“Kamenskaya”: what happened to the actors of the cult series

Biography

Andrey Ilyin is a pseudonym. The writer, whose real name is Andrei Aleksandrovich Ilyichev, signs some of his books with the name I. Andreev. He was born in Zlatoust in the Chelyabinsk region in 1956.

In his hometown he graduated from 8 classes of high school, and received his matriculation certificate in Chelyabinsk at school No. 58. He began his working career at a watch factory in Chelyabinsk, then studied at the local state academy of culture and art. He served in the army: he was assigned as a librarian to a construction battalion.

Cast

Survival practice

Returning to civilian life, Andrei Ilyin became interested in survivalism. This movement originated in the United States during the Cold War. The first book devoted to survival in extreme conditions is considered to be Howard Ruff's manual “Hunger and Survival in America,” which appeared in connection with the oil crisis in 1973.

As a rule, all survivalists have their own “alarm kit”, which includes signaling equipment, medicines, tents, navigation devices, water purifiers, food and water supplies, and special clothing.

In some cases, they build special shelters like bunkers. When Andrei Ilyin became interested in this subculture, he began organizing survival experiments, as well as research expeditions. From his own experience, he experienced how to exist in the open sea, tundra, winter taiga, desert, making a long journey without water.

He set several extreme temperature “records” for himself. For example, he crossed the Karakum desert at a temperature of +51 degrees in the shade, and remained in the taiga at -52.

In the Caspian Sea, Ilyin was caught in a hurricane when the wave height reached 11 meters and the wind speed was 35 meters per second.

Publications

Based on the results of his expeditions, he wrote about 100 popular and scientific articles on the topics of self-rescue and survival in extreme conditions. They were published in highly specialized magazines and central publications.

It should be noted that Ilyin carefully and scrupulously approached this work, collaborating with the KGB, the Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine, and the Ministry of Geology of the Soviet Union.

In various media, he led author sections devoted to self-rescue and survival in a variety of conditions. The writer Andrei Ilyin gained fame from several books on the topic of survival. Among them it is worth noting:

• "Encyclopedia of survival in extreme conditions."
• "The Great Encyclopedia of Survival."
• series of books “School of Survival”.
• "Encyclopedia of Urban Survival."

Many of them have been reprinted several times. In addition, he writes books on “social survival.” These are already popular science publications that are quickly gaining popularity among readers. For example, Andrei Ilyin’s book “A Practical Guide to Hunting Men” has now been republished more than 20 times. Also among his works in this area are “Bitch from A to Z”, “How to survive in an economic crisis”, “Secret Guide for Women”.

Olya

He was afraid of being stuck in one image - a good, soft guy. But the directors saw a completely different potential. Ilyin played a professional thief in “Turkish March”, a killer in “The Estate” and Prince Golitsyn in “Satisfaction”. In the mid-2000s, Ilyin also became a surgeon in the now famous “Moscow Saga”.

My professional life changed, and my personal life changed too. He and Sasha broke up a long time ago, and he didn’t start new novels for a long time. Until one day he admitted to the press that he was married to a swimming coach named Olga. For a long time, the new wife had only a positive image, until it just as suddenly turned out that Ilyin was getting a divorce.

Extreme travel

Conducting experiments on survival in extreme conditions, the hero of our article repeatedly went on risky journeys. For example, he made autonomous voyages on life rafts across the seas, thousand-kilometer marathons on a bicycle, and autonomous voyages on sailing catamarans.

In the summer, during peak hours, I crossed the Kyzylkum and Karakum deserts, the Big Barsuki sands, and the Ust-Urt plateau by bicycle. Moreover, he set out across the Karakum Desert without water reserves, providing himself with it on the spot, evaporating it from urine and plants.

He became famous for repeating the routes of the ancient Pomors and Novgorodians on a sailing boat, which he built in full accordance with the technologies of the 11th-12th centuries.

He set out on autonomous voyages on replicas of ancient ships in the Barents and White Seas, trying to bring his equipment as close as possible to the realities of those years. For example, I did not use any insurance, modern equipment, or navigation systems.

Literary activity

Reading all of Andrei Ilyin’s books in order, you will come across the fact that he wrote many detective novels. To date, more than two dozen works have been published with a total circulation of more than six million copies. The writer was repeatedly included in the top five authors of the detective genre in the country.

Among these novels it is worth noting:

• "The Perfect Legend"
• "Closet Killer"
• "The sovereign's people."
• "Nine Little Indians"
• "Trump Shooter."
• "Trap for Heroes";
• "Federal spy."
• "The third terrorist."

They say that the circulation of one of his detective novels was suspended. Allegedly, this happened due to the fact that it was impossible to widely publicize the methods of work of the intelligence services. At the same time, it is unknown how real this story is, since the organization that appeared in the novel was never recognized by any of the domestic intelligence services. So it is likely that this was nothing more than a PR stunt on the eve of the publication of his next work.

Ilyin himself, talking about his literary work, notes that he prefers to put heroes in the most difficult conditions, creating in the reader the impression of an absolutely hopeless and hopeless situation. Then he begins to lead the character out of this hell, using not so much weapons and physical abilities, but the ability to get out of the most incredible situations, non-standard thinking and intelligence.

Ilyin considers his hero to be something between Ostap Bender and James Bond.

Andrey Ilyin: “I was approved for the role of Kamenskaya’s husband in 11 seconds”

This year the series “Kamenskaya” turned 20 years old. The day before, famous actor Andrei Ilyin came to Nizhny Novgorod. In the series, he played the role of Anastasia Kamenskaya’s husband Alexei Chistyakov. Our famous fellow countryman told how he got on the set of the series and how the role of Chistyakov changed his life.

“Marinina based this image on her husband”

– Andrey Epifanovich, the series “Kamenskaya” is 20 years old. In the film you played the role of Anastasia Kamenskaya’s husband Chistyakov. Two decades later, how do you feel about this role?

– Honestly, I didn’t even think that 20 years had already passed. The series was filmed in 1998. And it came out on screens in 1999. I take this role with gratitude. She brought me fame and helped me gain recognition.

— Do you remember how you ended up in this series? Was it a casting or were you immediately approved for the role?

“They told me later that I was approved for this role in 11 seconds.” Everything was simple. A team of like-minded people, led by producer Valery Todorovsky, gathered, and they approved me. Maybe later my candidacy had to be approved by the higher management of the Rossiya TV channel, I don’t know. But they approved me very quickly.

I know there were great difficulties with Elena Yakovleva. She had a lot of work in the theater. At first she refused. Then they finally persuaded her to act.

– How easy was it for you to work with Elena Yakovleva on the same set?

- Absolutely. She is an amazingly flexible actress. A good partner. Unpredictable. You don't know what to expect from her. She's organic. It's very simple and easy with her.

– This series became a springboard for Dmitry Nagiyev.

- In a certain sense, yes. Although he was then filming the film “Purgatory”. He had the shows “Windows” and “Caution, Modern”.

I remember in one of the seasons he asked for time off. He had more interesting projects. Then he returned. In general, the first three seasons created an amazing team.

– What are the similarities and differences between you and your hero?

“He and I are good people.” People are inquisitive. He is a mathematician. It’s easier for me to talk about Chistyakov than about myself. I don't like to talk about myself.

Chistyakov is saved by his incredible love for Kamenskaya, which allows her to forgive a lot. In everyday life she is an unbearable person. And he is responsible for her life, for life outside Petrovka.

I know Marinina based this image on her husband. It is quite possible that she saw herself in Kamenskaya.

– Did love save you?

— Love is a life-giving fire, thanks to which we all live, achieve something, and for the sake of which we exist. Without love it would be boring and orphaned.

– Chistyakov is an exemplary family man, but can you be called one?

- Don't know. I'll have to ask my wife. It is unlikely that I am an exemplary family man.

I will gladly wash the dishes and do something around the house, but sometimes I like solitude and solitude. I'm not very emotional in real life.

"Vow of silence"

The most famous detective work of Andrei Ilyin is “Vow of Silence.” This is a series consisting of more than a dozen books. This is an amazing work that begins with the main character being forced to watch his own funeral.

Having survived such an experience, he will have to renounce the present, past and future, learn to look death in the eyes and kill in cold blood. The character of the novel Ilyin is left without a family, a name, without even the opportunity to choose anything other than a method that will help him survive. All this leads to the fact that the most ordinary, average guy becomes practically a superhero, capable of single-handedly resisting the organized crime raging in Russia.

In the “Vow of Silence” series by Andrei Ilyin, all the books are worth reading, especially if you were captivated by the very first novel. Here is a list of other works included in this cycle:

• "Resident Mask"
• "Sabotage".
• "Game to death."
• "Explosive Master"
• "Inspector 007".
• "Fighter of the invisible front."
• "Mission Possible".
• "Shadow of the office."
• "Oil painting."

Art projects and charity activities

In addition to actively pursuing creativity, Ilyin devotes a lot of time to implementing cultural and charitable projects. For example, the Art-Incognoto gallery has been opened in Berlin, which he curates. There is also a branch in Budapest. The gallery hosts plein airs by Russian and European artists and organizes exhibitions.

Several creative art projects have already taken place in Europe at the instigation of Ilyin. For example, an exhibition at Berlin's main station Hauptbahnhof, an art presentation at Parliament Square in Budapest.

He has already organized several dozen exhibitions in Moscow, Crimea, Belarus, and million-plus cities of the Russian Federation. In particular, he initiated and held such high-profile art events as “Art Marches”, “Art Nights”, “Street Modular Exhibitions”.

Ilyin regularly provides psychological assistance to people who find themselves in difficult life situations; his consultations are mostly free. In addition, he is the author of the “MZhK-Reboot” project. This is a Youth Housing Cooperative, which is designed to continue the traditions of the Soviet organizations of the same name, providing young people with free housing.

Theater and film actor

If you look for information about a person with that name, you will definitely come across the popular theater and film actor, Honored Artist of Russia Andrei Epifanovich Ilyin.

Now he is 58 years old, he is a graduate of the Gorky Theater School. He worked at the Riga Russian Drama Theater, then at the Mossovet Theater and the Chekhov Moscow Art Institute. Currently, he continues to perform in several metropolitan theater studios.

Andrei Ilyin played several dozen roles in films. His debut on the big screen took place in 1981 in the detective story by Ada Neretniets “The investigation has established”, playing the role of a young taxi driver Valery.

Ilyin came to fame after the role of Lesha Chistyakov, the husband of the main character of the domestic detective series “Kamenskaya”.

Interesting facts related to career takeoff

• 1999 was a landmark year, because then true fame finally came, which was brought by the character Leshka Chistyakov, played in the detective series “Kamenskaya”. The actor didn't have many scenes, but he played the role in such a way that it turned out to be very memorable. When subsequent seasons were filmed, the directors paid more attention to this character. He is caring, patient and understanding. Alexey is an excellent husband, whom the audience immediately fell in love with.
• There was a risk that now Ilyin would be offered only positive characters, but, fortunately, this did not happen. He was offered various roles. He had to play a thief, and Prince Golitsyn, and a killer.
• The actor's talent allowed him to get used to diverse characters. He starred in more than a hundred films. His creative activity does not fade even now.

The filmography of this talented person includes more than a hundred works. More recently, he played the main role in the film “Between the Notes, or the Tantric Symphony,” a scientist in “The Eldest Daughter,” and a grave doctor in the film “The Alchemist. Elixir of Faust", deputy chief of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate in "Police Major", lawyer in "Bad Blood", Pavel Sergeevich in "Vasilisa", official in "The Cure for Death", KGB representative in "Once Upon a Time in Rostov", professor of psychology in "Without Witnesses" , Boris in “Revelations”, the tuner in “Love Comes Not Alone”, the curator in “Lecturer”, the main role of Andrey in “The Completeness Complex” and much more.

The actor has proven that his gift is worthy of serious work, which he undertakes with responsibility and performs with high quality. Despite the obstacles that came his way, he overcame them and won a strong position among the famous actors of Russian cinema.

Family

Andrei Ilyin’s personal life is very busy. The first time he married Lyudmila Voroshilova, associate professor of the acting department of the Shchukin School, was in 1983.

In 1992, they divorced, after which the actor lived in a civil marriage with Alexandra Tabakova for 8 years. His second official wife was swimming coach Olga. The couple separated in 2005.

Since 2010, he has been living in a civil marriage with Inga Rutkevich, who works as a television editor. A few years ago their son Tikhon was born.

Stars from A to Z

Today, in relation to this person, epithets are heard as a matter of course: talented, original, bright individuality. But initially in the Ilyin family, where the father is a driver and the mother is a supply manager, no one predicted the fame of an actor for their son. Andrei Ilyin, whose biography began in 1960 in Gorky, simply loved literature lessons most of all at school.

Gradually, this hobby led the boy to the school drama club, and after finishing 8th grade to the Gorky Theater School, from where Andrei Ilyin graduated as an actor in 1979. Personal life cannot be said to have not worked out, but, oddly enough, Ilyin found a family only in a civil marriage with television editor Inga Rutkevich.

This happened in 2010, when the accomplished actor had already turned 50. And at the age of 53, his son Tikhon was born. Among Andrei Ilyin’s many film roles there is a thief, a prince, and a killer, but, perhaps, it is not without reason that it was the role of Alexei Chistyakov in “Kamenskaya” that brought him fame.

There is an opinion among film fans that this image turned out to be the most successful because in life Andrei is so calm, balanced, and caring. In a word, an ideal family man. It is possible that this is also why the relationships in his previous marriages did not work out.

For the first time in 1983, Andrei Ilyin walked down the aisle with Lyudmila Voroshilova. The actor and his wife were both from a theatrical background. The acquaintance occurred after graduating from theater school, when Ilyin was sent to the Riga Russian Drama Theater. They crossed paths several times on stage, when, after a series of children's performances, the young actor began to be trusted with more serious roles.

However, Voroshilova was older, and at the time of her marriage she was already an assistant professor in the acting department at the Shchukin Institute. Communication on equal terms did not work out and this union lasted only 9 years.

In the 80s, the actor was more involved in the theater. After working in an educational short film, for 9 long years I had to be content with minor roles in films that went unnoticed by the viewer. And even filming Ilyin next to the star names Farada and Dzhigarkhanyan in “Constellation Kozlotur” did not bring success.

The 90s were just as difficult for Andrei Ilyin as they were for many in the theatrical environment. The people had no time for art, and even the most persistent and talented actors sank to the bottom, feeling that they were not in demand.

The actor worked as a taxi driver during this period. But despite this, in the first half of the 90s, about 8 films were shot with his participation. Of particular significance was the work with director Pyotr Todorovsky in the film “Anchor, more Anchor!” After that, he was invited to another film by the same director, “What a Wonderful Game.”

And by the end of the 90s, “Kamenskaya” followed. Because the series ran for a long time, Ilyin risked staying in the image of a positive hero for a long time. But fortunately this did not happen, and the actor proved his versatility by starring in “Turkish March”, “Satisfaction” and “Estate”.

As for the theater, since 1989, after 10 years of faithful service to Rizhsky, Ilyin moved to the Mossovet Theater, where he worked until 2000. After that there was the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov, the Bezrukov Theater, many theatrical agencies with which the actor collaborated under a hiring agreement when he needed to somehow survive.

The most difficult years included a difficult civil marriage with the daughter of Oleg Tabakov, who demanded too much from Andrei and constantly reproached him for his lack of enterprise and inability to provide for the woman he loved. And yet, after 8 years of such an unsuccessful family life, Ilyin found the strength to marry again. And this time it’s official. His companion was a swimming coach.

Ilyin never “washed dirty linen in public,” so many friends were shocked by the actor’s latest divorce. The next woman with whom he decided to have a close relationship appeared in Andrei Ilyin’s life 5 years later - Inga. I would like to believe that this union will be happy and long for the artist.

Today, Ilyin’s filmography includes about a hundred diverse works and even more roles in the theater. In 1993, the actor received the honorary title “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation”, and in 2011 - the Order for Merit in the Development of Culture and Art. He is full of strength and creative energy, so he recalls with a smile those years when thoughts about ending his acting career appeared.