Boris Grebenshchikov: personal life (wife and children), biography

Personal life of Boris Grebenshchikov: wives and children

Boris Borisovich created his first family early - at the age of twenty-three he married Natalya Kozlovskaya, taking her away from the musician of his group, Mikhail Fainstein. The celebration of the wedding was loud and widespread - at the luxuriously set tables of the Astoria restaurant, numerous guests drank to the health of the newlyweds, among whom were not only relatives and St. Petersburg musicians, but also Moscow colleagues.

In the photo: Boris Grebenshchikov and Natalya Kozlovskaya

However, less than two years later, the personal life of Boris Grebenshchikov and Natalya began to crack - the couple began to quarrel, sort things out, and after the birth of their daughter Alisa, it became clear that this family had no chance of existing - Boris began to appear at home less and less and took virtually no part in raising a child.

Boris Grebenshchikov and Vsevolod Gakkel

Grebenshchikov spent most of the time after the baby was born in the family at home with his friend and Aquarium participant Vsevolod Gakkel. Seva was already a married man at that time, and his wife Lyudmila Shurygina became the subject of Boris’s new hobby.

In the photo: Grebenshchikov and Lyudmila Shurygina

Gakkel and Grebenshchikov met in 1975, and at the same time Vsevolod became a cellist at Aquarium. He was so passionate about music that he paid almost no attention to his wife, and their relationship with Lyudmila was far from ideal.

Perhaps this was due to the fact that Shurygina had a scandalous character and was always looking for reasons for another quarrel.

Vsevolod’s friends treated her with hostility, but Grebenshchikov simply could not stand it. However, after a breakdown in his own family, Boris, who practically moved in with the Gakkels, felt sympathy for Lyudmila, and then a romance broke out between them. Vsevolod, having learned about this, did not make a scandal; apparently, he was not very upset by his wife’s betrayal.

Soon, Boris Grebenshchikov’s personal life entered a new stage - he married again. With his new wife, BG bought a large house on the shores of Valdai, in which he and Lyudmila were going to give concerts, but they never had to realize their plans. BG lived with Shurygina for nine years, in this marriage the second child of Boris Grebenshchikov was born - son Gleb.

The reason for the divorce of Boris and Lyudmila was the frivolity of her husband - she began to hear rumors about Boris’s affairs on the side, and one of them was with the wife of another Aquarium member, bassist Alexander Titov, Irina. Boris Grebenshchikov's wife did not sort things out, but simply filed for divorce, after which she fell into depression.

In the photo: Boris Grebenshchikov with his wife Irina Titova

The fact is that all the years of her married life she was concerned only with her family, and, having separated from her husband, she no longer saw the meaning in life. Lyudmila started drinking and became so depressed that her apartment turned into a drunken den. She did not take care of her son at all, and Gleb was left to his own devices, and when his mother was on a drinking binge, he lived with his father or grandmother.

Son of Boris Grebenshchikov Egor

Shurygina tried to recover from alcoholism, but all attempts were unsuccessful, several times she even wanted to commit suicide. At this time, Boris Grebenshchikov created a new family - with Irina Titova, and, apparently, found his ideal - they have been together for almost thirty years, and this is largely the merit of the musician’s wife.

Irina turned out to be a wise woman and tried not to pay attention to her husband’s fleeting romances, of which there were many.

In his third marriage, Grebenshchikov had another child - daughter Vasilisa, and in total there were two children in the family - Irina had a son, Mark, from her first marriage.

Grebenshchikov with his wife Irina and daughter from his first marriage Alisa

By this time, BG had become more mature and wiser, and the younger children of Boris Grebenshchikov received much more care and attention from him than the older ones.

“I think my parents did a great job: they taught me to see the beauty around me and treat people the way you want them to treat you,” says Vasilisa.

All the children of Boris Grebenshkiov are creative people - the eldest daughter Alisa became a sought-after actress, the middle one Gleb became a DJ, the youngest Vasilisa also first tried to be an actress, but later settled on the profession of a designer.

Relationship between Boris and Lyudmila Shurygina

After divorcing Natalya, Boris focused on work, but never forgot that he started playing music in order to please girls. One of them was always nearby - the wife of Seva Gakkel - a colleague in the shop.

Lyudmila Shurygina and Boris Grebenshchikov

Lyudmila Shurygina and Boris Grebenshchikov did not reveal themselves for a long time - their romance was secret. The leader of Aquarium often stayed in Gakkel’s apartment. When he went to bed, Grebenshchikov and his new lover ran to the roof to admire the St. Petersburg sky and indulge in bliss.

BG with his second wife Lyudmila and son Gleb

Bo and Liu (as they called themselves) were together for nine years; the couple had a son, Gleb Grebenshchikov. The relationship ended after the wife found out about the new romantic adventures of the loving BG.

Brief biography of the musician

Grebenshchikov was born in St. Petersburg in November 1953 into an intelligent family. His passion for music came to him in early childhood, but his parents sent Boris to a school with a mathematical bias - they wanted their son to grow up to be a serious person and connect his biography with a prestigious profession.

The future leader of the rock band received his higher education at Leningrad University, but he preferred music to study at the Faculty of Applied Mathematics. During his student years, Grebenshchikov became the founder of the legendary Aquarium group, and his colleague in those years was his school friend Anatoly Gunitsky.

The group’s first album was released in 1973, and two years later “Aquarium” grew to four people, but soon Grebenshchikov’s associates developed another hobby - theater, and they left the group. Vsevolod Gekkel joined Boris, who was left alone, and in 1976 the second album in Aquarium’s creative biography was released.

In 1980, BG was expelled from the Komsomol and fired from his job after performing at a rock festival in Tbilisi, and he was also banned from performing. But this did not unsettle Boris - he began to give apartments, and thanks to his acquaintance with Sergei Kuryokhin, he made his debut on television.

Thanks to this, the musician’s biography entered a new stage of development, he became a member of the Leningrad Rock Club, and after perestroika he received the opportunity to give concerts officially.

Boris Grebenshchikov received many awards for his work, and his group, despite periodically appearing rumors of disintegration, continued to exist.

In bed with Grebenshchikov

However, journalists made a fuss after the publication of the revelation of Linda Jonnenberg, a girl who became acquainted with half of the creative “society” of Russia (among others, such names as Shevchuk, Khabensky, Butusov flashed by).

Linda spoke shamelessly and with uncomfortable details about her affair with Boris Grebenshchikov, even mentioning that she made love to the musician in the presence (and participation) of his wife.

Also, according to her, their unofficial relationship with the poet continued for several years. Linda also learned about Grebenshchikov’s other mistresses, as well as with whom and when he spends time. The musician himself does not comment on these stories.

Grebenshchikov, however, generally does not hide his falling in love from anyone and, apparently, is sincerely perplexed why they are trying to shame him for this. For example, he, in his own words, began to study music only for the love of his fans.

There really were and still are a lot of them - during the popularity of rock and changes in the country, the Aquarium group with its permanent leader Grebenshchikov was in its heyday, and Boris Borisovich himself, with his romantic image, continues to attract girls to this day.

Biography

Boris Grebenshchikov (BG) is a living legend, founder of Russian rock, idol of millions. The leader of the cult group “Aquarium” saw how the Russian musical community, priorities and authorities changed, and for so many years he did not lose inspiration.

“What interested me 20-30-40 years ago continues to do so now: the range of interest is simply wider and wider. The only thing I, thank God, am losing interest in is my own self.”

Boris Grebenshchikov

The singer easily answers questions with quotes from sages, is friends with the Dalai Lama, and counters accusations of occultism with the statement that God is omnipresent and intermediaries between him and man are not needed.

Music

The first album “Aquarium” was released in samizdat. “The Temptation of the Holy Aquarium” in 1973 was called by critics “the first attempt to create conceptual music in the USSR.”

Boris Grebenshchikov on stage

In 1974, two more people appeared in the group - M. Fainstein and A. Romanov. Young people expand their creative horizons and create a theater club at their home faculty. Feinstein writes absurd plays, and Romanov and Grebenshchikov happily act in them. The only bad thing is that the guys get so carried away by the drama that they almost forget about the music. They leave the group, at the same time they are prohibited from rehearsing at the university, and the leader of the group is even threatened with expulsion.

There is only one warrior left in the “field” of the “Aquarium” - Grebenshchikov. But Boris does not become despondent: the universe begins to slowly but surely bring him together with musicians who will remain in the lineup for the next 15 years. The first sign was cellist Vsevolod Gekkel. At the same time, BG wrote true hits, which are still heard at concerts. These years there is absolutely no place for the band to rehearse and record songs - everything is very expensive and not approved in the necessary rooms.

Boris Grebenshchikov and the Aquarium group

Nevertheless, in 1976, Aquarium published the album “From the Other Side of the Mirror Glass,” and in 1978, in the open air, they recorded the album “Everyone is Brothers and Sisters” in a duet with Mike Naumenko. Since 1981, things got a little more fun: Boris began collaborating with the legendary studio of Andrei Tropilo. The albums “Blue Album”, “Triangle”, “Acoustics”, “Taboo”, “Silver Day” and “Children of December” were recorded there.

The 1986 album “Ten Arrows” is dedicated to the tragically deceased group member Alexander Kussul. The album includes the band's calling card "Golden City", as well as "Plane Tree" and "Tram".

Boris Grebenshchikov and "Aquarium" - "Golden City"

The musician did not stop recording songs, although during this period he had problems through the roof - after performing at the Tbilisi rock festival in 1980, Boris was expelled from the Komsomol, fired from his position as a junior researcher and officially banned from performing.

Grebenshchikov is not lost again and gets a job as a janitor so as not to become a “parasite.” His concerts are turning into “apartment events” - a format when musicians and listeners gather at home and sing quietly with a guitar so that vigilant neighbors do not call the police. At the same time, the musician made acquaintance with the Leningrad avant-garde artist Sergei Kuryokhin, with whose help he appeared in the TV show “Jolly Fellows.”

Boris Grebenshchikov and Viktor Tsoi

After this, invitations to television came to the singer more and more often. In 1981, Boris became a member of the Leningrad Rock Club, and in 1982 he noticed and produced the first album of Viktor Tsoi and the Kino group.

After several discs and years, Grebenshchikov recorded two English-language records at once in the USA - “Radio Silence” and “Radio London” were released in 1989. At the same time, the singer met foreign rock figures - Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Debbie Harry, Lou Reed.

Boris Grebenshchikov and David Bowie

In 1990, the Aquarium group officially ceased to exist. Grebenshchikov headed the BG-Band, but he did not last long - in 1993, Aquarium resumed its activities.

With perestroika, the musician came out of the “underground” onto quite decent stages of clubs, concert halls and stadiums. His albums are becoming more and more unusual in sound; he is called to write music for mass cinema. During the same period, he became seriously interested in Buddhism, became a student of Lama Ole Nydahl, and repeatedly visited the ashram of the Indian guru Sai Baba.