“You barked brilliantly!”
I learned by chance that VGIK, who had been evacuated to Alma-Ata, was announcing its first enrollment. Summer of 1943... I packed a suitcase with modest belongings and set off. I arrive, and the girls have been living there for more than a month... The teachers took pity on us, listened to us and explained to each of us popularly why she needed to forget about the acting profession. And I heard: “And you, girl, we advise you to stay!” Soon VGIK returned to Moscow, and Sergei Gerasimov was appointed head of the course.
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Fadeev could not survive the resignation or pangs of conscience? When Sergei Apollinarievich found out that the namesake of his wife Tamara Fedorovna , he said: “Another Makarova? Let’s see if it lives up to the name!” And I tried my best. Once we played a sketch based on Jack London . Zhenya Morgunov and I barked behind the scenes at a whole pack of dogs.
The two of them raised such a howl and bark that they were the only ones who received straight A's. Gerasimov said just that: “You barked brilliantly!” And soon I was already playing Nastasya Filippovna in The Idiot, Carmen... Alexander Fadeev’s just-released novel The Young Guard, I remembered that back in 1943 my mother (she, as a journalist, went to the front line) ) wrote from near Rostov that very young guys - members of some underground organization - died heroically in Krasnodon. I read the novel avidly and immediately fell in love with Lyubka Shevtsova - as if I felt that Gerasimov would entrust her to me...
This is where the real sensation was! All of Moscow was flocking to see our performance. I remember how Ivan Kozlovsky was not allowed in because he and his wife were late. When we came out to bow, I saw Fadeev’s eyes, full of tears and admiration.
"Pianist" from "Young Guard". Who really was Lyuba Shevtsova?
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In the wake of this success, Gerasimov decided to make a film about young underground fighters. He immediately decided that the same students of his would star in the leading roles. Only Lyubka’s role was in question. Gerasimov knew my capabilities. But he was waiting for what Fadeev would say - he could not make such a responsible decision alone. And Fadeev said: “I don’t know what kind of Makarova Carmen was, but that this is one hundred percent Lyubka Shevtsova, I assure you!” Gerasimov’s driver, who was taking Fadeev home, came up to me and said in confidence: “You will play Lyubka. Fadeev said." This decided my cinematic fate.
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From fame to prison.
The winding path of Georgy Yumatov Our course was called “Young Guard”. Thirteen people graduated from it, but what kind ones - Sergei Bondarchuk, Klara Luchko, Lyudmila Shagalova, Evgeniy Morgunov! And the film “The Young Guard” discovered a whole galaxy of talented actors - Nonna Mordyukova, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Sergei Bondarchuk, Georgy Yumatov, Tamara Nosova.
After Fadeev’s death, there were rumors that he allegedly shot himself because he distorted real events in the Young Guard. Not true! He just went through the problems with the Young Guard and wrote the second edition of the novel. He was seriously ill - he had cirrhosis of the liver, and he was probably doomed. This, I think, is one reason. And the other... Fadeev was a very sincere person, and he was apparently disappointed in the party. When I saw the horror of what was happening, my ideals were destroyed... But this is my opinion. We haven't met him personally. Except for the fact that in 1949 he awarded me the Stalin Prize for the film. 100 thousand rubles were then divided among everyone - director Gerasimov and cameraman Rappoport were given 10 thousand rubles each, and the rest was distributed among us, the actors.
Lyalya Shagalova and I wanted to buy mouton fur coats for a prize, which we brought to the Central Department Store. But how? There were wild queues behind them. And we decided, at someone’s prompting, to go to the Moscow City Council. Some big boss listened to us sympathetically and called the director of the Central Department Store. Soon the packages were handed over to us. It was a gorgeous fur coat; I wore it for ten years. That's the whole award...
Another wife...
Despite the triumph of the film, we did not feel like stars, as they say now, and did not suffer from any star diseases. Yes, we were recognized on the streets, magazine covers and rave reviews appeared. But financially we lived very hard then. And then there’s marriage...
Sergei Bondarchuk at the rehearsal of “The Idiot”, where I played Nastasya Filippovna... He came to VGIK straight from the front. Already at the first meeting, it became clear that he and I were incredibly different people. He is an adult who went through the war, six years older than me, a mature person. I am a schoolgirl with unpainted lips, pigtails and the wind in my head. And yet he fell in love, followed me like a thread following a needle... I myself don’t understand why Sergei Fedorovich paid attention to me - there were such beauties there, and everyone was in love with him. He also had a first wife, about whom I had no idea. They studied together, got married before the war, then separated, and she tore the marriage certificate to shreds. And suddenly I decided to return it. I came to Moscow and spent one night with him. And... she became pregnant. I remember well how I was sliding down the stairs (I loved sliding down the stairs - there was one like that!), he stands and shows me a telegram that a son was born. At that time, he and I also did not have an affair as such. I say: “Did you send an answer?” - "No!" - “Let's go immediately! Otherwise the milk might dry out...” Then in court this telegram was presented as proof that he was her husband, although no one had ever abandoned the child. A very unpleasant story, I don’t want to remember...
The flagship of Russian cinema. 10 most successful films of Sergei Bondarchuk | Photo gallery
One of the first appearances of Sergei Bondarchuk on the screen was the small role of Gvozdev in the legendary film by Alexander Stolper “The Tale of a Real Man”, which was based on the story of the pilot Alexei Maresyev. Bondarchuk played the role of Gvozdev, however © Still from the film “The Tale of a Real Man,” 1948
In 1955, Sergei Bondarchuk became Elina Bystritskaya’s partner on the set of the drama “The Unfinished Tale,” which tells the story of a romance between a shipbuilder and a doctor. It’s interesting that Bondarchuk and Bystritskaya, playing young people in love with each other, © Still from the film “The Unfinished Tale,” 1955
Sergei Bondarchuk made his debut as a director in the late 50s - his first work was a film adaptation of Mikhail Sholokhov’s new story “The Fate of a Man” at that time. In this film, Bondarchuk also played the main role - Andrei Sokolov. Painting useful © Still from the film “The Fate of Man”, 1959
In 1960, Sergei Bondarchuk played the role of the main character’s stepfather in the melodrama “Seryozha” - the feature-length debut of Georgy Danelia and Igor Talankin. In 1960, readers of the magazine “Soviet Screen” named this picture the best film of the year, and within the international © Still from the film “Seryozha”, 1960
In the late sixties, Sergei Bondarchuk received an international calling - at the 41st Academy Awards for the film “War and Peace” he received the main prize in the category Best Foreign Language Film (this is the first victory for a Soviet film in yes © Still from the film "War and Peace", 1965
At the San Sebastian festival in 1971, the film adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s famous play “Uncle Vanya” received the “Silver Shell” prize. The main roles in that film were played by Innokenty Smoktunovsky and Sergei Bondarchuk, who played Mikhail Lvovich Astrov. Fil © Still from the film “Uncle Vanya”, 1970
In 1974, Sergei Bondarchuk made the war film “They Fought for the Motherland.” The film is based on another novel by Mikhail Sholokhov, although the writer was initially against the film adaptation, but later gave his consent. “They Fought for the Motherland” surpassed success © Still from the film “They Fought for the Motherland”, 1975
Together with Italian and Mexican filmmakers, Sergei Bondarchuk made a film about the Mexican revolution of 1910 - “Red Bells, film one - Mexico on fire.” The main roles in the film were played by Franco Nero, Ursula Andress and Jorge Luque. Not f © Still from the film “Red Bells, film one - Mexico on fire”, 1982
In the mid-eighties, Sergei Bondarchuk filmed Alexander Pushkin’s tragedy “Boris Godunov,” which describes the times in which Boris Godunov and his son Fedor reigned. This picture was the last directorial project of Sergei Bondarchuk, released in © Still from the film “Boris Godunov”, 1986
Bondarchuk’s last work was directing the seven-part television film “Quiet Flows the Flow of the Flows the Flow of the Flow”, produced with the participation of film companies in Great Britain and Italy. Filming of the film took place over the course of eleven months in Russia and Ukraine, after © Still from the film “Quiet Don”, 1994
Great-grandchildren of Inna Makarova
Maria Burlyaeva was married twice. Her first husband was the Belarusian actor Igor Vasiliev. The marriage did not last long. The couple separated without children. The second time Maria was luckier. She married an actor and director from Tashkent, Vladimir Bagramov. She's happy now. Maria Bagramova gave birth to three sons: Artemy (2012), Daniil (2016) and Mark (2017).
We can only hope that these three boys will also become actors, like their great-grandmother.
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The flagship of Russian cinema. 10 most successful films of Sergei Bondarchuk | Photo gallery
One of the first appearances of Sergei Bondarchuk on the screen was the small role of Gvozdev in the legendary film by Alexander Stolper “The Tale of a Real Man”, which was based on the story of the pilot Alexei Maresyev. Bondarchuk played the role of Gvozdev, however © Still from the film “The Tale of a Real Man,” 1948
In 1955, Sergei Bondarchuk became Elina Bystritskaya’s partner on the set of the drama “The Unfinished Tale,” which tells the story of a romance between a shipbuilder and a doctor. It’s interesting that Bondarchuk and Bystritskaya, playing young people in love with each other, © Still from the film “The Unfinished Tale,” 1955
Sergei Bondarchuk made his debut as a director in the late 50s - his first work was a film adaptation of Mikhail Sholokhov’s new story “The Fate of a Man” at that time. In this film, Bondarchuk also played the main role - Andrei Sokolov. Painting useful © Still from the film “The Fate of Man”, 1959
In 1960, Sergei Bondarchuk played the role of the main character’s stepfather in the melodrama “Seryozha” - the feature-length debut of Georgy Danelia and Igor Talankin. In 1960, readers of the magazine “Soviet Screen” named this picture the best film of the year, and within the international © Still from the film “Seryozha”, 1960
In the late sixties, Sergei Bondarchuk received an international calling - at the 41st Academy Awards for the film “War and Peace” he received the main prize in the category Best Foreign Language Film (this is the first victory for a Soviet film in yes © Still from the film "War and Peace", 1965
At the San Sebastian festival in 1971, the film adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s famous play “Uncle Vanya” received the “Silver Shell” prize. The main roles in that film were played by Innokenty Smoktunovsky and Sergei Bondarchuk, who played Mikhail Lvovich Astrov. Fil © Still from the film “Uncle Vanya”, 1970
In 1974, Sergei Bondarchuk made the war film “They Fought for the Motherland.” The film is based on another novel by Mikhail Sholokhov, although the writer was initially against the film adaptation, but later gave his consent. “They Fought for the Motherland” surpassed success © Still from the film “They Fought for the Motherland”, 1975
Together with Italian and Mexican filmmakers, Sergei Bondarchuk made a film about the Mexican revolution of 1910 - “Red Bells, film one - Mexico on fire.” The main roles in the film were played by Franco Nero, Ursula Andress and Jorge Luque. Not f © Still from the film “Red Bells, film one - Mexico on fire”, 1982
In the mid-eighties, Sergei Bondarchuk filmed Alexander Pushkin’s tragedy “Boris Godunov,” which describes the times in which Boris Godunov and his son Fedor reigned. This picture was the last directorial project of Sergei Bondarchuk, released in © Still from the film “Boris Godunov”, 1986
Bondarchuk’s last work was directing the seven-part television film “Quiet Flows the Flow of the Flows the Flow of the Flow”, produced with the participation of film companies in Great Britain and Italy. Filming of the film took place over the course of eleven months in Russia and Ukraine, after © Still from the film “Quiet Don”, 1994
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Bondarchuk breed. Family plays an important role in Natalya Bondarchuk’s work. We got married in 1947. There wasn’t really a wedding; due to lack of money, they didn’t even buy a wedding dress. I repeated many times before the registry office: “Seryozha, let’s live for three years just like that, suddenly we’ll separate, and then what?” Of course, this does not mean that I was against it, on the contrary! But I was still just a girl. Besides, we have neither a stake nor a yard. But he was adamant... And then I didn’t even have a passport, but only a temporary certificate that fell into four parts. Sergei sat and glued it together all night. He sent a letter to my mother asking for my hand in marriage and blessings. He wrote this “message to Siberia” for two days - he spent countless amounts of paper on drafts, and thought about it for two weeks. I was very worried.
We got married, but there was nowhere to live. While we were looking for housing, we spent the night on the sofa in the Film Actor's Theater, from where the watchman and fireman drove us away. Then we rented a corner in the basement on Sadovaya-Triumfalnaya. The room was heated by an iron stove, and there were rats there, big as cats. It was in this basement that Sergei and I met all-Union glory. And then... the continuation of the “fur coat” story happened. Sergei was in Kyiv on the set of Taras Shevchenko, and I went to see my uncle in the Moscow City Council to thank him for the fur coat. She told me that I didn’t even have a place to register. “Well, write a statement. You’re not from the street, but a Stalin Prize laureate.” I scribbled something on paper and immediately forgot about it. And suddenly, after a couple of months, a neighbor rushed in with incredible news: “They gave you an apartment!” I came to Sergei in Kyiv and waved the warrant in front of his face. Oh, it was happiness... To celebrate, I even became pregnant. So our daughter Natasha was born in a new apartment.
“Here we are all still together - me, Sergei and very little Natasha.” Photo from the personal archive of Natalia Bondarchuk
Found love in the hospital
There was all-Union fame, but for a long time I did not receive new offers from directors. There was a period of “little films” - 6-7 films were shot a year. But we had the Film Actor’s Theater, where there were always crowds of people. I played both vaudeville and plays there. But most importantly, after the role of Lyubka, Shevtsova could no longer play nonsense. I waited almost 10 years for the next big role - in the film “Height” by Zarkhi Joseph Kheifits invited me to play the main role in the film “My Dear Man”. Yuri German wrote the script specifically for me and Alexei Batalov . By the way, this picture is one of my favorites.
It just so happened that it was on the set of this film that I decided to divorce Bondarchuk. Then there was talk that I allegedly had an affair on the set... What nonsense! I didn't have any affair! We broke up because we started filming. I went abroad, he went to another city, and the separation lasted for several months... And the ladies behind my back sharpened their teeth and claws with might and main. As a result, one of them managed to get his hands on him...
We lived together for ten years. Now I don’t want to paint everything with one paint – black or white. Sergei gave me a lot, we helped each other creatively. They valued each other very highly. But still, Bondarchuk and I did not have the kind of love with which we live for a long time. I realized: we are different people. At first they flew towards each other like birds, but then this flight became tiresome. As a result, I, flying to Leningrad for filming, told him that we had to break up. Sergei Fedorovich was shocked! He had no intention of leaving home at all, he begged to start all over again. But I was so tired of vulgarity, calls, anonymous letters, constant travel, manifestations of a difficult character and other things that I took the keys from him and began to raise Natasha on my own. The separation lasted two years. They even called me to the Central Committee to reconcile us, but I remained adamant...
Of course, when I was left alone, I had a lot of fans - even too many. But I didn’t get married for a long time until I met Misha. This is an amazing story! We met back in Novosibirsk, during the war. He was finishing his medical degree, and I performed at the hospital where he practiced. What a coincidence, right? But later they moved to different cities and lost each other. And then years later I was looking for a good doctor for my mother, and they recommended a miracle doctor to me - the famous surgeon, professor of pulmonology Mikhail Perelman . It turned out that it was Misha! I remember walking along the hospital corridor, he came towards me. He takes me by the hand and... This meeting decided everything. Somehow I immediately felt very at ease with him - we had absolute harmony in everything. This was the relationship that I missed so much in my first marriage. As a result, we lived happily together under one roof for 42 years. Unfortunately, Misha passed away two years ago. For me, his passing is a tremendous challenge. Since then I haven’t been feeling well, I’ve been sick.
What about cinema?
I have always been very picky and tough in this regard. I didn’t act during all the years of perestroika solely for one reason: I couldn’t and didn’t want to play what was offered to me. For me it was always important: who is filming, what is being filmed, what is the script, who are the partners. If you're going to play, then have fun. But no - why? I have a lot of other things to do! Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, IV degree, to actress Inna Makarova, 2006. Photo: RIA Novosti/Dmitry Astakhov
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Inna Makarova says
My acting talents showed up at the age of five. When she came to visit her grandparents in Mariinsk, she organized performances with the neighboring children. Near the barn, which was chosen as the stage (the doors open and close - why not a curtain?), chairs and stools were displayed in rows, on one side of the auditorium there was a cash register, on the other there was a buffet where turnips and carrots picked from grandmother's beds were sold .
I grew up in a family where books, theater, and music came first. Mom graduated from the Literary Institute and worked as an editor at Novosibirsk radio. Before the war, her novel “The Return” was published, which was a great success. And dad wrote both prose and poetry. His historical study “Ottoman Siberia” is still cited by experts.
Inna Makarova and Sergei Bondarchuk
When the war began, I was not yet fifteen, but I was already playing large roles in productions of the theater studio at the Novosibirsk House of Artistic Education for Children: Maria in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Dorina in Moliere’s Tartuffe, Smeraldina in The Servant of Two Masters. Goldoni. We performed performances and concerts in hospitals.
In June 1943, having barely received a certificate of secondary education, she went by train to Alma-Ata, where VGIK was evacuated during the war. I learned from somewhere that enrollment had been announced for all faculties, and, having received a document giving the right to cross the border with the Kazakh SSR (such precautions were taken during the Great Patriotic War), I set off on a journey across half the country.
All the girls with whom I lived in the dorm were sent home after the first audition, but they left me behind. I made it through five! - and all three exams. Our course consisted almost entirely of girls - the guys fought. The only guy in the “flower garden” was Zhenya Morgunov, who was not taken to the front due to his young age.
Inna Makarova and Sergei Bondarchuk
One autumn day in 1945, a dark, black-haired, gypsy-like guy in a military tunic appeared in the audience and carefully, so as not to interfere, sat down on an empty chair. We were rehearsing “The Idiot”, I played Nastasya Filippovna and was so absorbed in the process that I almost didn’t pay attention to the newcomer - I only caught the corner of my eye and that’s it. It was Sergei Bondarchuk.
With his appearance, he excited the entire institute. There was some kind of magic in Bondarchuk that I didn’t notice at first. I flew around VGIK in euphoria. War is over! Whole life ahead!
I can’t say why Sergei paid attention to me, but I was flattered by this attention. Why! Bondarchuk is the object of admiration for the entire VGIK, six years older than me, even before the war he worked in the theater, was the star of the theater school in Rostov-on-Don, but, leaving both his studies and the stage, he went to the front!
During the long farewell, each of us told the other his entire previous life. Sergei said that before the war he was married to a classmate at the theater school in Rostov-on-Don. They did not live together for long, and during one of their quarrels, Evgenia tore up the marriage certificate in front of her husband, declaring that from that moment they could both consider themselves free. Bondarchuk told me about the breakup, but he kept silent about the fact that Evgenia came to see him in Moscow in the fall of 1945.
This happened shortly before Sergei began courting me. The ex-wife appeared on the threshold of the apartment of the friends who sheltered Bondarchuk without warning, but with a full bag of groceries and several bottles of wine. Evgenia’s father held a serious post in Rostov-on-Don, so there were no problems with delicacies in the family. The guest stayed in the capital for only one night and, having left, did not make her presence known for many months.
Inna Makarova and Sergei Bondarchuk
The next rehearsal ended, and I dashingly slid down the railing, almost colliding with all my might into Sergei, who was standing at the foot of the stairs with a lost look. She grabbed him by the shoulders in alarm: “What happened?” Bondarchuk handed over the telegram: “Here...
I’m reading “Your son was born. Zhenya” - and I sigh with relief: thank God, no one died or got sick. - Inna, what should I do? - There is despair in Sergei’s voice, and I feel myself starting to swell with pride: he is asking me for advice! I get dignified and say seriously: “What?” We must send a return telegram with congratulations! - For what? - Why, why... She might lose her milk! Sergei was amazed at my adult prudence, although in fact I was an ingenuous little fool. Big, smart, kind Seryozha needed my help - that’s the only thing that mattered.
Inna Makarova and Sergei Bondarchuk
Soon, classmate Tanya Lioznova found me a room in her house not far from the Rizhsky station. Sergei came almost every day, and we stood on the landing for hours. She didn’t let me in - it was indecent! During the course they saw that Bondarchuk would not leave my side, and on the occasion of the Eighth of March holiday, they gave me one food ration for two.
They were presented, so to speak, with a fait accompli. Bondarchuk at that time lived in the courtyard of the house where Goskino was located, in a gatehouse that was not heated. And so, after the rehearsal, late in the evening we came there, without taking off our coats, sat down at the table, opened the rations... We were terribly hungry! Then Sergei laid me on a narrow iron bed, and I immediately fell asleep.
I wake up, and he sits next to me on a chair and looks at me. Then he quietly says, “Move over.” I moved over and we fell asleep, hugging each other and keeping each other warm. He didn't touch me. I did the right thing. I was not yet ready to cross the line, intuitively understanding that after this my carefreeness and freedom would end and another, unknown life would begin.
It all happened just before leaving for the filming of “The Young Guard” in Krasnodon. For the first time, we went to Seryozha’s friend out of town for an overnight stay. We met on Mayakovsky Square, Bondarchuk was standing near the metro in a white shirt, with flowers that he stole from some flowerbed - there was no money to buy a bouquet. I was very worried, as if I had a presentiment of how this trip would turn out.
Without even asking, they put us in the same room. After that night we never parted. When Alexander Fadeev’s novel “The Young Guard” was published in June 1946, Gerasimov said that at the highest levels it was decided to film it, he would direct the film, and for many students, his and Tamara Makarova’s workshop shooting in the film would become their graduation work.
Inna Makarova and Sergei Bondarchuk with Maria de la Costa
Everyone was wondering: who would get the role of Lyubka Shevtsova? For some reason I was sure that only Valya Borts would “shine” for me, although before that I had played both Nastasya Filippovna and Carmen in institute productions. At the exam after the fourth year, we showed the prison scene from The Young Guard. I sang the song “I Marvel at the Sky,” and it was immediately picked up by the inhabitants of the neighboring cells.
There were tears in the hall, and Fadeev, who was present at the exam, also shed tears. The commission had not yet finished meeting when Gerasimov’s driver came up to me and whispered in my ear: “You will play love. I heard!” Then they told me that Fadeev told Gerasimov: “I don’t know what Carmen was like, but I assure you that it was Lyubka Shevtsova!”
I remember one day Seryozha returned to the hut where we were assigned to stay, after a very difficult shoot. Tired, completely exhausted. We lie in bed with him, dreaming about how we will live in Moscow. I say: “So what if we don’t have enough money, we’ll get by somehow.” Let's buy two plates, two spoons, two forks, a knife - and now we've got a household! Seryozha hugs me to him with a smile, tears in his eyes: “My dear girl, how I love you!” I have never had anyone closer than you and never will...
It was only after returning to the capital that we were not able to “get a household” soon enough. Continuing to participate in filming - very difficult both physically and mentally - we did not know where we would spend the next night. Sometimes one of our friends took us to their home, sometimes, slipping past the watchman, we slept on the props in the VGIK workshop.
Inna Makarova in the film “Young Guard”
Sergei, back in Krasnodon, insisted that we sign, but I kept putting it off. I didn’t understand why there was a rush to register if everyone already knew everything about us. I had an argument against going to the registry office - the lack of a passport. It was replaced by a temporary certificate, with which back in 1943 I went to enroll in VGIK. The piece of paper was completely frayed at the folds, and Sergei was constantly “repairing” it and gluing it back up. To obtain a passport, a registration was needed, and for this, in turn, permanent housing was required - this was not in sight.
After graduating from VGIK, Sergei and I were enrolled in the Film Actor’s Studio Theater and were given a small salary. And this was a salvation, because in the late forties, five or six films a year were being made throughout the country. Stalin gave this order: “Better less, but better.” Seryozha was not offered a role in the movie at all, but no, no, I was invited. When this happened, Sergei was sincerely happy.
In addition to working in films, I was also involved in several performances. One day I was heading home after another rehearsal, and the guard at the film actor’s Studio Theater reported after me: “Your boy was here, Bondarchuk took him.” - Which boy? - Small.
Sergei Bondarchuk in the film “The Unfinished Tale”
I open the door of the room, and Seryozha and a two-year-old boy are sitting on the ottoman. It turned out that Zhenya, who had arrived from Rostov-on-Don, left her son on duty at the theater and disappeared somewhere. I liked Alyosha, who turned out to be very similar to his father - smart and not whiny. He immediately picked it up and began looking at it with curiosity.
I washed the baby, fed him and put him to bed. Alyoshka lived with us for several days, and suddenly, late in the evening, a large delegation led by Zhenya burst into the room. An activist peeking out from behind her growls menacingly: “Who is the father?!” Where is he?! And this girl,” the stern aunt points her finger at me, “what is she doing here?!” - What are you doing? — someone’s warning hiss is heard. - This is Inna Makarova! - Yes? Okay, let him stay.
A minute later it turned out that Evgenia had written complaints to various authorities: they say that Bondarchuk does not want to know his own son and does not pay money for his maintenance. I was indignant: “What nonsense?!” Sergei never gave up on Alyosha, and if Evgenia had asked for help at least once, she would have received it. Maybe someone can explain what the problem is? — The fact is that you need to sign documents. Sergei signed where the “social activist” indicated, Zhenya took her son and left.
Inna Makarova and Sergei Bondarchuk
Seryozha had already been filming in Kyiv for several weeks at that time. He was finally offered a job in cinema - the main role in the film “Taras Shevchenko”. We wrote to each other every other day, and in each message from Bondarchuk I read how much he missed me and how impatiently he was waiting for my arrival. The plane ticket to Kyiv was already in my pocket when the Mossovet informed me that I could pick up the warrant for the apartment. I thought I would die of happiness: I didn’t even count on a room in a communal apartment, but here I have a separate apartment!
The wanderings around strange corners are over, now I can register, get a passport - and we will register. How indescribable. We spent a week together, and I returned to Moscow not alone - with Natasha under my heart. Whatever one may say, everything in this life happens on time: as soon as we got an apartment, God immediately sent a baby. I informed Seryozha about my pregnancy in another letter and received four sheets of complete delight in response. Soon after Natasha was born, Bondarchuk and I finally became legal husband and wife.
Natasha was not even one year old when I returned to the theater, and immediately one after another came offers to act in films. The roles were small, but interesting. We were a strong, happy family, and suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, we received a summons to the court of Rostov-on-Don. Bondarchuk’s divorce from his first wife was not formalized, since the marriage itself remained in doubt: the documents in the registry office were not preserved, and Evgenia tore up the certificate.
Sergei Bondarchuk
After the war, there was a rule: a woman could only register as the father of a child the person with whom she was officially registered. I can only guess why Zhenya was happy with everything for so many years, but then it stopped... Be that as it may, Evgenia brought to the court several witnesses who allegedly attended her wedding with Sergei, and she was recognized as the legal wife. And so that Bondarchuk would not be considered a bigamist, he and I were divorced without our knowledge, in our absence. The divorce proceedings between Sergei and Evgenia lasted much longer.
When we finally had the coveted piece of paper in our hands, we immediately went to the registry office and signed again. And again everything became wonderful: home, family, favorite job. We could still spend hours discussing roles, scripts... I remember how, lying in bed, we read Chekhov’s “The Jumper”. Or rather, I read it, and Sergei listened and cried.
It was at such moments that I most often remembered his words spoken back in Krasnodon: “I have never had anyone closer to you and never will…” We really were one: the same thing made us happy, the same thing saddened and touched us . Who would have said then that we would have to part, I would never have believed it...
Inna Makarova
There was always someone in love with Bondarchuk, I was already used to it and took it for granted. The more popular he became, the more women hung around, but in none of them did I feel like a rival. And Sergei gave no reason for jealousy. My husband held out until in 1955 I left to film in Bulgaria, and he himself went to Crimea to film Othello, where Irina Skobtseva became his partner.
Then I was approved for the main role in the film “Height” . Sergei was very happy. He kept saying: “The script is wonderful! It will be great! This is your level! And I went to filming in Dneprodzerzhinsk, and he went to Kyiv, where work on the film “Ivan Franko” began. Only after some time did I find out that Skobtseva again starred in this film together with Bondarchuk. My husband felt it necessary to hide this from me.
After returning to Moscow, anonymous letters began to arrive in my name almost every day, saying that Sergei was cheating on me. I didn’t tell my husband anything about anonymous letters until he received an anonymous letter. On me. Like, your wife had a relationship with an actor from the film group “Height”, so-and-so... Sergei became furious and did not remain silent: - What is this?!
I tried to be calm: “Seryozha, there is no actor with that last name in our group!” - he didn’t believe it. Then I called the studio, called the assistant director to the phone, explained the situation and handed the phone to Bondarchuk: “Make sure that the person with the last name mentioned in the letter does not exist!”
Inna Makarova and Natalya Bondarchuk
Sergei winced in annoyance and waved his hand: they say, I understand, I understand! I seemed to have forgiven the offense caused by mistrust, but a worm of doubt had already settled in my soul and began to grow: can our life ever be as cloudless and happy as before? I had to go to the filming of the film “My Dear Man.” A role was also prepared for Sergei in this film, but he was already “sick” with “The Fate of Man.”
There was less than a week left before I left for Leningrad, where “My Dear Man” was to be filmed. And one morning I suddenly woke up with the thought: “That’s it, this can’t go on any longer! We separate again for almost six months, and during this time a woman will definitely appear next to Sergei and want to get her hands on him. If not that one, then the other one!”
I was faced with a choice: either quit acting and go on expeditions with him, cook, look after him, live his life, or break up and preserve myself, my dignity and calling, my profession. For a minute I imagined that I was spending all of myself trying to keep my husband, and I shuddered in horror. And Sergei? Would he approve of my leaving the profession? Would you accept such a sacrifice? No!
We sat next to each other on the ottoman. It seemed that the words that came out of my mouth were dictated by someone from above: “Seryozha, we must break up...” She said and fell on the ottoman, losing consciousness for several moments. When I came to my senses, Bondarchuk stood with his back to me, leaning his hands on the table. His shoulders were shaking. He was sobbing.
Inna Makarova and Natalya Bondarchuk
The remaining days before my departure passed in painful silence. Sergei did not make excuses, did not promise anything, did not ask for forgiveness. I also hate exhausting showdowns. I felt incredibly sorry for him, for myself, and for our past happy life. But there was no question of backing down. I was saving myself! From doubts and suffering, from mental turmoil, from the ghost of the woman she would have become if she had betrayed her Varya from the film “My Dear Man.”
I was getting ready to go to the station when the phone rang. In the receiver is the voice of Alyosha Batalov: “When are you leaving?” - Today. - And I’ll be there in a week. Have a nice trip! Where is Seryozha?
- At home. - This is good. - There is nothing good about this! — I answered sharply and hung up. She turned around one hundred and eighty degrees and looked into the eyes of Sergei standing at the window: “Pack everything you need in your suitcase and leave. Just leave the keys."
Bondarchuk silently handed over the keys. I took them, picked up the suitcase I had packed the day before, and ran out of the apartment. Seryozha then remembered all his life that I was the initiator of the breakup, and made it clear that he himself would never have left. By the way, from our house he went not to Her at all, but to his friends - spouses Tolya Chemodurov and Klara Rumyanova . I lived with them for quite a long time - several weeks.
Inna Makarova
Sergei and I did not sort things out, did not share pots and living space. Natasha went to first grade when Seryozha and I had already separated. I was on the set, and he himself took my daughter to school. It never occurred to me to interfere with their meetings and conversations.
At Lenfilm, during the filming of the film “My Dear Man,” everyone was surprised: “It can’t be that they separated! She's kind of funny." But, it’s true, it was easier for me without Bondarchuk. I could work calmly without endlessly asking myself questions: where is Sergei now?
All subsequent years, when Bondarchuk came to visit me or we bumped into each other at events, the first thing he asked was: “How are you?” As if he wanted to make sure once again that I was fine without him. I myself didn’t get into his soul, only one day, unable to bear it, I asked:
- Seryozha, do you even love her? He answered after a pause: “Yes, I think not...”
Sergei Bondarchuk
I was thirty when Seryozha and I separated. And for twelve whole years after that I was free. Not because I was looking for a replacement for Bondarchuk and didn’t find one, not because I measured men by his scale, but no one could even come close to these “parameters”... The sixties were the heyday of Soviet cinema. I filmed endlessly, often traveled abroad, there simply wasn’t enough time for romance and marriage. But there were more than enough fans - sometimes they were followed in black government cars.
However, Bondarchuk remained an integral part of my life for a very long time. As a man, he ceased to interest me from the minute when she suggested breaking up. But we had a common daughter and common views on creativity. Sergei endlessly trusted my opinion, my instincts. Once again he came to visit on the day when I returned from a trip to Germany. In West Berlin we were shown King Vidor's War and Peace, which I didn't really like - except for Audrey Hepburn as Natasha Rostova. I shared my impressions, and Sergei sat leaning forward and glaring at me—he caught every word.
After some time he comes again. We sit and drink tea. I get up to take a bowl of jam from the cupboard, and suddenly I hear behind me:
— I will film “War and Peace” ! “War and Peace” by Bondarchuk and the film “Women” with my participation were released almost simultaneously. Soon, a message appeared in the magazine “Art of Cinema” that the film “Women” collected more money than the first two episodes of the epic film based on Tolstoy’s novel. And the Polish “Ekran” conducted a survey of its readers on whose performance is better: mine in “Women” with a suitcase on my head or Sophia Loren in the film “Divorce Italian Style”? I won! I learned about Sergei’s opinion about this work from the deputy director of Mosfilm: “Bondarchuk, after watching “Women,” said one word: “Talent!”
Natalia Bondarchuk
Natasha was already studying at VGIK when she, my mother and I moved to a new three-room apartment. My daughter was getting married and really wanted to see her father at the wedding. But Bondarchuk was leaving for Italy to film Waterloo, so he couldn’t be at the celebration. I came to congratulate you before leaving, ahead of time. I took a tour of the rooms and, stopping at one of the windows, said: “You know, I’m just happy that the window sill is low.” Do you remember how in our apartment we jumped to reach the window?
Sergei grinned: “How little you need to be happy.” I wanted to say something biting in response, but I met his gaze and... stopped short. Seryozha’s eyes were so sad. Unlike most unmarried women, I celebrated my fortieth birthday completely calmly.
My mother had a heart attack, and in a panic I began calling friends, asking for advice. One of her friends recommended contacting Mikhail Perelman: “He himself is a brilliant pulmonologist, he performs unique operations on the lungs and will definitely help you find a good cardiologist.”
Inna Makarova and Natalya Bondarchuk
It’s unlikely that Misha recognized me at that moment. He was not very interested in cinema, and he responded to my request simply because he was used to helping people. Looking ahead, I will say that thanks to Misha, my mother still lived and helped me raise my son Natasha and her great-grandson Vanyusha.
Perelman moved to us shortly after my mother’s recovery. A few weeks later we got married. They didn’t have any wedding—they just started living together and that’s it. We both tried very hard so that Perelman’s departure from his previous family would not be a blow to his twin sons.
Sergei and I constantly collided at receptions, festivals, banquets, premieres. There I heard more than once from colleagues: “That’s not how they look at their ex-wife!” I really felt awkward from Sergei’s glances. And his habit is to touch my hand or the flower on the lapel of my jacket when I meet him!
Director Igor Talankin, who was passing by, jokingly remarked: “What is this, he’s talking to the girls, and there his wife is looking for him!” Bondarchuk hastily put the plate on the table and went to the other end of the hall. He did not belong to himself.
Sergei Bondarchuk
Sometimes, however, Sergei rebelled. One such incident occurred in the presence of Natasha. Bondarchuk invited his daughter to visit to introduce her to Alena and Fedya. He led me into his office and put on a new record from his collection. As soon as the first chords sounded, Irina Konstantinovna appeared at the door: “Make it quieter!” Kids are sleeping". Sergei, throwing a lightning glance at his wife, turned up the volume. Skobtseva silently closed the door behind her...
Natasha developed a warm and close relationship with her father when she was already a senior student at VGIK, in the workshop of Gerasimov and Makarova. Sergei was at the premiere of the institute’s play “Red and Black”, read the voice-over text in the film “Poshekhonskaya Antiquity” - Natalya’s graduation work, and was very happy about her success in Andrei Tarkovsky’s film “Solaris”. At the Fifth Congress of Cinematographers, Sergei was subjected to real persecution. I was sitting at the end of the hall, but the vibes of hatred from the “persecutors of Bondarchuk” speaking from the podium reached the very last rows. Those who tried to defend him - Nikita Mikhalkov, Vladimir Naumov - were drowned out by whistles and hooting. I remember the thick legs of some woman covered in black tights, who stomped her feet and squealed at a high note. Unable to bear it, director Mikheil Tumanishvili jumped up from his seat and yelled at her: “Be silent!!!”
Inna Makarova
After being removed from the post of chairman of the Union of Cinematographers, Sergei somehow immediately began to give up. Misha often went to consult at the Central Clinical Hospital, and there in the early nineties he was shown Bondarchuk’s medical history. Returning home in the evening, my husband said: “Bondarchuk needs urgent surgery.” - How urgent? - I got worried. - As much as possible. - Why don’t they do it?! - They say the tests are not ready, but, in my opinion, the matter is something else.
A few days later it became clear what exactly it was. Sergei left the hospital and flew to Italy, where filming of “Quiet Don” was about to begin. Violation of the contract threatened with huge fines.
Inna Makarova and Natalya Bondarchuk
And in mid-October, Misha called me from the Central Clinical Hospital: “Inna, Bondarchuk is standing outside my office.” He is completely weak - I can’t imagine how he was able to get out of bed and get here from his department. Should I call him?
It flashed through my head: “What will I tell him? Asking about health, consoling is stupid...” - No need, Misha, don’t call. Talk to him yourself, ask if he needs anything? But when Misha looked out into the corridor, Sergei was no longer there. I still struggle with the question: Should I have talked to him that last time, to find out what he wanted to say?
Inna Makarova
A week later Natasha called - she was in Kyiv filming: “Mom, I just talked to Alena. Father is no more." I didn't go to the funeral. And all the children were there: Natasha, Fedya and Alena, even Alyosha flew in from Rostov. The death of their father brought them closer.
Sometimes I catch myself thinking: “But if Sergei and I had not broken up, Fyodor and Alena would not have existed...” So life judged and arranged everything correctly. The father's talent was passed on to all his children and grandchildren. Shortly before the departure of Alena, about whose illness I knew nothing, the film “Amber Wings” was shown on TV, and I noted the simplicity and sincerity of the image she created.
Alena’s unexpected, early death became a personal drama for me. For several days, a picture from Natasha’s anniversary in 2000 stood before my eyes. We haven’t seen Alena for almost twenty years. What could be worse for a mother than losing her child? It's hard to imagine a more difficult test. But Irina Konstantinovna still has a son, grandchildren and a great-granddaughter are growing up. This means there is someone to live for.
Misha continues to work: he heads the department at the Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology, which he created many years ago, teaches, and consults in leading Russian clinics. I'm still in action too. Now I’m preparing to star in a film based on Andersen’s fairy tale “The Snow Queen,” which Natasha is directing—I’ll play a sorceress who can stop time and go back in time. I take part in TV shows and go to film festivals.
And in my free time, my greatest joy is infrequent (everyone has their own business!), but always very warm meetings with my daughter, grandchildren Vanya and Masha, great-grandchildren Nastya and Nikita.
Last year, on her eighty-fifth anniversary, I received a telegram from the president: “You can rightfully be proud of the collection of your roles.” I read it and asked myself the question: “What would I be proud of if I had betrayed my profession half a century ago?” By your presence in the life of another person, even a very talented or outstanding one? No, that's not for me...
