Mikhail Krug is a famous Russian performer who received the status of the king of Russian chanson. His hit "Vladimirsky Central" became a kind of sample of musical works in the genre of "prison romance". The songs of the Circle are known by heart even by people who are far from chanson, not only in Russia, but also far beyond the borders of the country.

Childhood and youth

Mikhail Vorobyov, better known as Mikhail Krug, was born on April 7, 1962 in Tver. He grew up in an intelligent Soviet family: his father Vladimir worked as a civil engineer, and his mother worked as an accountant at a cotton mill. The boy was named after his grandfather-front-line soldier. As a child, he dreamed of becoming a chauffeur and driving a car.

The young man was fond of music, he liked songs. Having received a guitar as a gift from his parents, the guy soon performed in front of the yard guys with songs. On the recommendation of teachers from the music school, Mikhail began to attend accordion lessons, but Vorobyov's patience was only enough for six months. Education was never particularly fascinated by a teenager, even in high school he often ran away from lessons.

Death

Krug's life was cut short suddenly: on the night of July 1, 2002, unknown persons attacked his house. The criminals beat the singer's mother-in-law, and he himself was shot with pistols. The wife managed to hide in the neighbors' house, and the children were not injured due to the fact that they slept in their rooms. Having recovered from his injuries, Mikhail managed to reach the nearest house, from where a neighbor took him to the hospital. Doctors provided the singer with the necessary assistance, but in the morning the musician died from his injuries.

The bard's death came as a big surprise to everyone. Relatives, colleagues, fans mourned. On the day of the funeral, a farewell to the author took place in the hall of the Tver Drama Theater. The funeral procession, which went to the Dmitrov-Cherkasskoye cemetery, where the musician's grave is today, was several kilometers long.

One of the most popular bards in the style of Russian chanson, singer and author of the famous song "Vladimir Central", Mikhail Krug is known to most Russians. For many, he was an idol and a favorite performer, successfully toured the country, released several magnetic albums and collections of his songs, and shot several clips. The circle had to cooperate more than once in the cinema: he starred in the role of Leonid Petrovich in the crime drama "April", was the composer of the film and took part in the filming of the series "My Truth". The cause of death of Mikhail Krug was murder.

He was born in 1962 in Kalinin and, together with a secondary school, attended a music school, accordion class. Mikhail was a lively boy, studied reluctantly, often ran away from lessons and preferred to play hockey. After graduating from school, he served in the army and worked as a driver for 10 years. "Rising" to the head of the motorcade, Krug was sent to study at the Polytechnic Institute in 1987. But this work became boring for him and he got behind the wheel again, dropping out of school.

However, upon entering the Polytechnic University, Mikhail participated in the author's song contest and took first place with his song "About Afghanistan": his long-standing love for Vysotsky and the bard song affected. The well-known bard Evgeny Klyachkin, who was present at the competition, advised Mikhail to work further in this direction, and he believed in himself. It was then that the usual surname Vorobyov was replaced by the pseudonym Krug. Already in 1989, Mikhail Krug recorded his first album, Tver Streets, at a studio in Tver.

The second album of the Circle - "Katya" and another, untitled, were never officially released: they were stolen and distributed illegally. The first official album of Mikhail Krug "Zhigan-Lemon" was released in 1994. He is considered decisive in the formation of a new famous Russian bard. In addition to songs of a criminal theme, it contained lyrical and comic works. This album was later re-released several times. In 1995, the singer became the subject of the documentary film "Bard Mikhail Krug" and shot his first video "It was yesterday."

Having become famous, Mikhail performed a lot, went on tour abroad and enjoyed the special love of fans, often with a criminal past. On the night of July 1, 2002, an attack was made on Krug's house in the village of Mamulino near Tver. In addition to the singer, there were 5 more people in the house: a wife, mother-in-law and three children. Two unknown people opened fire with pistols and the wounded Krug died in the morning in the hospital, on the operating table. The rest of the family was not seriously injured. There were many versions of this murder.

In 2012, criminal sources reported that the killer of Mikhail was found dead and that it turned out to be bandit Dmitry Veselov. He was identified by the singer's wife, and Alexander Osipov, the killer of the Tver Wolves gang, confirmed his guilt. The press wrote about how and why Mikhail Krug died: the robbers did not expect to meet him in the house and shot the 40-year-old bard, whom their criminal boss wanted to force to pay "tribute" from concerts. The second killer of the Circle has not yet been found.

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Mikhail Vladimirovich Krug (real name - Vorobyov). Born April 7, 1962 in Kalinin - killed July 1, 2002 in Tver. Russian poet and performer, songwriter, bard.

The singer said that "Mikhail Krug first of all liked him as a person." The performer of the Russian chanson, Evgeny Grigoriev (Zheka), said that in the songs of the Circle there is "amazing energy that reflects the mood of the Russian soul", because "The Circle is from the people."

Singer Victoria Tsyganova, with whom Krug collaborated during his lifetime, said that Krug "sang with his soul", and that "his songs will forever remain in the hearts of millions."

Life and death of Mikhail Krug

Mikhail Vorobyov was born on April 7, 1962 in Kalinin. His father worked as a civil engineer, his mother worked as an accountant. He was the second child in the family (the first was Mikhail's sister, Olga).

He spent his childhood and youth in the old Proletarsky district, about which the song "Morozovsky Town" was subsequently written. He studied at a music school in the accordion class, but then left it. He played hockey and was a goalkeeper. In a comprehensive school, he studied poorly, according to the recollections of relatives and friends, he constantly ran away from lessons.

From the age of six, his idol was Vladimir Vysotsky. At the age of 11, Mikhail Vorobyov learned to play the guitar. He wrote his first poems at the age of 14, dedicating them to his classmate. When one day at a school evening he sang one of Vysotsky's songs, a big scandal erupted at the school. After the army, Vorobyov, impressed by his songs, began to play the guitar and sing in his style.

Vorobyov graduated from school No. 39 on Sominka in the city of Kalinin, by profession an auto repairman. Upon graduation, he served in the army in Ukraine, in the Sumy region, in the city of Lebedin. After returning from the army, he got a job at POGAT (production association of trucks) as a driver, delivered dairy products around the city for 10 years (from 1983 to 1993).

In 1987, Mikhail Vorobyov was appointed head of the convoy and sent to study at the Polytechnic Institute. However, Mikhail did not like to sit all day in the office, and a year later he again began to work as a driver, and left the institute.

Mikhail Krug was characterized by near-monarchist political convictions, conservatism, homonegativism (in particular, he called the Russian stage “the dominance of homosexuals”), and aversion to feminism. Krug was a member of the LDPR and a cultural assistant to its leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky. The striking personality traits of the Circle, which were repeatedly emphasized in interviews with him, was hatred for people of leftist political convictions, in particular, for the communists.

In 1987, Mikhail successfully entered the institute, where he learned about the author's song contest, took part in it and won first place with the song "About Afghanistan". After that, he took up songwriting seriously. A significant role in this was played by the bard Evgeny Klyachkin, who was the chairman of the jury at the 8th author's song festival. It was he who told Vorobyov: "Misha, you need to work ...". Mikhail Vorobyov chose Mikhail Krug as his pseudonym. There are several versions of the origin of this pseudonym.

Vorobyov recorded his first album "Tver Streets" at the Tver studio in 1989, then the second album "Katya" and the third album without a name were recorded, all of them were never released officially, but were stolen and dispersed illegally. Almost all the songs included in these albums were rewritten and sung in subsequent albums.

In 1994, Mikhail Krug's new album Zhigan-Lemon was released, which, according to many, became a turning point in his creative destiny. Despite the near-criminal title, the album contained not only thieves' songs, but also lyrical and ironic ones. The album was repeatedly reissued and actually became a sign of Mikhail Krug's invasion of Russian musical and poetic culture.

In 1994, the documentary film "Bard Mikhail Krug" was filmed, which was shown on the "Culture" channel in 1999. In 1996, his first video "It was yesterday" was shown.

The first time Mikhail Krug performed abroad in 1997 was at the Russian Chanson in Germany festival with the Zhemchuzhny brothers, where he sang four songs, one of which, Madame, was sung in a guitar version. Krug also performed in America (1998) - Miami, Boston, New York, Jacksonville.

From February 22 to March 6, 2000, a tour of Israel was successfully completed. Concerts were given in cities: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Haifa, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ariel and others. Repeatedly the Circle gave charity concerts, including in places of deprivation of liberty.

Since February 1997, a new soloist Svetlana Ternova worked with Mikhail, whom he heard at the Zavolzhye song festival and took to the group.

A number of songs for the Circle were written by Alexander Belolebedinsky, before that Mikhail Krug performed only his own songs. The songs “I went through Siberia”, “Hello, Mom”, “The process is over (I sob bitterly)”, “Sparks in the fireplace”, “Khaim”, “Cry, violin (In every city)”, “Student”, “When we met with you ”- folk, previously they were sung by the famous Soviet performer Arkady Severny.

The song "Svetochka" was written by singer-songwriter Leonid Efremov. At the same time, the text of the Krug version is slightly different from the original. The most famous song of the Circle is "Vladimir Central", which was first performed in the album "Madame" and which became one of the most famous songs of Russian chanson. It is possible that she was dedicated to the thief in law Sasha Severny.

On March 27, 1998, at the Cosmos Hotel, Mikhail participated in the Ovation award ceremony and received it in the Russian Chanson nomination. In November 1999, Mikhail takes part in the "Musical Ring", a friendly competition with Sergei Trofimov, and wins. In January 1999, he took second place in popularity in the Russian Chanson competition. In April 1999, he was again nominated for the Ovation Award.

In 2000, Mikhail Krug played the role of crime boss Leonid Petrovich in the film April.

Mikhail Krug - Vladimirsky Central

The murder of Mikhail Krug

On the night of June 30 to July 1, 2002, an attack was made on Krug's house in the village of Mamulino (Tver microdistrict). In the house, in addition to the singer, there were four more people - his wife, mother-in-law and children. The door of the three-story house was open.

Two unknown intruders entered the third floor of the house between approximately 11:00 p.m. and 0:15 a.m., where they found Krug's mother-in-law, and attacked her, causing her bodily harm. Mikhail Krug and his wife Irina ran to the screams of the woman. The criminals opened fire with pistols. Irina managed to hide with her neighbors, and Mikhail received two severe gunshot wounds, after which he lost consciousness for a while. The perpetrators fled the scene. Krug, who came to his senses, managed to get to the house of his neighbor Vadim Rusakov, where his wife was hiding. Rusakov took him to Tver City Hospital No. 6. In the meantime, the police and an ambulance arrived and found his wounded mother-in-law in Krug's house. The children of the Circle were not injured, as they were sleeping at the time of the crime. Mikhail Krug himself, despite the efforts of doctors, died on the morning of July 1.

In September 2019 . It turned out to be a member of the Tver Wolves gang Dmitry Veselov.

A member of the Tver Wolves gang, Alexander Ageev, confessed to the attack on the chansonnier's house. He said that he entered the Krug's house at the direction of a crime boss known as Lom. Together with another member of the gang, Dmitry Veselov, they were only supposed to steal antiques and valuables, and then leave the place of the theft. At the same time, the singer himself and his family should not have been at home.

“The murder of the singer was not planned ... However, Mikhail Krug and his family unexpectedly returned and caught the robbers by surprise. Veselov, without hesitation, decided to eliminate the obstacles that had arisen by applying violence to Krug’s mother-in-law. When Mikhail Krug suddenly appeared on the way of the attacker, Veselov shot him two times with a 7.62 mm TT pistol he had, and then shot a dog guarding the hall on the first floor," the investigators found out. Dmitry Veselov was killed in March 2003.

A farewell memorial service was held on July 3 at 10 am at the Tver Drama Theatre. The funeral was attended by Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Alexander Semchev, Efrem Amiramov, Katya Ogonyok, the Zhemchuzhny brothers, Vika Tsyganova, many leaders of the Tver region, including its governor, Vladimir Platov. The funeral procession of cars stretched for several kilometers. After the funeral service in the Resurrection Cathedral in Tver, Krug was buried at the Dmitrov-Cherkassky cemetery.

Versions of the murder were built very different. For example, producer Vadim Tsyganov suggested that this could be an attempted robbery. Shortly before the murder, Krug recorded an album under the working title "Tverichanka" (later released under the name "Confession"), for which he was supposed to receive a fee from day to day. This version was dismissed by those who believed that Krug was sincerely respected in criminal circles, but it was she who was the most popular at the beginning of the investigation. According to another version, the Circle became the victim of a planned, and, possibly, contract killing.

In 2008, the Tver Wolves gang was arrested in Tver, which may have been involved in the murder. Irina Krug identified one of the members of the gang, Alexander Ageev, as the murderer of her husband, but the investigation failed to prove their involvement. Ageev was sentenced to life for other crimes.

On August 10, 2012, the media reported that the skeleton of a man who killed Mikhail Krug ten years ago was found in Tver. The location of the remains was indicated by a criminal serving a life sentence. However, the Investigative Committee only confirmed the discovery of the skeleton, but refuted the rest of the story.

At the end of September 2012, information appeared in the media that the case had been solved, and the investigation knew the specific perpetrators who were arrested.

On May 28, 2013, the widow of Mikhail Krug identified citizen Veselov from the remains and photographs, who was considered the direct perpetrator of the murder of the singer.

The murder of Mikhail Krug

The growth of Michael Krug: 169 centimeters.

Personal life of Mikhail Krug:

Was married three times.

In 1986, Mikhail met his first wife Svetlana, also a musician, a former solo guitarist of the VIA Institute of Light Industry. Svetlana became the first producer of Mikhail, convinced him to make his work accessible to everyone. Prior to that, Mikhail wrote his poems and songs "on the table." Svetlana also looked for music competitions, insisted on recording songs on audio cassettes, sewed concert costumes with her own hands, working in the House of Models.

In 1987, Mikhail and Svetlana got married, and in 1988 their son Dmitry was born. In 1989, the couple broke up. Unable to withstand her husband's numerous novels, Svetlana divorced him.

Son Dmitry graduated from the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, serves in the police.

The second wife is Marina Bazanova, a dancer. She was Michael's first love. We met when he was 15 and she was 14. They met for three years - until Krug was drafted into the army. Marina promised to wait for him, but met another. For Michael, this was a strong blow.

Mikhail Krug dedicated a number of songs to Bazanova - for example, the famous "Girl-Pie".

Then they met 15 years later. In 1996 they got married. Bazanova became pregnant from Krug, but decided to have an abortion because she did not want to end her career as a choreographer. In retaliation for this, the singer secretly took all her documents from her place of work and ordered her to stay at home. Marina herself recalled: “For me, these are years of torture. I stepped over my fate, I didn’t have to do this. Misha really wanted me to give birth to a child for him, but I really didn’t want to. Then I didn’t think about anything but my career. I was obsessed with my job, I swear. And when he took me out of work... He broke me."

As a result, the marriage quickly fell apart - Marina did not want to endure the dictates of the Circle and left him.

After a divorce from Krug, Marina Bazanova married a man who is 9 years younger than her. She gave birth to a daughter.

Marina Bazanova learned about the death of Mikhail Krug through a friend, and for the first time she came to his grave five years after the tragedy. Then Marina began to visit the grave of the ex-husband every year. Irina Krug Bazanova first met in 2018 - at the funeral of the artist's mother.

Marina Bazanova now

In 2000, he married a native of Chelyabinsk, Irina, who, after his death, began performing under a pseudonym, she has a daughter, Marina, from her first marriage. In 2002, Irina and Mikhail had a son, Alexander.

Son Alexander studies at the Lomonosov School in Moscow with the children of stars and businessmen.

A feature film was made in 2012 "Legends of the Circle" directed by Timur Kabulov. The start of filming was timed to coincide with two dates at once - the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the Circle and the tenth anniversary of his death. The main role was played by the actor and singer Yuri Kuznetsov-Tayozhny, who has an external resemblance to Mikhail Krug. Especially for filming, the actor gained 16 kilograms. In addition to him, Alexander Domogarov also starred in the film, playing the role of a friend of a musician. On April 22 and 23, 2013, the film was shown on Channel One, causing controversy.

Discography of Mikhail Krug:

Magnetic albums:

1989 - "Tver streets"
1990-91 - "Katya"
1990-91 - untitled album
1995 - "City of Childhood" (Demo version of the album "Green Prosecutor", released by pirates)

Numbered albums:

1994 - "Zhigan-lemon" (reissued in 1995)
1995 - "Green Prosecutor"
1996 - "Live String"
1998 - "Madam"
1999 - "Rose"
2000 - "Mouse"
2002 - "Dedication"
2003 - "Confession"

Collections:

1997 - "Zhigan songs"
1997 - "Lyric"
1999 - "Crossroads"
1999 - Series "Legends of Russian chanson"
1999 - "Vladimir Central"
2000 - "The Best of"
2001 - "After the third walk." Live series. Concert in Serpukhov
2001 - "Boys" (Series "Legends of the genre")
2002 - "I went through Siberia"
2004 - "Magadan"
2004 - Golden Album
2004 - "Grand Collection" part 1
2005 - "Thieves' songs"
2005 - "Free Song"
2005 - "Unknown Songs"
2005 - "Songs of Love"
2006 - "Vladimir Central 2"
2008 - "Top 20 Songs"
2009 - “Favorite songs. EN»
2009 - "Vladimir Central (Soundtrack)"
2010 - "Nishtyak, brother!"
2011 - "Student"
2011 - "Grand Collection" part 2
2011 - Mikhail Krug "Romances"
2011 - Mikhail Krug "Chanson Alley. Collection MK"
2012 - Mikhail Krug - 50 years old (Jubilee album) (2CD)

Compilations with other artists:

2004 - “Mikhail Krug and gr. Companion - 10 years later "
2004 - "Mikhail Krug and Irina Krug - When we met with you"
2006 - "Mikhail Krug and Irina Krug - You are my last love"
2009 - "Mikhail Krug and Dj Black Fox - Labyrinth"
2010 - "Mikhail Krug and Katya Ogonyok - It was yesterday ..."
2011 - "Mikhail Krug and Irina Krug - Love Story"

Mikhail Krug, the famous chansonnier and songwriter, was killed on July 1, 2002 in his home in Tver. Five more people were with him at that moment: his wife, mother-in-law, daughter and two sons, one of whom was barely a month old. Before the tragic events, the Circle rested in one of the Tver entertainment venues. Returned home shortly before the attack.

Robbery

One of the versions for what reason Mikhail Vladimirovich could have been killed is a banal robbery. This version is official. Krug, shortly before his death, finished the album "Confession". Just the other day he expected to receive a large fee for this work. Probably, someone was aware of this, and this "someone" decided to take advantage of the situation.

He led the bandits to the house of Mikhail Vladimirovich, but at the same time did not guess exactly with the most successful time of the robbery. The thieves were supposed to rob the Krug's dwelling when he was not at home. But the famous chansonnier returned earlier than expected and found himself right in the center of events.

The murder took place on the night of June 30, approximately after 23:00. The first to suffer was his mother-in-law, who at that time was closest to the door. Then his wife Irina was wounded. Krug ran out to the screams of women and the sound of gunfire. He received 2 bullets, from which he died already in the morning in the Tver hospital.

The version of the robbery is supported not only by the official authorities, but also by people who respected Mikhail Vladimirovich and believed that he could not be treated badly in criminal circles. In their opinion, only a fatal combination of circumstances caused the death of the man who wrote the song "Vladimirsky Central".

contract killing

A different opinion is shared by those who knew a little more about Mikhail Krug and his contacts with the Tver criminals. One eloquent fact testifies to the fact that the murder of Krug could just be a custom-made discharge. Krug's wife Irina later identified one of the attackers that night. It turned out to be someone A. Ageev, a member of the Tver criminal group "Tver Wolves".

The members of this gang were widely known in Tver precisely as executors of contract killings. This was their profile. The fact that, under the guise of a robbery, Krug was shot in his own house by a man who traded in contract killings, speaks volumes. Despite suspicions, it was not possible to find out the motives and details of the crime in 2002 (or it was not profitable for someone).

Details 10 years after the crime

A decade later, some details of this case began to emerge. One of the criminals, sentenced to life imprisonment, testified. He said for the first time directly about what many suspected back in 2002: Mikhail Krug was destroyed by order.

Some details of the case reopened in September 2012 became known to the press. It turned out that in the spring of 2003, a “showdown” took place between the members of the gangster group. Someone A. Osipov, a killer nicknamed “Volkov”, shot dead another bandit, D. Veselov, nicknamed “Vesel”, in the wilderness outside the city.

Osipov received from the future victim compromising information on some major authority that stood in the way of another gang. But the killer had another reason to shoot Veselov. He wanted to avenge Krug, who was killed in 2002. It turned out that Veselov knew the "customer". They were the crime boss Kostenko.

Didn't want to pay

At the time of the heyday of his popularity, the Circle received very good fees. Kostenko demanded that the singer pay him a "share" from each concert. Mikhail Vladimirovich refused to pay tribute. For this, Kostenko brought thieves-killers to his house. The goal was not a robbery, but to intimidate the singer so that he would become more accommodating. Racket - the cause of many murders in the 90s - put an end to the life of Mikhail Vladimirovich Krug.

Chansonnier suffered only because he was at home at the wrong time. The killers were forced to shoot him. Soon, the killer of the Circle himself was in the grave. His bones were found only 10 years later, on a tip from one "life-sentenced" member of the Tver Wolves gang. In the criminal environment, Mikhail Krug was respected, and therefore they avenged his murder, without waiting for proceedings from the authorities. That's the way it is in this environment.