Who was there before Sobchak? Is Ksenia Sobchak really the adopted daughter of Anatoly Sobchak?

Anatoly Sobchak has been a well-known political figure for a long time. It was thanks to his work that the city of St. Petersburg became exactly the way its residents were accustomed to seeing it over the past several decades.

To begin with, at least in Anatoly’s closest circle was the (then, however, future) President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. And at one time Sobchak rendered big influence on this person.

Generation Soviet people remembers that the nineties were not the easiest period. But Anatoly showed every concern for his country and tried to restore its well-being. Even though many printed publications spread gossip and rumors about him, none of which were true.

Height, weight, age. Years of life of Anatoly Sobchak

The story of Anatoly Sobchak is interesting to many people. Those who are interested not only in the history of the political formation of Russia, but also in the personalities of then and modern politicians, are interested even in little things. For example, what was their height, weight, age. The years of Anatoly Sobchak’s life are not secret information.

There is no officially confirmed information regarding his physical parameters, that is, height and weight. As for age, he would have been 81 years old. Those who are looking for photos of Anatoly Sobchak in his youth and now will only be able to find one photo.

By the way, for some time there were rumors that real name Sobchak Anatoly – Filgestein. But the politician’s wife denied this information.

Biography and personal life of Anatoly Sobchak

Anatoly Sobchak was born in last month summer of '37. His father, Alexander Sobchak, worked as an engineer at railway, and my mother, Nadezhda Litvinova, is an accountant. He also had brothers - Sasha, Egor and Yura.

The biography and personal life of Anatoly Sobchak began to unfold in earnest when he transferred from a university in Tashkent to Leningrad. He was a successful student. And he got married for the first time even before completing his studies.

After graduating from university, Anatoly began working at the bar, a little later became a graduate student and even defended his dissertation. For eight years he was an assistant professor at LTI. During his second marriage, he was already working at the Faculty of Law at Leningrad State University.

In 1989 he received a seat as a deputy, and in 1991 he became the first mayor of Leningrad. At the end of the same year, he proposed returning the city to its previous name - St. Petersburg.

Everything was fine, but in the mid-nineties, Sobchak’s persecution began, which could not but affect his health. He suffered two heart attacks and it is possible that it was the third that caused his death.

Family and children of Anatoly Sobchak

As we know, Anatoly Sobchak was a politician, held a high position, and often made long trips. He had very little free time, so it is not surprising that Anatoly Sobchak’s family and children very rarely saw him at home. Even in difficult years political persecution, they were and remained his reliable rear. The only island of peace where you could always return. The family never doubted Anatoly and always supported her in everything.

His wife, Lyudmila Narusova, said that on rare free days Sobchak loved to walk with her and her daughter along the streets of St. Petersburg, where they once settled.

Daughter of Anatoly Sobchak - Maria Sobchak

The politician’s first-born, Anatoly Sobchak’s daughter Maria Sobchak, appeared to him at a time when the politician himself was still a student. The girl was born in Anatoly’s first marriage, but she was raised not by her parents, but by her maternal grandmother. The little girl especially loved stories and bedtime stories. For example, “Cinderella,” which I never tired of listening to over and over again.

When Mashenka was still in school, she received only excellent grades. And at university I studied to be a lawyer. Now she is married and raising a wonderful son named Gleb, who is now a student at the same university where his grandfather and mother studied.

Daughter of Anatoly Sobchak - Ksenia Sobchak

The youngest daughter, now known to many, Ksenia, was born in 1983. Interestingly, the baby was named after Saint Xenia. The girl appeared in her second marriage, and the parents tried their best to take care of the baby. They literally did everything they could for her. Ksenia grew up very gifted - she studied well at a private school, went to various clubs.

When Anatoly died, the girl was only seventeen. And she took his death hard. Having come to her senses, Ksenia found a job on television and became a presenter.

The daughter of Anatoly Sobchak is known today not only as a presenter, but also political figure.

Ex-wife of Anatoly Sobchak - Nonna Handzyuk

The ex-wife of Anatoly Sobchak, Nonna Handzyuk, is originally from Odessa, and moved to St. Petersburg when she was little with her parents. The girl met her future husband, Anatoly, while a student. Thanks to her appearance, young Nonna was often surrounded by the attention of guys. Anatoly also fell under the influence of her beauty.

The lovers got married just a few months after they met, and lived happily together for twenty-three years. When Anatoly fell in love again, he did not hide it from his wife. And she, in turn, did not start scandals and let her husband go to another woman. Now she doesn't hold a grudge new wife Anatoly and even sometimes communicates with her.

Anatoly Sobchak's wife - Lyudmila Narusova

Anatoly Sobchak's wife, Lyudmila Narusova, was born in Bryansk, and came to St. Petersburg to receive higher education. There she received a candidate's degree in historical sciences.

In 1991-94, this woman had nothing to do with politics. Lyudmila managed hospitals and hospices. But in 1995 she became a member of the State Duma parliament. And at the beginning of the 2000s, she was already able to head the foundation founded by her husband. Around the same time, she began hosting one of the popular shows on television.

Repeatedly Lyudmila managed to occupy the post of senator of the Supreme Soviet of Russia. Years have passed, but she continues to study political work, but also does not forget about the role of grandmother.

Cause of death of Anatoly Sobchak

Soon after the funeral took place, a variety of rumors about the first official mayor of St. Petersburg began to appear in the press. There was even talk that he was with young girls in the sauna, and it was there that death occurred. As you can see, the cause of Anatoly Sobchak’s death literally became a sensation for the yellow press. There was no end to the various rumors.

He himself and his family carefully hid all news regarding the politician’s health. But not so long ago, Lyudmila said that doctors forbade her husband to worry, but he refused to quit work. Ultimately, how Anatoly Sobchak died remained unknown. Although at one time there were even rumors that he was killed. Indeed, in politics such an outcome is not uncommon.

Instagram and Wikipedia Anatoly Sobchak

Instagram and Wikipedia of Anatoly Sobchak are the resources that everyone who is interested in politics and the personality of this amazing man is looking for. He died in 2000, which is why you won’t find his profile on Instagram even if you wanted to. But his photographs can be seen on the Instagram pages of his wife Lyudmila and daughter Ksenia. It is noteworthy that there he is presented not as a politician, but as an ordinary family man.

But in the Internet encyclopedia you can find some information about his personal life and political activities. Although, there is almost no information about his family. Article found on alabanza.ru

Russian politician, first mayor of St. Petersburg Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak was born on August 10, 1937 in the city of Chita. His father worked as a railway engineer, and his mother served as an accountant. Two years after Anatoly’s birth, the family moved to Uzbekistan.

Anatoly Sobchak graduated high school in Uzbekistan and entered the Faculty of Law at Tashkent University. In 1954 he transferred to Leningradsky State University(LSU, now St. Petersburg State University).

In 1959, after graduating from university, Anatoly Sobchak worked for three years at the Stavropol Regional Bar Association - first as a lawyer in the city of Nevinnomyssk, and then as the head of a legal consultation.

In 1962 he returned to Leningrad, in 1965 he graduated from graduate school at Leningrad State University and defended his Ph.D. thesis.

From 1965 to 1968, Sobchak taught at the Leningrad Special Police School of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. From 1968 to 1973 he was an assistant professor at the Leningrad Technological Institute of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

In 1989, Anatoly Sobchak was elected people's deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and was chairman of the subcommittee on economic legislation of the USSR Supreme Soviet Committee on Legislation and Law and Order.

He became one of the founders of the Interregional Deputy Group, formed from deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in June 1989.

In April 1990, Anatoly Sobchak was elected as a deputy of the Leningrad City Council of People's Deputies, and on May 23, 1990 became chairman of the Leningrad City Council.

Following the results of the first popular elections of the head of the city on June 12, 1991, he became the mayor of Leningrad (St. Petersburg). Since 1994, he simultaneously headed the government of St. Petersburg.

Under Sobchak, on September 8, 1991, the city of Leningrad was returned to its historical name - St. Petersburg.

Anatoly Sobchak was a member of the Presidential Advisory Council under USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, a member of the Presidential Council under Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and participated in the work of the Constitutional Conference that prepared the democratic Constitution of the new Russia.

In 1991-1995 he was co-chairman of the Russian Movement of Democratic Reforms (RDDR).

In 1993, he headed the federal RDDR list in the elections to the State Duma of the first convocation (based on the voting results, the RDDR list did not overcome the 5 percent barrier).

In 1996, Sobchak ran for governor of St. Petersburg. In June 1996, he lost in the second round of elections to Vladimir Yakovlev.

In November 1997, Anatoly Sobchak went abroad for treatment, after which he lived in France, taught at a university in Paris, and worked on books in archives.

In 1997-1999, Anatoly Sobchak was involved as a witness and accused in the investigation of a number of corruption cases against the authorities of St. Petersburg. The criminal case opened against Sobchak was discontinued due to the lack of corpus delicti.

In July 1999, Sobchak returned to Russia and announced his intention to return to public politics.

At the beginning of 2000, he became a confidant of Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Putin and headed the Political Advisory Council of Democratic Parties and Movements of St. Petersburg.

On February 20, 2000, Anatoly Sobchak died in Svetlogorsk (Kaliningrad region) during a trip undertaken as part of the election campaign. The cause of death was acute heart failure. He was buried at the Nikolskoye cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra (St. Petersburg).

Anatoly Sobchak is the author of more than 200 books, articles and scientific works. He published his first book, “Legal Problems of Cost Accounting in Industry of the USSR,” in 1971. Among his books are “The Walk to Power” (1991), “The Tbilisi Breakdown, or Bloody Sunday of 1989” (1993), “Once Upon a Time There Was a Communist Party” (1995), “From Leningrad to St. Petersburg. Travel through time and space" (1999), "A Dozen Knives in the Back" (1999).

The period from the late 80s to the early 90s became a time of enormous transformation for Russia. Such changes became possible largely thanks to the activities of outstanding and strong personalities who entered politics with new ideas and aspirations. One of these people was Anatoly Sobchak, a Soviet scientist, politician and first mayor of St. Petersburg.

Biography

Anatoly Alexandrovich's family was difficult by Soviet standards. His father went through the Great Patriotic War and was awarded the order Red Star for organizing the crossing of the Frisch Gaff Bay. After the war, he worked as a railway engineer, which is why they often moved and lived in different cities. Soviet Union. Anatoly Sobchak was Russian by nationality, but the blood of the Czech and Polish people also flowed in his veins.

Little Tolya was born in Chita, but spent his childhood and youth in the city of Kokand, in Uzbekistan. Before the war, my father worked here on the railroad, and my mother was an accountant. When Alexander Antonovich was taken to the front, his mother remained the head of the family, consisting of two old grandmothers and three children. In total, the couple had four sons.

Life of Anatoly Sobchak in early years was heavy. Even children had to work, despite the sweltering heat in summer and the terrifying cold winds in winter. The boy very quickly realized that there was no place for him here, and while still at school he decided that he would go to study in Leningrad.

Study and work as a teacher

After finishing 10th grade, Anatoly entered Tashkent University, but studied there for only a short time. Dream of beauty and developed city did not leave the young man. In 1954, he achieved a transfer to Leningrad State University at the Faculty of Law. Here he showed perseverance, talent and a thirst for knowledge, became the best student on the course and even received a Lenin scholarship.

After defending his diploma, Anatoly Sobchak and his young wife Nonna were assigned to the bar in the Stavropol Territory. Here the young specialist received an excellent assessment of his abilities and was able to gain the trust of the local population, who respected him greatly. He even rose to the rank of head of legal advice, which speaks of the extraordinary abilities of this man. There, the family lived in difficult conditions for three years, but after completing their internship, the young people were able to return to Leningrad, and Anatoly entered graduate school.

In 1964, he defended his dissertation on the topic “Civil liability for causing harm by the action of a source.” increased danger" After that, Sobchak worked for several years as a teacher at the Leningrad police school.

First marriage

Anatoly Sobchak met his first wife as a child. Nonna Gadzyuk lived in the neighboring yard. Young people sometimes walked in the same company, but did not feel any sympathy for each other. According to his own recollections, he did not like these walks, and he did not like Nonna either. But after finishing school I suddenly realized that I was in love. In the 4th year, the young people got married. Later, Nonna recalled three terrible years of living in the Stavropol Territory, where the young lawyer Sobchak was sent to practice. The newlyweds lived in someone else's house and heated the stove with dung briquettes. Only three years later the family was able to return to Leningrad, where Anatoly Sobchak became a graduate student at the Leningrad Institute.

After the birth of their daughter Masha, the young couple lived for a long time in a small communal apartment with difficult neighbors. Only in 1965 were they able to save up for a cooperative apartment. They lived poorly and very amicably, the daughter adored and idolized her father. But in 1977 family idyll the end has come.

Marriage to Lyudmila Narusova

At the time of their meeting, Lyudmila was getting divorced and tried unsuccessfully to sue ex-husband apartment. Friends advised her to the talented scientist Sobchak. His advice was successful, the woman was able to return the square meters. At the same time, feelings arose between the two people, and soon Anatoly left the family and married Lyudmila. In the early 1980s, their daughter Ksyusha was born. Anatoly Sobchak and Ksenia Sobchak were very close. The TV presenter still supports her father’s endeavors in everything.

The children of Anatoly Sobchak in some ways became the successors of his work. Maria became a successful lawyer, like her son. Ksenia, after making a successful career on Russian television, went into politics and even became a participant last elections president.

First steps in politics

From the late 60s to the early 80s, Anatoly Alexandrovich made a successful scientific career. He was an associate professor at the Leningrad Institute of Technology, defended his dissertation in 1973, and later became an associate professor at the Faculty of Law, and then a professor at Leningrad State University.

In the late 80s, a successful researcher and teacher decided that he was capable of more and drew attention to political activity. In 1988 he became a member of the CPSU party, from which he left immediately after the collapse of the USSR. In 1989, Anatoly Alexandrovich was elected people's deputy of the USSR. It is said that young students Dmitry Medvedev and Nikolai Svanidze participated in his election campaign, hanging posters in support of Sobchak around the city. In addition, the professor was Medvedev’s supervisor during his thesis defense.

It is to this period that the beginning of cooperation between Anatoly Sobchak and Putin dates back to. The newly appointed people's deputy took the young KGB officer into his team. And here Sobchak showed persistence and extraordinary mental capacity, within a few months he becomes a deputy of the Leningrad City Council, and soon its chairman.

Governor of St. Petersburg

As a representative of the interregional parliamentary group, he was part of the team investigating the events in Tbilisi in the spring of 1989, when a group of protesters was harshly dispersed by the authorities. For this investigation, Anatoly Sobchak became an honorary citizen of the capital of Georgia.

As part of the Leningrad City Council, Anatoly Aleksandrovich practically ruled the city, but was always in a precarious position, since he could simply be removed by other deputies by a majority vote. In 1990, the position of mayor of Leningrad was introduced. And already in 1991, Sobchak was elected the first mayor of the cultural capital of Russia. It was he who insisted on returning historical name city, moreover, did not rule out moving the capital here, to the banks of the Neva. Many even began to accuse him of monarchical tendencies, especially when he was invited to the city Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich.

During the putsch, he supported Yeltsin’s democratic movement and openly opposed the actions of the State Emergency Committee. Many argue that it was thanks to his influence that bloody uprisings in St. Petersburg were avoided.

Management Assessment

Despite great participation Sobchak in Peter’s life (and he really rooted for his hometown and its inhabitants), ordinary citizens did not like and opposed him. Few people knew that during the massive shortage of 1991, when bread and basic products were distributed using coupons, Anatoly Aleksandrovich held meetings with foreign companies, asked and begged for the import of consumer goods.

But people, already embittered by difficult times, expressed their dissatisfaction with what they considered to be the egregious behavior of the mayor’s family. They condemned Lyudmila Narusova, who regularly appeared in expensive outfits and jewelry, and Sobchak himself, who often went to parties abroad. Paradoxically, the more the mayor did good deeds for his city, the more ordinary residents disliked him.

The situation was aggravated by the authoritarian habits of Anatoly Alekseevich. Despite upholding democratic principles, as the head of the city, he demanded absolute obedience from his subordinates, which is why conflict situations often arose in the government.

Last years

But the end of the career of a talented politician was still associated with more good reasons. Alexander Anatolyevich described this period in his book “A Dozen Knives in the Back.” Once at a reception, Yeltsin said that he was tired of power and it seemed like it was time for him to retire... Sobchak supported this idea, which angered Boris Nikolayevich, who was accustomed to everyone flatteringly answering this question, as if everything was fine, and he still have a lot of strength.

The real persecution of the politician began at the instigation of the Kremlin. The press printed incriminating evidence against Sobchak almost every week. Either he has several mistresses in St. Petersburg, or his niece just got an apartment in the city center. They even got personal.

In the 90s, it was fashionable for journalists to see everyone political events Jewish trace, which is not surprising with the growing power of businessmen such as Gusinsky, Berezovsky or Lisovsky. So, regarding the former mayor of the cultural capital, strange assumptions about his true nationality began to appear. So, in one of his speeches, Boris Nevzorov announced to the whole country that the real name of Anatoly Alexandrovich Sobchak is Finkelstein. It seems that after marriage he took maiden name wives. The assumption is very strange, considering that the biographies of his father and grandfather are officially documented.

But this was one of the ways of psychological pressure that was actively exerted on Sobchak in last years his life.

Trip to Paris

In the 1996 St. Petersburg mayoral elections, he lost by less than 2 percent to his assistant Vladimir Yakovlev. Anatoly Sobchak was discouraged and upset by such betrayal from close circle. But the matter did not end there: a case was opened against the former mayor for abuse of power and accepting bribes.

Here the wife, Lyudmila Narusova, intervened, organized the hospitalization of her husband and took him to Paris. According to his own recollections, Anatoly Alexandrovich himself did not understand how he ended up as a refugee. In France he underwent treatment and also continued scientific activity, corresponded with colleagues and friends and really missed Russia. He was able to return to his homeland only in 1999, when the government was headed by Vladimir Putin.

Causes of death and press speculation

Being a very stubborn person high principles, he decided to prove his innocence, and this could only be done by returning to power. But, unfortunately, his era was already over. He lost the elections to the State Duma in 1999, and soon planned to participate in the elections for the mayor of St. Petersburg, but did not have time. The news flashed through the media: on the night of February 19, 2000, at the age of 62, Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak died in the Rus Hotel. The real reason Death became known later - acute heart failure. He had previously complained of blood pressure and periodic heart pain. I was examined several times in clinics around the world, but I was not completely cured. An important factor were the experiences that the politician had recently.

Such a sudden death gave rise to many rumors. They said so much about how Anatoly Sobchak died. The cause was both alcohol poisoning and an overdose of Viagra. No one denied the contract killing. Anatoly Alexandrovich was in power for a long time, knew a lot and could tell the wrong people about a lot. The prosecutor's office of the Kaliningrad region even opened a case of poisoning, but it was soon closed due to the lack of any evidence. An autopsy showed that there was no alcohol in the politician’s blood; his heart simply could not withstand all the experiences and betrayals.

Several thousand people came to Anatoly Sobchak's funeral. During his time as mayor, he literally revived the city, made it truly European, and the residents did not forget this. Maybe he was not loved, but all his deeds were seen and appreciated.

Ksenia Sobchak, daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, sometimes, especially in recent years, spoke about the violent death of her father. It even hinted at the current government, but there is no real evidence.

Memory and merit

During his life, Anatoly Sobchak was a winner of various domestic and foreign awards more than once. In addition, scientifically he was recognized as an honorary doctorate from the universities of Macerata and Genuzza (Italy) and Oklahoma City, Towson University in the USA and many others. Some of the prizes were awarded posthumously. Throughout his life, Anatoly Alexandrovich wrote more than 140 scientific and fiction books. Moreover, his works were published not only in Russia, but also abroad.

Anatoly Sobchak was buried at Nikolskoye Cemetery. A monument was erected at the grave, the author of which was the famous sculptor Mikhail Shemyakin. In memory of the famous politician, in 2002, Vladimir Putin established 10 individual scholarships in his name for the best students of the Faculty of Law. In addition, a memorial plaque was installed at his native Leningrad University.

The assessment of Anatoly Alexandrovich’s personality is very contradictory. Some, especially the residents of St. Petersburg, still praise him and call him the best leader, thanks to whom the second city of Russia has become modern and even more beautiful. Others, on the contrary, criticize his excessive directness in his work and unwillingness to put up with criticism, as well as his excessive rich life with general poverty.

Anatoly Sobchak and Putin had a close working relationship. The experienced professor even became, to some extent, a mentor for the young KGB lieutenant colonel. The current president is always superlatives spoke about Anatoly Sobchak, calling him an intelligent and talented person. Many believe that it was he who became Putin’s ticket to big politics.

Name: Anatoly Sobchak

Age: 67 years old

Place of Birth: Chita

A place of death: Svetlogorsk, Kaliningrad region.

Activity: first mayor of St. Petersburg

Family status: was married

Anatoly Sobchak - biography

Political allies overnight became political opponents. Residents of his beloved city, who admired him just yesterday, scolded him in vain. And he... He just wanted to make life a little better.

Anatoly Alexandrovich would have turned 80 on August 10. Until now, attitudes towards him remain controversial: some praise him, others cannot forgive his endless presentations and parties abroad. He was the first mayor of St. Petersburg, but never managed to become its first governor.

Anatoly Sobchak - childhood, family

The biography of the future politician took place in the Uzbek city of Kokand, where Alexander Sobchak, a transport engineer, was transferred. When my father went to the front, my mother became the breadwinner of the family. The head of a small team of two old grandmothers and three young children, an accountant by profession, Nadezhda Litvinova was only thinking about how to competently manage the meager family budget.

After the war, life did not become any easier. The sweltering heat in the summer and the piercing wind in the winter, the cotton harvest, to which schoolchildren were driven out like little slaves... He dreamed of breaking out of this life and understood that there was only one way: to study. Anatoly tried very hard, in his class he even had the nickname Professor. As a result, I graduated almost as an excellent student. There was also a second nickname - Judge, due to a heightened sense of justice.

Anatoly decided that he would become a lawyer and receive his education in Leningrad. His love for this distant city was instilled in him by his evacuated neighbor, a professor. However, he had another reason to strive for the Northern capital.

Its universities

Judging sensibly that a provincial would be unlikely to be accepted into the prestigious Leningrad University on the first try, Sobchak entered the law department of Tashkent University, and a year later transferred to Leningrad State University.

Anatoly Sobchak - biography of personal life

And now he is ringing the doorbell of a St. Petersburg communal apartment. He knew Nonna Handzyuk since childhood - they lived in the same yard. Her friend was in love with Alexander, Anatoly's older brother. When going for walks, they took “young people” with them - it was considered indecent for a young couple to meet, but if in company, then it was possible. Anatoly was tired of these walks (it’s better to read a book!), but when Nonna left for Leningrad after graduating from school, he realized that he was in love... In the 4th year they got married.

After university, Sobchak was assigned to the Stavropol Territory. Nonna recalled their life with horror. We rented a room in the house of the village residents, lit the stove with dung briquettes, and, if we were lucky, with coal. There is only one store in the entire village, and even that one has empty shelves. But the locals loved Sobchak. “A very compassionate lawyer,” the old women who saw him in court were touched. After working for the required 3 years, in 1962 he became a graduate student at Leningrad State University.

In 1965, daughter Masha was born. Despite the fact that Sobchak was already a candidate of science and taught at the Police School, the family lived in a terrible communal apartment on Apraksin Lane with “lovely” neighbors - crazy people and drunkards. When the girl was one year old, we moved to new apartment on Bestuzhevskaya, in a not very prestigious area of ​​Leningrad. We spent all our money on the cooperative; we didn’t even have enough money to buy furniture.

Masha grew up daddy's daughter, admired him and loved him more than her mother.

The more acutely she experienced the betrayal. This was in 1977. Mom simply said: “I took dad’s keys, he won’t come to us anymore.”

Ironically, the marriage with Lyudmila Narusova was led to... divorce proceedings. Having arrived from Bryansk and entered the university, she lived with her aunt for some time, got married in her second year and moved in with her husband. The marriage lasted 2.5 years. Narusova tried to sue ex-spouse living space, but even the masters, who ate the dog in divorces, could not help her. The supervisor - and she was then a graduate student at the Academy of Sciences - advised her to contact Sobchak, associate professor of the Faculty of Law at Leningrad State University. And he gave her very good advice.

Lyudmila came to thank me. She handed over a bouquet of chrysanthemums and an envelope containing 300 rubles. Sobchak accepted the flowers, but refused the money: “I am a scientist, not a practicing lawyer, there is no question of a fee.” After some time, they met at an event, started talking, started dating... And in 1980 they got married and moved into Narusova’s apartment - the same one that she sued from her husband.

Soon Lyudmila became pregnant. The pregnancy was difficult. She was already 30, at that time she was considered an old woman, and the fetus was not lying correctly. Someone advised me to go to the Smolensk cemetery and ask for help from Blessed Xenia. And a miracle happened: at the next examination, the doctor said that everything was fine.

The question of what to name the girl didn’t even arise. And upon returning from the maternity hospital, a luxurious bouquet awaited Lyudmila - 53 roses (this was the height of the newborn Ksyusha in centimeters). To people who did not know Sobchak, he seemed like a dry pragmatist, but in fact he was very romantic.

Career of Anatoly Sobchak

With the beginning of perestroika, Anatoly Alexandrovich decided that he was capable of more. Life was changing rapidly, new laws were required, and he felt that he had the power to make it better, more correct. In 1989, Sobchak became a people's deputy of the USSR. If in the stagnant years elections were held for show, now a real struggle has unfolded.

IN next year he became a deputy of the Leningrad City Council, and soon Sobchak was elected chairman. At the same time, he took Vladimir Putin into his team, who at that time held the post of assistant rector of Leningrad State University for international issues. 10 years later, at Sobchak’s funeral, Putin will say: “Of course, he also made mistakes. But no one can deny him the main thing: he has always been a sincere and absolutely honest person. He loved our city very much. A true St. Petersburg intellectual with the broadest erudition.” Sobchak really was in love with the city that became his second home. Thanks to him, the city returned its historical name.

Then, in the dashing 90s, it took a lot of effort from Sobchak for the city to survive in the literal sense of the word. Lyudmila Narusova said: “The terrible winter of 1991-1992... I remember how he came, clasping his head in his hands, and said: “There is only 2 days of bread left in the city and no flour. But the city that experienced the blockade should not know this.” , panic will begin." And he personally called Helmut Kohl, Francois Mitterrand, called the Swedes, called the British. And at night in Kronstadt, military sailors unloaded ships with stewed meat, flour, and canned food.”

But here’s the paradox: the more he tried for the good of the city, the more the townspeople disliked him. Sobchak did not say how much work he had to negotiate with companies about supplies, but everyone saw him constantly traveling abroad and appearing at various events. It never occurred to people that this was an essential part of the negotiations. And Narusova, who every now and then appeared at social events in new outfits, irritated everyone even more. The press constantly published unsightly photos of her - either she was chewing a sandwich, or whispering to someone.

Lyudmila was perplexed. Yes, she attends receptions, yes, she goes on business trips abroad and takes her daughter around at the expense of the budget. And what's wrong?! As the mayor's wife, she simply performs representative functions, establishing connections that will ultimately serve the benefit of St. Petersburg. But the townspeople, who did not know how and where to buy sugar coupons, looked at this celebration of life differently.

Added negativity to Sobchak’s image and the notorious housing problem. Of course, the mayor of the city should live in a normal apartment, but when they learned about the size of the apartments on the Moika embankment, people just shrugged. And then information appeared that the practical wife moved her parents to St. Petersburg from Bryansk, registered an apartment for them, and even managed to add an attic. When Narusova began renovations and cracks appeared in the house, she responded to the residents’ complaints with rudeness. These facts and facts accumulated, and the moment came when they simply laughed at the phrase “Sobchak is an honest man.”

The end of Sobchak's career

And yet, the decline of Sobchak’s career did not begin because of the discontent of the townspeople. Anatoly Alexandrovich himself, in his book “A Dozen Knives in the Back,” puts forward the following version: in 1995, Boris Yeltsin started a conversation about how he was tired of being at the helm, and in response, Anatoly Alexandrovich advised him to leave his post. It was unforgivable! Yeltsin had a similar conversation with many, and everyone flatteringly assured that he was still in power.

By unspoken order of the president, they began to collect incriminating evidence against Sobchak. They found a formal reason - his niece getting an apartment in the center. A real persecution began in the press. What was not attributed to the disgraced politician: he enjoys his official position and has mistresses... As a result, he lost the election of governor of St. Petersburg in June 1996 to his deputy, Vladimir Yakovlev. When asked what feelings he was experiencing, Anatoly Alexandrovich replied: “Strong disappointment in some people from my circle who betrayed me.”

The story didn't end there. In October 1997, Sobchak was brought in as a witness in a case of abuses in government, and then he himself was accused of corruption. When he was called in for questioning, his wife urgently intervened. Lyudmila Borisovna was sure that her husband would be arrested, and insisted on his immediate hospitalization, and later organized a flight to Paris. Everything happened unexpectedly even for him: “I was thrown into Parisian life from the train of my usual life at full speed. And now it’s no longer you who control her, but she who controls you.”

In France, Sobchak underwent treatment, gave lectures, wrote articles and books, but even here he was not left alone. In September 1998, there was a new charge from the Prosecutor General's Office of bribery and abuse of official position. “Our law enforcement system is turning into a law enforcement system,” the doctor of legal sciences sadly noted.

He returned to Russia only in the summer of 1999, when Vladimir Putin became chairman of the government. In November, the case against Sobchak was dropped. Maybe he should have returned to university and taken up science, but Anatoly Alexandrovich was burning with resentment - he wanted to prove his honesty to everyone, and there was only one way - to return to power. It didn’t work out: he lost the elections to the State Duma in December 1999. Sobchak was going to run for governor of St. Petersburg, but did not have time: on the night of February 20, 2000, he died. The official cause of death is acute heart failure.

His death immediately became overgrown with the most absurd details. Allegedly, in a random hotel somewhere near Kaliningrad, politicians decided to have fun, and a mixture of alcohol and Viagra would kill even a young person. There was another version - “they removed it because he knew too much”, the recipe is the same - a “killer” cocktail. However, an autopsy showed the absence of alcohol and toxic substances in the blood. One thing remains: Anatoly Alexandrovich took everything that was happening to his city, his country too close to his heart, so his heart could not stand it.

Next we read:
"The story of my own family common for Russia: on the father’s side, the grandfather is a Russified Pole, the grandmother is from a respectable Czech family; On my mother’s side, my grandfather is Russian, my grandmother is Ukrainian from near Kharkov. And in the end - Russians both in language, and in culture, and in what Mikhail Zhvanetsky accurately defined as the “Russian-stomach population”.
Russian cuisine, the general penchant for eating well and tasty, unite us and make similar friend on a friend, perhaps more than anything else." After all, he knew that many people were interested in this topic, but he said nothing more. He deliberately did not give the specific names of his ancestors. But from what he said, it clearly follows that he is a non-Russian, a crossbreed." .
“My paternal grandfather, Anton Semenovich, was a machinist. My father, Alexander Antonovich, also started as an assistant driver. Then my father graduated from the Institute of Railway Transport. However, he was not allowed to study in peace: either the fight against the Basmachi movement, or various agricultural campaigns. From the drawing board - to the revolver, from the revolver to the seeder, and so he became a public figure.
Mom's name was Nadezhda Andreevna. She is an accountant by profession. Mom was kind. And very resilient, as mothers of four sons can be. And when I grew up, I realized that my mother was not only exceptionally efficient, but also highest degree a decent person. The family was supported by her. We had two more grandmothers. Both could no longer work, which means we can imagine our modest existence: three little ones (one of my brothers, Vladislav, died at the age of two) and two dependent old ones - no joke.
The first trouble came in 1939. My grandfather, an old party member and active participant in the revolution, was arrested.
The war soon began, and my father went to the front. Mom received three hundred rubles, and a loaf of bread at the market cost one hundred” (Walking into Power, p. 27).

In his book “A Dozen Knives in the Back,” Sobchak wrote:

“I have a special attitude towards gambling and casinos - I have never played in my life and will never play! The reason for this is purely family: in my youth I gave my word to my grandmother, whom I loved and revered very much (God bless her!), that I would never I won't play gambling. She loved me and singled me out from other grandchildren - probably because I look very much like my grandfather. And not only in appearance, but, according to her, in character. I can’t judge - I don’t remember my grandfather: he died when I was only two years old.
My grandmother was from a wealthy and respectable Czech family, but sudden love and opposition from her family forced her to essentially run away from home, trusting her fiancé, my grandfather. They lived happily, there were many children, but my grandmother had a dream - to save money and open a store similar to the one her parents had. When the dream was close to coming true, my grandfather lost all his money in a casino in 1914. Hence my grandmother’s hatred of gambling.”
(Anatoly Sobchak. A dozen knives in the back. An instructive story about Russian political morals. M.: Vagrius Publishing House. Petro-News Agency. 1999, pp. 57-58).

After Sobchak’s death, Lyudmila Narusova, his widow, told Faces of Russia about some legends preserved in the Sobchak family:

"The Legend of romantic marriage Anatoly Alexandrovich's paternal grandfather, Anton Semenovich, and Anna Ivanovna's grandmother, is as follows. The impoverished nobleman Pan Sobchak (in the Polish version the surname is pronounced with an emphasis on the first syllable and is still very common in Poland) fell in love with a Czech girl from a bourgeois family who lived in Moravia. The girl’s parents were against such a marriage, considering the groom unworthy of a bride from a wealthy family, and the arrogant nobleman had no choice but to simply steal her. And since she had many brothers, out of harm’s way, he took her to the then unknown Russia. The marriage turned out to be very happy, children were born, only one thing bothered Anna - she really wanted to repeat the history of her family by starting some kind of her own business. They saved money for several years, and now, when the required amount had already been collected, the grandfather completely lost in the casino (he was a very gambling person, a gambler). This dramatic event for the Sobchaks later turned out to be their salvation - the revolution broke out, and if they had owned their own business by that time, one can imagine what would have happened to the family. But at that moment for the grandmother it was, of course, a great trauma, which left a deep mark. long years. She lived long life and when she was dying, she called Anatoly to her and took an oath from him: never to get involved in politics and not to play in the casino. Grandmother’s fears regarding politics were apparently caused by the fact that grandfather was a member of the Cadet Party, then helped establish Soviet power in Central Asia (and, by the way, his portrait hung in the Kokand museum), but he was not forgiven for his noble origin and bourgeois past - in During the Stalin years he was repressed. That’s why the grandmother begged her grandson not to get involved in politics. The boy knew nothing about politics, so he did not answer his grandmother’s first demand, but promised only to never gamble.
And when we subsequently traveled with him, we visited different countries, and in Monte Carlo, and Baden-Baden - in largest casinos world, Anatoly Alexandrovich never, even out of curiosity, stood up to the gambling table. To all my requests - well, let’s play for at least 10 dollars - he invariably answered: “No. You are welcome. But I can’t, I made an oath to my grandmother.”

"When did the second one begin? World War, and Hitler attacked Poland, the Sobchak family lived in Kokand. Anatoly grew up in a multinational environment - Bukharan Jews, Uzbeks, Greeks, Armenians, Koreans, Tajiks, Ukrainians, Russians, and exiled Lithuanians lived in their area. And the Sobchaks’ neighbor and close friend of their family was an Uzbek, an important boss in the Kokand city executive committee. One night he came to them and said that he had received a Stalinist directive to evict all Poles to Siberia within 24 hours. The neighbor said that he kept several blank passport forms at home, and if the Sobchaks agreed, he could “correct” their nationality. So they changed from Poles to Russians overnight. On Anatoly this family history made a great impression, then he realized that people are divided into good and bad, and not into Uzbeks and Russians.”