The humorist writer Mikhail Nikolaevich Zadornov, even after death, remains one of the most beloved by the public and respected by his colleagues. The characters in his monologues were based on real life, easily recognizable and memorable. The parodist preferred to hide his personal life. But the time has come to find out more about the comedian’s wife.
For many fans of Zadornov, it was a surprise that he was married twice. The artist was born in Latvia into an intelligent family. My father was a writer and had Latvian roots. Mikhail Nikolaevich’s mother was from a Polish family from an ancient family.
Two wifes
Elena met her future husband at his concert in Riga. She was nineteen years old, he was 35. But this couple’s correspondence acquaintance happened much earlier: “In 1977, I subscribed to the magazine Yunost and cut out stories from the then unknown writer Mikhail Zadornov. These were such wonderful lyrical stories about love that I was inspired and started collecting them,” Bombina said in an interview with the “Tonight” program. During a personal meeting at a concert, Elena told the satirist that she had long been a fan of his work, but he did not believe her and asked her to bring “evidence”: “The next day, when he saw the green portfolio of his stories, he asked me: “ What is your specialty?“ At that time I was studying at the university with a degree in cybernetics as a mathematics programmer. He then told me: “This needs to be corrected urgently!” And he wrote me a ten-page list of books that I absolutely need to read. When I leafed through it, somewhere on the fifth page I realized that he himself had not read these books and gave them to me so that I could retell them to him later,” Elena shared her memories.
Article on the topic
Special and set apart. What Mikhail Zadornov didn’t have time to tell
The young student did not start an affair with Zadornov right away: “We did not have a rapid rise in our relationship, it developed gradually: there was his mentoring and my respect for his creative personality,” the satirist’s widow confessed to the magazine “Karavan”. Zadornov was not only older than Bombina, but also a married man. His wife Velta was waiting for him in Moscow . Nevertheless, gradually the friendly relationship between Mikhail and Elena developed into a romance. For many years, the satirist lived in two families, even when his only daughter was born. There were rumors that it was because of the child that he finally filed for divorce from his first wife. The satirist’s widow refutes this version: “No one could influence Mikhail’s decisions. He was independent. Therefore, I definitely did not make the decision to get married for my daughter. She was already living separately, and such formalities and conventions as marriage did not interest her at all,” kp.ru quotes Bombina as saying. Oddly enough, not only during Mikhail Nikolaevich’s life, but also after his death, both spouses treated each other with respect. Velta and Elena even attended the “Tonight” program together, dedicated to the memory of the satirical writer, where they remembered how Zadornov’s illness united the whole family: “This test was given to us, our relatives, so that we could unite. All these years, Mikhail took care of us, without dividing us into former relatives and current relatives, and we were able to show that the test can be passed with dignity, without squabbles and scandals. All the women who loved him united to make Mikhail comfortable,” recalled Bombina. After the death of the satirist, some media wrote that Elena was allegedly dissatisfied with her husband’s will, an impressive part of which went to Velta Zadornova. The widow herself assures: “There are no offended people among us.”
Housing family issue. What happens to the inheritance of Mikhail Zadornov? More details
Biography of Elena Bombina
The famous Russian satirist Mikhail Zadornov passed away on November 10, 2017.
An insidious disease took his life. In the last months of his life, a man battling cancer was supported by both spouses. It so happened that for some time Mikhail was torn between his official family and his legal wife Velta and his beloved Elena, who gave him his daughter Alena. Over time, he still went to Elena.
Bombina became the second official wife of the satirist. Elena Vladimirovna was born in 1964.
Before meeting Zadornov, the woman was the administrator of various musical and humorous concerts and festivals.
The meeting with the famous artist changed not only Bombina’s personal life, but also her work life. The satirist offered her the position of personal assistant and administrator.
War with the Muses
After the satirist’s funeral, Zadornov’s so-called “muses” began to appear in the media, telling reporters about their collaboration with the master. One of these women was Marina Orlova . In an interview with the First Sun, Elena once remarked that she “sympathizes” with her and all the other “muses”: “In all the years, Mikhail invited young singers and performers to his performances. He studied and taught them. It’s a pity that not everyone has enough dignity and respect for the memory of Mikhail Nikolaevich and their talent, so as not to use black PR after his departure. Of course, the appearance of such muses evokes sympathy and even irony.”
Orlova did not leave the widow’s words unanswered: “The opinion of a stranger does not matter to me. Much more important is what Zadornov himself thought. Anyone can open the Internet with recordings of our concerts and listen to what he said about me, how warmly he introduced me to the public,” kp.ru quotes the girl as saying.
The satirist’s daughter eventually joined the skirmish between the two women in the media; she wrote a poem in which she stated that the only muse in her father’s life is herself: “Perhaps you are uncontrollably stubborn, but I will tell you the secret, without concealing that Zadornova, I declare frankly, there was only one muse - that’s me.”
View this post on Instagram
Posted by Jelena Zadornova (@jzadornova) Nov 17, 2021 at 4:15 PST
First marriage
Zadornov married Velta Yanovna Kalnberzina for the first time. They met while studying at school. Velta also came from a well-educated family. The guys had a lot to talk about. Mikhail Nikolaevich attracted her with his intelligence and ability to conduct a dialogue.
After receiving a certificate from school, they went to study together at the Aviation Institute in Moscow. This brought them even closer. There were many interests, but this still did not guarantee Mikhail success in the fight for the heart of his chosen one. He understood perfectly well that Velta’s father was the secretary of the Central Committee, and therefore she was an enviable bride. Also, by nature, Zadornov’s first wife had a beautiful appearance, she was educated and intelligent.
In 1971, Zadornov achieved his goal - they got married. Velta became a strong support for her husband. She supported him in all his creative endeavors and inspired him. It is known that today she works as a teacher at a university.
Zadornov’s fans were very fond of the program of the satirical writer “Neformat,” where he did not hesitate to voice special jokes and address Americans, calling them “stupid.” Viewers also loved the project “American Stupidity,” where the parodist ridiculed the negative influence of US culture on the Russian population, which tries to be like everyone else.
Zadornov's humor has always been merciless and sharp. Many of his statements have become quotes and aphorisms, and are actively used in the communication of modern people.
Life goes on
Elena does everything to keep the memory of her husband alive. In 2021, a memorial plaque was unveiled in memory of him at the Moscow Aviation Institute, where Mikhail Nikolaevich once studied. There are plans to open it,” Elena said in an interview with the “Green Lamp” program.
Bombina also helped release the book “We Applaud While Standing,” which contains the memories of the satirist’s colleagues about him: “At first they couldn’t get the required number of interviews, and the book didn’t come together. An editor from a publishing house called me and asked me to help, to invite his friends and colleagues to the project. By that time, I had finished filming the film “Unexpected Zadornov.” There I interviewed Khazanov , Galkin , Drobotenko , Irina Bezrukova , and I offered to include all these interviews in the book,” the widow said in an interview.
By the way, Elena also received an offer to write a book of memories about her husband. The idea has not yet come to life, but the satirist’s widow is sure that it is just a matter of time.
Parodist's children
Zadornov experienced real joy when he learned that he would have a daughter. Today Elena Zadornova is a successful woman. Together with her father, she traveled to different countries, getting acquainted with different cultures, and also studied Russia.
After the death of the satirist, the question of inheritance arose. Elena noted that her father always wanted her to be independent. During his lifetime, he gave her an apartment in Moscow, as well as a house in Malta. In the latter she lives with her husband. She tries not to give interviews to the press, hiding information about her personal life from the public.
Despite her father's status, Elena still behaves modestly, does not show off any luxury and is rarely on television. She helped Mikhail Nikolaevich in organizing program concerts, writing monologues, as well as texts for books.
Mikhail Zadornov’s daughter Elena sadly recalls how she could share any information with her dad; there were no secrets between them, because they were true comrades. From childhood, he taught his daughter classical music and the works of Gumilyov and Pushkin.
Relationship with daughter
Mikhail Zadornov’s daughter’s name is Elena, this name was chosen in honor of the comedian’s mother; the satirist was incredibly happy about the birth of the baby. When Lena was just a baby, he tried not to miss her first words and steps, but due to his busy work schedule he was often not around.
A little later, he began to be able to spend more time with his daughter. Sometimes he took little Lena on tour; on the first such trip she was 4 years old. After the performance, the artist went backstage and saw his daughter crying. It turned out that the little girl felt sorry for her dad, at whom everyone laughed.
PHOTO: Zadornov with his daughter Elena
Mikhail Nikolaevich often read stories and fairy tales by children's writers to his daughter. When my daughter grew up, she already had her own library, carefully collected by Mikhail Nikolaevich. The daughter of a famous humorist loved to read Pushkin, Mayakovsky and other poets. In one of the rooms, for Lena’s physical development, the comedian set up a real mini gym, which had balls, jump ropes, hoops and even a wall bars and a basketball hoop. Mikhail showed by his own example that it was necessary to play sports, so the girl learned to walk on her hands like her dad, after which she demonstrated this exercise everywhere.
Since my daughter loved animals so much, her first serious trip took place to Africa. The artist, like the girl, received a lot of impressions then. Afterwards, Mikhail showed Lena Paris, Israel, they visited Novosibirsk together, Khabarovsk, then most of all Lena liked Vladivostok.
Zadornov tried to show his daughter the nature of Russia; they also visited the largest factories in the Urals together. At school, Lena was not an excellent student; at one time, her father told her that grades are not really important, but knowledge in the head is required.
When the girl reached adolescence, the satirist, like many parents, had a hard time communicating; as Zadornov himself said, there were a couple of moments when he wanted to get a belt. However, such situations did not arise; conflicts were resolved peacefully.
Today, Mikhail Zadornov’s daughter is twenty-seven years old, his only child in the family with Elena Vladimirovna Bombina. It is known that the girl studied at the Russian Institute of Theater Arts.
Zadornov’s second wife was shocked by the satirist’s will
According to Komsomolskaya Pravda, Zadornov’s last will was due to the fact that Elena could disappoint the satirist with her frequent absence.
Let us remind you that Mikhail Zadoronov passed away in November 2021. The universally beloved satirist reportedly made two wills. The comedian left a considerable part of the remaining property to his first wife, Velta, from whom he was divorced. Zadornov left the first half of the copyright to his own works to Welta, and the second to his official wife Elena. The second legal wife was 16 years younger than Zadornov.
In an interview with the newspaper, a certain close friend explained why the artist made this particular decision.
“In recent years, his relationship with Velta has become even better than with his second wife. Velta Yanovna is a very reasonable and wise woman. She is originally from Riga, but now lives in Moscow,” the publication’s interlocutor said.
According to her, despite the fact that both women became heirs, Velta was in a better position.
“Copyrights are a permanent income... I know the reaction of both wives to open wills. Velta was grateful. But Elena – not so much. She planned to have it all. But Bombina still has what he personally bought for her during marriage and registered in her name,” said a friend of the comedian.
She is convinced that Elena wanted to be the complete heir of the writer and decide everything herself.
The woman gave a clear signal that shortly before his death, the satirist was disappointed with his wife. She, in particular, said that at the moment when Zadornov was undergoing treatment in Germany, Bombina was often absent “on business.”
“Mikhail Nikolaevich noted this and told his sister about it. There were some bells ringing... I watched both of them at the funeral. Velta was heartbroken. And Elena straightened her hair from time to time, it was important to her how she looked even at such a tragic moment...” the publication quotes the words of its informant.
She emphasized that Zadornov was looked after by both of his wives, his older sister Lyudmila and his daughter Elena. A friend of the satirist said from Lyudmila’s words that before he died, he rethought and realized many things. He allegedly realized how much he had offended Velta, whose behavior had always been impeccable, and before his death for the first time he asked her forgiveness with tears in his eyes.
“Zadornov had never done this before... He also told his sister: they say, I’m very guilty before Velta, don’t leave her alone. Perhaps only at the end of his life he realized that no one else loved him like his first wife,” said the satirist’s friend.
Velta forgave the artist, she concluded.
Career
Velta Yanovna is a very educated woman. She knows a dozen foreign languages perfectly, is a professor and leading specialist at Moscow State University and still works at the Department of Linguistics. She defended her candidate's thesis in 1976 and her doctorate in 1992.
Under her leadership, 17 candidate's and 1 doctoral theses were defended. Velta is a member of the European Society of Translators and often speaks at scientific conferences dedicated to the Russian and English languages. In the 80s she taught Russian in Britain and is involved in translations of classical poetry. In a word, Velta Kalnberzina is a person passionate about her work, a scientist and researcher, and in her circles she is much more famous and popular than her famous husband is to the general public.
