Childhood of Leva BI-2
Egor Mikhailovich Bortnik, aka Igor Mikhailovich Bortnik, aka Lyova Bi-2, was born in Minsk on September 2, 1972.
Egor Bortnik became a leftist in childhood. This happened in Africa, where the boy lived with his parents. Yegor's father was a radiophysicist by profession, and he was invited to one of the universities in the Congo. One day, a father brought home a lion fang and gave it to his son. Yegor was so happy with the gift that he did not part with it. Local children, seeing a fang on Yegor’s neck, nicknamed him Lev. The boy liked the new name so much that he began to call himself that.
Leva received the name Igor (as it was written in his passport) when he was already an adult. It happened in 1991, in Israel, where he went to travel and see friends. Israeli officials were unable to correctly write the name Egor given at birth and Bortnik received a new document where the name Igor was written down. So Leva’s new name appeared in the Israeli passport - Igor Mikhailovich Bortnik.
Leva BI-2 and Shura BI-2 changed their names and surnames
Igor-Leva is the grandson of the hero of the Soviet Union. His grandfather served in the engineering troops, became a twice hero of the Soviet Union, rose to the rank of colonel, but was then repressed.
Once, while still a child, Leva heard the song “Cruiser Aurora,” which made an indelible impression on him. Perhaps it was this song that prompted Leva to write her own work, in which notes of German folklore from the song “Dear Augustine” were clearly visible.
At this point, interest in folk art dried up. But the love for music remained. Leva Bi-2 became interested exclusively in psychedelic music.
First stage steps
Leva became interested in poetry, but wanted to get his work appreciated, so he showed his poems to Shura. He took the poems to his uncle, who had little connections and experience in show business. Soon Shura learned that one of the clubs had the opportunity to borrow equipment. This is how the idea of creating a group was born. “Brothers in Arms” was the name of the first joint group of Shura and Leva. It was considered quite successful. At one of the festivals, Shura and Leva beat Max Pokrovsky and other already famous teams. Soon the musicians renamed the group “Coast of Truth”, later shortening the name to the modern “Bi-2”. In 1991, the guys traveled around Belarus and released their debut album, which had the provocative title “Traitors to the Motherland.”
At first, the group could not boast of a stable team, but Shura and Leva always stayed together, wrote songs together and discussed emerging issues.
School years Leva BI-2
Leva showed interest in studying at school until the 7th, or maximum until the 8th grade.
In 1985, Leva began attending one of the theater studios in Minsk, and the school ceased to interest him. The theater studio radically changed Bortnik's life goals and priorities. In the studio, Bortnik meets Alexander Uman (better known as Shura Bi-2). The acquaintance took place on the initiative of the artistic director of the studio. According to the manager, Lev was not well read enough, and this could become a serious obstacle to further advancement in show business. Therefore, Uman had to help Bortnik fill the gaps in education. Shura turned out to be a responsive guy and happily began to help Lyova. Later, this acquaintance grew into a strong friendship and joint work on various projects.
BI-2 draw. As his outlook on life changed, the appearance of the young man also changed. In 10th grade, Leva decided to grow a pigtail. This did not go unnoticed by the teaching staff of the school, and the teachers strongly recommended that the young man’s parents influence their son and bring his hairstyle into a human form. Requests and persuasion did not have the desired effect, so mom had no choice but to cut off the ill-fated pigtail at night, while Lev was sleeping.
As a sign of protest against the committed “crime against the individual,” Leva cut up his school suit, and came to class in a “tuxedo” on his naked body and in a military overcoat. The school principal “appreciated” his prank and kicked Bortnik out from the very first lesson. But the guy was very proud of himself, he still expressed his protest.
Music
Passion for music is inextricably linked with passion for poetry. Leva himself wrote frank poems about life. The first person the young man showed his creations to was his uncle. A relative said that Leva has potential. This inspired Yegor to start a creative career.
Soon Leva, together with Shura, organized the group “Brothers in Arms”. We rehearsed around the clock and took first place at the festival in Minsk. After the first success, the musicians renamed the group “Coast of Truth”, and in 1989 shortened the name to “Bi-2”.
In 1991, Leva and his band successfully toured Belarus and recorded their first album, “Traitors to the Motherland.” The album turned out to be prophetic - the Soviet Union collapsed, and the musicians began to face a crisis. Shura left for Israel, and soon Lyova followed his colleague. Unfortunately, creativity didn’t work out in Israel. The guys performed at festivals, recorded the song “Varvara,” which instantly became a hit, but serious success did not come.
In 1993, Shura moved to Australia - the group broke up. Leva Bi 2 stopped making music, and sang songs only in a close circle. This went on for 5 years, until the singer decided to fly to a friend in Australia. In the same 1998, the musicians recorded the song “Heart”, and then an album.
Leva worked during the day, and in the evenings he gave concerts with Shura. The musicians did not think about returning to Russia, but friends of Bi-2 gave a couple of songs to the capital’s radio. The group's music blew up the airwaves, and the performers gained long-awaited popularity.
Lyova and Shura returned to Moscow, but default struck. Calling producers did not bring any results. Just at that time, Sergei Bodrov was choosing a song for the cult film “Brother-2” and settled on the composition “Nobody Writes to the Colonel.” The film was a huge success and the song became an instant hit. “Bi-2” became stars, and a year after the release of “Brother-2” they received a World Music Awards prize. The records sold in record numbers.
Later, the musicians participated in writing music for the films “Moscow History”, “Victims of Fate”, “What Men Talk About”, “Clinch”. Often Leva, whose height is 172 cm, became a participant in the filming. The young musician of brutal appearance was invited to the projects “Election Day”, “Moms-3”, “Londongrad. Know ours!
Leva Bi 2 in the film “Election Day”
Leva and Shura continue to give concerts, go on tour and make new plans. Over the entire period of their creative biography, the musicians never quarreled, which is rare in modern show business.
Leva BI-2’s path to fame, first songs and great success
His passion for poetry was reflected in a series of very frank poems about life, but, like any author, Leva needed an assessment of his creativity.
Finally, he decides to show his poems to Shura, but says that these are poems written by his friend. In turn, Shura shows poetic opuses to his uncle, who had some experience in show business. The professional’s resume – “what was written contains good potential” – made Leva very happy. Perhaps the discreet praise served as the beginning of Bortnik’s creative upsurge. At least that's what he says about it himself.
Shura once told Leva that in one of the city’s clubs musicians were provided with equipment. The guys had the idea to create a musical group, which they soon succeeded in doing. “Brothers in Arms,” as the first group of Shura and Leva was called, rehearsed around the clock. And success was not long in coming.
Leva BI-2 /// Eaten in the RAIN At one Belarusian festival, the newly formed group managed to get ahead of other groups (among them was “Nogu Svelo”) and took first place. Over time, the guys decided to rename the group “Coast of Truth”, and even later (in 1989) the group began to be called “BI-2”. This name still exists today. In 1991, “BI-2” began touring around Belarus. In the same year, the ensemble recorded its first album entitled “Traitors to the Motherland.” The guys seemed to have a presentiment that the collapse of the Soviet Union was coming.
The collapse of the USSR marked the beginning of a deep crisis in all areas of life and, naturally, affected the sphere of art. Therefore, in 1991, Shura left for Israel, and a year later, in 1992, Lyova joined him. Attempts to take up music again were unprofessional.
We had to play acoustic guitars. However, even in such conditions, the guys constantly took part in Russian-language festivals. The apogee of creativity during that difficult period was the song “Varvara,” which immediately fell in love with listeners.
In 1993, due to Shura's departure to Australia, the group broke up. After his friend leaves, Leva is left alone and stops making music. All compositions written by Bortnik are performed exclusively in a close friendly circle. Bortnik owes his return to the music business to the same Alexander Uman.
The group CHIRON, of which Shura was a member, was urgently looking for another guitarist. Uman recommended his old friend and on February 15, 1998, Leva flew to Australia.
The first song that Lyova Bortnik recorded in the new place was called “Heart”. In the summer of 1998, the guys released an album.
Biography[edit | edit code]
Egor Bortnik became Lyova as a child:
I then lived with my parents in Africa (my father was invited to teach radiophysics at a university in the Congo). One day my dad bought me a lion's fang. I hung it around my neck, and the guys gave me the nickname Lev. I really liked the new name, and now even my mother calls me Leva[1].
In 1985, Egor Bortnik met another future founder of the Bi-2 group, Alexander Uman (Shura Bi-2), at the Minsk children's theater studio "Rond". In this studio, they decided, together with other peers, to create productions in the spirit of the theater of the absurd. After another avant-garde production, the theater was closed, and Shura and Lyova decided that they would be much better able to express themselves in music. Leva explained this choice as follows: “We quickly realized that guys with guitars are very attractive to girls.”
[2].
Lyova and Shura create the band “Brothers in Arms”, which later changed its name to “Coast of Truth”, and then “Bi-2”. Performing concerts, the group traveled all over Belarus.
In 1991, Leva Bi-2, following Shura, moved to Israel. There, like Shura, he worked as a security guard at a construction site, and in the guardhouse his friends played music. Later, Leva served in the Israeli army and worked as a computer graphic artist. After Shura went to stay with relatives in Australia at the end of 1993, the Bi-2 group actually broke up for almost 5 years (although at first Lyova continued to work on new songs, communicating with Shura by phone). But in February 1998, Leva also moved to Australia[2].
There he joined the group “Chiron” (where Shura played), which needed another guitarist. Soon the Bi-2 group was revived; in the same 1998, her first numbered album “Sexless and Sad Love” appeared. By the fall of 1998, the group also prepared the album “And the Ship Sails On.” It was never published, but songs from it ended up on the air of Russian radio stations (the first of them to receive constant rotation on the radio station “Our Radio” was the song “Heart”).
In September 1999, Lyova and Shura arrived in Russia, where the Bi-2 group, whose composition was replenished with Russian musicians, began active concert activity. The following year, the group’s second numbered album, “Bi-2,” was released, which included (but with a different order of tracks and design) songs from the album “And the Ship Sails On.”
In 2000, Lyova Bi-2 starred in Alexey Balabanov’s film “Brother-2” in a cameo, and the group “Bi-2” took part in creating the soundtrack for this film. The song “Nobody Writes to the Colonel,” sounded in this blockbuster, made the group famous. The group continued to release new albums, and by 2020 the number of its numbered albums reached ten[2].
On May 17, 2020, he was detained by Moscow police at a football match “on suspicion of possession of substances withdrawn from civilian circulation.” A bag of marijuana weighing 0.5 grams was seized from him. A day later, the court imposed a fine on Bortnik in the amount of 3,000 rubles for “violating the rules of behavior of spectators during official sports competitions” (Part 1 of Article 20.31 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation)[3].
Sometimes he calls himself the grandson of Arkady Aleksandrovich Kuleshov, a famous poet in Belarus[4].
Personal life of Leva BI-2
Egor-Igor-Leva Bortnik was married twice in his 41 years.
The musician’s first wife was Irina Makeeva. A year after the birth of their son, the young people decided to get married. Leva met his second wife, the tour manager of the Mumiy-Troll group, Asya Streicher (Melnik), on tour. This happened even before his marriage to Irina.
One day, having met by chance at a concert, Asya and Lyova realized that they could not live without each other. Irina, his legal wife, became aware of her husband’s infidelity. Ira, as an eccentric woman, threw a huge scandal at the “infidel”, after which Lyova had to leave the family and live with a new lover in a rented apartment in the center of Moscow. In 2005, there was an official break between Irina and Lyova.
Leva BI-2 with his second wife Asya Streicher (Melnik)
In order to somehow escape from personal problems, Lyova and his new wife Asya went to Israel. On January 8, 2008, they had a baby with the unusual name Aviv, which means “Spring” in Hebrew. And in August 2010, their second son, David, was born.
Last September, the relationship between Leva and Asya began to crack, and the woman even filed a lawsuit for Leva’s failure to pay alimony for their two children together. The wife stated that she and her husband do not live together.
But it seems that family relations are currently improving. Spouses are increasingly seen together not far from the house where Lyova Bortnik has recently been living.
Personal life[edit | edit code]
- Father - Bortnik Mikhail Vasilyevich (1943-2010), candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, associate professor, teacher of thermodynamics and statistical physics at the Faculty of Radiophysics and Electronics of the Belarusian State University [5].
- Mother - Bortnik Natalya Fedorovna.
- First wife - Irina Makeeva. son Fedor (born 2002).
- son Aviv (born January 8, 2008).
The lead singer of the group “Bi-2” surprised fans with an erotic photo
This year the rock group “Bi-2” will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Leva Bi-2
(Egor Bortnik) and
Shura Bi-2
(Alexander Uman) met as schoolchildren and created the band “Brothers in Arms” in 1988, which a year later received its current name.
Leva Bi-2 shares on Instagram photographs from walks, rehearsals and concerts, everyday sketches and family photos. Recently, the musician changed his habit and published a black and white frame on his blog, which shows him naked to the waist, wearing skinny jeans.
The artist accompanied the photo with an explanation: “Saratov. Late morning… Warm-up before the concert.” In the photo, Leva leaned back, gracefully waving his arms and freezing in the “signature” pose of the soloists of the Bi-2 group.
View this post on Instagram
#Saratov. Late morning... Warm-up before the concert. Erotic-drama photographer @ittalia
A post shared by Leva Bi-2 (@levab2) on Mar 12, 2020 at 7:26am PDT
The musician’s fans reacted emotionally to the original shot: “This is FIRE!”, “Cosmic photography”, “Ballet!”, “Divine photo”, “Graceful”, “Bravo to the model and photographer!”, “Black Swan”, “Looks like a still from the film, as if struck by a shot. Very beautiful".
Commentators noted the overt eroticism of the photo: “Disgracefully sexy,” “Too hot,” “You can’t be so godlessly beautiful,” “The whole sexuality of the universe is concentrated in this man.”
Many Internet users, without losing their sense of humor, admired the musician’s figure and masterful control of the body: “Beauty, grace, sophistication,” “What plasticity,” “That feeling when Leva is thinner than you,” “Egor Mikhalych, you are beautiful,” “The most charismatic”, “Apollo”, “And then all the Saratov housewives collapsed in front of their phone screens from the beauty” (the authors’ spelling and punctuation have been preserved. - Ed.).
View this post on Instagram
#ifnotcat #everfeni #fenderstrakotaster Photo: @asjab2
A post shared by Leva Bi-2 (@levab2) on Feb 10, 2020 at 10:15am PST
Leva B-2 was born in Minsk. Having moved to Israel for Shura, where he lived for six years, the artist served in the army, then worked as a stonemason, builder, computer designer, and even washed chicken cages of droppings at a poultry farm. In Australia, the musician renovated apartments and rehearsed with Shura in the evenings.
The group "Bi-2" gained all-Russian fame thanks to the soundtracks to the film "Brother-2". After the release of the film, the artists woke up famous, and the song “Nobody Writes to the Colonel” occupied the top lines of the charts for a long time. In 2020, the group recorded their tenth album, Event Horizon.
Leva Bi-2 has a 16-year-old son, Fedor, from his first marriage to Irina Makeeva. In October 2009, the musician married former tour manager of the Mumiy Troll group Asya Streicher. The couple are raising two sons: ten-year-old Aviv and seven-year-old David.
View this post on Instagram
#not lost in silver #Christmas treebi2 Thank you @fantazeriya.ru for the fun children's party! Photo: @antonina_kirnos
A post shared by Leva Bi-2 (@levab2) on Dec 27, 2020 at 2:21pm PST
Leva Bi-2 with his wife Asya Streicher and sons Aviv and David
On this topic: The soloists of the group Bi-2 sent a package to the South Pole
Photo: @levab2 @ittalia
