Biography
Yuri Shmilevich Aizenshpis was born a month after the end of the Great Patriotic War in Chelyabinsk. At that time, the producer's mother was evacuated there. Yuri Shmilevich comes from an unusual family. My father’s ancestors lived in Spain, but Shmil Moiseevich’s passport indicated Poland as his country of birth. Already as an adult, the man fled to the USSR, fearing reprisals from the Nazis.
Producer Yuri Aizenshpis
Interestingly, the real name of Yuri’s father is Shmul. The NKVD officer, filling out the passport, got it wrong. This is how Shmil Aizenshpis turned out. The man went through the Second World War and visited Berlin. However, the soldier was never wounded. Yuri Shmilevich’s mother’s biography is no less interesting. Maria Mikhailovna was born in Belarus.
After the death of her parents, she was given over to distant relatives to raise. Because of the outbreak of the war, I did not have time to obtain a diploma in journalism. Maria Mikhailovna joined the partisan detachment and almost fell into the hands of the Germans several times. In the post-war years she was awarded medals and orders.
Yuri Aizenshpis in his youth
Yuri's parents met at the Belorussky railway station in 1944. After the end of the war, Maria Mikhailovna and Shmil Moiseevich ended up in the Main Directorate of Airfield Construction. At that time, the Aizenshpis family lived well. In their house there was a TV and a gramophone with a large collection of records.
Until 1961, the producer's family lived in a wooden barracks, but then moved to an apartment located in the Sokol district of Moscow. Yuri Shmilevich was a sporty child and attended a sports school. The producer was a fan of handball, volleyball and athletics. I had to retire from professional sports due to a leg injury.
Yuri Aizenshpis
Yuri took his first steps as an administrator in his youth. In 1965, the man began collaborating with the rock group Sokol. Despite the obvious craving for show business, Aizenshpis received an economic education at the Moscow Economic and Statistical Institute.
First steps in show business
After school, Yuri Aizenshpis entered the Moscow University of Economics to major in “engineer-economist”. He graduated from it in 1968. In addition to his passion for sports, Yuri had something else. He was attracted to music. Since his sports career was closed for him due to injury, he chose show business.
And his first job was as an administrator of the rock group “Falcon”. He sold tickets to the concerts of the creative team according to an original scheme, which helped technically equip the stage with first-class equipment. And the quality and purity of sound have always been very important for Yuri.
First, he negotiated with club directors for the group to perform. Next, Aizenshpis bought all the tickets for the evening concerts and then sold them himself at a higher price. Yuri was the first in the Soviet Union to hire security to ensure order during the show.
Music and production
Yuri Shmilevich's career as a producer began while still studying at the institute. Collaboration with a rock band did not help achieve the desired heights. Then Aizenshpis went to prison for conducting illegal currency transactions. After leaving prison, the producer found himself in the perestroika world, which became the starting point for developing a career in show business.
Lucky producer Yuri Aizenshpis
Meeting Alexander Lipnitsky allowed Aizenshpis to become the director of the Interchance festival. Gradually, the man studied the basics of behind-the-scenes life, identified methods of influencing musicians, and later moved on to producing.
“Promoting an artist is the functional responsibility of the producer. And here any means are good. Through diplomacy, bribery, threats or blackmail,” said Yuri Shmilevich.
This approach to the matter turned out to be successful. From an ordinary producer, Aizenshpis quickly rose to the rank of show business shark. Yuri began helping performers who wanted to be on the big stage. Not everyone suited Aizenshpis. The producer, lighting the stars, chose artists who could “hook” the viewer. A prerequisite was the presence of a repertoire. To promote musicians, Yuri Shmilevich used the media and television.
Yuri Aizenshpis and Viktor Tsoi
In 1988, the Kino group fell into the hands of Aizenshpis. By this time, the musicians had already reached a certain level on their own, but a professional approach to promotion was required. The collaboration of two talented people - Yuri Shmilevich and Viktor Tsoi - bore fruit.
The fame of the producer and musician soared to unprecedented heights. Two years later, Viktor Tsoi dies. Aizenshpis takes out a loan of 5 million rubles and releases the musician’s posthumous album “Black Album”. The disc's circulation exceeded 1 million copies. The producer earned 24 million from this project.
Musicians of the Kino group, Evgeny Dodolev and Yuri Aizenshpis at the presentation of the Black Album
Yuri Shmilevich's career developed rapidly. After “Kino” there was another group – “Technology”. In fact, Aizenshpis promoted the group from scratch. Young musicians became popular. For an unknown reason, after a year of working together, the paths of the producer and the wards diverge.
Already in 1992, Yuri Aizenshpis was recognized as the best producer in the country. A year after the official recognition, he meets Svetlana Gaiman, known under the pseudonym Linda. They worked for several months, after which Maxim Fadeev began promoting the singer.
For 6 years, Yuri Shmilevich collaborated with the famous singer Vlad Stashevsky in the 90s. Collaboration led to the recording of 5 albums. Aizenshpis increased Vlad’s popularity and recognition significantly. The musician was invited to major concerts and events in Russia and the USA.
Yuri Aizenshpis' track record includes such stars as Katya Lel, Nikita, and the Dynamite group. The main achievement in the work of the producer was Dima Bilan. Under the leadership of Yuri Shmilevich, they learned about the artist in Russia.
Yuri Aizenshpis and Dima Bilan
Aizenshpis described bright moments of life and work in books. The producer published “Lighting the Stars. Notes and advice from a show business pioneer,” “From a black marketeer to a producer. Business people in the USSR" and "Viktor Tsoi and others. How the stars light up." In memory of the producer, a program was broadcast on the TVC channel called “Wild Money.”
Music career
The singer began to build his career in collaboration with music manager Yu. Aizenshpis. It was this man who recommended the guy to take the pseudonym Dima Bilan and try his hand at the “New Wave”. D. Bilan's first album, entitled “I am a night hooligan,” became very popular throughout the Russian state. With each new album, the singer's popularity grew. The audience was delighted with his songs.
Dima Bilan
After the death of Yuri Aizenshpis, many production companies wanted to collaborate with the young artist. In 2008, Yana Rudkovskaya became the new producer. Such cooperation has become fruitful. The variety artist reached the peak of popularity, he received honorary prizes, recognition and awards. Dima improvement Every year Dima worked on improving his professionalism and every year he achieved better and better results.
Most of Dima Bilan's songs became hits. His composition called “Dreamers” became the most beloved single of millions of Russian residents. In 2011, a video for the song “I’m Choking” was released, which became the best in Bilan’s career. Four years later, the musician presented another successful album called “Don’t Be Silent.” The list of awards and victories throughout the artist’s creative career is very long.
Dima Bilan
Personal life
Rumors constantly circulated around Aizenshpis. In show business they stated that the producer brought the so-called “blue lobby” into the work. Previously, women were brought to men for promotion; later, lovers of politicians and businessmen began to appear. More than once Yuri Shmilevich and the producer’s wards were called gay, but no official confirmation of the men’s orientation was found.
“Spending time in prison could have influenced Aizenshpis’s orientation,” suggested Alexander Stefanovich, Alla Pugacheva’s ex-husband.
Numerous rumors did not prevent Yuri Shmilevich from living in a civil marriage with Elena Lvovna Kovrigina.
Yuri Aizenshpis with his wife and son
After the death of Aizenshpis, she quickly arranged her personal life by marrying director Leonid Goyningen-Güne. Yuri and Elena had a son, Mikhail. In 2014, a young man was taken into custody by the police due to drug use. During the search, Mikhail was found to have 1.5 grams of cocaine.
Death
Imprisonment had a negative impact on the producer's health. For a long time, Yuri Aizenshpis hid the fact that he had serious problems. Officially, the cause of death is myocardial infarction, but a number of diagnoses led to this, including cirrhosis of the liver, gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatitis B and C. The information that Yuri Shmilevich had AIDS, which led to death, is not documented.
Funeral of Yuri Aizenshpis
Three days before his death, Aizenshpis felt unwell. Doctors decided to hospitalize the producer. After the manipulations, the condition improved, so Yuri Shmilevich persuaded the doctors to release him from the hospital. The producer wanted to see Dima Bilan receive the prestigious MTV-2005 music award.
Grave of Yuri Aizenshpis
The producer did not live to see the ceremony for two days. Aizenshpis's life was cut short at the age of 61. The funeral took place at the Domodedovo cemetery. The farewell ceremony was attended by artists, composers and other show business figures. Numerous photos of the grieving Dima Bilan spread across the Internet. The producer's grave is located next to his parents'.
