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It is interesting that in “Memoirs” by Avdotya Yakovlevna Panaeva, Ivan Sergeevich is presented in a caricature, portrayed as an “anti-hero”; his girlfriend Nekrasova does not like him, as if she hears the evil words that he privately speaks about her to his friend Nekrasov.
The gentle, kind Turgenev did not tolerate Panaeva. The question is why? One involuntarily comes to mind: did he, too, succumb to the charms of this incomparable beauty when he first saw her?
It was in 1843, Turgenev will mark this important meeting for himself in his “Memorial”, and a few months later the Frenchwoman Pauline Viardot will come to St. Petersburg with the “Italian opera” troupe and accompanied by her husband. Ugly, but magnetically attractive, with an extraordinary voice, she will take Turgenev with all his entrails and leave nothing for all other women, including Panaeva...
And Lilya Brik... how is she connected with Turgenev? Yes, very simply - through Mayakovsky. After all, Mayakovsky is a type of Bazarov, only living in the era of revolution. And so - the same “nihilism” in relation to everything “sustainably correct” that has become obsolete, the same titanism that distinguishes it from all others.
Love ruined Bazarov, but it also ruined Mayakovsky. Remember? “The love boat crashed into everyday life.” You can read about how I understand these lines in my book and in the article “Lilya Brik and Vladimir Mayakovsky: the dissimilarity of the similar.”
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“Rules of Life” from Alexey Begak
The program “Rules of Life” on the CULTURE channel. At first it seemed: not right. It’s unclear where the topics came from, and it’s unclear who the explanations were intended for. Who are all these “rules of life” for? For youngsters who don’t know that you’re not supposed to clap during breaks between musical parts? Or is it for mature, intelligent people who are interested in the discussions about culture by culturologist Daniil Dondurei or the morality of sociologist Lev Gudkov?
Death of a son
In 2011, grief happened in the fate of our heroine; her eldest son Maxim Begak died. In one interview, she said that he led a riotous lifestyle. At that time, she lived in the village of Daryino, where she and her husband built a house. The adult child returned only in the morning and told his mother what he was doing. But one fine day he did not return. A bell rang in the house; the voice of his friend Pavel was heard on the receiver, who reported the terrible news about the death of Maxim. Having received a death certificate, it was written that he died of a heart attack. When she performed the funeral service for her son at the Donskoy Monastery, she saw that there was a blue mark from the noose on the deceased’s neck. A few weeks before, he asked her for three thousand dollars, which she did not give. Perhaps he was killed precisely because of his debts.
Daria did not write a statement to the police. She claims that her son can no longer be returned, and let the killer suffer and suffer. Moreover, the artist knows who did it. She said: “When I come, the culprit often sits on Maxim’s grave, and when he is discovered he immediately runs away.”
The second son brings only happiness to his mother. Currently, Philip is engaged in business and has two hundred hectares of farming within the Bryansk region. Before that, he was an excellent manager on television, but chose to end his media career. Most recently, Daria became a grandmother; her granddaughter Vasilisa is growing up.
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Having watched subsequent episodes of this half-hour program (and it is already running, if I’m not mistaken, for the third week, from Monday to Thursday), I figured out something. And she accepted the program. Now what do I think about it?
The host of "Rules of Life" - Alexey Begak - fits his role. Handsome, charming, athletic, not too young, but at the same time capable of listening, being surprised and able to carry on a conversation.
But if anything will make his program a success, it's the participants. The choice of participants is the main magnet of the program, because before us is a kind of “club of experts.” Everyone is an expert in their field. As I understand it, they are the ones who dictate what topic needs to be addressed. The presenter is already adjusting to them, giving his “pre-notification”, and his assistants are preparing the corresponding “quotes” that appear on the screen. So, against the backdrop of a modern, somewhat too cold white interior, Alexey is talking...
Now I’ll tell you about those with whom he talks.
Daria's creativity
Currently, she is a sought-after artist around the world. She and her father visited Nicaragua and Afghanistan early in her career. The girl made drawings of captured Mujahideen and transferred portraits of Babrak Karmal, his wife and children to canvas. After returning, she opened a personal exhibition in Leningrad. Her works received high marks among critics and exhibition visitors. It gained universal popularity because it depicted unusual and extraordinary things on paper.
In 1991, she moved with her husband and eldest son to London, where they lived for one year. All exhibitions of the Russian artist were of great interest among local residents. A week later, all her works were sold out. After that, she returned to her homeland, where she lives to this day and opened her own workshop.
Currently, her works are exhibited in France, Holland, England, Germany and Cyprus. She continues to collaborate with the private gallery in Moscow “Art&Brut”. Lately she has been focusing all her energy on studying stones. Daria found depth, beauty and individuality in them. Nature has created real masterpieces, which our heroine is trying to revive. She translates the nature of stone through the prism of her understanding; her works are included in the “Romance with Stone” cycle. In addition to drawing, he is actively involved in design activities. Together with my husband, we carried out several projects - the Darino village, projects in private apartments and the design of the VGRK studio.
In her childhood, she took part in two films – “Not a Very Lucky Day” and “The Noble Nest”.
The personal life of Daria Semenova, daughter of Julian Semenov, is filled with a bundle of disappointments. She lived a difficult life, but managed to achieve enormous achievements in the field of art and culture, like her father. Her paintings are filled with an endless search for truth and are in high demand around the world. Having lost one son, she was able to survive it and did not give up.
