The whole country sang his songs “Blue Car” and “Smile”, believing that the author of these hits was wallowing in luxury. But when the music stopped, there was an eerie silence: the accounts were empty, the house was mortgaged, and the years-long battle for heirs never subsided. Even the legend's final resting place was not paid for by his relatives, but by a colleague who was appalled by the condition of the grave.
Laugh through millions of debts
Small stature wide smile and eternal energy – this is how Vladimir Shainsky is remembered by millions. It seems like this man doesn't know sadness at all. However, behind the facade of the much-loved film lies a drama worthy of being an action film. At the entrance of the Melodiya company, security guards once turned around, mistaking him for a thug: Detsky Mir's ridiculous clothes were the only thing that suited the composer in an era of scarcity. Then, passing through the siege to reach Yury Entin, he pulled out his lucky ticket. But fame does not guarantee a comfortable old age, especially when a serious illness abroad strikes.
The eternal guy syndrome and “Lolita” from accounting
The composer never hid his weakness for the fair sex, but his final choice shocked even bohemians accustomed to everything. On the threshold of his 60th birthday, he lost his soul in front of 17-year-old student Svetlana. The 41-year difference seems like an insurmountable abyss, but this bond has lasted more than three decades. People around him pointed at his temples, predicting an impending divorce, and he simply enjoyed life as a teenager.
“I don't feel old at all. I'm interested in life, I'm interested in everything that happens around me.”
This attitude towards life helped him win a young muse, who became not only a wife but also a nurse and guardian angel. She followed him in 2000. At the age of 74, Shainsky suddenly left Russia, first moving to Israel and then, in 2004, to the United States.
War on both sides of the ocean
Peaceful life in the new family has become a cause of controversy for children from previous marriages. Eldest son Joseph, who had long settled in Israel, actually erased his father from his life long before he left. The cause of the Cold War was banal financial refusal: the boss did not want to finance the heir's questionable business projects. Resentment turned out to be stronger than blood ties. The calls stopped, the holiday wishes disappeared. The phone silence lasted for many years until the division of assets.
The price of the American dream
Many people think that the conductor went to San Diego to enjoy the ocean breeze in retirement. But the reality is much more banal and terrible: migration becomes an attempt to survive. In Russia, doctors shrugged off cancer diagnoses, and moving to the United States was a bet on advanced medicine. Cancer treatment creates a six-dollar bill, depleting all savings. The complex operation gave the composer a few more years of his life, but the price was high. The family had to sell their Moscow apartment and their house in California, as it later turned out, was under mortgage. There is not enough money even for the most necessary things.
Posthumous accounts and newsletters from Themis
The ending of this story is bitter. Shainsky died at a hospital in California on the eve of his 92nd birthday. Contrary to logic, the family refused to bury him on American soil – the body was transported across the ocean to Moscow, because he would forever remain a Russian composer. But even at home, peace is not found immediately. For many years, there was no monument at the grave in the Troekurovsky cemetery – the widow simply had no money after paying her debts to the clinics. The situation was saved by Alla Pugacheva, who allocated two million rubles for the monument.
Meanwhile, silence reigned in the cemetery, passions boiled in the courtyard. The eldest son Joseph demanded his share. Themis's verdict sounds like a mockery: he was awarded a portion of the royalties, which, according to rumors, brought about 8 thousand rubles a year.
Do you believe that big money brings happiness or does it only hasten the breakdown of families?
