When Lyudmila Zykina first went abroad (it was exotic India), she met an old man there who predicted the future. That Hindu told her both about the coming glory and about failures on the personal front. She, of course, did not believe a single word. And only years later I realized that the old man was right about everything.

Her creative career began with the fact that the young singer, who had just been enrolled in the Pyatnitsky choir, suddenly fell silent. Lyuda Zykina, who was predicted to have a bright future, her mother died. The shock was so strong that the girl lost her voice due to nervousness. I couldn't even speak, let alone sing...

But Lyudmila didn’t even particularly worry about this - this problem seemed so small to her then. Along with her mother's funeral, she also buried her dreams of becoming a singer. Zykina left the choir, got a job at the First Model Printing House, where she stitched brochures without complaining about her share.

And then the first love came to Lyudmila. And along with her voice returned: strong, sonorous, as if she had been doing vocal exercises all this time.

"I COULD NOT FORGIVE THE BETRAYAL"

Her first chosen one was called Vladlen Pozdnov, he worked as an engineer at ZiS. Having acquired the status of a married lady, Lyudmila also changed her place of work. After listening to her, she was accepted into the Russian Song Choir of the All-Union Radio, and she finally fell into her element. After all, music, singing - this is what she was really interested in. In addition, the famous team periodically went on tour abroad, and she, a young girl, suddenly got the opportunity to see the world.

During her first trip abroad, a mystical incident happened to her. There she met an ancient, ancient old man who, for a small fee, told fortunes to everyone. So, he said something incomprehensible to her: “When you return home, you will part with your beloved man, because he has an affair with another woman. And in general, you will have big problems with your personal life. But you will be known to the whole world - I clearly see a star in your forehead.

Of course, Lyudmila did not take these words seriously, Well, some kind of children's fairy tales - a star in the forehead, world fame. Yes, and in her beloved she was sure, as in herself. Even when she returned to Moscow and good neighbors immediately shared the news: they say, some kind of girl constantly came to yours, she continued to believe her husband. After all, he answered the question in the forehead: does he have a mistress - he assured her that it was all fiction.

And only when, after a while, her friend admitted that she had been living with her missus for six months, she immediately filed for divorce. “I could not forgive the betrayal,” Lyudmila Georgievna later said. - Suffering after a break with her husband splashed out in her songs. One of them was about treason: “All three quarreled, all three parted ways ...”

The second time she married a photographer for the magazine "Soviet Warrior" Evgenia Svalova. He also seemed to her the standard of fidelity. At first. However, Eugene, as it turned out pretty soon, had a connection on the side. With a divorce, Zykina did not hesitate this time either. “I’m not on the road with traitors,” she said when asked about the reasons for parting with the first two spouses.

Her third husband was considered a high-flying bird. Vladimir Kotelkin was not just a teacher foreign languages(fluent in three). But most importantly, he served as the personal translator of Patriarch Alexy I. Together with him he went on business trips abroad, accompanied him to the wedding of King Constantine in Athens.

The singer lived with Vladimir Kotelkin for ten years. For her sake, he even sacrificed his career, turning at some point into her personal manager. And yet - it was Kotelkin who made Zykina related to a bright representative of the Russian theater stage- actress Alla Demidova.

AS IN "WINTER CHERRY"

The fact that Alla Demidova was the wife of Vladimir Kotelkin, the ex-husband of Zykina, is not in any official biography the actress is not mentioned. However, Lyudmila Zykina herself informed the public about this fact shortly before her death. But she immediately recovered that this marriage did not last long.

Therefore, of course, it has long become an axiom for everyone in the acting world: where Alla Demidova is, there Vladimir Valutsky- a famous playwright, next to whom she has been for more than 50 years. And only close friends of the couple knew that for some time it was not so simple in this family union. Because in the distant 1970s, someone third appeared in their tandem. Or rather, the third, which did not consider itself superfluous at all.

About the history of this acquaintance with Vladimir Valutsky, the actress Nadezhda Repina tells without much hiding. Back in 1974, on the set of the film "Star of the Screen" in Yalta, where Nadezhda worked as an extra, fate brought her together with the famous playwright. There their romance began, although both were not free. Valutsky was already married to Alla Demidova at that time. And Repin was waiting at home for her son and husband - director Andrei Razumovsky.

The relationship between the actress and the playwright - tragic, full of love and passion - lasted 14 long years. Later, Valutsky described their story in the script for the film "Winter Cherry". True, Nadezhda Repina assures that in their living together everything was much tougher and more prosaic. Surprisingly, even after the release of the picture on the screens, the romance of Valutsky and Repina did not end - for about three more years they continued to meet. It is difficult to say whether the legal wife, Alla Demidova, knew about this connection. It is only known that when in one interview the actress was asked directly what she thought about the fact that her husband made his personal experiences public, she answered vaguely: “Any script is not one hundred percent tracing paper from someone’s life, a lot concocted, imagined."

In any case, Alla Demidova, all so unearthly, behaved quite pragmatically in this situation, giving her husband the opportunity to make a decision himself - to leave or stay.

In this regard, Lyudmila Zykina was still more straightforward, incapable of female tricks. Love - do not change, changed - leave.

And only when the singer was 50, she met a man for whom she forgot about all her principles.

"ZYKINA, I WANT A CHILD FROM YOU!"

Victor Gridin, a virtuoso accordionist, met Zykina during one social reception. They almost immediately began to live together. Victor was not embarrassed either by the fact that his legal wife and two children were waiting for him at home, or even by a significant age difference - he was almost 15 years younger than Zykina. After some time, Gridin divorced and formalized his relationship with the singer.

They lived together for 17 stellar years. Their family tandem soon grew into a creative one. Together Zykina and Gridin created the musical group "Russia", with which they traveled to more than a hundred countries.

But then a third appeared in this union, which was able to destroy this marriage. Nadezhda Krygina also sang folk songs. But she had one indisputable advantage - youth.

"What should I do? Loved so loved. She, of course, is beautiful, young, ”Zykina threw up her hands, trying to pretend that she took parting with her husband for granted. And only close friends of the singer told how difficult she was going through this divorce, how she tried to keep her husband.

True, the new union did not last long. Gridin began to apply to the bottle and burned out in a matter of years - he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.

“If I blame her for something, it’s only that she couldn’t save Viktor Fedorovich,” Lyudmila Georgievna admitted in an interview. “For all 17 years I fought with his friends and buddies who brought him vodka. But as soon as he married Nadezhda, invitations immediately went to a feast, then to someone's dacha. He was gone four years later...

In addition to the official marriages of Lyudmila Zykina, there were many more novels. Both real and imagined. Because she has always been favored powers of the world this, it was with them that the popular rumor connected the singer. So, the leader of Yugoslavia was among her fans Josip Broz Tito, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union Alexey Kosygin and even the head of the DPRK Kim Jong Il. Moreover, gossip about her marriages with the first persons of states went not only to the USSR. Once in friendly Bulgaria, after a concert, Lyudmila Zykina was urged to say hello to Kosygin. “Well, when I see it, then I will tell it,” the singer replied. "Aren't you his wife?" the audience asked in surprise.

Also, at one time, Zykina was “married out” to Joseph Kobzon. And all because of one phrase that Joseph Davydovich once threw in front of honest people: “Zykina, I want a child from you!” Years later, when the singer celebrated her 75th birthday, Kobzon, mindful of those old conversations, decided to "add fuel to the fire." Stepping onto the stage, he announced: “Zykina, I still want a child from you!” “Joseph, the train has already left,” Lyudmila Georgievna sighed. “The train may have left, but the whistle has remained!” - Kobzon joked in response. Of course, the talk of their romance was just talk...

BUT real fact- here it is, rather sad: Lyudmila Zykina, a star worshiped by thousands of music lovers around the world, died alone. Apparently, one of her songs turned out to be prophetic, where there are such lines: “Alone again, but not my fault. I'm just sentenced to the stage "...

And a few girlfriends. She died three weeks later of heart failure.

One of the most popular Soviet and Russian singers, known not only in every corner of our country, but also far beyond its borders, Lyudmila Zykina lived a long life rich in impressions. With tours and concerts, she traveled to 92 countries, moreover, in some she managed to become literally a cult figure: for example, in Japan, where her songs are still known and listened to with pleasure. The Japanese nicknamed Zykina "the giantess with a big kind heart."

The heart of the singer was indeed kind and able to love. Although the performer herself denied this, stating in her declining years to her friend Yuri Bespalov, who worked as her press secretary for 28 years: “I had four husbands, and I did not love any of them. Love is a mystery to me. I may never have experienced it at all - such that the sky groaned!

However, if you take a closer look at the biography of the singer, it becomes clear: no, Zykina was not cunning, she just really did not want to show her weakness to everyone and everyone. She was too accustomed to being strong, imperious, almost omnipotent! - the same as her voice, which allowed her to win a competitive audition at the age of 18 and the only one of the one and a half thousand applicants to become a soloist of the Pyatnitsky choir. “And a star burns in my forehead ...” Two years later, in 1949, however, the singer’s voice let her down. Then suddenly died her mother, Ekaterina Vasilievna, the dearest person, whom Lyudmila dearly loved and with whom she was very close. The shock was so strong that the young performer could not only sing, but even speak loudly.

At the age of 22, she met the engineer of the Likhachev plant, Vladlen Pozdnov. Very quickly, a romance broke out between young people. And Lyudmila, inspired by the reciprocity of her feelings, “thawed out”, was able to think about life and the stage again. Soon Vladlen proposed to her, and she gladly accepted it. And then - she went to ask for the Russian Song Choir of the All-Union Radio.

There, in the choir, her real career began. After the first successful performances in the USSR, the first foreign tours began to dawn - to India. With bated breath, Zykina went abroad.

Photo: stuki-druki.com And there, on the street of one of the Indian cities, she unexpectedly met a man who predicted her future fate. An old Hindu offered people walking by to tell fortunes by their hand. And although Lyudmila did not believe in all sorts of fortune-telling, yet she did not have time to come to her senses, as she already asked the interpreter to come with her to the elder and talk.

Taking the young woman by the hand, the Indian said: “When you return home, you will part with the man you love. This is because he is having an affair with another woman. Also,” he added, “I see a star on your forehead. This means that you will be known to the whole world.

Of course, at first Zykina did not believe these words - neither about fame, nor about treason. However, when she returned home to Moscow, one evening her friend called and asked Vladlen to phone. "And why do you need my husband?" - asked Lyudmila. And she in response admitted that she had been dating her husband for six months.

Of course, the proud Zykina did not forgive betrayal. Leaving five years of marriage behind, she was left alone again.

Her suffering from a break with her husband was aggravated by another, purely feminine, grief: in this marriage, Lyudmila lost a child. Her pregnancy was ectopic and life-threatening. As a result, an operation had to be performed, and Lyudmila Georgievna remained barren for the rest of her life. “Marriage rests on the power of habit ...” Three years after parting with Pozdnov, Zykina rode a trolleybus (yes, in the USSR of those years, world stars did not disdain to ride public transport). Tired after the concert, dozed off. And when she opened her eyes, she saw a handsome young man who offered to take her home.

The guy's name was Yevgeny Svalov, he worked as a photojournalist in the Soviet Warrior magazine, popular at that time. Zhenya persuaded Lyudmila to meet together New Year; then came true folk omen that "as you meet, so you will spend." Soon a new marriage stamp appeared in Zykina's passport.

What was the disappointment of Lyudmila when the same story was repeated with her as the first time! - only not with a friend, but with a strange, unfamiliar woman. It was then, perhaps, that the singer began defiantly to lose faith in love, and in the fact that personal happiness can generally be long.

“Yurash,” she shared years later with her former press secretary. - Marriage is based on force of habit. It seems that you need someone nearby, so you live with a person ... "

Of course, Evgeny Zykina also spoke about divorce herself. Betrayal for her was, first of all, a betrayal, and there was no compromise in these things for her. “I didn’t pay a penny” “Giantess” Zykina did not perceive undersized and slender men

The third husband of the singer was the translator Vladimir Kotelkin. Together they lived for 10 years. We met in a common company; then, discovering that he was at the table next to an incredible beauty, Kotelkin extended his hand to Zykina and introduced himself: "Vladimir, translator." "And I'm Luda," she replied. "Just Luda?" he asked. "Yes," she said modestly. And added: - I sing.

Friends and acquaintances recalled that Kotelkin adored Lyudmila, literally idolized her. He sought the hands and hearts of the singer for three years, and in the end she gave up. It was thanks to Vladimir that the star of the Soviet stage “pulled up” her own literacy a little: many years later, Kotelkin admitted to reporters that the great Zykina literally wrote “cow” through “a”.

“I never made fun of it,” he stressed. - I know: her life was not sugar. After the war, she worked a lot, she had to provide for her family.

Nevertheless, according to Vladimir Petrovich, it was he who wrote the first of the books, on the cover of which is the authorship of Zykina.

“I don’t know who the author of her next four works is, but the very first one, Song, was written for her by me,” he said. - Lyuda dreamed that fame would go about her as a writer. And since she herself did not speak a word, she asked me to help.

This help, according to Kotelkin, did not bring him any bonus. “Luda didn't pay me a penny for writing an excellent book for her,” he complained. - My name is not listed anywhere. Now I understand that it was necessary to conclude an agreement with her, but then I was not up to it. Divorce from Lyuda has become one of the most difficult trials in my life.

When asked what caused the breakup, Kotelkin answered with restraint: love just left, and mutual discontent, nit-picking, resentment and scandals took its place. “What do you understand in female beauty!” Only with her fourth husband, accordion virtuoso Viktor Gridin, Lyudmila Georgievna "stayed" nearby for a record period - as much as 17 years. They met when Victor came to work in the State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble "Russia", whose star was Zykina. The singer even turned out to be a homemaker, breaking Gridin's first family: while still studying at Gnesinka, he married his classmate, and by the time he met Lyudmila, he already had two children.

Many people who knew the star couple did not understand Victor. For a stately, attractive 36-year-old man to seriously fall in love with a 50-year-old woman? “Why do you need her? Look how many young beauties are around!” - the musician's friends were surprised. And he answered: “What do you understand in female beauty! ..”

“Together they were good, and it was striking,” Bespalov recalled. Nevertheless, Zykina decided to break up with Gridin on one “beautiful” day. The reason, according to many, was again a woman: the young singer Nadezhda Krygina, with whom Victor began an affair.

Krygina herself, however, denies this version. “I didn’t take Victor away from the family!” she assures. According to her, her relationship with Gridin began to develop when he had already divorced Zykina.

“While I was performing with them, there was no question of any romance. Powerful Zykina - and I. Who am I? She could beat me with one finger, as they say," Krygina explained to reporters. Vodka killed her beloved. And so it turned out that Lyudmila Georgievna met her old age alone. The press also attributed to her a secret marriage with the composer Alexander Averkin, who wrote the song “A young sailor goes on a visit” especially for her; and an affair with the soloist of the ensemble "Russia" Mikhail Kizin, who was forty at the time when she was almost 80. Zykina called both stories fiction, and relations with Kizin and Averkin - ordinary friendship.

As for her last husband, Viktor Gridin, the story of their relationship did not end with a divorce. The real tragedy broke out four years after their separation, when Lyudmila found out that Victor was terminally ill. In a new marriage, the musician began to often take a bottle and quickly "earned" cirrhosis of the liver.

Hearing that her ex-husband was on the verge of death, Zykina was horrified at first, and then raised all her colossal connections, trying to find doctors who could save him. She was ready to call anyone and pay as much money as she wanted, so long as Victor remained alive.

But alas: not all diseases are yet curable. The miracle didn't happen.

“If I blame her for something, it’s only that she couldn’t save Viktor Fedorovich,” Zykina said bitterly in an interview, talking about the “homeowner” Krygina. - All 17 years I fought with his friends who brought him vodka. But as soon as he married Nadezhda, invitations immediately went to a feast, then somewhere to the dacha ... "

Lyudmila Zykina at her 80th birthday with Svetlana Medvedeva.

Zykina Ludmila Georgievna- Lyudmila Georgievna Zykina Lyudmila Zykina in the 1960s Date of birth: June 10, 1929 (79 years old) Place of birth ... Wikipedia

ZYKINA Ludmila Georgievna- (b. 1929) Russian singer, People's Artist of the USSR (1973), Hero of Socialist Labor (1987). Since 1947 in the choir. Pyatnitsky, since 1951 in the Russian song choir of the All-Union Radio, since 1960 in the Mosconcert. Since 1977, artistic director and soloist ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Zykina, Lyudmila Georgievna- Singer, People's Artist of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor, President of the Russian Academy folk art; was born on June 10, 1929 in the village of Cheryomushki, Moscow Region; graduated music school them. Ippolitova Ivanova; labor ... ... Big biographical encyclopedia

Zykina Ludmila Georgievna- (b. 10.6. 1929, Moscow), Russian Soviet singer, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1968). From 1942 she participated in amateur performances. Since 1947 she has been a soloist of the Russian Folk Choir. M. E. Pyatnitsky, since 1951 the Russian song choir of the All-Union Radio, since ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

ZYKINA Ludmila Georgievna- (b. 06/10/1929), actress. Laureate of the Lenin Prize (1970); People's Artist USSR (1973); Laureate of the State Prize of the RSFSR (1983); Hero of Socialist. Labor (1987). Since 1947 she has been a soloist of the Russian Folk Choir of the RSFSR. M.E. Pyatnitsky, since 1951 Russian Choir ... ... Cinema Encyclopedia

Zykina Ludmila Georgievna- (b. 1929), singer, People's Artist of the USSR (1973), Hero of Socialist Labor (1987). Since 1947 in the Pyatnitsky choir, since 1951 in the Russian song choir of the All-Union Radio, since 1960 in the Mosconcert. Since 1977, artistic director and soloist of the ensemble ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Lyudmila Georgievna Zykina- was born on June 10, 1929 in Moscow in a family of workers. Until 1942 she studied at the school of working youth. During the Great Patriotic War, Zykina worked at the Moscow Machine Tool Plant. S. Ordzhonikidze, a turner's student, has the title ... ... Encyclopedia of newsmakers

Music section publications

Ludmila Zykina. The singer who dreamed of flying

Lyudmila Zykina went through a real labor school before the stage - a turner, a nurse, a seamstress. But at an audition in the Pyatnitsky choir, 18-year-old Lyudmila was chosen from 400 applicants. So the oldest choir in Russia became the first singing school for Zykina.

"Honored Ordzhonikidzovets"

Ludmila Zykina
Photo: vmiremusiki.ru

“One of the most expensive awards” - this is how the world famous singer said about the first distinction in her life. It was an honorary title that 12-year-old Lucy received while working at a factory during the war years. The prosperous Moscow childhood of a girl from a working-class family ended, like for all wartime children, in 1941.

She entered the Ordzhonikidze machine-tool plant and helped the front, working as a turner. At the same time, the girl wrote a note in the Bolshevik Stankozavod newspaper, having received the third working category: “Now, walking through the plant, I see a poster “How did you help the front?” and proudly think: “Yes, I am doing work that helps my beloved Motherland.”

Dispute about the choir

For the first time, Lucy sang in public in the fourth grade. At a concert in the House of Pioneers, she performed the romance "Fragrant bunches of white acacia." She also sang during the war. After working at the factory, she performed in front of the wounded in the hospital, and in peacetime - in the Cheryomushkinsky club and the Khudozhestvenny cinema.

Lyudmila Zykina ended up in the Pyatnitsky Choir by chance. It’s just that in 1946 I saw an ad for recruitment and argued with my girlfriends for six servings of ice cream that she would go to the audition. As a result, she ended up in a famous choir. By chance, the young singer also met Stalin. He decided somehow after the concert to take a picture with his favorite band and ended up next to Lyudmila Zykina.

But three years later, a misfortune happened - the singer's mother died, and Lyudmila Zykina lost her voice. I had to leave the stage. She went to work in a printing house - printed brochures and tried not to lose heart. A year has passed, and the voice sounded again - already on the air. Zykina joined the Russian Song Choir of the Radio House.

Ludmila Zykina

Ludmila Zykina. Photo: aif.ru

Ludmila Zykina

Musical baggage

13 years of work in choirs and victories in many prestigious competitions - from All-Russian competition young performers in 1947 to the All-Russian competition of variety artists in 1960. Zykina thought about solo career and in the same year she became a soloist of the Mosconcert. In the era of Lidia Ruslanova and Claudia Shulzhenko, she tried to remain herself and worked hard, not refusing any concerts.

In the early 60s, Lyudmila Zykina traveled to Paris as part of the Moscow Music Hall program. It was the first performance of Soviet pop artists. Abroad, only ballet was well known. The press noted an unprecedented number of stars in one concert, and the emigrants who were sitting in the hall saw for the first time a Soviet singer who performed Russian folk songs in the West.

Mother of the ensemble "Russia"

Lyudmila Zykina toured the entire Soviet Union and about 90 countries with concerts. Once, on tour in the USA, the famous impresario Solomon Yurok was so impressed with the performance that he advised the singer to form her own compact team. In 1977, the singer creates the ensemble "Russia". The artists called Lyudmila Georgievna "mother". She directed musicians for the rest of her life.

"Musical baptism" took place in one of the most prestigious concert halls in the world - the American "Carnegie Hall", where the band gave more than 40 concerts. Since then, the ensemble has recorded more than 30 discs and proudly bears the name of Lyudmila Zykina.

Lyudmila Zykina with the first part of the Rossiya ensemble, 1972. Photo: trud.ru

State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble "Russia" named after L.G. Zykina

State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble "Russia" named after L.G. Zykina. Photo: tverigrad.ru

Lyudmila Zykina backstage

She loved speed and traveling by car. For almost half a century of driving experience on her own Volga, she traveled around the Moscow region, the Ryazan Territory, the Oryol region, Bryansk, and drove to the Caucasus. She dreamed of a foreign car, like the famous violinist Leonid Kogan, after he gave the singer a lift in his Peugeot, but her friend, Ekaterina Furtseva, criticized: “Are you not a Russian singer?” Only through long years Lyudmila Zykina moved to a Chevrolet.

The singer was married four times. And although even a manufacturer of Russian origin, who owns a chocolate production, made an offer to a stately beauty in Chicago, she chose men without big names. At 22, the singer married Vladlen Pozdnov, a car factory engineer, then became the wife of Yevgeny Svalov, a photojournalist for the Soviet Warrior magazine, having met him on a trolleybus. The third husband is a teacher of foreign languages ​​Vladimir Kotelkin, the fourth marriage became creative: Lyudmila Georgievna connected her life with the bayan player and conductor Viktor Gridin.

				: Invalid or missing image

Artistic director and soloist of the State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble "Russia" (-).

Biography

Youth

Lyudmila Zykina was born on June 10, 1929 in Moscow into a family of workers. Mother - Ekaterina Vasilievna (1902-1950) worked as a nurse in a military hospital. Father - Georgy Petrovich Zykin (1899-1956) a worker. In addition to Lyudmila, the family also had a brother, Alexander.

creative career

In 1957, Zykina became a laureate of the Sixth Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow, and in 1960 - the winner of the All-Russian Competition of Variety Artists.

In 1968, L. G. Zykina performed the vocal part in Poetoria by Rodion Shchedrin.

In addition to Russia, Zykina was popular in all the republics of the USSR and in many countries of the world. In 1972, Heydar Aliyev, who was then the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, congratulated famous singer with the title People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR.

Farewell to Lyudmila Zykina took place on July 3, 2009 in Concert Hall named after P.I. Tchaikovsky in Moscow. The funeral service took place on July 4, 2009 at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. With military honors, the singer was buried on July 4, 2009 at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow next to the grave of Galina Ulanova.

In August, Sergei Mikhalkov was buried next to L. G. Zykina.

Personal life

Lyudmila Zykina was married four times.

She married for the first time at the age of 22 for an engineer of the Likhachev Automobile Plant - Vladlen Pozdnov.

The second spouse of the singer was the photojournalist of the magazine "Soviet Warrior" Yevgeny Svalov.

The third spouse is a teacher of foreign languages, translator and journalist Vladimir Petrovich Kotelkin.

Lyudmila Zykina had no children. The singer herself said in this regard that she wanted to have children, but she always believed that a child is a person who requires great attention, which she could not give due to constant touring.

When Zykina's mother died, the singer lost her voice for one year.

Discography

Vinyl records

The total circulation of released records with songs by Lyudmila Zykina exceeds 6,000,000 copies.

CD

• The Volga River flows, Soyuz, city. Released for the 50th anniversary of creative activity.
• And love is still alive, Melodiya, 1996
• My love, my Russia (Lyudmila Zykina, Viktor Gridin, Vladimir Krasnoyartsev, GARNA "Russia"), Great Hall (label), Moscow
• Grand Collection. Lyudmila Zykina, Quadro-Disk, Moscow
• I love you... Lyudmila Zykina. Anthology of vocal art. Collection on 20 discs. Regional charitable public fund "Foundation of Lyudmila Zykina"
• Great performers of Russia of the XX century. Lyudmila Zykina, disc 1, 2, Moroz Records, 2004
• Ludmila Zykina. Favorite Songs, Park Records, 2004
• Departed Russia (Lyudmila Zykina, Mikhail Kizin, GARNA "Russia"), Park Records, 2004
• Ludmila Zykina. 60 years of Victory, Park Records, Moscow
• Oh, my God... (Lyudmila Zykina, GARNA "Russia", Mikhail Kizin), Park Records, 2005
• 100 Russians folk songs(Lyudmila Zykina, GARN "Russia"), part 1, 2, Mystery of Sound, 2005
• Series “MP3 Collection. Anthology of vocal art. Lyudmila Zykina, CD 1, 2, 3, 4, RAO, First Musical Publishing House, RMG Records, Moscow
• Ludmila Zykina. Russian folk songs, part 1, 2, Bomba Music LLC, Moscow

Additional facts

Song repertoire

Lyudmila Zykina's repertoire included more than 2,000 Russian folk songs, works by contemporary composers, Russian romances, as well as songs from the peoples of the world. Duets have been recorded with Julian, Mark Almond, Nikolai Rastorguev, Mikhail Kizin. In the city of L. G. Zykina performed the vocal part in Rodion Shchedrin's "Poetoria". In the anniversary year, she took part in the performance of another work by Rodion Shchedrin - the oratorio "Lenin in the heart of the people." This work was awarded the State Prize of the USSR. In addition, in different years, Lyudmila Zykina created thematic concert programs: “To you, woman”, “To you, veterans”, “Evening of Russian song and romance”, “Russian folk songs”, “Dedicated to the heroes of space”, “Only you could, my Russia” and a number of others.

Merits

State awards of the Russian Federation and the USSR

• - article in Lentapedia. year 2012.

An excerpt characterizing Zykina, Lyudmila Georgievna

The sixth, the Bennigsenists, said, on the contrary, that after all there was no one more efficient and more experienced than Bennigsen, and no matter how you turn around, you will still come to him. And the people of this party argued that our entire retreat to Drissa was a shameful defeat and an uninterrupted series of mistakes. “The more mistakes they make,” they said, “the better: at least they will soon realize that this cannot go on. And what is needed is not some kind of Barclay, but a person like Benigsen, who already showed himself in 1807, to whom Napoleon himself gave justice, and such a person who would be willing to recognize power - and such is only one Benigsen.
Seventh - there were faces that always exist, especially under young sovereigns, and who were especially numerous under Emperor Alexander, - the faces of the generals and the adjutant wing, passionately devoted to the sovereign, not as an emperor, but as a person who adores him sincerely and disinterestedly, as he adored Rostov in 1805, and seeing in it not only all virtues, but also all human qualities. Although these persons admired the modesty of the sovereign, who refused to command the troops, they condemned this excessive modesty and wished only one thing and insisted that the adored sovereign, leaving excessive distrust of himself, openly announce that he was becoming the head of the army, would amount to himself the headquarters of the commander-in-chief and, consulting, where necessary, with experienced theoreticians and practitioners, he himself would lead his troops, whom this alone would bring to the highest state of inspiration.
Eighth, most large group people, which, by its huge number, related to others as 99 to 1, consisted of people who did not want either peace, or war, or offensive movements, or a defensive camp, either at Drissa, or anywhere else, or Barclay, neither the sovereign, nor Pfuel, nor Bennigsen, but wanting only one thing, and the most essential: the greatest benefits and pleasures for themselves. In that muddy water of intersecting and intertwining intrigues that swarmed at the sovereign's main apartment, it was possible to succeed in a great deal in such a way that would have been unthinkable at another time. One, not wanting only to lose his advantageous position, today agreed with Pfuel, tomorrow with his opponent, the day after tomorrow he claimed that he had no opinion on a well-known subject, only in order to avoid responsibility and please the sovereign. Another, wishing to acquire benefits, attracted the attention of the sovereign, loudly shouting the very thing that the sovereign had hinted at the day before, arguing and shouting in council, hitting his chest and challenging those who disagreed to a duel and thereby showing that he was ready to be a victim of the common good. The third simply begged himself, between two councils and in the absence of enemies, lump sum for his faithful service, knowing that now there would be no time to refuse him. The fourth inadvertently caught the eye of the sovereign, burdened with work. The fifth, in order to achieve the long-desired goal - dinner at the sovereign, fiercely proved the correctness or wrongness of the newly expressed opinion and for this he cited more or less strong and fair evidence.
All the people of this party were catching rubles, crosses, ranks, and in this catching they only followed the direction of the weather vane of the royal mercy, and just noticed that the weather vane turned in one direction, as all this drone population of the army began to blow in the same direction, so that the sovereign the harder it was to turn it into another. In the midst of the uncertainty of the situation, in the midst of a threatening, serious danger, which gave everything a particularly disturbing character, amid this whirlwind of intrigues, vanities, clashes of different views and feelings, with the diversity of all these people, this eighth, largest party of people hired by personal interests, gave great confusion and confusion to the common cause. No matter what question was raised, and even a swarm of these drones, without having yet blown off the previous topic, flew over to a new one and, with its buzz, drowned out and obscured the sincere, arguing voices.
Of all these parties, at the very time that Prince Andrei arrived at the army, another, ninth party gathered, and began to raise its voice. It was a party of old, sensible, state-experienced people who knew how, without sharing any of the contradictory opinions, to abstractly look at everything that was being done at the headquarters of the main apartment, and to think over the means to get out of this uncertainty, indecision, confusion and weakness.
The people of this party said and thought that everything bad comes mainly from the presence of the sovereign with the military court at the army; that the army has carried over that indefinite, conditional, and wavering precariousness of relations which is convenient at court but harmful in the army; that the sovereign needs to reign, and not to rule the army; that the only way out of this situation is the departure of the sovereign with his court from the army; that the mere presence of the sovereign paralyzes fifty thousand troops needed to ensure his personal safety; that the worst but independent commander-in-chief would be better than the best, but bound by the presence and power of the sovereign.
At the same time that Prince Andrei was living idle under Drissa, Shishkov, the secretary of state, who was one of the main representatives of this party, wrote a letter to the sovereign, which Balashev and Arakcheev agreed to sign. In this letter, using the permission given to him by the sovereign to discuss the general course of affairs, he respectfully and under the pretext of the need for the sovereign to inspire the people in the capital to war, suggested that the sovereign leave the army.
The animating of the people by the sovereign and the appeal to him to defend the fatherland is the same (as far as it was produced by the personal presence of the sovereign in Moscow) animating the people, which was main reason triumph of Russia, was presented to the sovereign and accepted by him as a pretext for leaving the army.

X
This letter had not yet been submitted to the sovereign, when Barclay told Bolkonsky at dinner that the sovereign personally wanted to see Prince Andrei in order to ask him about Turkey, and that Prince Andrei had to appear at Benigsen's apartment at six o'clock in the evening.
On the same day, news was received in the sovereign's apartment about Napoleon's new movement, which could be dangerous for the army - news that later turned out to be unfair. And on the same morning, Colonel Michaud, driving around the Dris fortifications with the sovereign, proved to the sovereign that this fortified camp, arranged by Pfuel and considered until now the chef d "?uvr" of tactics, supposed to destroy Napoleon - that this camp is nonsense and death Russian army.
Prince Andrei arrived at the apartment of General Benigsen, who occupied a small landowner's house on the very bank of the river. Neither Bennigsen nor the sovereign was there, but Chernyshev, the sovereign's adjutant wing, received Bolkonsky and announced to him that the sovereign had gone with General Benigsen and with the Marquis Pauluchi another time that day to bypass the fortifications of the Drissa camp, the convenience of which was beginning to be strongly doubted.
Chernyshev sat with a book French novel at the window of the first room. This room was probably formerly a hall; there was still an organ in it, on which some kind of carpets were piled, and in one corner stood the folding bed of adjutant Benigsen. This adjutant was here. He, apparently worn out by a feast or business, sat on a folded bed and dozed off. Two doors led from the hall: one directly into the former living room, the other to the right into the office. From the first door came voices speaking German and occasionally French. There, in the former living room, at the request of the sovereign, not a military council was gathered (the sovereign loved uncertainty), but some persons whose opinion about the upcoming difficulties he wanted to know. It was not a military council, but, as it were, a council of the elect to clarify certain issues personally for the sovereign. The following were invited to this half-council: the Swedish General Armfeld, Adjutant General Wolzogen, Winzingerode, whom Napoleon called a fugitive French subject, Michaud, Tol, not at all a military man - Count Stein, and, finally, Pfuel himself, who, as Prince Andrei heard, was la cheville ouvriere [the basis] of the whole business. Prince Andrei had the opportunity to examine him well, since Pfuel arrived shortly after him and went into the drawing room, stopping for a minute to talk with Chernyshev.
Pfuel at first glance, in his Russian general's badly tailored uniform, which sat awkwardly, as if dressed up, seemed familiar to Prince Andrei, although he had never seen him. It included Weyrother, and Mack, and Schmidt, and many other German theoreticians of generals, whom Prince Andrei managed to see in 1805; but he was more typical than all of them. Prince Andrey had never seen such a German theoretician, who united in himself everything that was in those Germans.
Pful was short, very thin, but broad-boned, coarse, healthy build, with a wide pelvis and bony shoulder blades. His face was very wrinkled, with deep-set eyes. His hair in front at the temples, obviously, was hastily smoothed with a brush, behind it naively stuck out tassels. He, looking around uneasily and angrily, entered the room, as if he were afraid of everything in the large room into which he had entered. Holding his sword with an awkward movement, he turned to Chernyshev, asking in German where the sovereign was. He evidently wanted to go through the rooms as soon as possible, complete the bows and salutations, and sit down to work in front of the map, where he felt himself in the right place. He hurriedly nodded his head at Chernyshev's words and smiled ironically, listening to his words that the sovereign was inspecting the fortifications that he, Pfuel himself, had laid according to his theory. He was bassist and cool, as self-confident Germans say, muttered to himself: Dummkopf ... or: zu Grunde die ganze Geschichte ... or: s "wird was gescheites d" raus werden ... [nonsense ... to hell with the whole thing ... (German) ] Prince Andrei did not hear and wanted to pass, but Chernyshev introduced Prince Andrei to Pful, noting that Prince Andrei had come from Turkey, where the war had ended so happily. Pfuel almost glanced not so much at Prince Andrei as through him, and said with a laugh: "Da muss ein schoner taktischcr Krieg gewesen sein." ["That must have been the correct tactical war." (German)] - And, laughing contemptuously, he went into the room from which voices were heard.
Evidently, Pfuel, who was always ready for ironic irritation, was especially agitated today by the fact that they dared to inspect his camp without him and judge him. Prince Andrei, from this one short meeting with Pfuel, thanks to his memories of Austerlitz, made up a clear characterization of this man. Pfuel was one of those hopelessly, invariably, to the point of martyrdom, self-confident people that only Germans can be, and precisely because only Germans are self-confident on the basis of an abstract idea - science, that is, an imaginary knowledge of perfect truth. The Frenchman is self-confident because he considers himself personally, both in mind and in body, irresistibly charming to both men and women. An Englishman is self-confident on the grounds that he is a citizen of the most comfortable state in the world, and therefore, as an Englishman, he always knows what he needs to do, and knows that everything he does as an Englishman is undoubtedly good. The Italian is self-confident because he is agitated and easily forgets himself and others. The Russian is self-confident precisely because he knows nothing and does not want to know, because he does not believe that it is possible to fully know anything. The German is self-confident worse than anyone, and harder than everyone, and more repulsive than everyone, because he imagines that he knows the truth, a science that he himself invented, but which for him is absolute truth. Such, obviously, was Pfuel. He had a science - the theory of oblique movement, which he derived from the history of the wars of Frederick the Great, and everything that he met in recent history wars of Frederick the Great, and everything that he met in the latest military history, seemed to him nonsense, barbarism, an ugly clash in which so many mistakes were made on both sides that these wars could not be called wars: they did not fit the theory and could not serve as the subject of science.
In 1806, Pfuel was one of the drafters of the plan for the war that ended in Jena and Auerstet; but in the outcome of this war, he did not see the slightest evidence of the incorrectness of his theory. On the contrary, the deviations made from his theory, according to his concepts, were the only reason for all the failure, and he said with his characteristic joyful irony: "Ich sagte ja, daji die ganze Geschichte zum Teufel gehen wird." [After all, I said that the whole thing would go to hell (German)] Pfuel was one of those theoreticians who love their theory so much that they forget the purpose of theory - its application to practice; in love with theory, he hated all practice and did not want to know it. He even rejoiced in his failure, because failure, which came from the deviation in practice from theory, proved to him only the validity of his theory.
He said a few words to Prince Andrei and Chernyshev about a real war with the expression of a man who knows in advance that everything will be bad and that he is not even dissatisfied with it. The uncombed tassels of hair sticking out at the back of the head and the hastily slicked temples confirmed this with particular eloquence.
He went into another room, and the bassy and grumbling sounds of his voice were immediately heard from there.

Before Prince Andrei had time to follow Pfuel with his eyes, Count Benigsen hurriedly entered the room and, nodding his head to Bolkonsky, without stopping, went into the office, giving some orders to his adjutant. The sovereign followed him, and Bennigsen hurried forward to prepare something and meet the sovereign in time. Chernyshev and Prince Andrei went out onto the porch. The sovereign with a tired look dismounted from his horse. Marquis Pauluchi said something to the sovereign. The sovereign, bowing his head to the left, listened with an unhappy look to Paulucci, who spoke with particular fervor. The emperor moved forward, apparently wanting to end the conversation, but the flushed, agitated Italian, forgetting decency, followed him, continuing to say:
- Quant a celui qui a conseille ce camp, le camp de Drissa, [As for the one who advised the Drissa camp,] - said Pauluchi, while the sovereign, entering the steps and noticing Prince Andrei, peered into an unfamiliar face .
– Quant a celui. Sire, - Paulucci continued with desperation, as if unable to resist, - qui a conseille le camp de Drissa, je ne vois pas d "autre alternative que la maison jaune ou le gibet. [As for, sir, before that person , who advised the camp under Driesey, then, in my opinion, there are only two places for him: the yellow house or the gallows.] - Without listening to the end and as if not having heard the words of the Italian, the sovereign, recognizing Bolkonsky, graciously turned to him:
“I am very glad to see you, go to where they have gathered and wait for me. - The emperor went into the office. Behind him walked Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky, Baron Stein, and the doors closed behind them. Prince Andrei, using the permission of the sovereign, went with Pauluchi, whom he had known back in Turkey, to the drawing room where the council had gathered.
Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky served as the chief of staff of the sovereign. Volkonsky left the office and, bringing the cards into the drawing room and laying them out on the table, he passed on questions on which he wished to hear the opinion of the assembled gentlemen. The fact was that at night the news was received (later turned out to be false) about the movement of the French around the Drissa camp.
The first to speak was General Armfeld, unexpectedly, in order to avoid the present difficulty, by proposing a completely new, in no way (except to show that he, too, may have an opinion) inexplicable position away from the Petersburg and Moscow roads, on which, in his opinion, the army should have united to wait for the enemy. It was evident that Armfeld had drawn up this plan long ago, and that he now presented it not so much with the aim of answering the proposed questions, to which this plan did not answer, but with the aim of taking the opportunity to express it. It was one of millions of assumptions that could be made just as thoroughly as others without having any idea of ​​what character the war would take. Some challenged his opinion, some defended it. The young Colonel Toll disputed the opinion of the Swedish general more than others, and during the argument he took out a written notebook from his side pocket, which he asked permission to read. In a lengthy note, Tol proposed a different plan of campaign - completely contrary to both Armfeld's plan and Pfuel's plan. Pauluchi, objecting to Tolya, proposed a plan for moving forward and attacking, which alone, according to him, could lead us out of the unknown and the trap, as he called the Dris camp in which we were. Pfuel during these disputes and his interpreter Wolzogen (his bridge in a courtly sense) were silent. Pfuel only snorted contemptuously and turned away, showing that he would never stoop to object to the nonsense that he now hears. But when Prince Volkonsky, who was in charge of the debate, called him to present his opinion, he only said:
- What should I ask? General Armfeld offered an excellent position with an open rear. Or attack von diesem italienischen Herrn, sehr schon! [this Italian gentleman, very good! (German)] Or retreat. Auch gut. [Also good (German)] Why ask me? - he said. “After all, you yourself know everything better than me. - But when Volkonsky, frowning, said that he was asking his opinion on behalf of the sovereign, then Pfuel stood up and, suddenly animated, began to say:
- They spoiled everything, confused everyone, everyone wanted to know better than me, and now they came to me: how to fix it? Nothing to fix. Everything must be done exactly according to the reasons I have set forth,” he said, tapping his bony fingers on the table. – What is the difficulty? Nonsense, Kinder spiel. [children's toys (German)] - He went up to the map and began to speak quickly, poking a dry finger on the map and proving that no chance could change the expediency of the Dris camp, that everything was foreseen and that if the enemy really goes around, then the enemy must inevitably be destroyed.
Pauluchi, who did not know German, began to ask him in French. Wolzogen came to the aid of his principal, who did not speak French well, and began to translate his words, barely keeping up with Pfuel, who quickly proved that everything, everything, not only what happened, but everything that could happen, everything was foreseen. in his plan, and that if now there were difficulties, then all the fault was only in the fact that everything was not executed exactly. He constantly laughed ironically, proved, and, finally, contemptuously gave up proving, as a mathematician quits to verify different ways once proven correctness of the task. Wolzogen replaced him, continuing to expound his thoughts in French and occasionally saying to Pfuel: "Nicht wahr, Exellenz?" [Isn't that right, Your Excellency? (German)] Pfuel, as in a battle a heated man beats his own, angrily shouted at Wolzogen:
– Nun ja, was soll denn da noch expliziert werden? [Well, yes, what else is there to interpret? (German)] - Pauluchi and Michaud attacked Wolzogen in French in two voices. Armfeld addressed Pfuel in German. Tol explained in Russian to Prince Volkonsky. Prince Andrew silently listened and watched.
Of all these persons, the embittered, resolute and stupidly self-confident Pful was the most arousing interest in Prince Andrei. He, one of all the people present here, obviously did not want anything for himself, did not harbor enmity towards anyone, but wanted only one thing - to put into action the plan drawn up according to the theory that he had deduced over the years of work. He was ridiculous, was unpleasant with his irony, but at the same time he inspired involuntary respect with his boundless devotion to the idea. In addition, in all the speeches of all the speakers, with the exception of Pfuel, there was one common feature, which was not at the military council in 1805 - it was now, although hidden, but a panic fear of the genius of Napoleon, a fear that was expressed in every objection. Everything was supposed to be possible for Napoleon, they were waiting for him from all sides, and with his terrible name they destroyed one another's assumptions. One Pful, it seemed, considered him, Napoleon, the same barbarian as all the opponents of his theory. But, in addition to a sense of respect, Pful inspired Prince Andrei with a sense of pity. From the tone with which the courtiers treated him, from what Pauluchi allowed himself to say to the emperor, but most importantly from the somewhat desperate expression of Pfuel himself, it was clear that others knew and he himself felt that his fall was near. And, despite his self-confidence and German grumpy irony, he was pitiful with his smoothed hair on the temples and tassels sticking out at the back of his head. Apparently, although he concealed this under the guise of irritation and contempt, he was in despair because the only opportunity now to verify by vast experience and prove to the whole world the correctness of his theory eluded him.
The debate went on for a long time, and the longer it went on, the more disputes flared up, reaching shouts and personalities, and the less it was possible to draw any general conclusion from everything that was said. Prince Andrei, listening to this multilingual dialect and these assumptions, plans and denials and cries, was only surprised at what they all said. Those thoughts that had come to him for a long time and often during his military activities, that there is and cannot be any military science and therefore there can be no so-called military genius, now received for him the complete evidence of the truth. “What kind of theory and science could there be in a matter in which the conditions and circumstances are unknown and cannot be determined, in which the strength of the leaders of the war can be even less determined? No one could and cannot know what the position of our and the enemy army will be in a day, and no one can know what the strength of this or that detachment is. Sometimes, when there is no coward in front who will shout: “We are cut off! - and he will run, and there is a cheerful, courageous person in front who will shout: “Hurrah! - a detachment of five thousand is worth thirty thousand, as at Shepgraben, and sometimes fifty thousand run before eight, as at Austerlitz. What kind of science can there be in such a matter, in which, as in any practical matter, nothing can be determined and everything depends on innumerable conditions, the significance of which is determined in one minute, about which no one knows when it will come. Armfeld says that our army is cut off, and Pauluchi says that we have placed the French army between two fires; Michaud says that the worthlessness of the Drissa camp lies in the fact that the river is behind, and Pfuel says that this is his strength. Tol proposes one plan, Armfeld proposes another; and everyone is good, and everyone is bad, and the benefits of any situation can be obvious only at the moment when the event takes place. And why does everyone say: a military genius? Is a genius the person who manages to order the delivery of crackers in time and go to the right, to the left? Just because military people are clothed with brilliance and power, and masses of scoundrels flatter power, giving it the unusual qualities of a genius, they are called geniuses. On the contrary, the best generals I have known are stupid or distracted people. The best Bagration, - Napoleon himself admitted this. And Bonaparte himself! I remember his self-satisfied and limited face on the field of Austerlitz. Not only does a good commander not need a genius and any special qualities, but, on the contrary, he needs the absence of the best, highest, human qualities - love, poetry, tenderness, philosophical inquisitive doubt. He must be limited, firmly convinced that what he does is very important (otherwise he will lack patience), and then only he will be a brave commander. God forbid, if he is a man, he will love someone, take pity, think about what is fair and what is not. It is clear that from time immemorial the theory of geniuses has been forged for them, because they are the authorities. The merit in the success of military affairs does not depend on them, but on the person who shouts in the ranks: they are gone, or shouts: hurrah! And only in these ranks can you serve with confidence that you are useful!“
So thought Prince Andrei, listening to the talk, and woke up only when Pauluchi called him and everyone was already dispersing.
The next day, at the review, the sovereign asked Prince Andrei where he wanted to serve, and Prince Andrei lost himself forever in the court world, not asking to stay with the person of the sovereign, but asking for permission to serve in the army.

Before the opening of the campaign, Rostov received a letter from his parents, in which, briefly informing him of Natasha's illness and the break with Prince Andrei (this break was explained to him by Natasha's refusal), they again asked him to retire and come home. Nikolai, having received this letter, did not try to ask for a vacation or resignation, but wrote to his parents that he was very sorry about Natasha's illness and break with her fiancé and that he would do everything possible to fulfill their desire. He wrote to Sonya separately.
“Adored friend of my soul,” he wrote. “Nothing but honor could keep me from returning to the village. But now, before the opening of the campaign, I would consider myself dishonorable not only before all my comrades, but also before myself, if I preferred my happiness to my duty and love for the fatherland. But this is the last parting. Believe that immediately after the war, if I am alive and loved by you, I will drop everything and fly to you to press you forever to my fiery chest.
Indeed, only the opening of the campaign delayed Rostov and prevented him from coming - as he promised - and marrying Sonya. Otradnensky autumn with hunting and winter with Christmas time and with Sonya's love opened up to him the prospect of quiet aristocratic joys and tranquility, which he had not known before and which now beckoned him to them. “A glorious wife, children, a good flock of hounds, dashing ten - twelve packs of greyhounds, household, neighbors, election service! he thought. But now there was a campaign, and it was necessary to remain in the regiment. And since this was necessary, Nikolai Rostov, by his nature, was also pleased with the life he led in the regiment, and managed to make this life pleasant for himself.
Arriving from vacation, joyfully greeted by his comrades, Nikolai sent for repairs and brought excellent horses from Little Russia, which pleased him and earned him praise from his superiors. In his absence, he was promoted to captain, and when the regiment was put on martial law with an increased kit, he again received his former squadron.
A campaign began, the regiment was moved to Poland, a double salary was issued, new officers arrived, new people, horses; and, most importantly, that excitedly cheerful mood that accompanies the outbreak of war has spread; and Rostov, aware of his advantageous position in the regiment, gave himself up entirely to the pleasures and interests military service, although he knew that sooner or later he would have to leave them.
The troops retreated from Vilna for various complex state, political and tactical reasons. Each step of retreat was accompanied difficult game interests, inferences and passions in the headquarters. For the hussars of the Pavlograd regiment, this whole retreat, at the best time of summer, with sufficient food, was the simplest and most fun thing to do. They could lose heart, worry and intrigue in the main apartment, but in the deep army they did not ask themselves where, why they were going. If they regretted that they were retreating, it was only because they had to leave the habitable apartment, from the pretty lady. If it occurred to anyone that things were bad, then, as a good military man should, the one to whom it occurred to him tried to be cheerful and not think about the general course of affairs, but think about his immediate business. At first they cheerfully stood near Vilna, making acquaintances with the Polish landowners and waiting and serving reviews of the sovereign and other high commanders. Then the order came to retreat to the Sventsians and destroy the provisions that could not be taken away. The Sventsyans were remembered by the hussars only because it was a drunken camp, as the whole army called the camp near Sventsyan, and because in Sventsyan there were many complaints against the troops for the fact that they, taking advantage of the order to take away provisions, took away horses among the provisions, and carriages, and carpets from the Polish pans. Rostov remembered Sventsyany because on the first day of entering this place he changed the sergeant-major and could not cope with all the people of the squadron who got drunk, who, without his knowledge, took away five barrels of old beer. From Sventsyan they retreated further and further to Drissa, and again retreated from Drissa, already approaching the Russian borders.
On July 13, the people of Pavlograd had to be in serious business for the first time.
On July 12, on the night before the case, there was a strong storm with rain and a thunderstorm. The summer of 1812 was generally remarkable for its storms.
Pavlograd's two squadrons bivouacked, among the rye field, already beaten to the ground by cattle and horses. The rain was pouring down, and Rostov, with the young officer Ilyin patronized by him, sat under a fenced on hastily hut. An officer of their regiment, with a long mustache extending from his cheeks, who went to headquarters and was caught in the rain, went to Rostov.
- I, count, from the headquarters. Have you heard the feat of Raevsky? - And the officer told the details of the Saltanovsky battle, heard by him at headquarters.
Rostov, shrugging his neck, over which the water flowed, smoked a pipe and listened inattentively, occasionally glancing at the young officer Ilyin, who huddled around him. This officer, a sixteen-year-old boy who had recently entered the regiment, was now in relation to Nikolai what Nikolai had been in relation to Denisov seven years ago. Ilyin tried to imitate Rostov in everything and, like a woman, was in love with him.
An officer with a double mustache, Zdrzhinsky, spoke pompously about how the Saltanovskaya dam was the Thermopylae of the Russians, how General Raevsky committed an act worthy of antiquity on this dam. Zdrzhinsky told the act of Raevsky, who brought his two sons to the dam under terrible fire and went on the attack next to them. Rostov listened to the story and not only did not say anything to confirm Zdrzhinsky's delight, but, on the contrary, had the appearance of a man who was ashamed of what he was being told, although he did not intend to object. Rostov, after the Austerlitz and 1807 campaigns, knew from his own experience that, telling military incidents, they always lie, just as he himself lied when telling; secondly, he had such experience that he knew how everything happens in the war is not at all the way we can imagine and tell. And therefore he did not like Zdrzhinsky's story, and he did not like Zdrzhinsky himself, who, with his mustache from his cheeks, as usual bent low over the face of the person to whom he was telling, and crowded him into a cramped hut. Rostov silently looked at him. “Firstly, on the dam that was attacked, it must have been such confusion and crowding that if Raevsky brought his sons out, it could not affect anyone, except for about ten people who were near him, - thought Rostov, - the rest could not see how and with whom Raevsky walked along the dam. But even those who saw this could not be very inspired, because what did they care about Raevsky's tender parental feelings when it was about their own skin? Then the fate of the fatherland did not depend on the fact that they would take or not take the Saltanovskaya dam, as they describe it to us about Thermopylae. And so, why was it necessary to make such a sacrifice? And then, why here, in the war, interfere with their children? Not only would I not lead my brother Petya, even Ilyin, even this stranger to me, but good boy, I would try to put it under protection somewhere, ”Rostov continued to think, listening to Zdrzhinsky. But he did not say his thoughts: he already had experience in this. He knew that this story contributed to the glorification of our weapons, and therefore it was necessary to pretend that you did not doubt it. And so he did.