Vladimir Ermakov is the first husband of singer Masha Rasputina. Many people know him for the fact that the man helped his wife, a girl from the distant Siberian hinterland, and brought her to the stage. But due to the deterioration of the relationship between the former spouses, the singer downplays, or even denies, the importance of Vladimir in her rise, pointing out that she achieved everything herself thanks to her talent.
Vladimir Ermakov
Childhood and youth
There are many unknowns in the biography of Vladimir Ermakov. For example, all that is known is that the first producer of Masha Rasputina was born in 1944. There is no exact date of birth. Little is also known about Ermakov’s family.
Vladimir Ermakov - producer
They lived in a modest two-room apartment on Second Parkovaya, and the family had nothing to do with show business. There is no official data on Vladimir; you can only believe his words, which he said during one of the interviews.
Vladimir Ermakov in his youth with Masha Rasputina
As the producer himself says, the man got into show business completely by accident. At school, he was fond of sports and dreamed of building a sports career, and the man devoted all his free time from classes to sports. For the first time, Vladimir Ermakov thought about music at his graduation party, when a guy with a guitar came on stage. The guitarist sang a song during his performance, and the attention of all the girls was purely on him. It was this situation that made the future producer become interested in music, and in just a couple of nights Ermakov learned to play the guitar.
Vladimir Ermakov with his wife in his youth
Again, after Vladimir graduated from school, no one knows where, and who he was able to enroll in. How Ermakov started his musical career and how it began also remains unknown.
Music and production
Ermakov met Alla Ageeva at the age of 37, when he worked at the Krasnaya Zarya knitting factory, next to the Semenovskaya metro station. Before the factory, Vladimir, in his words, “ran to the south,” where he worked with instrumental ensembles. Tired of traveling around, the man decided to create his own team in the capital. Having heard about a vacancy that had opened in the factory club, Ermakov got a part-time job. He led a music club, but most importantly, he received the keys to the assembly hall, where he coached the group.
Masha Rasputina and Vladimir Ermakov
During the day, Vladimir Ermakov rehearsed with the musicians, and in the evening he “taught the basics of playing the guitar to winders and spinners.”
One day, a musician saw a dancing girl with a breathtaking bust from the stage. To find a reason to get acquainted, he asked if she could sing. Alla Ageeva backed away, but her friends pushed her onto the stage. The Siberian woman sang something inaudible into the microphone in a thin voice. This is how Pygmalion met the future Galatea, a limit worker at a weaving factory.
For the sake of fairness, it is worth noting that Masha Rasputina describes her debut on the factory stage differently. According to her, she amazed the audience by singing “everything she knew in different voices.” The 90s star claims that Ermakov took her into the group right away. And when I heard that the singer didn’t know how to read music, I thought that the girl was being disingenuous.
Vladimir Ermakov
Soon the creative union grew into a family one. Weaver Alla Ageeva was fired from work for absenteeism. The girl moved from the weaving hostel on First Parkovaya to Vladimir Ermakov’s apartment on Second Parkovaya.
For eight years, the producer created the future pop star. Under his guidance, a village girl learned to read music and changed her appearance - from a brunette to a blonde. At Ermakov’s insistence, Alla changed the shape of her eyebrows, covered her forehead with bangs and acquired the habit of smiling from ear to ear.
The producer allegedly introduced Ageeva to sports, taught her plastic arts, competent speech, the ability to behave in public, and designed costumes. The stage name “Masha Rasputina,” according to Vladimir Ermakov, is also his merit. And most importantly, Alla sang in a “Rasputin” voice. To do this, the producer taught her the “splitting ligaments” technique.
Masha Rasputina and Vladimir Ermakov
The fertile “material” that fell into the hands of the master turned into a star that shone on the Russian stage in the late 1980s. At first, Vladimir Ermakov’s ward and the Variety group performed on the stage of Moscow restaurants, but in 1989, aspiring composer Igor Mateta wrote the song “Play, Musician!” At first he offered it to Larisa Dolina, but the singer called the song “soviet” and refused.
Masha Rasputina sang the composition in her “signature” voice. The producer took the recording to Ostankino, where the editors, after listening, put the song on the shelf, calling the performance “too Western” and “Negro.”
The TV crew remembered the song when the pirates were playing it with all their might. Vladimir Ermakov’s protégé appeared on the air of “Morning Mail” and woke up famous. Masha Rasputina was played on all TV channels; Alla Pugacheva noticed the bright singer and invited her to her place on Tverskaya. The prima donna of the Soviet and Russian stage invited Rasputina to perform at concerts of her Song Theater.
The singer and her producer Vladimir Ermakov recorded their first album in the studio of Alexander Kalyanov. Soon, Ermakov’s ward was touring the world. There was a period when Rasputin left Alla Borisovna behind in terms of box office receipts. Since 1992, the star has been invited to Kremlin concerts.
A significant role in Rasputina’s rapid rise was played by the poet Leonid Derbenev, who wrote the main hits for the pop singer, including the song “I was born in Siberia.” Derbenev said: “It’s difficult to get to where Masha is from, and it’s almost impossible to come from there and settle on the Moscow stage!”
Vladimir Ermakov and new protégé
But Vladimir Ermakov made the fairy tale come true. His “Galatea” triumphantly strode across the country, giving 40 concerts a month. Masha toured America and Europe, photos of the Russian star appeared in the American magazines Penthouse and New York Magazine.
For 17 years, a producer was hiding next to the star in her shadow. The collaboration ended along with family life. In the last years of his life, Vladimir Ermakov tried to bring new young singers to the stage, but his attempts were in vain.
Music
Vladimir Ermakov worked at the Krasnaya Zarya knitting factory , which is located next to the Semenovskaya station. It was at this time that the man managed to meet Rasputina . According to the producer, before that he worked with instrumental ensembles and periodically “traveled south” with them. After several trips, the man came up with the idea of creating his own personal team. The producer learned that there were vacancies available at the factory club, after which he got a job leading a music club there part-time. But the main thing for him was not the work itself, but the keys to the assembly hall, which were entrusted to him. It was in this place that Vladimir Ermakov began training his team. The producer preferred to work with musicians during the day, and in the evening the man “taught the basics of playing the guitar to winders and spinners.”
Vladimir Ermakov
One day, Vladimir Ermakov saw a girl dancing on stage. He liked her so much that the future producer decided to be the first to start a conversation, asking if the girl could sing. The stranger was shy, but her friends simply pushed her onto the stage, after which she performed her song. Having sung something incomprehensible in her thin voice, the girl was literally able to conquer Vladimir. This is roughly how communication began between the future spouses.
Masha Rasputina herself claims that the meeting of the future couple happened somewhat differently. The singer says that, having sung different songs, she simply amazed the entire audience present. That is why Vladimir Ermakov took her into his group as soon as she performed her songs. Soon after their joint creative work, Vladimir and Masha became a couple. As you know, Rasputina was fired from her job, after which she moved to live with the producer.
Vladimir Ermakov during an interview
We can say that Vladimir Ermakov completely transformed the future pop star. The producer not only taught the girl how to read music, but also completely changed her appearance. It took the producer about eight years to change Rasputin. There is information that it was he who began to accustom Ageeva to sports, the ability to behave in public, competent speech, and also personally designed her costumes. According to Vladimir himself, the pseudonym “Masha Rasputin” is also the fruit of his thoughts.
Vladimir Ermakov and Masha Rasputina
Rasputin appeared on the stage only in the late 1980s. Before the start of her musical career, Ermakov’s ward performed in Moscow restaurants, together with the Variety . Already in 1989, Igor Mateta , a composer who was just beginning his career, wrote the song “Play, musician!” and offered to perform it to Larisa Dolina, which she refused. The role of the performer of the song went to Masha. After Rasputina sang the composition, the producer immediately took her recording to Ostankino , but the editors, after listening to the composition, simply refused the man. But after the song of the future pop singer appeared on the air of Morning Mail , Masha Rasputina became famous. The songs began to be heard on all TV channels, Alla Pugacheva noticed Masha and invited her to her place on Tverskaya. There she also invited Rasputina to perform at concerts of her Song Theater.
Vladimir Ermakov with Masha Rasputina at the beginning of his career
The pop singer's first album was recorded in the studio of Alexander Kalyanov. Surprisingly, Masha Rasputina’s songs were so popular that she soon began to tour not only in the post-Soviet space, but also abroad. It is reported that since 1992, the newly minted star began to be invited to perform at Kremlin concerts.
Thanks to Vladimir Ermakov, Rasputina at her peak could give 40 concerts a month. The singer toured many countries, including America and European countries. It is also worth noting that the American magazines Penthouse and New York Magazine collaborated with the Russian star, as evidenced by photographs of Rasputina on the pages of these magazines.
Vladimir Ermakov with a poster of Rasputina
In the last years of his life, Ermakov tried to promote new young singers to the stage, but, unfortunately, all his attempts were failures.
Drama in the Rasputina family: ex-husband went on hunger strike due to scandal with daughter
A loud scandal broke out in the family of singer Masha Rasputina. The ex-husband of the 52-year-old star, Vladimir Ermakov, demands that their common 31-year-old daughter Lydia, who suffers from a mental disorder, be “given” to him. The man set up a tent near Rasputina’s house and went on a hunger strike, declaring that he would refuse food until he had a conversation with at least someone from his ex-wife’s family.
In a conversation with Life, Vladimir Ermakov said that recently his ex-wife took Lydia from a psychiatric hospital in the presence of television cameras after a 12-year break in communication and is now keeping her at home. Having learned about this, Ermakov immediately came to the singer’s house, but, having received a refusal to meet with his daughter, he pitched a tent right at the entrance to the elite village - right at the gate. Life had at its disposal messages from Lydia to her father with requests for salvation: in them, the girl cried out for help.
72-year-old Ermakov said that he was determined to achieve justice and force Rasputin to agree to his demands and give up Lydia.
According to Vladimir Ermakov, their daughter was in a psychiatric clinic for about 12 years with a nervous system disorder and never saw her mother. Only Rasputina’s assistants and her own father came to rare meetings with the patient at the psychiatric hospital. Vladimir claims that the 90s star staged the adventure of “rescuing” her daughter from the hospital only to draw attention to her own person. According to Ermakov, in this way Masha Rasputina is trying to return the former interest in her work.
“They don’t even let me in here to call Lida or Masha!” - Vladimir says with tears in his eyes. “I think she will be used and driven out of the house again, as has happened more than once.” I'm going on a hunger strike, I'll only drink water! I will stay here until someone from their house comes out to me. Masha forced me to do this, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to reach her.
Let us recall that the conflict between Masha Rasputina and her ex-husband and producer Vladimir Ermakov has been going on for more than ten years. Vladimir and Masha met repeatedly on various talk shows to sort things out, but all Vladimir’s attempts to make peace with the singer are in vain to this day.
Vladimir Ermakov and Masha Rasputina legalized their relationship in 1987, after the birth of their daughter Lydia in 1985. The couple divorced 10 years later, and in 1999 the singer married businessman and producer Viktor Zakharov, and a year later the couple had a daughter, Masha.
Personal life
Before Alla Ageeva, Vladimir Ermakov was already married once. Almost nothing is known about the producer’s first marriage. Only one thing is known - Vladimir had a son in marriage . In 1991 , Ermakov gave birth to a daughter, Lydia . At the time of the wedding with Masha Rasputina, my daughter was already 8 years old. The couple's life together did not work out. Therefore, after living together for 17 years, the couple broke up .
Vladimir Ermakov with a new lady in the last years of his life
The producer himself said that the couple broke up because the former passion and love had disappeared from their relationship. It later turned out that Ermakov cheated on his wife with a 19-year-old English teacher who taught his daughter at home. Vladimir Ermakov said that Masha Rasputina once noticed a hair of a young teacher on a pillow, after which a scandal followed and, as a result, the separation of the couple.
Ermakov with his wife Rasputina
Ermakov also told reporters about his affair with a nurse, which occurred before Vladimir took Rasputina to the registry office. As a result, Vladimir Ermakov had an illegitimate daughter in Krasnoyarsk. In recent years, Ermakov wanted one thing: he wanted to earn money and get out of poverty, and also help his daughter Lida , who was a patient at a psychiatric clinic.
Daughter of Vladimir Ermakov - Lydia
Masha Rasputina's ex-husband died in poverty from epilepsy
The first husband and first producer of singer Masha Rasputina, Vladimir Ermakov, passed away a week ago. Businessman Viktor Zakharov, the singer’s current husband, told reporters about this.
According to Zakharov, the last time Rasputina was supposed to see her ex was a week ago, on the day of his death. They say Ermakov was going to Shepelev’s show “Actually” to tell something negative about Rasputin. The singer, hearing this, was indignant and left the studio. But Ermakov didn’t even make it to Ostankino. On the same day, the artist’s ex-husband died as a result of an epileptic attack in his apartment in the capital, which in recent years he shared with two neighbors. Apparently, Vladimir was in dire need of money. After his divorce from Rasputina, Ermakov’s life was difficult. The man did not work anywhere, he had no money for new projects. There was also not enough money to live on, so the man periodically made money by telling fables about his ex-wife on scandalous talk shows. He was rarely called on television programs, but Ermakov did not lose heart: he led a healthy lifestyle, played sports, and did not drink.
Let us remind you: Masha Rasputina divorced producer Vladimir Ermakov about 20 years ago.
Now the singer is happily married to businessman Viktor Zakharov, with whom she is raising her 17-year-old daughter Masha.
Three years ago, in an interview with KP, Vladimir Ermakov complained to our correspondent that Rasputin was hiding their adult daughter Lida from the public (the girl had been in specialized clinics more than once, where she was under the supervision of experienced psychologists). Like, the girl is very worried that her own mother practically does not communicate with her. The singer herself explained that communication was not working out because her ex-husband turned her daughter against her.
According to Rasputina’s relatives, last year the singer made peace with her daughter and now helps her in every possible way.
Masha RasputinaPhoto: Larisa KUDRYAVTSEVA/EG
DIRECT SPEECH
“Masha stopped loving me”
It so happened that “KP” was one of the last print media with which Vladimir Ermakov communicated. Here are excerpts from the statements of Masha Rasputina’s first husband and producer.
ABOUT THE REASONS FOR DIVORCE
- Tired of each other. Masha stopped loving me,” Ermakov admitted to KP. “We lived together for a very long time, and I understood that this was very difficult for a creative person. For 17 years on tour she was asked: are you married or not? I had to say yes. But this immediately stopped many. Especially potential suitors, oligarchs. And I told her: “Masha, we have already achieved everything, let’s have a new family, new love, new outbursts. But we will work together. I remain your producer and monitor your concerts and recordings.” After all, I did literally everything for my wife - hairstyles, recordings, arrangements.
I then gave Masha all our money. I asked only for one thing - to buy an apartment for our daughter.
ABOUT DATING
— I haven’t communicated with Masha since the day of our divorce. She disappointed me,” said Ermakov. “If I had not existed, there would never have been any Alla Ageeva (the singer’s real name - Author’s note), and especially Masha Rasputina. She studied painting at a vocational school. And I held cultural evenings in the club at this vocational school. That's where we met.
Once I suggested to Masha: “Let’s be a soloist in my group? Try! I’ll give you a song!” I didn’t even think that something worthwhile would come of it.
I taught her to sing on songs by Tina Turner and Rod Stewart. And then it went, went. And we overtook all the artists in terms of box office receipts.
ABOUT THE RIVAL
- To be honest, I think that her husband Victor does not want us to communicate. After all, it was he who removed her from me,” Ermakov assumed. — Victor wanted to replace me, as it were, to be a producer. But what came of it? After we broke up, her popularity plummeted. Because the songs are wrong. I would never allow her to change her appearance or get plastic surgery. Because appearance is a brand.
But it was I who introduced Masha to her current husband. After we separated, she directly told me: “Volodya, it will be easy for you to find a woman, but what if I go outside?”
I then told her: “Put on a quilted jacket, put on your makeup, so that they will love you, not knowing that you are Rasputin. Then it will be real.” We laughed and laughed, and then I finally decided to help my ex-wife. I began to remember who was at the concerts, who spoke flatteringly, who tried to talk to her, who admired her, who was financially secure. I remembered that so-and-so. Two people came, admired us, we had dinner together, we left our addresses. I chose the best one, called businessman Viktor Zakharov and said: “Now Masha and I are getting a divorce, she is alone, so she needs some kind of support, a good friend.” I brought them together for six months. Either Masha didn’t like him, or something seemed strange to him about her. Because you have to behave a little differently with a star than with an ordinary girl. But then they fell in love and got married.
ABOUT THE NOVEL OF RASPUTIN AND KIRKOROV
— The press wrote that Kirkorov stole Rasputin from me. I saw that Kirkorov liked my wife. His eyes lit up when he looked at her. I think he was in love with Masha,” Ermakov recalled. - But I was never jealous of Masha. We had fun together, but now everything has gone somewhere...
“KP” brings condolences to the relatives of Vladimir Ermakov.
About the death of the producer
The last years of Vladimir Ermakov’s life were marked by a series of scandals. Vladimir and Masha blamed each other for everything in every possible way. Important news for fans of Rasputina was the existence of her daughter Lida . As Ermakov himself said, he left all his acquired property to Masha Rasputina and his daughter, demanding only one thing from his ex-wife: she had to buy an apartment for Lida. As it became known, Rasputina bought her daughter’s apartment, but after some time she sold it, leaving the girl to simply live on the street. After a while, in 2020, news appeared in the media that Vladimir’s ex-wife and his daughter had reconciled.
Vladimir Ermakov and Maria Rasputina
At the beginning of October, news appeared about the death of Vladimir Ermakov. The ex-husband of Masha Rasputina died in his own apartment on October 5, 2020. “Moskovsky Komsomolets” said that the producer had been suffering from epilepsy for the past three years. Sometimes, when Ermakov forgot to take the medications he needed, attacks could occur up to 5 times a day. According to emergency doctors, the cause of Vladimir Ermakov’s death was most likely another attack of epilepsy.
Vladimir Ermakov wrote posters for Rasputina when the singer took her daughter away from the producer
As it became known later, Vladimir’s funeral was handled by his eldest son. There is also information that Masha Rasputina herself to say goodbye to her ex-husband .
Death
The last 10 years of Vladimir Ermakov’s life were marked by scandals. The former spouses accused each other of all mortal sins. News for fans was the existence of Masha Rasputin’s daughter Lida. According to Ermakov, he left all his acquired property to his wife and daughter, demanding that Lida buy an apartment. Rasputin bought, but then took away and sold a one-room apartment in Moscow, leaving the girl on the street. In 2016, the singer made peace with her eldest daughter.
In early October, it became known about the death of Vladimir Ermakov
. According to Viktor Zakharov, Rasputina’s husband, Vladimir came to the recording of the “Actually” program, intending to pour a new portion of compromising evidence on his ex-wife. But the recording failed: Masha Rasputina, having learned that Ermakov was coming, left the pavilion. Zakharov said that Vladimir died on Dmitry Shepelev’s program, but Channel One denied rumors about Ermakov’s death on the set.
Rasputina’s ex-husband died on the night of October 5, 2020, in his own apartment. According to Moskovsky Komsomolets, Vladimir Ermakov has suffered from epilepsy for the last three years. Sometimes attacks occurred 5 times a day - the patient forgot to take medications.
Vladimir Ermakov
On the eve of his death, Vladimir Ermakov did not get out of bed and did not recognize anyone, what happened before the attacks. The emergency room doctors called that night confirmed Ermakov’s death, the cause of which was most likely an epileptic attack. The father's funeral was handled by the son from his first marriage. According to unverified information, Masha Rasputina did not come to say goodbye to her ex-husband.
Daughter of Masha Rasputina - Lydia Ermakova
Masha Rasputina’s daughter, Lydia Ermakova, was born in 1985 in the artist’s first marriage to her producer. At the end of this marriage, Masha and her husband had a bad relationship, and their daughter became the subject of manipulation. Lida did not understand what was happening at the time and acted at the instigation of her parents. The girl said that her mother deprived her of her apartment and threw her out onto the street, Masha’s daughter was even in a psychiatric hospital, and everyone was talking about the girl having mental problems.
After the death of her father last year, the singer’s adult daughter apologized to her mother and said that her father had force-fed her psychotropic drugs so that she would denigrate the singer’s personality in the media. Rasputina forgave her daughter and said that no matter what she did, she was still her child, and for so many years the artist experienced heartache for her.
