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We decided to find out where and how very respected and very busy people spend their summer holidays. What stories happen to them?

Mark Zakharov, artistic director of the Lenkom Theater.
I relax at the dacha or abroad. I like to spend my holidays in a clinic in Germany. In addition to restoring my health, interesting creative thoughts come into my head there. For example, I wrote the script for the play “The Barbarian and the Heretic” in this clinic.
But more often I relax with my family. I love shopping abroad. True, I rarely make purchases. I like the process itself and the feeling of some financial freedom - I may buy it, I may not buy it. We spend money on nonsense that my wife will like. Then, as a rule, she does not use these things. But what to do, since at the moment she seems to need them?
My most vivid impressions were from my vacation spent on Lake Wolfgangsee in Austria. Observing the cleanliness of this lake, which has nothing to do with sewerage, and the well-groomed landscape, I experienced not white, but black envy.
I also remember my vacation at the Yalta sanatorium. I was then the director of the Satire Theater. So, all my friends left by train for Moscow and left me without money. I decided to spend the last little thing in the following way: at every major station, my friends received a telegram from me in which I reminded them of my existence. This is the kind of hussarism and acting that I observed...

Konstantin Borovoy, deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
This year we will go to Italy - we rented a villa there with Andrei Karaulov and Valeria Novodvorskaya. I won’t be able to forget about things, I’ll take a mobile phone - my assistants will call from Moscow every day.
And the best and most carefree vacation I had was during my student years, when I went to Yevpatoria with 25 rubles, fell in love there and spent all the money on a girl on the very first day. Then my parents sent me funds for the return trip.
Once on the beach I won more than 50 rubles in preference (this was in the 70s). Then it turned out that my partners were swindlers. They wanted to deceive me, but they turned out to be worthless swindlers and lost themselves. They began to threaten and demand money back...By the way, one of them is now a famous American businessman.
In our family, the head of the family is 13-year-old Lena. As she says, so it will be. Last year, when we were on holiday in Portugal, she ruined me with horse riding. It cost $300 every day. And all purchases are made at her whim. Your daughter may unexpectedly force you to buy a new refrigerator or change your car.
On the road I take a minimum of things - jeans, shorts... But this time I have to take a tailcoat with me - we booked tickets to the Milan Opera.

Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, actor (narrated by his wife Tatyana).
Armen Borisovich likes to relax in a sanatorium near Moscow. For the last few years, he and I have been going on vacation separately. The reason is a cat named Phil. We never leave him alone, so we have to travel alone.
Once, when I arrived in America, I discovered that the suitcases, due to the fault of the airline, remained in Moscow. They sent it only about twenty days later, but during this time I realized that it was quite possible to get by with what I was wearing, plus a few more things that friends gave me.
When good books and art albums were in short supply in Russia, we bought them abroad. And in large quantities, sparing no expense. They didn’t skimp on good restaurants and cafes.

Alexey Kasatonov, hockey player, coach of HC CSKA (wife Zhanna tells).
Our family prefers active recreation. We usually choose some sea coast so that we have the opportunity to ride catamarans and aqua motorcycles. We love snorkeling (scuba diving). Almost all the vacation money is spent on this.
When Alexey played in the NHL, we spent the summer in America and the most memorable holiday was in Florida in 1990. We went to Disneyworld - it was unique!
In July we are going to Turkey for the first time, we will relax at the Marco Polo club complex.
During vacation we try to keep track of what is happening in the world, we read newspapers every day, the TV is on an information program.
We usually go shopping once or twice during our vacation. But we rarely shop; we mostly admire local souvenirs. In this sense, we really liked the shops in Bermuda.
Previously, they carried huge trunks with things with them, but the Americans learned to take everything on the road in one copy - one trousers, one shorts, one jacket...

Yuri Nikulin, director of the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard.
Previously, I preferred to relax as a “savage”. That is, I rented one or two rooms on the seashore. But since I became the director of the circus, I can’t travel far from Moscow - I relax with my wife and dog at the dacha in the Moscow region.
Only a few people know my phone number at the dacha, so there aren’t many calls. I call on business myself.
Most of all I remember the vacation in 1969, which I spent with my wife and son in Paris. At that time they didn’t want to let the whole family go abroad, but friends called somewhere and the issue was resolved. In Paris, I especially liked the atmosphere of the city: the taverns were open until late, people sat at tables and had fun. In our country then there was a completely different mode of life.
We always had enough money on vacation because we carefully calculated everything in advance.

Mark Rudinshtein, producer of the Kinotavr festival.
I usually rest in fits and starts - 5 days every month. I choose a place by poking at the map. I like to come to a country, rent a car and travel, stopping for a short time in the places I like. I completely disconnect from the outside world, no one knows where I am. This is the only happiness - to disappear, forget yourself and not be afraid of the next nasty thing.
The most pleasant vacation happens when I find myself in a country where I have not been before. And the most unpleasant one was in 1971 - my son and I went to Gelendzhik, and 80 rubles were stolen from us.
I mainly spend my money on getting to know national cuisines and exotic cuisines. I don't buy anything in stores. Now everything can be bought in Russia, so a colossal amount of time is freed up abroad, which we previously spent running around the shops.
On the road I take a small handbag, where I put the essentials and my tennis uniform.
In the near future I am going to go to one of the Russian sanatoriums, I want to improve my health.

Vladimir Molchanov, television journalist.
For the last three years, my wife, daughter and I have been vacationing in Greece. Actually, I'm tired of holidays abroad. I want to plunge into the past - go to Crimea or Pitsunda. But, unfortunately, it is not so cozy and calm there.
Vacation takes a maximum of two weeks. We spend mainly on restaurants and car rentals. Sometimes I go to the casino. Once I was with my daughter in Monte Carlo. In the evening she went to bed, and I got ready to go play a little. However, he did not find the wallet and was forced to abandon his idea. In the morning it turned out that my daughter hid the wallet under the mattress, specifically so that I would not go to the casino...
Abroad, I buy the International Gerald Tribune newspaper every day; it is available in every city.

Offended by the press, Johnny Hallyday went on vacation "at his own expense"
Pop star Johnny Hallyday spent more than four months aboard the yacht Only You I. Mr. Halliday intends to interrupt his voyage no earlier than next summer. This decision was made after the short adultery of the 53-year-old singer and a young fashion model, which was widely publicized in the press, almost led to Mr. Halliday’s separation from his wife. To get rid of the annoying hacks, the singer decided to go on a multi-month voyage with his wife Letitia. The three-deck yacht Only You I with a large number of rooms reaches forty-three meters in length.
Johnny Hallyday has put his villa in the French resort of St. Tropez up for sale.
After sailing from Miami, the yacht Only You I traveled about 4,000 kilometers to Cuba, passing the islands of the Caribbean.
The yacht sometimes anchors in wild coves, where Mr. Halliday catches lobsters, swims with dolphins or eats charcoal-grilled fish in fisherman's huts. He is also continuing work on his autobiography, Destroy.
The singer celebrated his 54th birthday in Cuba with close friends, and Cuban Cohiba cigars (Fidel Castro’s favorite brand) acted as birthday candles on the cake.
Mr. Holliday likes to spend hot afternoons in his large living room, close to the air conditioning, smoking a handmade Cuban cigar.
(Paris match, Gala)

Free Americans are not allowed on the "Island of Freedom"
It is illegal for Americans to visit Cuba as tourists. Last year, President Clinton signed a special decree increasing fines to $250,000 for US citizens who decided to vacation on Liberty Island. Since 1994, 44 people have already paid fines ranging from $1,500 to $2,000 for violating the presidential decree. For those Americans who decided to visit the island despite the bans, there are travel agencies in Canada where, without any questions or passport checks, they can book an air ticket and a place in a Havana hotel.
(USNews & World Report)

Chinese Hong Kong is causing a stir among tourists
Celebrations marking the entry of Hong Kong under Chinese jurisdiction have become a blessed hour for local travel agencies. For those wishing to visit the city, a special tourist program “Hong Kong: One Hundred Days of Miracle” has been prepared. In July, the number of tourists who decide to spend their summer holidays in Hong Kong will increase by 35% compared to last year. To commemorate visiting the city at one of the most important moments in its history, tourists can purchase a traditional “Lucky Dragon” for $2.60, a “Last Empress of China” Barbie doll for $8, or a commemorative T-shirt for $10. In total, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Association, tourists will spend about $1.2 billion on hotel stays, souvenirs and entertainment during July.
(Reuters)

Magazine "Kommersant Money" No. 26 dated 07/09/1997, p. 16

Auction – Money – Kommersant