“Her husband’s father froze Lenin, and she melted Paris,” one Western publication once wrote about the fashion model Regina Zbarskaya, hinting that her father-in-law was the same Zbarsky who embalmed the leader’s body.
There are many blank spots and myths in the biography of Regina Zbarskaya. Someone once identified her as the daughter of circus performers who died while performing a trick. In fact, who her parents were is unknown. It is also unknown why the “Soviet Sophia Loren,” as Regina was once called in Paris, traveled freely throughout Europe, when many of her colleagues were allowed to walk the streets of European capitals under the strict control of spies.
Student Regina Kolesnikova
It is impossible to say with certainty where the future “future queen of the catwalk” was born. According to one version, in Vologda. On the other hand, in Moscow. According to the third version, Regina Zbarskaya was born in the city on the Neva, in a family of circus performers. In any case, her year of birth is 1935. And in the early fifties, she certainly lived in the capital and studied at VGIK, but not at the acting department, as she dreamed, but at the economics department.
In the personal file of student Regina Nikolaevna Kolesnikova (the model's maiden name), there are not the most flattering remarks from teachers. Already in her second year, she began to miss lectures and seminars. However, I passed tests and exams on time.
Broken psyche and death
After the sensational scandal, irreversible processes began in Zbarskaya’s biography.
Photo of Zbarskaya after the mental hospital
Her broken psyche and the second betrayal completely undermined her already poor health.
She tried to commit suicide twice, but doctors managed to save her life in time. After each time, she underwent treatment in a mental hospital.
On November 15, 1987, Regina Nikolaevna Zbarskaya was found dead in her apartment.
Next to her lay empty packages of medical supplies, and in her palm was a telephone receiver. She was only 52 years old at the time of her death.
None of the colleagues came to say goodbye to the famous fashion model. Her body was cremated, and the burial place is still kept secret.
Failed actress
One day Regina realized that youth and beauty could open any doors for her. She began to spend a lot of time in the circle of future great directors, famous artists, fashionable writers and successful diplomats. At closed parties, where they not only discussed literature and art, but also demonstrated intricate items brought from the “decaying West,” the student discovered an unknown world.
Regina did not believe the slogans that statesmen uttered from the stands and the eloquent headlines from Soviet newspapers. I was frankly bored at Komsomol meetings. After graduating from university, she went to seek her happiness in the Mosfilm film studios. By that time, she had already learned to play her main trump card - the magical look of her large dark eyes.
True, it turned out that bewitching the lens of a movie camera is much more difficult than charming the spoiled son of a diplomat. Not a single frame of Regina Zbarskaya’s screen tests has been preserved in the archives of the film studio. Although in her filmography there is still one very small role in the little-known 1958 film “The Sailor from the Comet.”
The failed actress had a different path - once Regina was offered a job at the Model House on Kuznetsky Most. So from dull everyday life she found herself in the fairy-tale world of elegant, well-groomed ladies.
True masterpieces were created here, sometimes ahead of world trends. Behind these walls, a select few tried on what had not yet been mutilated by the planned indicators of domestic textile production.
At first, Regina believed that she had drawn a lucky lot. She had no idea what price she would have to pay for working on the podium. However, the first step has been taken. The golden mousetrap door slammed shut.
A few years later, an interview will appear in the Ogonyok magazine in which Regina Zbarskaya will recall her choice of profession like this:
I was angular, awkward, expressionless. I understood that, at best, I would act in episodes all my life. Working as a fashion model is a good school. I learned to move, control my body, wear luxurious suits and dresses.
The dream of millions of men
The girl, born on September 27, 1935 in Vologda, was given the unusual name Regina by her parents, Daria and Nikolai Kolesnikov. Perhaps it influenced her fate, because in translation from Latin Regina means “queen”. In 1953, a 17-year-old girl decided to enroll in the Faculty of Economics at VGIK. Of course, she dreamed of becoming an actress, but she soberly assessed her capabilities. In addition, Regina was best at exact sciences and foreign languages. Therefore, Kolesnikova entered economics without much difficulty. True, in her second year she began to skip classes often. The teachers were unhappy, but the girl did well in the sessions, so there was no question of expulsion. At that time, Regina already realized that her youth and beauty were a lucky ticket. And they must be used today and now. She tried not to miss parties attended by the capital's elite: directors, actors, diplomats... It must be said that the girl stood out not only for her beauty. Regina knew how to behave in society, could carry on any conversation, and spoke fluent English and French. After graduating from college, she became a frequent visitor to the Mosfilm film studios, hoping that, thanks to her European appearance, there would be a role for her in some film. However, the directors did not notice her. One day, Kolesnikova ended up auditioning for one of the main roles in Sergei Bondarchuk’s film “War and Peace.” They didn’t take her to film, but it was then that she met the artist and fashion designer Vera Ippolitovna Aralova. The meeting turned out to be fateful: Aralova invited the girl to work at the Model House on Kuznetsky Most. In the future, they were connected not only by work, but warm friendly relations arose between them.
The world of Soviet glamor
In the fifties, the image of a refined, mature woman reigned in the fashion world. The best fashion designers dressed her in silks and expensive furs. Humanity was in a hurry to forget the recent world war. But by the early sixties everything had changed. At least in the Union. Yuri Gagarin's space flight mixed up all the cards. Against the backdrop of frantic global scientific and technological competition, pomp in clothing began to look ridiculous.
The USSR was in the lead in the missile race. However, he did not keep up with the new fashion. Portraits of Yuri Gagarin were everywhere, and his photos became the hallmark of the Soviet Union. But Khrushchev needed symbols of earthly achievements.
Two years after Gagarin’s flight, Soviet fashion models from the All-Union Model House arrived in Paris. The world had to be shown that we can produce not only rockets.
The hour of Regina Zbarskaya struck on the podium.
She had an imperfect physique: her legs were crooked. But she knew how to present herself in such a way that her curvature worked for her. And this had a special charm.
Regina had many other positive and useful qualities. For example, she knew how to behave in society and spoke two foreign languages. In 1959, Regina Zbarskaya spoke on London radio. It became a sensation. The Russian model represents Soviet fashion in English.
Meanwhile, sudden popularity in the capitalist West brought Regina Zbarskaya not only pleasant sensations. Upon returning, it was said in plain text that for the opportunity to look again at the rich display cases, they would have to work back home, in a different field.
Biography
The biographical information of the famous fashion model is ambiguous. According to various sources, there are 2 versions telling about Regina’s childhood.
The model's life story begins in 1935. According to the first version, the girl was born on September 27 in the city of Leningrad. The parents worked in a circus and were killed while performing a difficult trick under the big top. After this, the young girl was taken to an orphanage.
According to one of the fashion models close to Regina, her fate began in the city of Vologda. At that time, the girl’s last name was Kolesnikova. Her father Nikolai Kolesnikov is a retired officer. Mother Daria Kolesnikova worked as a doctor. The name Regina was given to the child by the father, since in translation it meant “queen.” Perhaps this fact played an important role in the development of the girl’s future.
In the famous film version about the life of the model, it is said that the girl changed her name and became Zoya Kolesnikova, but according to people who are close to her, this is not true.
Regina Zbarskaya in her youth photo
The first information about the girl’s biography appeared after 1953. At this time, Regina graduated from high school and moved to Moscow to enter VGIK. Since the future model was not accepted into the acting department, she began to study economics.
From the second year of study at the university, Regina ceased to be an exemplary student and skipped classes. But at the same time I studied well and passed my exams with a positive mark. The girl wasted no time and often appeared at social parties, as she realized that external data and youth were factors that would help her get a ticket to a successful future.
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Clothes demonstrator
In the modeling world then, everything was arranged completely differently than it is today. The word “model” itself meant an example of a fashion product. And the one who presented it was called a clothing demonstrator.
Regina Zbarskaya and Vyacheslav Zaitsev
Soviet fashion models were considered fifth-class workers. Their work was paid accordingly. The profession of “fashion demonstrator” did not officially exist. The only opportunity for fashion models of those years to look decent in everyday life was to travel abroad. But, as you know, not everyone was allowed into the West.
The person who supervised foreign trips could easily turn to the fashion model with a request to communicate with one of the foreigners and “not to refuse him.” It was an offer they couldn't refuse.
Perhaps, during one of these conversations with the curator, Regina Zbarskaya made a very important decision for herself, after which she got the opportunity to leave Moscow often and for a long time. And apparently, at first, communicating with foreigners seemed like a fun and easy game to her. What's so difficult about flirting a little with someone pointed out to you at an embassy reception?
However, the game turned out to have sad consequences for the “queen of the Soviet catwalk” Regina Zbarskaya.
Those who knew her claim that she was a difficult woman. She knew how to, as they say, process a man. She was far from simple-minded and very purposeful. There is a version that thanks to these qualities, Regina Zbarskaya was entrusted with “cases of national importance.”
Every now and then scattered information emerges about a special program for the ideological indoctrination of so-called persons of influence. Abroad, Soviet state security required not only agents, but also sincere friends of the USSR among writers, politicians, businessmen, and filmmakers. Representatives of the elite could seriously influence the image of the Soviet Union in the eyes of public opinion in the West. And it is, of course, easier for an attractive, young interlocutor to win the favor of such people. Which is probably what Regina Zbarskaya was doing. By the way, the “sincere friendship” of the USSR for initiates had its own meaning and price.
The Lubyanka archives still keep the secret of the relationship between Regina Zbarskaya and the KGB. However, friends and colleagues claim that she was allowed more than others, and this is clearly not without reason. In those days, each delegation was accompanied by a curator. In addition, Soviet citizens did not have the right to walk alone in a foreign city and had to return to the hotel at a certain time. Zbarskaya often left alone for long periods of time. And more than once she flew overseas on her own.
Fashion model Regina Zbarskaya
In 1953, seventeen-year-old Regina Zbarskaya arrived in Moscow, where she managed to enter the VGIK Faculty of Economics. In the same year, the father of nations Joseph Stalin died, as a result of which many changes occurred in the country.
In addition to studying, the future fashion model was interested in fashion, and whenever possible she tried to attend bohemian parties. At one of them, she met the famous fashion designer Vera Aralova, who appreciated Regina’s beauty and refined manners.
As a result, Aralova offered cooperation to the young girl, to which she happily agreed. It was from this moment in Regina’s biography that her modeling career began, making her famous throughout the world.
European beauty
The first establishment where Zbarskaya began working was the Fashion House. An interesting fact is that at that time there was no such thing as a model, so it was officially listed as a “5th category worker.”
The natural beauty and grace of Regina Zbarskaya stood out from the other girls. For this reason, Aralova trusted her to show new clothing collections more often than other models.
In 1961, the fashion designer was invited to Paris to present his collection there.
Before traveling abroad, Vera Aralova chose the best models, among whom was Regina Zbarskaya.
In general, the clothing show was held at a high level, thanks to which the Soviet Union was able to prove to the world community its achievements in the field of fashion.
It is interesting that it was Aralova who was the first fashion designer who began to use a zipper on a woman’s boot, running along the entire length of the boot. When this “know-how” was noticed by European couturiers, they also began to sew boots and other shoes using zippers.
During the show of the collection, the attention of the press and public was focused on Zbarskaya. The authoritative French magazine Paris Match called the girl “the most beautiful weapon of the Kremlin.”
But since this publication was banned in the USSR, none of the Soviet citizens learned about this fact of Regina Zbarskaya’s biography.
Fashion models of easy virtue
Regina Zbarskaya and other models went on the catwalk three times a day, spending 8-12 hours in fitting rooms. For a ruble, eighty posed for photographers from fashion magazines. These publications sold millions of copies. The girl from the photo, Regina Zbarskaya, was recognized on the street. However, few people knew her name, like the names of other clothing demonstrators.
Somehow in the mid-sixties, rumors spread around Moscow: the director of the House of Models, Viktor Yaglovsky, set up a brothel in his establishment, sent girls to high-ranking officials, and this had almost become a system. On the sidelines they whispered that he was getting away with everything because he was a state security officer. This is where the stereotype about clothing demonstrators emerged: supposedly among the representatives of this profession there are only girls of easy virtue.
Not far from the Kremlin, on the Kuznetsky Bridge, a screening for an intimate evening was actually held. However, Regina Zbarskaya managed to avoid the fate of the girl called “on the turntable.” Maybe I got lucky. Or maybe it’s all about arrogance, the habit of maintaining a distance - qualities that made Regina’s colleagues not very fond of her.
Fashion model career
Without losing hope of conquering the world with her beauty, Zbarskaya often visited Mosfilm film sets and numerous “bohemian” parties. In one of them, the famous artist Vera Aralova, a recognized famous fashion designer, drew attention to the girl.
What made Regina stand out from the rest? Ideal parameters: height 170 centimeters and weight 50 kg, which made the beautiful girl attractive for the catwalk. In addition, she stood out with her chic long braid and cute plump cheeks, found a common language with the right people and charmed with her refined manners.
Since the profession of a model did not exist in the Union, the model’s work book indicated: “worker of the 5th category,” while the monthly salary was 76 rubles.
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Collaboration with Vera Aralova
Regina Zbarskaya is the first model to try on women's boots with a built-in zipper along the entire length of the boot. The creation of such shoes belongs to Vera Aralova. Thanks to the talented fashion designer, the world learned about the future most successful Soviet fashion model.
Regina regularly participated in shows and was popular, so she received a wave of discontent and envy from her colleagues. The girls inserted needles into her shoes and committed other petty meanness, but this did not stop Zbarskaya and did not prevent her from making a career as a sought-after model.
In the early 60s, Vera Aralova had the opportunity to present the collection outfits she created in Paris. The famous USSR model Renata Zbarskaya also went on the trip. The trip changed the views of foreign fashion designers on the fashion of Soviet citizens. It was at this show that boots with a long zipper were presented, which are still present in the wardrobe of fashionistas.
European fashion designers praised the talents of Regina Zbarskaya, calling her “the most beautiful weapon of the Kremlin.” This information was published in the publication Paris Match, which, unfortunately, was not distributed in the USSR.
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World famous
After the first show in Paris, people started talking about Zbarskaya in her homeland: men admired her, women considered her a standard of beauty. The girl’s photographs were published in Fashion magazine.
At the end of the 60s, a fashion festival was held in Moscow, where foreign fashion designers came. In honor of this, the Leningrad magazine “Fashion” published a new issue, on the cover of which a photo of Regina was presented. She also shone on the spread, dressed in a dress inspired by Russian icon painting. This became the starting point for the worldwide fame of the Soviet model. The girl’s face was nicknamed the “calling card” of the USSR.
Fellow fashion models enviously called her the “Snow Queen,” considering her arrogant and arrogant. However, this did not stop Regina from climbing the career ladder and exceeding the expectations of fashion designers and photographers.
The girl was distinguished by her isolation from the world around her; only in front of close people did she reveal herself fully.
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Work with Vyacheslav Zaitsev
While working at the House of Models, the Soviet fashion model often traveled abroad. Fashion designers admired her beauty and grace, even though her legs were crooked.
Regina Zbarskaya and Vyacheslav Zaitsev
Vyacheslav Zaitsev acted as a fashion designer who also appreciated the talent of Regina Zbarskaya and successfully collaborated with her. He noted that the wheel legs do not spoil the model’s image at all, but add special charm and sophistication.
While working with Vyacheslav Zaitsev, at his insistence, the girl cut her hair like a pageboy. Now she resembled an Italian senorita. Short curls went perfectly with the girl’s almond-shaped eyes and pale face. This image fascinated director Fellini, he nicknamed her “the Soviet Sophia Loren.” The girl’s appearance and character captivated Yves Montand, Fidel Castro and Pierre Cardin.
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Lev Zbarsky
Of course, like any other girl, she dreamed of a “prince.” Preferably one of the elite. A dream come true. One day, Lev Zbarsky, the son of an academician, appeared in the life of Regina, then still Kolesnikova. They say meeting him was fatal for her.
He was a talented artist and a famous Don Juan. Regina lived with him for seven years, and they were considered the most harmonious couple of the capital's elite. By the way, there is no documentary evidence that the marriage between the fashion model and the son of the scientist who embalmed Lenin was registered.
Thanks to Lev Zbarsky and fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev, Regina found good friends among foreign celebrities.
The first serious crack in relation to Regina and Leo appeared in the summer of 1967.
The International Fashion Festival was held in Moscow. For the first and last time, the legendary Coco Chanel brought her collection to the Soviet Union. The work schedule was very tight, and a month later an exhibition was opening in Canada, in which Regina was supposed to participate. She was pregnant. She had to make a choice between her child and Montreal. And she chose the latter.
Perhaps her husband convinced her to have an abortion. One way or another, they soon separated, and after the divorce, Regina’s life went downhill.
Personal life
The husband of the famous fashion model was Zbarsky Lev (1931-2016). The wedding took place in 1960 at the peak of Regina's popularity. The lion was looking for a proud queen as his wife, and the girl dreamed of family happiness.
Zbarsky was the owner of a workshop in which he painted and organized bohemian parties. Regina became pregnant in 1967, but her husband was categorically against the birth of the baby. He managed to persuade his wife to have an abortion.
The woman had a hard time with the loss of her child; she tried to cope with the situation by taking antidepressants. At the same time, instead of caring for his wife, Lev Zbarsky became interested in a young actress, and later married his next passion, Lyudmila Maksakova. The artist's second wife in 1970. gave birth to a son, but Regina was unable to give birth again.
In oblivion and loneliness
In the early seventies, Regina Zbarskaya lost not only love. She left Kuznetsky Most, they stopped inviting her to those parties where she and her husband were the life of the party.
At this time, she began to perform inexplicable acts. Residents of an elite Stalinist house once witnessed a strange picture: former fashion model Regina Zbarskaya was furiously dragging bales of luxurious foreign outfits into the trash. She was probably trying to put an end to the past in this way.
Lev Zbarsky remained the main person in her life even after he left. And it's not just about love. He was part of that bright, luxurious world where Regina is now barred from entering.
Soon Zbarsky married Lyudmila Maksakova, and she bore him a son. This was hard for Regina, because he didn’t want children from her. But the strongest blow, oddly enough, for her was the news that her ex-husband was leaving the USSR. The next day after Zbarskaya found out about this, she opened her veins.
She was rescued and sent to a psychiatric hospital.
Some time after being discharged from the hospital, she visited a modeling house, and her previous colleagues did not recognize her. Regina Zbarskaya now didn’t look like a fashion model at all, she wore size 48-50 and looked unkempt.
Nevertheless, I decided to return to the profession. It was quite real back then. Other clothing demonstrators worked until retirement. There were no age restrictions as such.
And she returned...
However, in later photos, Regina Zbarskaya cannot be recognized as “I will accept the Soviet podium.” And the point is not that she is no longer as graceful as in her youth. It was the look in which now only disappointment and fatigue could be read. A few days of filming were enough for Regina Zbarskaya to understand that her finest hour had passed.
But this is not the most tragic page in her biography.
Death
The book, published by Yugoslavia, was almost immediately withdrawn from sale, but Zbarskaya faced a real political scandal, after which she tried to commit suicide twice, but both times unsuccessfully. The podium legend spent her last days in a psychiatric hospital and, according to the staff, felt extreme guilt for speaking so poorly about her country and people she knew.
The third suicide attempt turned out to be the last. Regina Zbarskaya took a large dose of sleeping pills and died on November 15, 1987. According to the official version, she managed to poison herself in the hospital where she had been staying recently; according to other sources, the woman took the medicine at home and began calling her friends to apologize for the denunciations she had once written. None of the former colleagues were present at Regina Nikolaevna’s funeral. The body of the legendary fashion model was cremated, but it is still unknown where she is buried.
Ksenia Lukyanchikova as Regina Zbarskaya
The feature film “The Red Queen” was shot about the life, career and death of Regina Zbarskaya, where the role of the famous woman was played by the aspiring actress Ksenia Lukyanchikova. In addition, television viewers could see a documentary investigation about the last days of Zbarskaya from the series of programs “The Investigation Conducted...”, which was conducted by the permanent presenter Leonid Kanevsky.
“One Hundred Nights with Regina Zbarskaya”
In 1973, a Yugoslav journalist appeared in her life. This is perhaps the most mysterious character in the sad story of the “queen of the Soviet catwalk.”
The romance was fleeting, and soon the Yugoslav left for his homeland, where he published the scandalous book “One Hundred Nights with Regina Zbarskaya,” which was allegedly withdrawn from sale in the USSR. It is noteworthy that none of the famous fashion model’s acquaintances even knows the name of her foreign lover.
The book contained completely unpatriotic statements by Zbarskaya. In addition, it contained nude photos of her. Why did the nameless Yugoslav write a scandalous opus about Regina? The usual vile betrayal. Or a provocation on the part of Zbarskaya herself.
No one could now vouch for her mental state. She could call one of her former colleagues in the middle of the night and scream into the phone: “I’m mean! I snitched on all of you!” And she even once told a fashion designer friend that in the early sixties she was subjected to harsh interrogation in the best traditions of the Lubyanka of the late 30s - with a lamp, shouts and threats. Most likely, she was trying to attract attention to herself with such stories.
And then there was a second suicide attempt. Again open veins, again a government bed in the hospital.
Black line
In 1960, Regina met the man of her dreams—the artist Lev Zbarsky—and, despite his fame as a womanizer and playboy, she married him. The couple lived together for 7 years. Thunder struck when in 1967 Regina realized that she was pregnant. A trip to Montreal was coming, and Regina had to make a very difficult choice: a child or a career. She chose a career. True, according to rumors, Zbarsky insisted on an abortion: in his mind, the queen of the catwalk and diapers were incompatible. Perhaps it was her husband’s reluctance to have children that forced Regina to get rid of the child. Well, it was all the more bitter for her when Zbarsky left her: first for the actress Marianna Vertinskaya, and then for Lyudmila Maksakova, who eventually bore him a son. After the divorce, Regina left the Model House. She had a very hard time with both the breakup itself and the birth of a child in her ex-husband’s new family. But even then she hoped that Zbarsky would return. Therefore, after the news that the artist was emigrating to Israel, she opened her veins and ended up in a psychiatric hospital. After discharge, she tried to return to the podium, but in vain. Regina realized that she would no longer be a fashion queen. And it soon became clear that she could not have children after an unsuccessful abortion. Added to all this is another problem. After his flight from the USSR, all of Zbarsky’s ex-wives were summoned to the KGB, interrogated for a long time and humiliatingly, and persuaded to cooperate. Regina, who was fluent in two languages and made acquaintances with prominent Western figures, was especially interested in the intelligence services. In 1973, she met a journalist from Yugoslavia, and it seemed to her that life was getting better. However, in reality, the reporter was just using a fashion model. Returning home, he published the book “One Hundred Nights with Regina Zbarskaya”, where he not only described the intimate details of their meetings, published candid photographs, but also talked about Zbarskaya’s collaboration with the KGB and her denunciations against her colleagues... And although this book was not sold in the USSR and none of the townsfolk held her in their hands, Regina was again summoned to the Lubyanka. It is unknown what was discussed there. Only after these interrogations did the former fashion queen open her veins for the second time and end up in the hospital again. In 1982, Zaitsev got Regina a job at the Fashion House... as a cleaner. The podium was no longer out of the question. After all the ordeals, Zbarskaya turned into a plump, gray-haired woman with dull eyes. But Regina still couldn’t wash the floors where she once shone.
Last years and death of Regina Zbarskaya
In 1982, Vyacheslav Zaitsev opened his own fashion house on Prospekt Mira and invited her to appear on the catwalk again. But by that time she could no longer work as anything other than a cleaner.
She made several more feeble attempts to learn to live without love and without fame. Some distant relatives even appeared on the horizon, who, perhaps, were just counting on her apartment. After all, they didn’t hold her back either.
On November 15, 1987, 52-year-old Regina Zbarskaya decided to die for the third and last time. After swallowing a handful of pills, she sank into oblivion.
Strange fact: she was found with a telephone receiver in her hand. The arriving policemen were not interested in who the middle-aged, lonely woman was calling or wanted to call at the last moment of her life.
However, even in the circumstances of Regina Zbarskaya’s death there are ambiguities. It seems that she died at home, but there is a version that she died in the hospital. One way or another, no one knows where the grave of the podium star is. Even those who were once friends with her.
Popular actors
Regina Zbarskaya. Her name appears in the press periodically. Once upon a time, this brunette was very popular in her circles, of course, ordinary people hardly knew about her existence. She is a bohemian, but she was a famous person in the fashion world. She was considered very beautiful, many admired her.
Regina Zbarskaya was born in 1935. The peak of its popularity occurred in the 50-60s, the time of the birth of new Soviet fashion.
First of all, I was wondering: was Regina Zbarskaya as good as her contemporaries say and write?
I found all sorts of photographs of the famous fashion model on the Internet and searched through all the resources. I haven’t posted this article for a long time, I was going to write it, but then I decided to look for more photographs, found, looked at, read the memories of people who knew Regina personally. And here are the conclusions I came to. Regina Zbarskaya’s character was not easy, she knew her worth, if you call a spade a spade, then this girl could be called an arrogant, cold Snow Queen, perhaps it was a healthy egoism, she certainly did not have a wide-open soul, but she was also impudent and I wasn’t known as an upstart either.
Designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev treated Regina Zbarskaya very kindly, and all because when he was young and was just taking his first steps in the fashion industry, this fashion model supported him a lot morally and also fed him. He could not forget this kindness of hers until Regina’s death. When she was no longer hired anywhere, he began to give her dresses and allowed her to demonstrate older models on the catwalk.
On my own behalf, I can add that if I had not known that Regina Zbarskaya is considered the Red Queen - the best of the fashion models of that time, I myself would not have guessed. Well, yes, interesting, pleasant appearance, I would even say that this girl is clearly my type.
But the actress who played Regina Zbarskaya in 2020 is much more beautiful. Ksenia Lukyanchikova in the image of the Red Queen is incomparable. I started watching the series, but didn’t finish watching it, I don’t even remember why, perhaps because it seemed boring and primitive to me. I wrote about Ksenia Lukyanchikova before the release of the series, and about Regina Zbarskaya only a year later, when I realized that the excitement around this woman did not subside. So, in the series “The Red Queen” it was shown that Regina was called Zoya from birth and supposedly she comes from the family of a drunkard, whom she kills in defense because he once again beat her mother. In real life, Regina was the daughter of military doctors, and according to one version, her father was a former NKVD employee, but these are just rumors. To be honest, I am not at all interested in whether Regina Zbarskaya was some kind of KGB agent or not, whether she wrote denunciations against someone or whether all this is fiction. Because it's difficult to verify. I find it much more interesting to look at photographs of her and think about what kind of person she was. Was she lucky in her personal life with such and such an attractive appearance? For some reason, history knows very few examples of happy family relationships - without deception, betrayal and pain, where husband and wife not only live in perfect harmony, but have not lost a keen interest in each other after years. Most often, it turns out that if a couple is outwardly happy, it is only because we know nothing about what is really going on in this union or these two have known each other only recently.
Regina Zbarskaya was never happy in love, except for a very short time, when her future husband Lev Zbarsky just started courting her. This relationship lasted for about 6 years, then this man was pulled to the left and there were at least two more amazing women in his life. What luck, I have photographs of both of these divas, and I must say that both of them were actresses, even more attractive in appearance than Regina. Marianna Vertinskaya and Lyudmila Maksakova are the names of these “lucky women”; the latter of these two even gave birth to Zbarsky’s son.
Regina Zbarskaya had some kind of mental disorder, her colleagues, acquaintances and friends talk about it. It may be schizophrenia, or it may be something else. Regina tried to commit suicide three times, and the last time she succeeded. The famous Soviet fashion model lived to be 52 years old.
And in these three photos there is not only Regina Zbarskaya, but also the first wife of Valentin Gaft, they are similar in type, and at first I thought that she was Regina. Zbarskaya is third from the left, Gaft's wife is third from the right.
Rumor has it that Regina Zbarskaya had crooked legs, and so, this is the only photo in which this was noticeable; indeed, there was a tiny flaw.
Regina Zbarskaya had a competitor - Mila Romanovskaya. Mila had blond hair and gray eyes, a Slavic appearance, so it was she, and not Regina, who made a splash at foreign fashion shows. By and large, only in the Soviet Union was Regina considered exotic, but nevertheless, the fact that Zbarskaya admired Fellini, Cardin and Saint Laurent is true.
Zbarskaya is on the far right.
In the photo Regina Zbarskaya with Slava Zaitsev.
And here Regina is very similar to Lyudmila Gurchenko, who, by the way, was openly jealous of this fashion model’s appearance.
In this photo is Lev Zbarsky.
Galya Milovskaya
"Russian Twiggy"
Galina Milovskaya was the main competitor of Regina Zbarskaya: an almost cinematic confrontation between a blonde and a brunette, a dispute between a bright, southern type and gentle Slavic beauty. At the same time, Galya Milovskaya was very different from her colleagues on the catwalk: with a height of 170 centimeters, she weighed 42 kilograms and was definitely too thin for a Soviet fashion model.
But Galina was perfect for a photo shoot in Vogue. In 1968, French photographer Arnaud de Ronet arrived in Moscow. The government issued permission, and they planned to film on Red Square and in the Kremlin Armory. The shooting took place, but cost Galina her career.
In one photo, Galya is sitting in a free pose. But then, sitting on Red Square with your legs spread, and even with your back to the portraits of the “leaders” was considered blasphemy. However, the fashion model was forgiven for her first “sin,” but soon Galya took part in an even more risky project: Galina became the first Soviet body art model. Nude (albeit painted) photographs of her appeared in an Italian magazine. This was the end of Milovskaya’s career: a model with “anti-Soviet” sentiments could not appear in Soviet magazines.
In 1974, Milovskaya left the USSR. In France, she met a banker, got married and said goodbye to the modeling business, becoming a director. One of her films won several awards at international festivals. It was called “Those Crazy Russians.”
Leka Mironova
"Soviet Audrey Hepburn"
Leka (full name Leocadia) Mironova dreamed of being an opera singer, ballerina or architect. But in her youth she damaged her vocal cords and could no longer sing. But she entered the Vaganova School, but even here her health failed: she developed osteoporosis. Leka also did not become an architect - due to vision problems. But she became one of the most famous fashion models of the Soviet Union.
But first she entered the theater and technical art school, where she often had to act as a model. The teachers appreciated the student’s beauty and invited her to try herself as a fashion model. So Leka ended up in the Model House, where Slava Zaitsev noticed her. The fashion designer and model collaborated for more than half a century.
Leka was not allowed to travel abroad, but she was well known outside the USSR. When the Americans were filming the film “Three Stars of the Soviet Union,” Leka became the third star next to Maya Plisetskaya and Valery Brumel. But even after filming, Mironov was never allowed to go abroad. Maybe because she became the first fashion model who dared to speak out about the harassment that models endured.
Mironova’s personal life did not work out. Leka was married, but her husband turned out to be pathologically jealous, and the model left. Then Leka met a photographer from Lithuania. This relationship was broken by the system: the couple faced serious threats... She never got married again.
