Necropolis

Anatoly Sobchak

For some reason, the word “star” is not used in relation to politicians. Meanwhile, Anatoly Sobchak was just a star. Speaking about Sobchak, someone will remember the professor of law, whose popularity after the first congress of people's deputies could be the envy of any artist. For some, Sobchak will forever remain the man who returned Leningrad to its historical name, and for others, he will be a figure in all the scandals regarding abuses in the northern capital, a consistent anti-communist, an intellectual, a liberal, a poseur, a man who brought into the public the economists of the “Chubais school” - and Putin's former security officer. All this is Anatoly Sobchak - the star of domestic politics.

Nikolay Vorontsov
Vorontsov has been famous in the scientific community for a long time - not only as a major zoologist, geneticist and evolutionist, but also as a man of absolute scientific and civic integrity. The general public recognized this name only at the turn of the 80s and 90s, when Nikolai Nikolaevich became a people's deputy, and then the first and last minister of ecology of the USSR. He turned out to be one of the few democrats of the “first wave” who survived the era of “sturm and stress” with an untarnished good name and without disappointment in ideals. Nikolai Vorontsov died on March 3. 75 days later, the country's environmental protection agency was liquidated. "There are none - and everything is permitted..."

Oleg Efremov
In the Soviet theater, Efremov reached the highest power - nothing existed higher than the chief director of the nomenklatura Moscow Art Theater in the USSR. But that was not what he was looking for. Efremov was a theater builder. In 1956, with a group of friends, he created "contemporary". In 1970, Efremov was invited to head the Moscow Art Theater, and he began to build his own theater within the swollen troupe, attracting the best actors and directors. When this did not produce results, Efremov made the last and most painful attempt to revive the Moscow Art Theater - in 1987 he divided the theater. This also came to nothing. Now there is no doubt that the Moscow Art Theater has finally died along with the last person who believed in it.

Grigory Gorin
The all-Union famous and beloved wit Grigory Gorin was primarily a playwright and screenwriter. He created his own ironic intellectual-popular genre based on rethinking traditional literary plots. In Soviet literature, he succeeded primarily Evgeniy Shvarts, to whose texts Gorin often turned. In his films and performances staged by Mark Zakharov, the intelligentsia always loved to catch caustic political hints. But there was not a drop of cynicism in Gorin. His irony was combined with sincere sixties pathos and piercing sentimentality.

Pierre-Elliott Trudeau
In September, the patriarch of world politics, Pierre-Elliot Trudeau, the former Prime Minister of Canada, who played a huge role in the fate of this country, died. Thanks to the reforms he carried out, Canada in 1982 completely and finally separated from the British Parliament and retained its unity. It was Trudeau, the son of French immigrants, who inflicted a decisive defeat on Quebec separatists in the 1980 referendum. An example of a great politician and diplomat, during the Cold War Trudeau managed not only to get along with the USSR and the countries of the socialist camp, but also to develop relations with them. He was equally respected in the Moscow Kremlin and in the Washington White House.

Boris Zakhoder
Judging by the few “adult” poems of Boris Zakhoder, published shortly before his death, the poet passed away with a feeling of something unfulfilled, missed, unsaid. This is normal for an artist. But readers of several generations who grew up on “Winnie the Pooh,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Peter Pan” in Zakhoder’s translations are unlikely to agree with this. However, these are not just translations, because thanks to Zakhoder, Carroll’s ingenious mathematical games or the purely British charm of Milnov’s animals not only acquired Russian citizenship, but also produced numerous, friendly, noisy, grateful offspring.

Hafez Assad
After the aged Damascus dictator was diagnosed with cancer and it became clear that his days were numbered, one of the largest countries in the Arab world froze in anticipation of a new era. The “Syrian Lion,” as he was called in the Middle East, held the nation in his fist for thirty years, mercilessly suppressing the opposition. He motivated his actions by the presence of an “external enemy” - Israel and the need to ensure the integrity of the country, torn apart by clan contradictions. A typical eastern despot, Assad believed that he would not mind paying any price for stability and unity. Today, Syria is ruled by his son Basher.

Vyacheslav Kotenochkin
In recent years, animation has been trying to become an art “for adults only.” Vyacheslav Kotenochkin, the author of more than sixty cartoons, always worked primarily for children and was that rare animator whose name children knew. First of all, it's funny. Secondly, it was he who created their favorite TV series “Well, wait a minute!” Children watched each of the 18 episodes about the hare and the wolf (aired from 1969 to 1992) many times. Almost every one - at least the first ones - was seen by all citizens of the USSR. "Wait for it!" It has not lost its popularity even now, when Disney cartoons are broadcast on all channels.