Victor Merezhko: I almost died from a love spell. And the healer saved me

Biography

70 films have been shot based on scripts written by Viktor Merezhko. The paintings “Citizen Nikanorova is Waiting for You,” “Relatives,” “Flying in Dreams and in Reality,” “Applause, Applause...” have become iconic.

Merezhko also became successful as a director, having directed 11 films and TV series based on his own scripts. The most beloved films by TV viewers in the post-Soviet space are “Loneliness of Love”, “Sonka the Golden Hand”, “Wanted”, “Farmer”. He also appeared in many films as an actor. The master gave the children 12 wonderful cartoons.

Director, actor and writer Viktor Merezhko

17 plays appeared from the pen of the writer Viktor Ivanovich Merezhko. People read his books. Merezhko is a member of the Writers' Union, a TV presenter, and since 2014, People's Artist of the Russian Federation.

In the post-Soviet period

In the early nineties, during the crisis of the general collapse, domestic cinema also experienced difficult times. Few films were made, and Hollywood products dominated the screens. The new Russian cinema was faced with the task of finding ways out of the current difficult situation. New formats were needed to meet the requirements of the time. First of all, television series became such a format.

Film playwright Viktor Merezhko is the author of two significant works in this direction. These are the crime series “Mole” and “Sonka the Golden Hand”. In addition, since the early nineties, the playwright himself often appears in films based on his own scripts in supporting roles. In addition, Viktor Merezhko is the author and director of several projects on central television. Publishes books with theatrical plays and scripts.

Since the mid-nineties, he has headed the management of television. In 2014, Viktor Merezhko was awarded the honorary title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation. And in no way is he going to stop there. Currently, the writer has several projects on his desk that will eventually turn into new films on the big screen and television.

Childhood and youth

In his youth and youth, the future artist, director and playwright experienced so much that there was plenty of material for creating books and films. The biography of Viktor Merezhko is a ready-made film script in which all genres merged together. Merezhko was born in the summer of 1937 in the Rostov region, on the Olginfeld farmstead, a former German colony, despite the fact that he was Russian by nationality. His parents had nothing to do with any type of art, but, according to the stories of Viktor Merezhko, his father is a bright character in the folk epic, from whom one can paint canvases about the prowess, breadth and depth of the Russian soul.

Victor Merezhko in his youth

Ivan Merezhko was in charge of the milk distillation separator station, and my mother worked under his leadership. Having survived the war, they lived in extreme poverty until 1952. The family, which raised four children, was starving. Growing up, Victor mastered playing the accordion, his father’s war trophy, and collected alms by playing “Gypsy Girl” on the street. On the advice of a relative, they moved to a more “well-fed” Ukraine, staying in the village of Russkaya Polyana near Cherkassy. The children learned Ukrainian at a local school and after receiving their certificates, they scattered in all directions.

Victor Merezhko, who fell in love with cinema from his early youth, came to Kyiv. But he could not enter the faculty of film engineering, having failed the exams at the polytechnic university. He returned to the village, worked as a woodcutter and went to work in Arkhangelsk. From there in 1956 he arrived in Lvov, where his uncle invited him to study. I entered the Printing Institute, where the competition was small. In a Western Ukrainian city, Victor saw the filming of the film “Gadfly” and finally decided on his choice of profession: only cinema.

Victor Merezhko

In 1961, Viktor Merezhko was awarded a diploma as a process engineer and assigned to the Rostov region. Merezhko worked at the Molot publishing house, but did not stop dreaming about cinema. After meeting members of an amateur film studio in Rostov, Victor wrote the first scripts. In 1964 he entered the Moscow VGIK, having overcome a huge competition. After studying in the workshop of Alexei Speshnev and Ilya Weisfeld, Viktor Merezhko became a certified director.

Biography facts

The future playwright, actor and director Viktor Merezhko was born in 1937 in the Rostov region. He was born into a family of modest rural servants who for a long time teetered on the brink of poverty. The path to the profession was not very close for Victor. He changed several specialties and places of work, graduated from the Printing Faculty in the city of Lvov, before in 1964 he entered the screenwriting department of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography.

Viktor Merezhko was able to feel the taste of his first significant professional success even before completing his education - the first film based on his script was put into production when its author was only a second-year student. It would seem that wonderful prospects are opening up ahead.

Movies

The capital’s film studios were in no hurry to hire yesterday’s student, although in 1967, Mosfilm made the film “Grooms of Zarechensk” based on the script of sophomore Viktor Merezhko. Success came to the aspiring director in 1972, when Lenfilm filmed the acclaimed film “Hello and Farewell” based on Merezhko’s script. The career of a screenwriter and director took off rapidly.

Still from Viktor Merezhko’s film “Hello and Farewell”

In the 1970s, Viktor Ivanovich’s scripts were used to make films that are now called cult films. In 1976, Sergei Nikonenko directed the tragicomedy “Tryn-grass”, in which he played the main role. The following year, the drama “Squag” by Grigory Chukhrai with Nonna Mordyukova in the title role was released. Viewers saw the melodramas “Citizen Nikanorova is Waiting for You” and “When Leaving, Go Away” in 1978.

Filming of the film “Kinfolk” based on the script by Viktor Merezhko

The 1980s were the career peak of Viktor Merezhko. The premiere of the poignant tragicomedy “Kinfolk” took place, the main roles in which went to Nonna Mordyukova and Svetlana Kryuchkova. The film was shot by Nikita Mikhalkov. The following year, 1982, Roman Balayan’s melodrama “Flights in Dreams and in Reality” with Oleg Yankovsky and Lyudmila Gurchenko in key roles was released. The film about the midlife crisis entered the “golden fund” of Soviet cinema.

The same “golden fund” included the musical film “Applause, applause...”, in which the main character was played by the brilliant Lyudmila Gurchenko. The film stars Oleg Tabakov, Olga Volkova, Alexander Filippenko and Alexander Shirvindt. In the second half of the 1980s, based on the scripts of Viktor Merezhko, the films “A Lonely Woman Wants to Meet” and “Fun of the Young” were shot.

Lyudmila Gurchenko in Viktor Merezhko’s film “Applause, applause...”

In the mid-turbulent 90s, in collaboration with Andrei Konchalovsky, Viktor Merezhko wrote the script for the film parable “Ryaba Hen,” directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. The main characters of the film were played by Inna Churikova and Viktor Mikhailov. In the early 2000s, television viewers watched the detective series “The Mole,” directed by Ernest Yasan and written by Merezhko.

Viktor Merezhko in the TV series "Mole"

The premiere took place on the Ukrainian TV channel “1+1” in the summer of 2001, and in October the film was seen by Russians on the TV-6 channel.

Playwright Viktor Merezhko’s plays “Proletarian Mill of Happiness”, “Night Fun” and “Women’s Table in the Hunting Hall” were staged by Russian and Ukrainian theaters. From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, viewers recognized Merezhko as a TV presenter: he hosted the popular program “Kinopanorama”. Later on TV-6 Moscow he became the host of the “My Cinema” program.

Victor Merezhko on the set

In the 1990s, Viktor Merezhko appeared on screen as an actor. He starred in the films "Racket", "Wild Beach", "Three Women and a Man" and "The Mole". In the early 2000s, the series “Provincials” was released based on the script by Merezhko, in which he himself played the key character.

The most striking directorial projects of Viktor Merezhko appeared in the 2000s. In 2004, the musical comedy “New Year's Men” was released, the main characters of which were played by Mikhail Boyarsky, Anatoly Vasiliev and Valery Garkalin.

In 2007, viewers watched the series “Sonka the Golden Hand”. The film was shot by Merezhko from his own script. The main role of Sonya in the film was played by the young actress Anastasia Mikulchina, whom the director discovered to cinema. Later, the artist played in the drama “White Night, Tender Night” and the continuation of the series “Sonka the Golden Hand. Continuation of the legend”, where Viktor Merezhko also appeared in the role of the crime boss Mamai.

Victor Merezhko and Anastasia Mikulchina

In 2020, Merezhko delighted viewers with several projects as a screenwriter. In collaboration with his son Ivan, the playwright took part in the creation of the melodrama “Find a Husband for Daria Klimova,” the main characters of which were played by Ekaterina Guseva, Maxim Leonidov, Nikolai Fomenko. Merezhko authored the script for the series “Loneliness” and the social drama “Next to Us,” co-authored and directed by Alexander Novopashin.

Victor Merezhko and Irina Shevchuk

Merezhko is the author of the books “Underground Passage”, “Mole. A saga about crime", "Grandfather Ivan and Sanka", "The Candidate". The screenwriter is the president of the Kinoshock festival, which takes place on the Black Sea coast. Together with the general director of the event, actress Irina Shevchuk, in 2012 Merezhko became an honorary citizen of the resort city of Anapa.

Vladimir Putin and Viktor Merezhko

In 2014, People's Artist of the Russian Federation Viktor Merezhko supported the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Crimea and Ukraine, expressing in an interview the opinion that the United States of America has set the task of creating a quarrel between the Russian and Ukrainian peoples. For visiting Crimea in the summer of 2020, the filmmaker was included in the “Peacemaker” database.

Viktor Merezhko spoke about his personal life after the death of his wife

“Citizen Nikanorova is waiting for you”, “A lonely woman wants to meet you”, “Flights in dreams and in reality”... Why does the Russian screenwriter, actor and director Viktor Ivanovich Merezhko, who has more than 60 films to his credit, not have any film awards? For what reason did a wonderful family man who raised two children never marry after the death of his wife? Why does the favorite of women prefer to be single for 17 years? How, given his openness, did Viktor Ivanovich manage to remain unsolved? We asked to visit Merezhko to get answers to these questions.

He met me at the elevator, tall, fit, smiling. The studio on the 17th floor is cozy and clean, every thing has its own place. “There were probably Germans in my family,” the famous director jokes about his neatness. He usually makes tea and treats me to sweets. An open look, a trusting voice, you simply can’t help but fall in love with him.

– Viktor Ivanovich, many women would be glad to be with you. Why are you alone?

- Because I have two children. These are firstly, secondly, fifthly and tenthly. I became a widower 17 years ago and then I promised Masha and Vanya that they would not have a stepmother. I'm not saying that I devoted my whole life to children, this is such an absolute animal need. Where did I get it from, who am I? It seems that my grandfather Efim Petrovich Goncharov, a blacksmith by vocation, loved his children very much. Probably the same as me. I didn’t marry because I understood: they would take me away from my children, because instead of paying attention to my son and daughter, I would devote time to my woman. Because any serious relationship involves a waste of time. And I don't have much of it. I understand that this is probably a terrible pragmatism that I have made my way of life.

Victor Merezhko with his daughter Masha /

– But still, after the death of your wife, you had a serious relationship.

– Yes, I had one affair that lasted three years. We met by chance, at night, my friend and I were walking from the House of Cinema restaurant and in the Mayakovka area I noticed a beautiful girl. She broke her heel and walked with a limp. It was, in my opinion, from May 8 to 9, you see, I even remember, because the next day was Victory Day. And I, as they say, glued it together, hooked it up. She was 25 years old. Being young, of course, is also one of the shortcomings. I'm not afraid of age and don't even know how old I am. I don't have a complex. After all, a man is only as old as he looks, and a woman is only as old as she can feel. Well, here we are. She was a very strong girl, strong-willed, tough, sometimes cruel, incredibly jealous and an absolute owner, like all representatives of the fair half. After all, if a woman took a toy, and a man is perhaps her most important toy, then she will not let him go. Even if she's smart. She takes: “Mine!” That's all! Sit down and keep your head down. And for three years I sat, but there were still scandals, I was exhausted by her endless jealousy, it became unbearably tiring, it began to interfere with my life. Her uneven attitude towards my children was also against her; the girl did not understand, and did not want to understand, that a widower’s children were already half-orphans who had lost their mother. And you can’t deprive them of their father. Moreover, Vanya and Masha greeted her well; Mashenka, out of respect for me, wanted to make friends with her so that she could see my attitude towards her. But nothing came of it. We didn't live together. She came, spent the night in the apartment, then left. I always knew that if a woman is allowed to hang even one blouse in her closet, then in a week not a single one of your clothes will be left there. Therefore, I understood that if she began to live here, then I would have to leave. She wanted a child, but I had doubts about this. It would be possible. But she was too aggressive about it, rejecting my children. And for me this is unacceptable. Then Masha and Vanya came to me together and reminded me that I had promised them after Tamara’s funeral, and asked: “Father, please.” My girlfriend and I broke up and didn’t communicate anymore. I have such a character that I rarely return to past places. Director Gennady Shpalikov has the right lines:

"Unfortunately or fortunately,

The truth is simple:

Never come back

To the same places."

And I prefer it this way, I’m done and that’s it. It was painfully difficult, probably three months. It was very difficult, I often wanted to call. The only thing that held me back was that she might falter. She's stronger than me, and if I call, I'll hate myself. I will turn out to be weak and insignificant, and then in her mind she can do anything to me, trample under her feet... I could not allow this.

Victor Merezhko with his wife and mother /

Masha and Vanya have grown up. What is your relationship with your children?

– Now we have an amazing family. For friendship, sincerity, penetration and help to each other, God grant such relationships to every family. Sometimes I dream about my wife Tamara, surprisingly, but she is always dissatisfied with something, for some reason she scolds me all the time. I don’t remember why, but the complaints were: “Why are you standing there like that? Why did you dress like that?” But this is in a dream, but in life my daughter is watching me, sometimes she scolds me for wearing the wrong thing, walking the wrong way, slouching. Mashenka knows my taste and buys me something. You know, since I was left alone as a man, I realized, sorry, this will be cynical, but there is one advantage in this. I don’t deny anything to the children, neither Vanya nor Masha, I earn money, and we have no idea whose money it is. Vanya and Masha can come up and take the required amount. As much money as there is, it is ours. I realized one advantage is that if you are alone, you can buy yourself any thing without being greedy. Buy for yourself or for children. You don’t think about the fact that your girlfriend, a woman, has had a fur coat for three years and she wants to change it. Or boots or shoes.

She only has five pairs of shoes, but she wants five more. It doesn't bother me anymore, you know? This is not out of greed, but because this care and money does not need to be shared with someone else. You manage your time. Children give me this opportunity. In this sense, I even became selfish, excluding children and work. If I don't feel like going somewhere, I will find a thousand reasons not to go. Recently, one fairly young girl sent me an SMS: “The weather is so wonderful, maybe we can meet and take a walk near the Novodevichy Convent?” It was seven o’clock in the evening, I imagined that I was crawling out of the studio, getting into the car, driving and we were walking near the monastery. I was so sad. Well, why am I going to walk there? I don't want to! I wrote that it was already late and I was leaving for St. Petersburg. I have a wonderful excuse: if I don’t want to meet someone or go somewhere, I say that I’m leaving for St. Petersburg, and in St. Petersburg, that I’m leaving for Moscow. When I don’t want to go to a television program, I lie, I generally lie often.

Son of Viktor Merezhko /

– Viktor Ivanovich, tell us about Masha and Vanya.

– Masha is now engaged in an Internet project that is related to the field of cinema, theater, and show business. She graduated from VGIK, worked on television, starred in the films “Sorry”, “Night Fun”, and she also had a leading role in the first Russian 160-episode film “Strawberry Cafe”. Then she hosted a music program on Rossiya for several months, but somehow it didn’t work out for her. She believes that she is not that talented. Understand, being Merezhko’s daughter is not easy. Unfortunately, there are many such actresses for whom they ask: “Well, take my daughter, cast her, please give her a role.” Mashenka is against such stories, she says: “Dad, I think that I am not so talented and bright as an actress to use your last name. I would take the surname of my grandmother, your mother, Goncharova.”

Vanya studied acting for two years, but he had a weak master, and a lot depends on the master. It is he who must make students fall in love with the profession. The son learned and said: “This is not mine! I don’t want to go with this master!” And he left GITIS. I literally dragged him into the cinema when I launched my first directorial film, “New Year’s Men”: “You will be an assistant director.” And the director’s assistant is like a firecracker: a shot like this, a take like that. More often than not, this position is occupied by girls who don’t know anything yet, but he is a handsome, healthy guy, 190 cm tall. Understand, I couldn’t trust him with something serious; the profession needs to be mastered from the basics. At first Vanya was very complex, but he didn’t let me down - he worked. Then he decided to become a decorative artist and entered the institute. My son was a production designer for five films, and then launched his own film as a director based on my script. After all, it is better for a novice director to debut with good material. Now Vanya lives in St. Petersburg, he fell in love with this city at first sight when we filmed “Sonka” there. My son told me: “Dad, I like this city so much, I want to live here.” I tried to dissuade him, but he stood his ground. What to do here, even crack! So we bought him an apartment on Vasilievsky Island about six years ago.

– Well, now Ivan is 32 years old. He's already a grown man, isn't he going to get married?

– I won’t say that he is an adult, he is old enough. You know, men are children under 30 years old. I know this from myself. I was such a moron until I was 30, I was on my hands and feet, jumping and screaming. Well, he was an idiot. But my Tamara said: “I’m ashamed of you!” And she raised me. Here is Vanya: at 28 he was one person, and at 29 he became a completely different person. An incomprehensible change has occurred. But he is not going to get married yet, he had a semi-civil wife, but they separated. Of course I want to have grandchildren. Mashenka was actually married three times - it doesn’t work out yet. But we have no sadness about this. Masha even admitted that she wanted her husband to be like me. Vanya, apparently, is also subconsciously looking for a girl similar to Tamara. My wife was very beautiful, in my youth I courted her for many years. And after getting married, I never heard a word of reproach from her. Only: “Vitenka, Vitenka.” She may have felt something, but she never showed any jealousy. I didn’t have novels, sometimes I had frivolous hobbies. After all, the caramel period is six months after the wedding. And then... Well, how can you resist, the legs are beautiful, the shoulders, the back... Women like Tamara are difficult to find. My son hasn’t met one like this yet. I already told Vanya that I need to think about children, he replied: “Dad, I can’t take the first person I meet and drag her into the apartment to have children with her!”

– Viktor Ivanovich, aren’t you offended that you don’t have film awards? After all, you have done a lot for cinema, and the audience loves you.

- No, it’s not offensive. If you hadn't asked, I wouldn't have thought about it. Well, no and no. I think more about new films, I’m interested in writing, acting and filming, but I don’t think about whether I’ll be nominated or whether they’ll give me a prize for this. I simply don't have time for this.

Personal life

Merezhko has repeatedly confessed his love for women and does not hide the fact that he has many passionate affairs. The tall, stately director (his height is 182 cm, weight is 79 kg) has always attracted the attention of women. But Viktor Ivanovich was married once: his wife was a girl named Tamara Zakharova, who gave birth to the artist two children - daughter Maria and son Ivan. The beloved was 9 years younger than Victor and was known as the first beauty in the area. Merezhko sought her hand in marriage for several years.

Victor Merezhko with his wife and children

In the mid-90s, the playwright's family suffered grief. Victor's wife became seriously ill. Tamara Merezhko failed to cope with oncology and died of cancer in 1997. The couple lived together for almost 30 years. After the death of his wife, Viktor Merezhko never brought another woman into the house, keeping his promise to the children on the second day after his mother’s funeral.

The film director had his only romance after Tamara’s death in the mid-2000s. Merezhko dated for 3 years a girl much younger than himself. According to rumors, her name was Olga Markova, she worked as a model in the capital's agency.

Victor Merezhko with his daughter

Viktor Ivanovich’s daughter, Maria, tried her hand at cinema, she graduated from VGIK, starred in the films “Sorry”, “Night Fun”, worked on television, and now runs an Internet project related to Russian cinema. The son entered GITIS, but soon realized that the acting profession was not for him. Now Ivan has realized himself as a production designer and director, lives in St. Petersburg. Over time, the screenwriter himself moved there.

Viktor Merezhko was friends with Muse Krepkogorskaya and Georgy Yumatov

Viktor Ivanovich’s family was friendly with Georgy Yumatov and his wife Muza Krepkogorskaya. The famous artists did not have children of their own, but they remained cordial and hospitable hosts. It is interesting that after her death, Muza Viktorovna bequeathed her apartment to Masha Merezhko, her goddaughter.

Viktor Ivanovich leads a healthy lifestyle, drinks 2 glasses of water with honey in the morning. As Merezhko said in an interview, his colleague Grigory Chukhrai weaned him off breakfast.

Victor Merezhko

Merezhko regularly visits beauty salons, where he gets manicures, pedicures and a fashionable haircut, so in all the photos the director looks youthful. The maestro’s favorite procedure is visiting the solarium. His creative credo is not a day without a line.

His Tamara

Victor was truly in love once in his life. Victor Merezhko's future wife Tamara met him in Rostov. The future director ended up there after graduating from the Lviv Polytechnic Institute. At the time we met, the girl was only 16 years old. She was incredibly beautiful and had endless fans.

Victor tried in every way to win the girl’s heart, but she did not take his advances seriously. She had a boyfriend at that time, and Victor was not alone. Having failed to achieve the beauty’s favor, Merezhko left for Moscow to enroll in VGIK. Luck smiled on him, he became a student at this university. When the young people met for the second time, they realized that they wanted to be together and started dating.

Only three days passed from the moment of the second meeting to the wedding. The girl was fascinated by her admirer. Victor looked after Tamara beautifully. He sang serenades to her under the balcony, gave her flowers and was nearby. The girl did not hesitate for a second when her lover proposed marriage to her.

But Tamara’s parents opposed the lovers’ relationship. They were wealthy people and wanted to see a promising young man as their daughter's husband. But neither persuasion nor threats could influence Tamara. She was in love, and Victor was the best thing in the world for her. The parents had no choice but to consent to the marriage.

Victor and Tamara celebrated their wedding on a grand scale. The girl’s parents fully paid for the celebration, which took place in the best restaurant in Rostov. Victor's mother and father did not come to the wedding because they did not have the financial ability to give the newlyweds a wedding gift and they did not want their son to be embarrassed by them.

Victor Merezhko now

In the summer of 2020, the people's artist, director and screenwriter celebrated his 80th birthday, on which Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev congratulated him.

In 2020, Viktor Merezhko continued to work on the new film “We Didn’t Expect,” which he himself became the director and screenwriter. Filming began in St. Petersburg back in 2014, but for various reasons the process progressed slowly.

Filming of Viktor Merezhko’s film “We Didn’t Expect”

Oleg Basilashvili, Ivan Kolesnikov and Olga Khokhlova were invited to play the main roles. This drama is about a lonely musician, whose ancient mansion is claimed by an influential official. While the film is in production, its premiere is scheduled for 2020.

In the fall of 2020, Viktor Merezhko, who never complained about his health, was admitted to the Botkin Hospital with a suspected stroke. The director's attack began on the work site. At the clinic, Viktor Ivanovich received the necessary medical care. A blockage of a vessel by a blood clot was diagnosed, against which the crisis began. The playwright's health has stabilized, but he is still in rehabilitation. For medical procedures, he goes to the hospital for 1-2 days.

Viktor Merezhko in the program “The Fate of Man” in 2020

Despite the fact that the screenwriter is open to communication, he does not use Instagram or other social networks. In the fall of 2018, the next episode of Boris Korchevnikov’s program “The Fate of a Man” was released on television screens, the hero of which was Viktor Merezhko. In the studio, the director lifted the veil of secrecy over his personal life and talked about his relationship with his heirs.

Links[edit | edit code]

• Writers of Moscow: Bio-bibliographic reference book / Compiled by: E. P. Ionov, S. P. Kolov.— M.: Mosk. worker, 1987. - P. 294.
• Viktor Merezhko on the website cinema.ru
• Playwright and director Viktor Merezhko: “It seemed to the girl that she was ruling over me...” 07.26.07 Izvestia newspaper
• Victor Merezhko on the website animator.ru
• Viktor Merezhko in the “Human Resources Department” program on radio “Echo of Moscow”
• Victor Merezhko on the MerezhKino website"
• Victor Merezhko (unspecified)
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  Live
  . Retrieved September 20, 2020.

Filmography (screenwriter)

• 1977 — “Squag”
• 1978 - “Citizen Nikanorova is waiting for you”
• 1981 — “Kinfolk”
• 1982 — “Flying in dreams and in reality”
• 1984 - “Applause, applause...”
• 1986 - “A lonely woman wants to meet”
• 1987 — “Fun of the Young”
• 1992 — “Racket”
• 1994 — “Chicken Ryaba”
• 2001 — “Mole”
• 2002 — “Provincials”
• 2004 — “New Year’s Men”
• 2007 — “Sonka Golden Hand”
• 2013 — “Farmer”
• 2016 – “Find a husband for Daria Klimova”