Ex-soloist of VIA “Flame” Stanislav Cheremukhin: “The soul sings, you understand? Where will you take her? In Zaporizhzhia, the performer of the legendary hits VIA "Plamya" simply captivated the audience The Shining of the Flame.

The star guest of the cultural program of the barbecue festival, which took place on Sunday at the cascade of fountains "Raduga", was Stanislav Cheremukhin from the legendary ensemble of the Soviet era "Flame". The singer performed “Don't be sad”, “I'll get off at a distant station”, “Aty-baty, the soldiers were walking”, “Snow is spinning” and other hits loved by the people.
"Industrialka" managed to communicate with a Muscovite Stanislav Cheremukhin, who, by the way, turned out to be our fellow countryman.
- Oh, I remember the newspaper "Industrial Zaporozhye", - said Stanislav Cheremukhin. – I am from Akimovka, Zaporozhye region. My parents subscribed to "Industrialka", and in those years I occasionally read it. I remember how I was struck by a note in Industrial Zaporizhzhya that technology was advancing at such a pace that soon there would be video phones. My brother served in Khabarovsk, and I thought: "It's great that I can communicate with him."
And he said, signing the poster:
- Cheremukhin is my pseudonym, and according to my passport I am Cherepukhin, but no matter how they called my last name - Cheremushkin, Cherepanov. Why Cheremukhin? But one letter changes and immediately - associations.
FROM "GEMS" THE "FLAME" REVIVED. AND NOT ONE

Stanislav Cheremukhin in Zaporozhye
(Photo by the author)

- Stanislav Danilovich, how did it happen that the members of the ensemble "Gems" became "Flame"?
- I did not witness this split, I know about it from colleagues. In the 70s in the Soviet Union there were no more popular ensembles than Pesnyary and Gems, it was like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the world.
In 1975, a conflict arose between the artists of "Gems" and artistic director Yuri Malikov. It was mostly financial in nature, but also creative.
And then all the artists of the ensemble "Gems" unanimously left the artistic director, invited a new artistic director Nikolai Mikhailov and organized an ensemble called "Flame".
- Is it true that the name "Flame" was born in a Moscow barbecue?
- No. It was born after a tour in Czechoslovakia, in honor of the ensemble, which in Czech was called "Flame", we became related to him.
- And how did you get into the "Flame" and how many years did you work there?
- I graduated from the Melitopol School of Culture, then I studied at the Kostroma Music College, I graduated from GITIS. He worked in various philharmonic groups - Kostroma, Nikolaev, Vinnitsa philharmonics and in Lenconcert.
Me and my compatriot Yura Redko were noticed and invited to the ensemble "Flame" during the next change of the team. Then Tolya Mogilevsky applied for a trip to America, Nikolai Mikhailov, too, Yura Genbachev left to play jazz. Fresh people were needed, and Yura Redko and I sang like that together - for half an ensemble!
This was in 1976. And until 1980, I worked in the "golden" composition, recorded songs that became popular. And to this day, my voice and my flute sound in such songs as “I’ll get off at a distant station”, “A soldier is walking through the city”, “Snow is spinning” and in many others loved by the people.
Then my fate was connected with cinema - I worked in this area for ten years. He worked, in particular, with Sergei Zhigunov as an organizer and distributor of his series.
And in 2000, the composer and artistic director Seryozha Berezin invited to gather for the anniversary of the ensemble "Flame". After that we were invited to the City Day in the Moscow region. And when we sang “No need to be sad” and the whole square sang with us, when the song “My address is Soviet Union"It was a shock, a shock! And we realized that our song has not yet been sung!

VIA "Flame". Stanislav Cheremukhin - second from the right in the second row

- And since then you have been performing in the revived ensemble "Flame"?
- In 2010, I left the squad under the leadership of Berezin. Cause? Let's say creative differences.
I decided to stop singing. But - again, the case! I was invited to speak to the students. Young guys. And again - a stunning reception. I don't take it personally, I'm just a carrier musical language ensemble "Flame", this style. I made sure that people need these songs.
- And now we have one "Flame" or not one?
- Not one.
– How much?
– Accounting question (laughs). We live in other legal dimensions compared to the 20th century... The trade mark "Flame" is registered and remains with Sergey Berezin.
I registered the brand “Shine of Flame” and have the right to write on the poster: “Artist of the Flame Ensemble Stanislav Cheremukhin, in the program - best songs VIA "Flame", accompanied by the group "Radiance of the Flame". I arrived in Zaporozhye alone, I was accompanied by your musicians.
“IN MOSCOW THEY SAY TO ME: “YOU ARE IDIOT! WHERE ARE YOU DRIVING?"
- Why did you agree to perform in Zaporozhye in our difficult time?
- Pulls me to my native land! I have the graves of my relatives in Akimovka, my brother lives there. It is not the first time I perform in Zaporozhye. I love Khorty so much!
And a good chance brought me together with Gennady Fedosov. He heads the production center "Taurus" (he was involved in the organization of the barbecue festival. - S. O.). We now support each other. I need a stage, concerts! And in Russia, frankly, there are not many of them. Why? The generation has changed. "The field was trampled" by phonographers, karaoke players and just crooks. I can’t beat my chest: “I’m real!”. Who knows - he invites.
- How do you feel about the concert in our city?
– Thanks to Gennady and his organizational skills! I’m a grated kalach, I’ve been to all sorts of festivals and competitions, but it was the first time at the barbecue festival. It turned out - there are a lot of barbecue lovers! These scents are absolutely insane!
IN cultural program were talented people, yours. Andrei Shamrai from the "Voice of the Country" is a magnificent natural gift! And others, I can't list them all.
And our performance with Zaporozhye musicians - it worked! Gennady Fedosov picked up the bass guitar.
And, despite any difficulties, Gennady makes me a tour. This is the third tour in Ukraine this year, we will go to the Poltava region. In Moscow they say to me: “You idiot! Where are you driving? Don't you watch TV? Gennady and I are guided by the following phrase: "The jackal howls, the caravan moves on." Our job is to sing songs that have become popular.
How do Russians really treat us now?
- With sympathy. You know: people - separately, the media - separately. And the people with whom I communicate - Ukraine, this is understandable, the first topic now - everyone is worried.
What else do you do besides performing?
- I teach, I have students. I work in the studio, I'm a multi-instrumentalist, I have a collection - six guitars, three flutes, keyboards.
ABOUT PERSONAL
- Son Danil - he is a soloist of the State symphony chapel"Russia", composer. I brought his arrangement, and the ensemble of the director of the Zaporozhye Musical College, Sergei Pelyuk, will play his work.
The daughter showed brilliant promises as an actress, starred in several films. And for leading role girls in the film "Admirer" (13-year-old Lena, who is courted in a peculiar way by a maniac. - S. O.). she received the prize of the Kinoshock festival. And then - women's fate now she has a daughter. Until now, she is invited to act, but she does not want to. It's a pity…

“A soldier is walking through the city”, “I’ll get off at a distant station”, “No need to be sad” - a whole generation grew up on these and other hits of VIA “Flame” Soviet people. The composition of the team that thundered throughout the Union often changed, and one of its bright participants was a singer and musician Stanislav Cheremukhin. A few years ago, the artist left the ensemble and over the past two years he has been working on creating his own group. At the end of March, the residents of Brest and Kobrin were able to see the new band "Radiance of Flame", performing immortal hits.

This mini-tour to Belarus became possible thanks to the meeting between Stanislav Cheremukhin and the Brest singer Vitaly Prokopovich, which took place in January at one of the corporate parties. Vitaly admits that he was in good sense I was amazed by the performance of the group and decided to do everything possible so that the group “Shine of the Flame” visited Brest again and many could hear it. As a result, two months later, Stanislav Cheremukhin and his team arrived in the Brest region. Before the concert at the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions on March 26, Cheremukhin and his team met with journalists. Here are some moments from the conversation with the artist.

My main creative biography associated with the ensemble "Flame". It took skill to get into it. By that time, I and my colleagues in the VIA "Flame" had a good command of their instruments, voices, and studied for this. Still, you had to be lucky. I don't rely on my talents. I'm lucky. And then - work, education, self-education.

The reward system in Soviet time was very unfair. Maximum bet, which we received officially from the Ministry of Culture - 12 rubles 50 kopecks. And this despite the fact that the Flame ensemble collected stadiums and Sports Palaces, and local philharmonic societies stood in line and asked: “Guys, when you arrive, remove us from the card index so that we have money for Symphony Orchestra And so on?"

As for foreign tours, the cases were simply anecdotal. For the most part, artists who represented Soviet art, went abroad to get 10 or 20 dollars per diem. And if the trip is 3 months and these 90 days are multiplied by 20 dollars, then we are oh-oh-oh. In order to save this money, we, of course, took “conservatories” with us: cans of canned food, boilers, and so on.

And there was such a precedent, in my opinion, indicative, when we came to Finland for the Finnish-Soviet youth festival. The record company that invited us was very pleased with our work and we were given a fee. On your hands! And then an inconspicuous little man came up and said: “Surrender! Hand over to the embassy! Of course, the embassy did not return anything to us.

The Finns were terribly indignant at this, but when they realized that everything was useless, they brought us to a music store where there were discs and told us to choose what we want and how much we want. And we stocked up on records of Stevie Wonder, Janis Joplin, "Jesus Christ Superstar" ... That's how they settled with us.

Going abroad was a revolution. When I visited the Dresden Gallery, I saw " Sistine Madonna”or“ Chocolate Girl ”- what could have happened to me? Stupor is simple. It all went through the heart. Is it true. It is impossible to imagine being out of the world or being indifferent if we visit, for example, Buchenwald. And due to the fact that the "Flame" was not strongly affected by ideological blinkers, we really were more or less free and traveled to many countries.

The composition of the "Radiance of the Flame" group: Stanislav Cheremukhin (group leader, singer and musician), Konstantin Kravtsov (video engineer), Alexander Istomin (musician), Svetlana Baskakova (singer), Vladimir Zalevsky (director's console).
“I gave the ensemble “Flame” more than 15 years”

Leaving the group is actually dramatic story. In short: the moment came when I left the VIA "Flame" under the guidance of People's Artist Russia Sergei Berezin. I sat at home and rested. And the soul sings, you understand? Where will you take her? And there is a voice, and everything else too. I gave the Flame ensemble more than 15 years, and - I say this without boasting - the main songs that have really become popular are recorded with my voice. And how without them? That's all, that's my life. Since we live in a new environment, I have registered the trademark "Radiance of the Flame". A production center and a group of the same name arose. On January 21 we had our first concert in Moscow.

We do not just perform the songs of the "Flame", we call our program - "Gala Concert best songs VIA "Flame". This is not because we want to cling to their glory, not because we are their counterparts. The fact is that "The Flame" was one of the most prolific in terms of material. At one time, we calculated that we recorded over 250 songs in those years. Moreover, among them there are songs of such extraordinary beauty that they still have to be performed. And not because we could not collect fresh material.

On this moment, I suppose we should be in a status that has been practiced in the west for a long time, something like a fan club of the Flame ensemble. I want to raise these songs, preserve and promote. As for relations with VIA "Flame", they are not.

On Sunday we had a relatively free day and decided to get some inspiration from Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Vitaly Prokopovich, our friend and one of the organizers of this tour, kindly agreed to take us in his car. Indeed, the beauty is indescribable, it is easy to breathe, everything is wonderful. We got a nice "irradiation" positive emotions.

We are going back, everyone is fine, everyone is having fun, and suddenly - a wild boar. He either jumped out into the headlights, or he wanted to cross the road. A blow - Vitaly has such a one next to him (an eloquent gesture with his hands follows - approx. ed.) pork muzzle. We slowed down, Kostya (group video engineer - approx. ed.) climbed under the hood to check what was happening with the car, and my curious colleagues decided to see what was happening with the boar.

In general, the billhook becomes very ferocious when he is wounded. But the guys were lucky: their curiosity was not punished. The boar, apparently, was also frightened and fled. As they later said, for him it was like that, it tickled a little. And now Vitaly will have to repair, paint and so on.

Brest is a wonderful city. Listen, well, this is a European city! I have been here in those years when VIA Plamya and I toured, I can compare. Now this city is clean, the city is friendly and, it seems to me, completely safe. I don't understand at all when they clean you up. Everything is always clean. I have not seen a single Tajik with a broom.

We received the most favorable impressions from Kobrin. The audience is warm to the point of impossibility. When the audience at the end of the concert rose and applauded while standing, a lump rolled up in my throat: “Why did they stand up ?!” Turns out it's a tradition. We don’t have this, we only had this at the Congress of the CPSU for the last time.

We have plans for the future regarding Vitaly Prokopovich: he is a talented, creative, energetic person, he has wonderful songs. Therefore, we will think about how to attract him to Moscow, even if Belarusian talents are known there.

As for your country, I would like to organize a new tour in May and cover more cities. How this will work out, and whether it will work out at all, depends on the organization here on the ground.

“In the 21st century, all of a sudden, people are happy to listen to songs that were written 40 years ago.”

“No need to be sad”, “I’ll get off at a distant station”, “Aty-baty, soldiers were walking”, “Snow is spinning” and other hits loved by the people, on which a whole generation of Soviet people grew up, sounded from the stage of the Kredmash Palace of Culture on January 30 performed by the vocal and instrumental ensemble "Flame" and its soloist Stanislav Cheremukhin.

It is worth noting that the composition of the collective that thundered throughout the USSR often changed, but it was the singer and musician Stanislav Cheremukhin who was and remains one of its brightest members.

Before the concert, the soloist talked to reporters and told why and when he worked to the phonogram, which of the Ukrainian stars he prefers, how VIA Plamya was cloned, about his love for cats and a surprise for the townspeople.

1975 year of formation of VIA "Flame". Today, 2016, for many, you are the personification of the overthrown communist regime, and for others, memories of childhood and youth. What do you associate yourself with?

With a musician and singer, an artist of the Plamya ensemble, whose songs are loved, known and remembered to this day.

- You yourself are from Russia, but you perform in Ukraine - isn't it scary?

It's not scary, for one simple reason ... I feel that people need these songs, that they need this support. That's why they come to these concerts. Nobody has picnics there, but people go and listen to these songs.

- You want to say that culture is out of politics?

At least I'm out of politics. I sing these songs. This is a discovery for me that in the 21st century people suddenly enjoy listening to songs that were written 40 years ago. That's why I bring it to people.

- Was there a phonogram in 1975?

In 1975 it was not, but in 76 it was ... (Laughs).

- And how do you perform? What does this concept mean to you?

The phonogram was then. When we performed at the Shakhtar stadium in Donetsk, where there were 100,000 people, like in Luzhniki, there was simply no equipment at that time that could sound all this. Therefore, there were speakers around the entire perimeter, metal, with a terrible creak, like shoes, and that's when we put on our record, but ... We honestly hummed ...

Now how do we perform. The 21st century is in the yard, which made a revolution in music. On the one hand, he revealed great sound possibilities, and on the other hand, he made young people lazy, who, using a computer, can make absolutely impossible sounds for themselves.

We work with a small team, so we use samplers and play from above. You will hear acoustic performances at the concert. The piano is not in vain here too .... It makes a splash.

I must pay tribute to the Kredmash House of Culture, which kept this tool. In Russia, grand pianos are broken, but here the instrument is in excellent condition.

- What kind of music do you listen to?

Various. And modern as well. I prefer local performers. I have always appreciated and respected the Ukrainian stage. I'm sincere. There are incredibly talented people here. The same Oleg Skripka, the same Okean Elzy, which is very much loved in Russia. I'm not talking about Ani Lorak...

- On the Internet, I found several different VIA "Flame". How to identify a fake?

I recently spoke about this in the film Legends of Music, which, by the way, was released on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Flame ensemble. So, there are artists and figures who are trying to privatize the name, privatize the songs. I answered this question there in such a way that the songs of the Flame ensemble are public property and it’s incorrect to try to somehow “weld” something on this.

Yes, there are several ensembles. I don't mind this. It with light hand"Tender May". They multiplied across the country. Let's talk about quality and who sings how. Here is Jura Peterson "Flame 2000" - this great singer, I think. But there are sharers. I will name such a case. From the Moscow region suddenly a call is heard from my friend, and he says - you are here at a concert at our stadium and let me come in now. I say like at a concert? I'm sitting at home.

He says no to your posters. He is a persistent guy and went to the administrator - where is the "Flame"? Yes, he is there, they drink and eat. He comes in and says, where is Cheremukhin, where is Berezin?! Who are you?! That we are workers, and there they just left ...

Do you understand what the meanness is!? ... Take someone else's poster to hang out, take what and how they sang ... It's just an abomination. There have been criminal prosecutions in this regard.

- What can piss you off during a concert?

Difficult to withdraw.

- Were there such cases?

Are you a man of mind or heart?

And both. It's hard to say more.

- If there was a fire in your house, what would you take out first?

A cat and then a guitar... I have three cats. Murka, Seraya and Lucy...

- You released a film for the 40th anniversary of the ensemble, and what is your inner age?

Well, I'm afraid to be cunning, but probably 25 years old.

- What do you value in people and what do you not accept?

I do not accept lies and insincerity, but I appreciate work and talent.

- Tell us who you are performing with today. Who are these talented people?

These talented people are my like-minded people ... The guys are capable of what you heard and saw at the rehearsal ... Simply selfless. An example is this. Past tours in Zhovti Vody. We are on our own bus. It happened that they broke the window and stole the navigator, and we went to the Sumy region on the same night and gave a concert alone, and then to the Kharkov region in Pervomaisk. And now Seryozha, the sound engineer, proved himself to be a man. For this stage - this is more than 1000 km, he should be given the "Hero of Ukraine". We arrived in Pervomaisk there is a "thousander" hall. We were an hour and a half late. But if anyone leaves...

- And how will you surprise the residents of Kremenchuk today?

Song premiere. We remembered the song of 40 years ago "Chaklunka Gir". Then Volodya Kudryavtsev wrote it .... Today we are reviving the song ....

After this interview, Stanislav Cheremukhin went up on stage again and began to "work out" the song. After 40 minutes, the concert began at the Kredmash Palace of Culture. The hall was filled to capacity, and the audience did not spare their hands and often shouted "Bravo" and "Thank you!" from their seats.

This mini-tour to Belarus became possible thanks to the meeting between Stanislav Cheremukhin and the Brest singer Vitaly Prokopovich, which took place in January at one of the corporate parties. Vitaliy admits that he was in a good way amazed by the performance of the band and decided to do everything possible so that the group "Shine of the Flame" visited Brest again and many could hear it. As a result, two months later, Stanislav Cheremukhin and his team arrived in the Brest region. Before the concert at the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions on March 26, Cheremukhin and his team met with journalists. Here are some moments from the conversation with the artist.

“How did I get into VIA “Flame”? Lucky"

- My main creative biography is connected with the Flame ensemble. It took skill to get into it. By that time, I and my colleagues in the VIA "Flame" had a good command of their instruments, voices, and studied for this. Still, you had to be lucky. I don't rely on my talents. I'm lucky. And then - work, education, self-education.

"Soviet artists went on tour for per diems"

– The remuneration system in Soviet times was very unfair. The maximum rate that we officially received from the Ministry of Culture is 12 rubles 50 kopecks. And this despite the fact that the Flame ensemble collected stadiums and Sports Palaces, and local philharmonic societies stood in line and asked: “Guys, when will you come to remove us from the file cabinet so that we have money for a symphony orchestra and so on?”

As for foreign tours, the cases were simply anecdotal. For the most part, artists who represented Soviet art went abroad to receive 10 or 20 dollars per day. And if the trip is 3 months and these 90 days are multiplied by 20 dollars, then we are oh-oh-oh. In order to save this money, we, of course, took “conservatories” with us: cans of canned food, boilers, and so on.

And there was such a precedent, in my opinion, indicative, when we came to Finland for the Finnish-Soviet youth festival. The record company that invited us was very pleased with our work and we were given a fee. On your hands! And then an inconspicuous little man came up and said: “Surrender! Hand over to the embassy! Of course, the embassy did not return anything to us.

The Finns were terribly indignant at this, but when they realized that everything was useless, they brought us to a music store where there were discs and told us to choose what we want and how much we want. And we stocked up on records of Stevie Wonder, Janis Joplin, "Jesus Christ Superstar" ... That's how they settled with us.

“We were more or less free and traveled to many countries”

“Going abroad was a revolution. When I visited the Dresden Gallery, saw the "Sistine Madonna" or "Chocolate Girl" - what could have happened to me? Stupor is simple. It all went through the heart. Is it true. It is impossible to imagine being out of the world or being indifferent if we visit, for example, Buchenwald. And due to the fact that the "Flame" was not strongly affected by ideological blinkers, we really were more or less free and traveled to many countries.

The composition of the "Radiance of the Flame" group: Stanislav Cheremukhin (group leader, singer and musician), Konstantin Kravtsov (video engineer), Alexander Istomin (musician), Svetlana Baskakova (singer), Vladimir Zalevsky (director's console).

“I gave the ensemble “Flame” more than 15 years”

- Leaving the group is actually a dramatic story. In short: the moment came when I left the VIA "Flame" under the leadership of the People's Artist of Russia Sergey Berezin. I sat at home and rested. And the soul sings, you understand? Where will you take her? And there is a voice, and everything else too. I gave the Flame ensemble more than 15 years, and - I say this without boasting - the main songs that have really become popular are recorded with my voice. And how without them? That's all, that's my life. Since we live in a new environment, I have registered the trademark "Radiance of the Flame". A production center and a group of the same name arose. On January 21 we had our first concert in Moscow.

"I want to raise these songs, preserve and promote"

- We do not just perform the songs of the "Flame", we call our program - "Gala concert of the best songs of VIA" Flame ". This is not because we want to cling to their glory, not because we are their counterparts. The fact is that "The Flame" was one of the most prolific in terms of material. At one time, we calculated that we recorded over 250 songs in those years. Moreover, among them there are songs of such extraordinary beauty that they still have to be performed. And not because we could not collect fresh material.

At the moment, I suppose we should be in the status that has been practiced in the west for a long time, something like a fan club of the Flame ensemble. I want to raise these songs, preserve and promote. As for relations with VIA "Flame", they are not.

“A wild boar attacked us on the way from the forest”

– On Sunday we had a relatively free day, and we decided to get inspiration from Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Vitaly Prokopovich, our friend and one of the organizers of this tour, kindly agreed to take us in his car. Indeed, the beauty is indescribable, it is easy to breathe, everything is wonderful. We received a pleasant “irradiation” with positive emotions.

We are going back, everyone is fine, everyone is having fun, and suddenly - a wild boar. He either jumped out into the headlights, or he wanted to cross the road. A blow - Vitaly has such a one next to him (an eloquent gesture with his hands follows - approx. ed.) pork muzzle. We slowed down, Kostya (group video engineer - approx. ed.) climbed under the hood to check what was happening with the car, and my curious colleagues decided to see what was happening with the boar.

In general, the billhook becomes very ferocious when he is wounded. But the guys were lucky: their curiosity was not punished. The boar, apparently, was also frightened and fled. As they later said, for him it was like that, it tickled a little. And now Vitaly will have to repair, paint and so on.

“I have not seen a single Tajik with a broom in Brest”

- Brest is a wonderful city. Listen, well, this is a European city! I have been here in those years when VIA Plamya and I toured, I can compare. Now this city is clean, the city is friendly and, it seems to me, completely safe. I don't understand at all when they clean you up. Everything is always clean. I have not seen a single Tajik with a broom.

We received the most favorable impressions from Kobrin. The audience is warm to the point of impossibility. When the audience at the end of the concert rose and applauded while standing, a lump rolled up in my throat: “Why did they stand up ?!” Turns out it's a tradition. We don’t have this, we only had this at the Congress of the CPSU for the last time.

“Let Belarusian talents be known in Moscow”

- We have plans for the future regarding Vitaly Prokopovich: he is a talented, creative, energetic person, he has wonderful songs. Therefore, we will think about how to attract him to Moscow, even if Belarusian talents are known there.

As for your country, I would like to organize a new tour in May and cover more cities. How this will work out, and whether it will work out at all, depends on the organization here on the ground.

“A soldier is walking through the city”, “I’ll get off at a distant station”, “No need to be sad” - a whole generation of Soviet people grew up on these and other hits by VIA “Flame”. The composition of the collective that thundered throughout the Union often changed, and one of its brightest members was the singer and musician Stanislav Cheremukhin. A few years ago, the artist left the ensemble and over the past two years he has been working on creating his own group. At the end of March, the residents of Brest and Kobrin were able to see the new band "Radiance of Flame", performing immortal hits.

This mini-tour to Belarus became possible thanks to the meeting between Stanislav Cheremukhin and the Brest singer Vitaly Prokopovich, which took place in January at one of the corporate parties. Vitaliy admits that he was in a good way amazed by the performance of the band and decided to do everything possible so that the group "Shine of the Flame" visited Brest again and many could hear it. As a result, two months later, Stanislav Cheremukhin and his team arrived in the Brest region. Before the concert at the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions on March 26, Cheremukhin and his team met with journalists. Here are some moments from the conversation with the artist.

“How did I get into VIA “Flame”? Lucky"

My main creative biography is connected with the Flame ensemble. It took skill to get into it. By that time, I and my colleagues in the VIA "Flame" had a good command of their instruments, voices, and studied for this. Still, you had to be lucky. I don't rely on my talents. I'm lucky. And then - work, education, self-education.

"Soviet artists went on tour for per diems"

The remuneration system in Soviet times was very unfair. The maximum rate that we officially received from the Ministry of Culture is 12 rubles 50 kopecks. And this despite the fact that the Flame ensemble collected stadiums and Sports Palaces, and local philharmonic societies stood in line and asked: “Guys, when will you come to remove us from the file cabinet so that we have money for a symphony orchestra and so on?”

As for foreign tours, the cases were simply anecdotal. For the most part, artists who represented Soviet art went abroad to receive 10 or 20 dollars per day. And if the trip is 3 months and these 90 days are multiplied by 20 dollars, then we are oh-oh-oh. In order to save this money, we, of course, took “conservatories” with us: cans of canned food, boilers, and so on.

And there was such a precedent, in my opinion, indicative, when we came to Finland for the Finnish-Soviet youth festival. The record company that invited us was very pleased with our work and we were given a fee. On your hands! And then an inconspicuous little man came up and said: “Surrender! Hand over to the embassy! Of course, the embassy did not return anything to us.

The Finns were terribly indignant at this, but when they realized that everything was useless, they brought us to a music store where there were discs and told us to choose what we want and how much we want. And we stocked up on records of Stevie Wonder, Janis Joplin, "Jesus Christ Superstar" ... That's how they settled with us.

“We were more or less free and traveled to many countries”

Going abroad was a revolution. When I visited the Dresden Gallery, saw the "Sistine Madonna" or "Chocolate Girl" - what could have happened to me? Stupor is simple. It all went through the heart. Is it true. It is impossible to imagine being out of the world or being indifferent if we visit, for example, Buchenwald. And due to the fact that the "Flame" was not strongly affected by ideological blinkers, we really were more or less free and traveled to many countries.

The composition of the "Radiance of the Flame" group: Stanislav Cheremukhin (group leader, singer and musician), Konstantin Kravtsov (video engineer), Alexander Istomin (musician), Svetlana Baskakova (singer), Vladimir Zalevsky (director's console).

“I gave the ensemble “Flame” more than 15 years”

Departure from the group is actually a dramatic story. In short: the moment came when I left the VIA "Flame" under the leadership of the People's Artist of Russia Sergey Berezin. I sat at home and rested. And the soul sings, you understand? Where will you take her? And there is a voice, and everything else too. I gave the Flame ensemble more than 15 years, and - I say this without boasting - the main songs that have really become popular are recorded with my voice. And how without them? That's all, that's my life. Since we live in a new environment, I have registered the trademark "Radiance of the Flame". A production center and a group of the same name arose. On January 21 we had our first concert in Moscow.

"I want to raise these songs, preserve and promote"

We do not just perform the songs of the "Flame", we call our program - "Gala concert of the best songs of VIA" Flame ". This is not because we want to cling to their glory, not because we are their counterparts. The fact is that "The Flame" was one of the most prolific in terms of material. At one time, we calculated that we recorded over 250 songs in those years. Moreover, among them there are songs of such extraordinary beauty that they still have to be performed. And not because we could not collect fresh material.

At the moment, I suppose we should be in the status that has been practiced in the west for a long time, something like a fan club of the Flame ensemble. I want to raise these songs, preserve and promote. As for relations with VIA "Flame", they are not.

“A wild boar attacked us on the way from the forest”

On Sunday we had a relatively free day and decided to get some inspiration from Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Vitaly Prokopovich, our friend and one of the organizers of this tour, kindly agreed to take us in his car. Indeed, the beauty is indescribable, it is easy to breathe, everything is wonderful. We received a pleasant “irradiation” with positive emotions.

We are going back, everyone is fine, everyone is having fun, and suddenly - a wild boar. He either jumped out into the headlights, or he wanted to cross the road. A blow - Vitaly has such a one next to him (an eloquent gesture with his hands follows - approx. ed.) pork muzzle. We slowed down, Kostya (group video engineer - approx. ed.) climbed under the hood to check what was happening with the car, and my curious colleagues decided to see what was happening with the boar.

In general, the billhook becomes very ferocious when he is wounded. But the guys were lucky: their curiosity was not punished. The boar, apparently, was also frightened and fled. As they later said, for him it was like that, it tickled a little. And now Vitaly will have to repair, paint and so on.

“I have not seen a single Tajik with a broom in Brest”

- Brest is a wonderful city. Listen, well, this is a European city! I have been here in those years when VIA Plamya and I toured, I can compare. Now this city is clean, the city is friendly and, it seems to me, completely safe. I don't understand at all when they clean you up. Everything is always clean. I have not seen a single Tajik with a broom.