Mikhail Zadornov died: biography of the Russian humorist

Biography of Mikhail Zadornov

Mikhail Zadornov is a popular satirist who was known and loved not only in Russia, but also in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Zadornov's monologues were always topical, full of subtle irony, and their heroes are perfectly recognizable in everyday life, which is why all the satirist's speeches invariably scattered into quotes, attracted many spectators and were a great success.

Legend of Russian humor - Mikhail Zadornov

When did the career of this bright satirist begin and what was his path to the big stage? Our article, which is entirely dedicated to one of the best comedians on the modern Russian stage, will help you find out all this.

Family, childhood and youth

Mikhail Zadornov was born in the Latvian resort city of Jurmala. His father, Nikolai Pavlovich Zadornov, was a writer specializing primarily in historical topics. Mom - Elena Melkhiorovna Matusevich - came from an old noble family and was a housewife.

In the photo: young Mikhail Zadornov with his mother

While still at school, the future satirist began to get seriously interested in theater. As some of his acquaintances claimed, in one of the children's performances, young Mikhail played the role of a turnip so masterfully that he was repeatedly pulled out for an encore. The next role was a costumed bear in the production of Ostrovsky’s “A Profitable Place” - his character had no words, but Mikhail growled so convincingly that he was invited to the drama club on a permanent basis.

Mikhail Zadornov in childhood

Despite his success in the acting field, after school Mikhail Zadornov decided to enter the Riga Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers, since there was a good handball team there, and the future satirist was fascinated by this game from an early age. However, his further sports career did not work out - one day during training he fell and broke his meniscus.

Zadornov's father was a famous writer

Personal life

Mikhail's first wife was Velta Yanovna Kalnberzinya. They knew each other from school, as they studied in parallel classes. Although, as Zadornov said, for the first time they could see each other in the maternity hospital, since their mothers were in the same ward and gave birth to their babies four days apart.

Well-educated Velta, from an intelligent family, noticed a smart, interesting boy even during her school years. But they became close already in Moscow, where both received higher education - Misha at the Aviation Institute, Velta at Moscow State University. Despite the fact that they had known each other for a long time and completely coincided in their interests, they did not get married right away. Mikhail had to fight for Velta.

The girl was very beautiful, smart and intelligent, with impeccable manners and taste, and with a high social status: her father Jan Kalnberzin worked as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia. Velta had many suitors and candidates for the role of husband, but she still chose Mikhail. In the early spring of 1971, their wedding took place.

His wife became Mikhail’s reliable support and muse; she always treated his work with special reverence. He affectionately called his wife “Velka.” Despite the fact that in the future Mikhail had a second family, he and Velta did not officially separate; his passport had a single marriage stamp. Until the end of his days, Zadornov considered her his dearest person. Now she lives in Moscow, works at the Department of English Linguistics, Faculty of Philology, Moscow State University, and has the titles of professor and doctor of philological sciences.

Mikhail with his first wife Velta Yanovna

At the end of the 1980s, a second wife, Elena Vladimirovna Bombina, appeared in Mikhail’s life; she was sixteen years younger than him. At that time, Zadornov toured the country a lot and on his trips became close to Lena, who worked for him as an administrator. She was from Riga, and Mikhail’s mother also lived there, whom he often came to visit. Over time, the relationship grew into a long-term and serious one; the lovers did not advertise it, but did not hide it either.

In 1990, Bombina gave birth to the satirist’s only daughter, the girl was also named Elena (in honor of Mikhail’s mother). Zadornov gave his daughter his last name and managed to show it to his father, who died two years after the birth of the baby. Mikhail did not hide the birth of his daughter from Velta, with whom he still remained legally married. A wise woman commented on this situation: “A daughter is a joy, and why hide her if she has already been born. Anything can happen in life."

Mikhail devoted all his free time to raising his daughter; they traveled a lot, played, read, and had conversations on any topic. The satirist doted on his daughter and was incredibly proud of her. Now Elena has already graduated from the acting department of the Russian Academy of Theater Arts.

Mikhail with his second wife Elena Bombina and daughter

Creative path

Zadornov wrote his debut literary work (the unpublished story “The Intersection Point”) at the age of 18, after being on an expedition to the Kuril Islands (the plot was based on impressions from the trip). Alas, the story did not impress the magazine editors and was not published.

Mikhail Zadornov served in the missile forces

In 1969, Zadornov transferred to the second year of the Moscow Aviation Institute, from which he graduated in 1974 with a diploma in mechanical engineering, simultaneously receiving an offer from management to remain at MAI as an employee. Mikhail agreed, but rather not because of the prospects of becoming a researcher, but for the sake of the youth theater “Russia” at the Moscow Aviation Institute, to which he devoted a significant part of his student years: he was an actor, he himself acted as a playwright and director. Under his leadership, the theater gained fame in the Soviet republics and was awarded the Lenin Komsomol Prize. Mikhail Zadornov’s life was connected with “Russia” until 1980.

Zadornov's first publications were published in 1974. The satirist was published within the Yunost magazine, and in 1984 he headed its satire and humor department. However, already in 1985 he left his post, devoting himself to his own literary career.

Zadornov's first performance. “A Student’s Letter Home” (1982) In 1982, Zadornov made his debut on television with the monologue “A Student’s Letter Home” about the misadventures of an unlucky student. Two years later, he appeared on the program “Around Laughter” with the monologue “The Ninth Car”. It was this vital sketch about how two carriages with the same number were mistakenly attached to the next train to Hungary, which later became Zadornov’s calling card. Mikhail Zadornov - “The Ninth Car” (1984) The audience also fell in love with the bold monologue at that time “Open Letter to the Secretary General” - about the preparation of the leadership of a small town for the visit of the Secretary General of the USSR. The very fact that this work, full of pointed satire, was voiced from a television screen signaled changes in the socio-political life of the country. However, the feuilleton firmly settled in Zadornov’s repertoire and still sounded just as relevant even after many years.

Zadornov was not afraid to raise sensitive social issues

In the late eighties, Mikhail Zadornov began working as the author of humorous texts for other artists. Many famous comedians performed his monologues, including Yevgeny Petrosyan, and Zadornov himself regularly shared new observations with his characteristic irony in new issues of “Funny Panorama”, “Full House” and “Satirical Forecast”. Mikhail Zadornov on the differences between Americans and Russians In 1988, Zadornov’s first collection of stories, “A Line 15 Thousand Meters Long,” was released as part of the anthology “The Crocodile Library.” The following collection, “The Mystery of the Blue Planet,” was published with a circulation of 100 thousand copies.

Mikhail Zadornov and Arkady Arkanov

A unique indicator of the artist’s popularity was the fact that on December 31, 1991, it was Mikhail Zadornov, and not Boris Yeltsin, who had not yet assumed presidential powers in place of Mikhail Gorbachev, who congratulated the residents of the collapsed state on the New Year. New Year's address by Mikhail Zadornov December 31, 1991 Despite the fact that in his speeches the comedian often “attached” the country’s leadership and the president himself, this did not prevent him from getting an apartment in the “nomenklatura” building on Osennaya Street, where Boris Yeltsin and Viktor Chernomyrdin lived , head of the presidential security Alexander Korzhakov and other high-ranking officials. The fact is that the satirist often played tennis with Yeltsin and managed to make a good impression on the president.

In Altai

In the nineties, he also tried himself as a screenwriter and film actor. One of Zadornov’s most famous works was the film “I Want Your Husband,” filmed in 1992 based on his own script. There were only three actors in the film; In addition to Mikhail Nikolaevich, Ekaterina Voronina and Anna Dubrovskaya were involved in the filming. According to the plot, a young beauty Oksana appears to a woman named Elena, who is preparing to celebrate a porcelain wedding, and offers to buy out Elena’s husband, who, as it turns out, has been cheating on his wife for many years. Recognizable “Zadorn” dialogues and a subtly conveyed imprint of a bygone era ensured the film recognition and love from the audience.

Still from the film “I Want Your Husband”

A year earlier, he also appeared in the Latvian-produced film “Depression” with a cameo role as an official, as well as in Viktor Sergeev’s film “Genius” (cameo).

In the film "Genius" Zadornov played himself

1997 was marked by the release of a four-volume book, which included the best works of the satirist at that time. Since 2000, every year Zadornov presented to the public at least two or three new concert programs. He invariably went on stage in a suit and with papers in his hands, and after the concert he showed the audience his stretching, doing the splits, or walking on his hands. His performance schedule was, without exaggeration, crazy: he once had to give as many as 8 concerts in one day. “Stupidity, American Style” (2016) In the early 2000s, the leitmotif of Zadornov’s speeches became “American” themes. Zadornov’s signature phrase “Well, stupid!” and is still heard today. After a scandal involving discrimination against the Russian Olympic team at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the satirist demonstratively canceled his American visa. Subsequently, “amateur etymology” appeared in his repertoire, as well as frequent criticism of Russian education, the Unified State Exam and the Minister of Education Andrei Fursenko in particular. Mikhail Zadornov about the Unified State Exam and education reform In 2012, Mikhail Zadornov shot the pseudo-documentary film “Rurik. Lost story", which was subsequently shown by the REN-TV channel. The film told about the confrontation between supporters of the “Norman theory” and those who argued that the Vikings could not rule Russia. His work was criticized, arguing that in recent years it was this pseudo-historical and openly politicized approach that began to prevail in the work of the pop satirist. Film by Mikhail Zadornov “Rurik. Lost reality" Since the beginning of the 2010s, Zadornov has maintained contact with fans of his work via the Internet. In addition to the official website, the satirist maintained a blog on LiveJournal, a channel on Youtube (Zador TV) and his own VKontakte page. Quite a large part of the satirist’s repertoire consisted of so-called “observations” - notes from life sent by readers.

The famous Zadornov split

In 2020, Mikhail Zadornov, Alexey Kortnev and Dmitry Kolchin became co-hosts of the original satirical program “Saltykov-Shchedrin Show”. On air, the hosts and guests joked about real-life incidents.

short biography

Mikhail Nikolaevich was born in Jurmala on July 21, 1948, in the family of a writer and a housewife.
Table 1. Life stages.

The honored artist gained great popularity and received housing next to neighbors such as Yeltsin, Korzhakov, and Chernomyrdin.

His personal qualities are evidenced by the fact that he opened a full-fledged free and accessible library, named after the artist’s father. This was timed to coincide with his centenary (2009).

Philanthropic activities did not end there. In 2010, Zadornov initiated the project of a monument to nanny A.S. Pushkin - Arina Radionovna, the installation of which in the village of Voskresensky was carried out at the expense of his personal fund.

This monument was not the only one. Two more, also dedicated to Arina Radionovna, were installed in the village of Bolshoye Boldino (2009) and in the Ethnomir park (Kaluga region), 2008.

Zadornov is a man who advocated a healthy lifestyle. He did not eat meat, did yoga and had no bad habits. Anyone could envy his positivity.

Education

After graduating from Riga secondary school No. 10, Mikhail entered the Riga Polytechnic Institute, where he completed two courses and transferred to continue his education at the Moscow Aviation Institute. After graduating, he stayed to work here in 1974 (until 1978).

Personal life

Fate gave Zadornov true love. This is his only legal wife, Velta Yanovna Kalnberzina, whose marriage, after a long period of courtship, was registered in 1971. The happy life lasted about 10 years.

Perhaps the reason for the breakdown of the union was the woman’s inability to have children, but life changed its happy contours.

In those years, the artist gained popularity, toured a lot, and was absent from home more often than he lived there.

The writer did not resist a new romance with Elena Bombina, his junior by 16 years. In 1990, their daughter was born - later a student at the Academy of Theater Arts.

Zadornov was a very loving, responsible father. He surrounded his daughter with attention, love, and tried to show the best sides of the world around her.

First performances and popularity

Despite the fact that Zadornov’s debut on television came in 1982, his popularity came two years later, when he presented the audience with the story “The Ninth Car”.

Then the career gained momentum. Since 1990, many books and individual works have been published annually.

Zadornov is a frequent participant, as well as the author, presenter of the programs “Around Laughter”, “Full House”, “Laughter Panorama”, “Mothers and Daughters”, “Satirical Forecast”.

He is known and loved by millions, and the halls where his live concerts were held were more often than not crowded.

The writer was not spared the radio broadcasts either. The “Neformat” program introduced listeners to new works and made them think about true values.

At the same time, Zadornov kept an Internet blog, where he mutually exchanged unimaginable stories with his subscribers, drawing a charge of positivity from the whole people.

While running his You tube channel, Mikhail Nikolaevich posted his joint works there, for example, with Nikita Mikhalkov.

Personal life of Mikhail Zadornov

In his life, Mikhail Zadornov was officially married only once. His wife, Velta Yanovna Kalnberzina, the daughter of a high-ranking Latvian politician, studied at the same school with him, then was his classmate at the Moscow Aviation Institute. A beautiful and smart girl knew her worth, and therefore Mikhail had to win her heart for a long time. The young people dated for a long time, and in the spring of 1971 they got married.

Velta Kalnberzina - the first wife of Mikhail Zadornov

Relationships in the young family went wrong during the period when the artist’s career began to rapidly gain momentum. At this moment, Mikhail Zadornov began dating Elena Bombina - he met a girl who was 16 years younger than the satirist at one of his performances (she was an administrator at that festival) in the late 80s.

In the photo: common-law wife (left) and daughter of Mikhail Zadornov (right)

Subsequently, she became his common-law wife. In 1990, Mikhail and Elena gave birth to a daughter, Elena Zadornova, Zadornov’s only child. Having inherited her father's artistic genes, she graduated from the Russian Academy of Theater Arts (RATI).

The satirist's daughter inherited his acting talent

In 1998, Mikhail Zadornov, once a drinker, became a vegetarian and began to actively promote a healthy lifestyle, in particular yoga. The satirist more than once spoke about his choice in the style of “amateur etymology”: “Meat in English sounds like meat: me (me) + eat (eat”), that is, “to eat yourself.” In addition, it has been proven that human DNA and pig DNA are very similar, which means that pork kebabs are clearly not good for you.”

Zadornov was a vegetarian for many years

Zadornov also spoke about supporting the Ringing Cedars of Russia movement, which promotes the ideology of so-called “family estates” - plots of land measuring at least a hectare on which members of one family can arrange their home in accordance with the rules of the eco-community.

"Life is good"

Mikhail Zadornov: position regarding Ukraine

The Russian artist is known for his sharp and Ukrainophobic statements. So, in October 2013, after a boxing fight between Vladimir Klitschko and Russian boxer Alexander Povetkin, in which the Ukrainian won, Mikhail made a statement in which he called Western Ukrainians traitors.

Of course, I understand Western Ukrainians, I don’t blame them. They have always been traitors. They always lay under Poland. And the Poles have always betrayed Russia for the sake of any Western interests. I have the right to say this because I have Polish blood.

Mikhail Zadornov about Ukraine:

Also on January 5, 2014, Mikhail Zadornov called the Ukrainians standing at the Euromaidan “Euro-Ukrainians” and said that they would disperse as soon as the oligarchs “stop supporting him.” In March 2014, he joined a letter in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin's policies regarding Russian military intervention in Ukraine.

In general, Zadornov has accumulated a lot of “jokes” about Ukraine.

Death of Mikhail Zadornov

In the fall of 2020, Mikhail Zadornov admitted to having serious health problems, due to which he had to leave the “Saltykov-Shchedrin Show” program and cancel concerts in far corners of the country. He did not advertise the name of the disease, but very soon Andrei Malakhov in his program accidentally declassified the satirist’s illness - it turned out that Zadornov had brain cancer. Mikhail Nikolaevich did not deny the information, but asked fans not to make a fuss, adding that he was undergoing chemotherapy and was trying to follow the precepts of Daria Dontsova: “The main thing is not to give up and keep yourself in good shape!”

Since 2020, Mikhail Zadornov has been fighting cancer, but lost

On October 23, Mikhail Zadornov became ill during a performance at the Meridian Palace of Culture. He was taken by ambulance straight from the concert. Doctors recorded the man having an epileptic seizure due to nervousness.

At the beginning of 2020, Regina Dubovitskaya spoke about the satirist’s condition, saying that Zadornov had undergone a serious operation and had a long course of treatment ahead of him. “He really wants to return to the audience and delight his fans with books,” she added.

Unfortunately, the treatment did not help, nor did his conversion to the Orthodox faith (at the beginning of November, Mikhail received unction in the capital’s Church of the Life-Giving Trinity). On November 10, 2020, Mikhail Zadornov passed away. He was 69 years old.

Mikhail Zadornov died on November 10, 2020

Before his death, Mikhail Zadornov ordered to be buried in his homeland, in the same grave with his father, and to support the Riga library named after Nikolai Zadornov.

Comments have been closed on Zadornov’s VKontakte page, where in the last months of his life fans of the satirist left him thousands of wishes for recovery and warm words of support. His secret concert is also located there - in the Capercaillie's Nest. The group of fans of his work continues to function. On November 15, Mikhail Nikolaevich was buried at the Jaundubulti cemetery in Jurmala.