When Tolkunova was diagnosed with cancer. How did the personal life of the national favorite Valentina Tolkunova develop and what caused her death

A year ago, the most sincere Soviet singer passed away.

Valentina Tolkunova was called the soul of Russian song. Her quiet, penetrating voice, singing "Nosiki-Kurnosiki", "I'm standing at a half-station", "I can't do otherwise" became part of the history of the Soviet stage. Just like the singer herself. A beautiful brown-haired woman with a long braid almost immediately became famous. Tolkunov was adored by the audience and revered by the high leadership. Not a single concert was complete without her participation.

This was the case in the Soviet Union and continued after its collapse. In recent years, Tolkunova, however, has performed less and less. In 2006, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in 2009 she already had a malignant brain tumor. Valentina Vasilievna passed away slowly and painfully. She became very ill on February 16 after a concert in Mogilev. There she was taken to the hospital, and then transferred to Moscow, to the Botkin hospital. She never left from there. A month later, the singer's condition deteriorated sharply, Valentina Vasilievna fell into a coma and passed away on March 22 ...

Not many people know that in her youth, Valentina Vasilievna often visited Poltava with her aunt and cousin Lyudmila. After the unexpected death of Lyudmila, Valentina Vasilievna took upon herself all the worries for raising her daughter. Svetlana(pictured) . She became her second mother...

“Coming to Kyiv, Valentina Vasilievna always stayed with me for the first time”

- Svetlana Vasilievna, you were probably born when your aunt's fame was already gaining momentum?

When Valentina Tolkunova became popular throughout the Soviet Union, I went to first grade. I was terribly proud that the beautiful, slender singer with a long braid, which was often shown on TV, was my aunt. Valentina Vasilievna came to us in Kyiv, and then we went to Poltava with my mother. Valechka's aunt Sofya Nikolaevna lived there. Unfortunately, she is no longer alive. Valentina Vasilievna used to stay in Poltava with her son Kolya and brother Seryozha. Mom and I only visited for a while. Mom had a lot of work. She graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory, becoming a fairly well-known singer. Unfortunately, my mother passed away early. She was only 37 years old...

- Valentina Vasilievna did not want to take you to Moscow?

- It was very difficult, because she was touring all the time. Therefore, I lived in Kyiv with my grandparents. But Valentina Vasilievna constantly watched how my life went. If I had free time, I came to Kyiv. By the way, I love this city. After graduating from school, I entered a Moscow university and lived with Valentina Vasilievna. True, she did not stay in Moscow. After graduating, she returned home to Kyiv.

I remember when telephone conversations were not yet so accessible, Valechka wrote letters to me. Even while on tour. Later they called each other almost every day. Especially lately, when my aunt was already ill... She kept lamenting that she could not, as before, pamper her loved ones with gifts.

- Did you like to give gifts?

- What do you! Never came without gifts. Always brought huge suitcases. And not only for relatives, but also for friends. And in Kyiv she had a huge number of them. Yury Rybchinsky and Alexander Zlotnik always came to us for tea. By the way, when Valentina Tolkunova was just starting her career, her repertoire included a lot of Ukrainian folk songs... The first years, when she came on tour to Kyiv, my aunt stayed with me. Later, of course, she was received like a real star - in the luxurious rooms of the central hotels. True, at the same time, she always looked at me for tea and said that only here she really rests.

It was said that during the tour to Valentina Tolkunova, a queue of her fans lined up, who could complain about life.

- It happened. Valentina Vasilievna was a very gentle, caring person. She also had such a voice - affectionate, melodious, she would never yell at anyone. Relatives knew that she did not refuse to help anyone. She was also approached with material problems, and Valyusha gave money without much thought. I remember once a fan wrote her a letter in which she said that she was in poverty, she had nothing to wear. What do you think?! The next day, my aunt packed a package for her, packing a solid part of her wardrobe.

“Even while in the Botkin hospital, Valyusha was still preparing a concert for May 9”

But the dresses of Valentina Tolkunova were famous throughout the Soviet Union. She ordered them specially in Arkhangelsk.

Yes, I go there several times a year. She had a favorite dressmaker there, who perfectly knew the tastes of her famous client. By the way, the beautiful cream dress in which Valentina Vasilievna was buried was also sewn by her. They wrote that Tolkunova bequeathed that it was in it that she was taken on her last journey, but this is not true. Valyusha did not fully believe that her illness was fatal. Even the doctors decided not to tell her that the disease was incurable. Only we, close relatives, knew about the true situation. They also decided not to tell Valentina Vasilievna's mother.

- They say that Tolkunova fought a terrible disease to the last.

- Until the last days, she believed that she would defeat the disease, rise and go on stage again. Even while in the hospital, she prepared a concert for 9 May. I called Alexandra Pakhmutova from the clinic and asked me to write a song especially for her. Tolkunova did NOT prepare for death and, as many said, did not write any will. Aunt so wanted to live ... Somewhere a couple of days before her death, director Lev Leshchenko came to her ward. Valentina Vasilievna immediately began to tell him how to get up as soon as possible, to go on stage again.

- This is despite the fact that Valentina Vasilievna has already been treated for cancer.

- Yes, in 2006 she was diagnosed with a terrible disease, her aunt underwent chemotherapy. Unfortunately, due to constant concerts, tours, she did not pay due attention to herself. No matter how we tried to persuade her to “stop”, she answered all the time: “The main thing for me is the stage ...” She often repeated that she wanted to leave as many of her songs as possible. One of the last recorded a disc of spiritual songs.

- Do you remember the last conversation with Valentina Vasilievna?

This was a few days before her death. She was still conscious. Valechka asked about my affairs, work, advised me something. She said: “I want so much, Svetochka, that everything is fine with you.” You know, she was like a mother to me ... But then, during our last conversation, I didn’t have the feeling that Valyusha was saying goodbye. The voice was, however, unusually quiet. When she was taken to intensive care, only her mother was nearby. She said that Valyusha said: “Mommy, don’t worry, everything will be fine ...” It’s scary when you worry about your children ...

- The husband of Valentina Vasilievna, journalist Yuri Paporov, died almost after her.

Yes, he has been ill for a long time. Valyusha took him home from the hospital, already being unwell herself. But she decided that she should inspect him. He passed away literally two months after her death. Of course, grief completely broke his health. He couldn't live without Vali.

Was Tolkunova a happy woman?

- I think so, although we never spoke with her on some very intimate topics. Valentina Vasilievna was married twice. Her first husband is the famous composer and conductor Yuri Saulsky, but they did not live long. The second husband became her support. They had a son Kolya. Of course, different things happened in life. But Valya was an optimist by nature, she believed only in the good.

- Did you call her Aunt Valya?

- Just Valya, Valyusha, so I got used to it from childhood.

“Without a pearl thread, Valya never went on stage”

- Luxurious hair is your family wealth?

- Probably (laughs). My mother also had very beautiful hair. I inherited them as well. As far as I remember Valya, she always had a luxurious long braid. My mother used to cut and grow her hair from time to time. But Valya said that she would never change her hairstyle.

Valentina Vasilievna herself admitted that she had practically no time left for household and household arrangements.

- But what she always had was excellent, so it's cars. Valya loved cars and from her youth was an excellent driver. The last thing she had was a huge silver jeep, which she drove with amazing ease. My aunt has lived all her life in a house located in the very center of Moscow. To be honest, Tolkunova's apartment was simple, not the way a star should be. Everything you need was there, but you can't call it chic. Now Valyusha's son lives there. The grand piano remained standing in the living room - large, for half a room. It was for him that Valya learned all her songs.

(Pictured) As a child, Valya and her mother Evgenia Nikolaevna (far right) often came to Poltava to visit their relatives

Alexandra Pakhmutova often came, sat down to the instrument and played new melodies. All the famous authors of Soviet pop songs visited Tolkunova's house. If someone came, they immediately set the table, put a kettle with strong tea leaves.

- Tolkunova loved to cook?

- Her house was very hospitable, but it was mostly Valentina Vasilievna's mother who cooked with her, who always lived with her. The guests knew that it was impossible to leave Tolkunova's house without eating and drinking tea. Valya was a good cook herself. Her borsch was especially delicious, in which she would certainly put beans. And cheesecakes were considered her signature dish.

- Valentina Vasilievna kept to diets?

- I did not allow myself sweet and starchy foods. These foods were taboo in her home. She loved salads, which she cooked with amazing skill, and fruits. I could sit all day on apples alone.

Tolkunova's stage outfits were the envy of her colleagues. And in everyday life was picky in the wardrobe?

- Valyusha could go into a completely ordinary store and buy the first thing that came across. For my aunt, it didn’t matter at all who the fashion designer was. Sometimes she bought things, and then gave them to me. In fact, until the end of her days, she almost completely dressed me. Sometimes she called, she was interested: “Svetochka, what do you need?” For her, things have never been a cult. I considered them more of a necessity, like, say, food. Even the diamonds were treated very calmly. And I didn't like makeup. Painted mostly for the stage. I remember how she was outraged by one artist who had plastic surgery. "For what? Valya said. - It's completely useless. If age has come up, you can’t get away from it anywhere ... "

- Were the famous beads woven into Tolkunova's braid real gems?

- Certainly. It was a pearl thread that Valya wore from her youth. For her, it was a talisman; without a thread, she did not go on stage. She was buried with her...

On February 17, Valentina Tolkunova was hospitalized in the Botkin hospital after she became ill during a tour in Belarus.

She had to undergo another course of treatment. At some point, medical procedures helped Valentina Vasilievna. She felt well and even decided to give up chemotherapy. Only the closest people knew about the serious condition of Valentina Vasilievna - the artist forbade doctors to disclose information about her illnesses.

On the night of March 20, while in his room, he felt a sharp deterioration in health. Doctors immediately took all necessary measures and transferred her to intensive care. Unfortunately, all the efforts of doctors were in vain.

A few hours later, Valentina Vasilievna asked to bring her a priest. Batiushka conducted the unction procedure right in the ward.

The immediate cause of her death was acute heart failure. The artist was conscious during her last hours. At 6 o'clock in the morning, Tolkunova fell into a coma, after which she was connected to a ventilator.

Three years ago, the people's favorite was diagnosed with breast cancer. the artist underwent the first operation to remove the tumor and underwent several sessions of chemotherapy. It seemed that the disease receded. But, as it turned out, she just hid. Some of the cancer cells survived and metastasized to the liver, lungs and brain. Last summer, doctors again had to resort to surgery. Then the doctors did not hide their fears about the degree of the disease - Valentina Vasilievna was diagnosed with "the third stage of cancer."

Despite the painful illness, Valentina Vasilievna took part in concerts until recently. She expected to perform at the Theater of the Russian Army on the eve of the 65th anniversary of our Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Valentina Vasilievna Tolkunova deserved truly popular love in the 70-80s. She was a performer of many popular songs, including "I'm standing at a half-station", "Silver weddings", "My dear, if there were no war."

Valentina Tolkunova was born on July 12, 1946 in Armavir, Krasnodar Territory. A year later, her family moved to Moscow. In 1964 she entered the conductor and choral department at the Moscow State Institute of Culture, graduating in 1976. In 1971 she graduated from the Gnessin Music College.

In 1966, the composer and conductor Yuri Saulsky organized the VIO-66 vocal and instrumental orchestra and invited Valechka Tolkunova to join the vocal group, or rather the jazz band. She devoted five years to the ensemble as a jazz vocalist.

The solo debut of the singer took place in 1972 at the creative evening of the poet Lev Oshanin, where she sang Vladimir Shainsky's song "Ah, Natasha." Since 1973, Valentina Tolkunova has been a soloist of the Mosconcert, and since 1987 she has been the artistic director of the Moscow Theater of Musical Drama and Song organized by her.

In February 1986, the premiere of the play "Russian Women" based on the poem by Nekrasov, based on poems by Pushkin and Koltsov, where Valentina Tolkunova played the main roles, took place. Along with her debut in opera, the singer starred in the same year in the fantasy film I Believe in Rainbows. Since 1989 - the head of the theater of musical drama and song of the creative association "ART", in which a number of musical performances were staged.
As a theater actress, she appeared on stage in the performances “Waiting” (1989), “I can’t do otherwise” (1990), “Champagne Splashes” (1991), “Do not leave me, love” (1992) “I am your dewdrop, Russian woman "(1995), "New Spring of Valentina Tolkunova".

Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1979), People's Artist of Russia (1984). Has toured to Finland, Japan, India, Germany, Luxembourg, USA, Canada, Greece, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, Israel. The singer has released 12 records and CDs. Only in musical films and theatrical performances she performed more than 300 songs. V. Tolkunova 23 times became the laureate of the television competition "Song of the Year".

People's Artist of the RSFSR Valentina Vasilievna Tolkunova died in the Botkin hospital at the age of 64.

Of course, on Sunday everyone was doused with cold. When it became known that Valentina Vasilievna was again in intensive care, that she asked to see the priest, that she was meeting. They still tried to deceive themselves: well, what's wrong, the sacrament of unction is a common thing for a believer, it gives strength, heals. It seemed that her faith in God and in herself was magically transmitted to those around her, and the idea that a person like her could be finite was swept aside as complete absurdity.

"I CAN'T LEAVE THE STAGE"

Nikolai, the son of Valentina Vasilievna, her brother Sergei, colleagues - until the last they talked about plans, concerts, tours. Yes, and she herself talked about how everything will be fine. I wanted grandchildren. I was going to build a house. In general, no one let the sad thought come close that nothing would happen, as if they were calling on hope and conjuring reality to retreat, to let a wonderful woman, singer, mother, wife, friend live. Everyone was invigorated. For her sake. But eyes full of sorrow, grief, awareness of the inevitable, you can’t hide, no matter how hard you try ...

Two weeks ago, Valentina Tolkunova got tired. Just tired. She canceled chemotherapy - she said that it was not necessary, that everything was fine already. Instead of miraculous healing came a coma. And two hours later death. The diagnosis is still inaccurate. But it is known that the singer had brain cancer. In the fall, Tolkunova underwent a complex operation, a tumor in the temporal lobe was removed. Then chemotherapy, it's hard and painful. But Valentina Vasilievna did not give up. She went back to work, something, and she always had a lot of work to do.

VALENTINA VASILEVNA WAS GOING TO WRITE A BOOK

Tours, concerts, a solo performance ... Finally, friends persuaded her to write a book.

Oddly enough, not a single book has been written about the popular singer, Anna Starominskaya, editor of the Zebra E publishing house, told us. - And I suggested that Valentina Vasilievna write it. I can't say she was thrilled. She had many tours. But she didn't give up on the book idea. We met several times in her apartment, which Valentina Vasilievna called her workshop, or studio, on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. It seemed to me that she is a very closed, wise, very deep person, with a rich inner and spiritual life. Because of this, she tried to be tolerant, merciful and kind to others. She was a person with pure consciousness, perceiving things in their essence (further).

Anastasia PLESHAKOV

"Valechka DID NOT REFUSE ANY CONCERT"

Her son Kolya said: “Mommy, when you stop working so hard and spend more time at home, you will have grandchildren!” Valentina Vasilievna resisted: “I can’t help but work, Kolenka! As long as people need me, I can't leave the stage."

And Eduard Khil also regretfully complained to us about his old girlfriend:

“Valechka always came to anniversary concerts, she never refused anyone. Instead of one song, she sang three. And she didn't ask for any money. Immediately on the train, and to another concert, to another city. That's when she found out about her illness, probably, it was not necessary to make so many performances. The body is not infinite. Sometimes you have to slow down the horses. And so she left - on the fly! But forever remained in my memory as a singing beauty with a scythe.

VALENTINA TOLKUNOVA: "HOW DO I RECOVER?"

Concert director Lev Leshchenko and a close friend of Valentina Tolkunova, Oleg Alexandrovich Dmitriev, came to the singer's hospital on Saturday to support her, literally two days before she died.

We decided to visit Valya together with Lev Leshchenko. They brought flowers. Two bouquets. He is from himself, I am from myself. They entered the room. I got worried. Suddenly, from the entrance, he directly noticed that Valya, seeing us, was somehow artificially invigorated. She was delighted, of course: “Oh, guys, thanks for coming!” I think she sensed our tension. We talked about literature. Valya was fond of the history of the state. We discussed Peter I. Next to the bed, Valya had icons on the table.

“Oleg, how can I recover? Do you think it's possible?" I answered her: “Valya, everything is in my head! You must believe that you are healthy. The thought is material. You can control your body. Meditate. And you're thinking of something else!"

Finally, when we were already leaving, Valya, confused, threw in the back: “So what should I think about?” Leva says: “Valya, think about a new concert program. About joint. Let's write a song for two. We will come in two days and check what you have come up with!”.

Alas, exactly two days later Valechka passed away. Leva is very worried about her departure. Closed from everyone, does not talk. We are all in a lot of pain.

VLADISLAV PIAVKO: "SHE LOVED TO TALK ABOUT FLOWERS"

Everyone - her friends, artists, singers - everyone says that Valentina Tolkunova is a closed person. Was. But she was not so much secretive as she did not want to burden her relatives and friends with her problems.

Valechka amazing soul and warmth people. - the soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Vladislav Piavko told us, - And always vulnerable. She could close up when she felt she was being stabbed. But she managed. She is very strong. And treat people kindly, warmly. To all. But not everyone responded the same way. Ira (Irina Arkhipova - opera prima and wife of Vladislav Ivanovich - ed.) said that Valechka Tolkunova is a pearl, pure, without any impurities and raids of vulgarity. Valyusha is not pop, no. She is a songwriter. And Valya, modest, considered this a terribly high assessment, said that Irochka got excited.

VALENTINA TOLKUNOVA: "I HAVE ANOTHER GOAL IN LIFE!"

On the eve of 2010, when there was still hope for Valentina Vasilievna's recovery, Tolkunova spoke with a KP correspondent.

I have another goal in life: I want to live it for the benefit of my soul. There is no point in wasting the time allotted to you. It is better to be alone with yourself, go to the theater, listen to good music or read an interesting book, than waste precious time with a bottle of alcohol.

- Did you come to this point of view with age?

No, I've always been interested in living like this. Why allow into your world something superfluous - something that hinders and even harms?

- And what is harmful for you?

Empty conversations, gossip, society beau monde, useless pastime, vulgarity, vulgarity, stupid people...

- Aren't you afraid to be alone with such demands on others?

By no means: the doors of our house are open to everyone and always.

- And what, bad people never entered these doors?

It happened, but such people do not, as a rule, linger around good things. It seems to me that the minute they enter the house, they need help. The appearance of any person is not accidental, he needs something: a kind, affectionate word, a cup of tea, friendly advice or an open heart ... To each his own, and we should not push away the one who has come into the light.

- Can you be attributed to a cohort of business women?

Absolutely not! Today, many creative people are in business, and I'm happy for them, but they also have commercial talent. I'm more of a romantic. Somehow recently I was on a train tour and suddenly thought: what else could I and would like to do, besides music? Now the time is such that everyone can change their profession, there are enough opportunities for this. I would be happy to teach if there was anyone. I often communicate with young people, I am the chairman of the jury of many music competitions, but the songs that young people are singing now do not touch me. If it were possible to find talented performers "consonant" with my soul and my work, then I would gladly help them. I have lived quite a long life, and I have something to say to young people, something to talk about and something to discuss. (Read the last interview that Valentina Tolkunova gave to KP)

Maria REMIZOVA

Farewell to the legendary singer will be held on Wednesday, March 24, at the Variety Theatre. She will rest in Moscow, at the Troekurovsky cemetery.

Tolkunova signed with her last husband when she found out about her illness

The first husband of Valentina Tolkunova was the composer Yuri Saulsky. The singer lived with him for five years. They broke up because of Saulsky's new hobby. The second husband of Tolkunova was international journalist Yuri Paporov, a researcher of Hemingway's work. From him, Valentina Vasilievna gave birth to a son, Nikolai.

The marriage with Paporov, as Tolkunova's relatives say, fell apart due to the journalist's endless business trips. He was constantly on the road, lived in Mexico, then in Latin America (further).

STARS - ABOUT TOLKUNOVA

Lev Leshchenko: "A real Russian singer - no one can take her place. Tolkunova has been and will be"

Joseph Kobzon: "Thanks to the selection of repertoire and performance, Tolkunov could be listened to endlessly"

Nikolay Baskov: "She was an incredible person, with a kind, pure soul. It is a pity that such people are leaving us - beautiful, subtle, kind, talented"

Ilya Reznik: "You know, she was the only one ... There will be no other. Valya was the embodiment of a Russian woman, she was the voice of the Russian people."

Anita Tsoi: "This beautiful, smart, gentle, intelligent woman has always behaved with dignity and earned respect among our relatives and friends, among all family members of different ages - she was and remains a star of great level!"

Taisiya Povaliy: Valentina Vasilievna was not just a soft, kind and sympathetic Russian woman, she was a mother. Our common Russian mother...

Renat Ibragimov: When we went on tour together, Valentina often stayed in churches and the monastery, she could spend the night in a cell. She lived according to the principle: God gave, God took. I knew about her illness, but Valya never complained.

Top five songs:

"I can't help it"

"If there was no winter"

"Tired toys are sleeping"

"Snub noses"

"I'm standing at the halfway point"

SING

I can't help it
(Text - Nikolai Dobronravov, music - Alexandra Pakhmutova)

No worries, no sleep, no day,
Somewhere a pity is crying...
Forgive me for love -
I can't help it.
I'm not afraid of insults and quarrels,
Resentment sinks into the river.
There is so much space in the sky of love...
My heart is not a stone.
You get sick - I'll come
I will spread the pain with my hands,
I can do everything, I can do everything
My heart is not a stone.
I'll fly - you tell me
I will pass the storm and the flame,
Just do not forgive cold lies -
My heart is not a stone.
You see: a star lit up in the night,
Whispering a fairy tale to his son ...
Only heartlessness destroys us -
Treat with love and affection.
I will melt the pieces of ice
With your hot heart...
I will always love you:
I can't help it.

FROM THE "KP" DOSSIER

Valentina TOLKUNOVA was born on July 12, 1946 in the city of Armavir, Krasnodar Territory. But she herself always considered herself a Muscovite, because her parents moved her to the capital in a year.

For 10 years she sang in the ensemble of the Central House of Children of Railway Workers under the direction of S. O. Dunayevsky, where she withstood the competition as a child. Graduated from the Music College. Gnesins. From the age of 20 she sang in the big band "VIO-66" under the direction of Yuri Saulsky.

Since the 70s, Tolkunova has been one of the most beloved singers in Russia.

23 times nominated for the television competition "Song of the Year".

The first husband is Yuri Saulsky. The second is a diplomat, international journalist Yuri Paporov. Son Nicholas, 31 years old. Works as a lighting designer at the Moscow Theater of Musical Drama and Song.

DISEASE HISTORY

Valentina Vasilievna fell ill four years ago. breast cancer. At first she tried to heal herself - with the help of prayer. But it didn't help. I had to urgently have an operation. At first, the disease receded. Tolkunova immediately returned to the stage and did not even think about her health. But three years later, it became clear that cancer was not defeated. The artist suffered for some time from a severe headache and was forced to go to the doctor. It turned out to be cancer of the fourth degree - with metastases to the lungs, liver, brain ...

In September 2009, at the Burdenko Hospital, she underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. Then - chemotherapy at the Cancer Center on Kashirka.

On February 16, Tolkunova again ended up in intensive care - immediately after a concert in the Belarusian city of Mogilev. She did not feel well before the performance, but she went on stage. As soon as Valentina Vasilievna's condition improved, she was transferred by reanimobile to Moscow, to the Botkin hospital. Before leaving, the singer promised local doctors to return and sing personally for them. Alas, this was not destined to come true. She spent the last month in the hospital.

Last Saturday evening, Valentina Vasilievna became ill. She asked to be brought to her by a priest, who held an unction right in the hospital ward.

PERSONAL VIEW

The ideal Russian woman

Valentina Tolkunova is a voice from our childhood. Speaking in "adult" language, Tolkunova was a kind of personification of the stability of our life. A little later, Valentina Vasilievna also helped us begin to enter the adult world - she, one of the few performers of love lyrics, was constantly played on the first button of the radio with the song “I can’t do otherwise.” With her silvery voice, she spoke to us in the language of love: “If you get sick, I will come, I will spread the pain with my hands. I can do everything, I can do everything: my heart is not a stone.

Tolkunova looked like the perfect Russian woman. A little plump, with a kind, meek smile, with a heavy scythe over her shoulder (the envy of many mothers and their daughters!), Calm, soft, forgiving. Over time, the image will change, disappointment will appear in the look. But she will remain all of our Valyusha. Gone too soon...

Elena LAPTEVA

Died Valentina Tolkunova - one of the brightest stars of the Soviet stage. Usually in such cases they recall the biography of a person, but the life path, with all the desire, cannot be called intricately woven or famously twisted. A kind of typical exemplary biography of the singer, no non-core institutions, no steep zigzags of fate - a children's choir, a music school and many, many years of work on the stage.

The singer was born on July 12, 1946 in the city of Armavir, in the Krasnodar Territory, but she always considered herself a Muscovite - soon after the birth of her daughter, her parents moved to the capital, and the girl grew up in Khovrino. She began to sing from childhood, she devoted almost ten years to the Moscow Children's Choir, where, according to her, she went through a real vocal school with music teacher Tatyana Nikolaevna Ovchinnikova. After school in 1964, Tolkunova entered the conductor and choral department of the Moscow State Institute of Culture.

It would seem - the road is knurled, but here strangeness begins.

It is no secret that the success of singers at all times is often inseparable from the efforts and capabilities of her husband, but with Tolkunova everything turned out exactly the opposite. In her early twenties, a promising student marries a famous composer. Tolkunova temporarily leaves her studies, goes to work in the VIO-66 big band, led by her husband, and sings jazz there for five years. Unfortunately, the marriage was short-lived and broke up five years later (the second - with journalist Yuri Paporov - became much more successful and lasted about thirty years).

And although the singer during this "jazz period" managed to finish her conducting education and, in addition, acquire a Gnesinka diploma, she had to start her singing career all over again. And the stage is a capricious lady under all regimes and at all times, and few people wait for the smiles of fate on this path.

Tolkunova was lucky - it was during this seemingly unfavorable period for her career that her take-off begins.

As is often the case, chance intervened. In 1971, the first ever television series, Day by Day, was filmed in the Soviet Union. Now few people remember this nightly story about the inhabitants of a Moscow communal apartment, filmed according to the script with the brilliant Gribov and the young, not yet fat Innocent. But in the fate of the singer, he became one of the most important events.

In this telenovela, the unknown Valentina Tolkunova sang several songs by Ilya Kataev to Ancharov's poems - “I was walking down the street at night”, “I am standing at a half-station”, etc.

The singer was noticed, and at the request of the poet Leo, he gives her his song “Ah, Natasha”, which has been on his desk for several years. After the singer's performance at Oshanin's anniversary evening, the venerable composer found Tolkunova during the intermission and honestly admitted that he had never imagined that such a brilliant song could be made from his material.

After that, there was a rumor in musical circles that the young singer could pull out any song, and Tolkunova began to give out one hit after another.

First, the composer Aedonitsky invited her to perform the song "Silver Weddings", which one eminent singer refused the day before, and Tolkun's performance on "Song-73" ended with a standing ovation. Then there were “Wooden Horses”, “Snub Noses”, and a year later, especially for Valentina Tolkunova, the young composer writes “Talk to Me, Mom”.

Tolkunova becomes one of the most famous singers in the country - it was impossible to resist this unique and once recognizable timbre and extremely sincere intonation.

Unfortunately, the period of resounding fame turned out to be short-lived - at the turn of the 70s and 80s, an event took place that knocked down the careers of many singers who worked at the junction of folk tradition and modern stage.

The country has changed a lot, new rhythms have supplanted the old ones, and against the backdrop of the growing strength of rock and disco, Tolkunov with her “colorful half-shawls” and “factory girls” began to seem like a terrible anachronism. Neither voice nor professionalism helped - no one is to blame, it's just that times have changed.

Few singers of our very conservative stage survived this blow - someone tried to radically change, but only a few succeeded. Tolkunova decided to remain herself. She recorded new songs - “I can’t do otherwise”, “My dear, if there were no war”, “Dialogue at the New Year tree”, worked for children - she sang in the cartoons “In the Port” and “Winter in Prostokvashino”. And still broke through to the viewer.

Valentina Vasilievna finally disappeared from television screens only in new times, when all of us, fascinated by new life and new opportunities, tabooed the past and got rid of it with some kind of frenzy.

Tolkunova survived these difficult times with respectable dignity. I didn’t fuss, I didn’t try to monetize my previous success, I didn’t try to crawl anywhere, somehow return what was gone. She honestly admitted in an interview: “I’m probably from another century, very out of date. I am the daughter of that era, and the time in which we live ... I am like a grain of sand in a whirlwind of the 21st century, but I do not want to be a grain of sand. She worked for her listener, traveled a lot around the country, not refusing the most modest offers:

“I try to travel with concerts to different parts of our vast Motherland in order to have time to give people my heart, my songs. I never refuse to perform for the disabled, veterans, children, youth.

If the organizers of such concerts do not have money, I perform for free, it does not matter to me.

I am reproached and even scolded for the fact that I agree to work for free, because now not a single even completely voiceless singer will lift a finger until he is paid. I am often asked: "How much are you worth?" I am constantly surprised by this phrase and I can’t, and I don’t want to get used to it. Therefore, I invariably answer: “I’m not standing at all.” Then people sometimes say irritably, “Okay. How much are your songs worth? Well, what kind of wildness? How can songs or myself be worth anything? It's priceless. Both I myself and my songs are given by God for people. Only my work has value.

I am pleased to realize that there, in the outback, I am needed. Arriving there, I do not feel cold, but I feel the warmth of hearts and caring soul. A soulful lyrical song is more needed there than in Moscow or St. Petersburg.

Do not judge and you will not be judged, and I cannot judge anyone, but it seems to me that today people prefer something that is shining, shimmering, shining, thundering, but not the inner essence, the hiddenness of the soul.

In general, dignity is perhaps the key word for remembering Valentina Vasilievna. Even when the reverse process began and the landslide fashion for Soviet retro began, she, unlike many of her colleagues, resisted and did not rush into the fussy pursuit of a second chance. She didn’t flash at any concerts like the “hodgepodge team”, we never saw her in television retro contests and other booths beloved by domestic culture. She lived the same as always. And at the same time - she never complained and did not regret anything:

“The song cannot be Russian or Soviet. There is no song tied to the ranks. A good song for everyone, and it cannot be called Russian or Soviet.

I didn't sing slogan songs. I have never served anyone. I sang human songs.

Remember, “Talk to me, mom”, “Snub noses”, “We rode in a boat”, “My dear, if there were no war.” These songs are for everyone, they are still needed, they are in demand. I can't say that I'm sitting without concerts. No, I'm not destitute, I'm a wealthy person. I've been driving for twenty-two years, now I drive a jeep, I have a nice apartment. I don't complain about anything, I don't have anything to complain about. I myself will get out in this life. I don’t sit idle, there is a lot of work.”

She has always lived by work. Even when she was diagnosed with a terrible diagnosis a few years ago, she still continued to perform. In mid-February, at a concert in Belarusian Mogilev, the singer became ill. After urgent hospitalization, it turned out that the disease had relapsed. For almost a month, doctors fought for the life of the singer, but the situation was too serious - fourth-degree cancer, tumors in the chest and brain with metastases to the liver and lungs.

This morning Valentina Tolkunova died at the Botkin hospital. Today, remembering how you never want to argue with one of her best songs of recent years - "Leaving, do not take anything from the past."

People's Artist of Russia Valentina Tolkunova will be buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow on Wednesday, it will be possible to say goodbye to her at the Variety Theater, the time of farewell is being specified.