2023-07-14 20:10:47
This year, 15 years have passed since the most important of the “girls”, the “queen of the gas station” Nadezhda Rumyantseva, passed away. Having played her star roles in the 50s and 60s, the actress began to disappear for a long time abroad. There she lived with her diplomat husband Willy Khshtoyan. Remembering his “Madame Nadia”, who has always been in the spotlight at any international reception, 91-year-old Willy Vartanovich is still holding back tears with difficulty.
About age
– My God, how time flies! And as if everything was just yesterday. I recently turned 91 years old. And on my 90th birthday, friends and former employees came to me, I went out into the street, and in the yard, together with my neighbors, we celebrated noisily. It was simply impossible to put so many people in an apartment. Champagne, toast, inflated balloons… All the local children were happy – the balloons were left to them. The anniversary was arranged by employees of the company where I worked until recently. I just now retired.
And I continue to live in an acting house on Chernyakhovsky Street in Moscow, next to the Aeroport metro station. 57 years already here. At first, Nadia was given a tiny apartment in the same house, and then, in the early 90s, we changed it to a larger one. And then I finally got my own spacious office.
About Famous Neighbors
– Oleg Dobrodeev lived in our house with his family. It is now that he is the head of the Rossiya TV channel, and I remember when his journey was just beginning. Actors Zhora Yumatov lived with his wife Muza Krepkogorskaya, director Leonid Gaidai, Maya Bulgakova with her husband Petya, Gena Yudin, Vsevolod Sanaev, Mikhail Gluzsky, Tatiana Peltzer, Lyubov Sokolova… You can’t count them all. But, alas, none of them are already in this world.
With Bulgakova, for example, we are full peers. But she passed away almost 30 years ago. Her daughter Masha remained in her apartment, who gave me boxing gloves for my anniversary. But I was always more friendly with the male neighbors, and I rarely talked with women. I saw that many of the ladies tried to “get acquainted” with me with a hint that my Nadia was no longer young. Ridiculous attempts! For me, my wife has always been the best! I kept her loyalty and devotion.
Mindful that Khshtoyan is not only a diplomat, but also a master of sports in boxing, his neighbor Maria Gabrilovich, daughter of the movie star Maya Bulgakova, presented him with boxing gloves for his 90th birthday
Georgy Yumatov, like me, was a passionate motorist. Sometimes he took car keys from me and compared how the engines of our cars work. In the 90s, he, a front-line soldier who walked with a shrapnel in his back, like many other celebrities, was on the verge of survival. They lived with the Muse, to be honest, badly and not amicably. He loved, and she let herself be loved. And why such a marriage, when both suffer?
Zhora liked to drink and, knowing that they always give me a bunch of bottles in the service, he often guarded me at the entrance. Even in the early morning, when I took our dog Yudzhik with Nadya for a walk. Zhora at that time would have been already drunk and every time he said: “I’m waiting for you, Willy!”
Nadia at some point categorically forbade me to give him a drink, but I felt sorry for him, and one day I came up with a plan: “Zhora, come to our doors and wait. Nadia will be in the kitchen, and I will quietly take out a glass for you. Whiskey poured him and went to work. After a while, Nadia calls: “Willy, I asked you not to get Zhora drunk. As soon as you left, he rang the doorbell and asked him to pour, they say, the husband promised. I laughed for a long time: when did I say that to him?!
Spouses Khshtoyan and Rumyantseva with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Gromyko (in the center) at a reception in Egypt (1972)
Yumatov ended up in prison, in fact, because of drunkenness. I drank with the janitor who buried his dog, and he said something anti-Soviet. They say, if you, Georgy Alexandrych, had not fought and the Germans would now be in charge here, we would live better. And Zhorka, who went through the whole war, of course, might not stand this. True, he was sure that he did not have a cartridge in his hunting rifle, but it turns out he did. He wanted to scare the villain, but it turned out that he killed him.
Alcohol, and also drugs, also killed the daughter of our other neighbors – Alla Larionova and Kolya Rybnikov. At first, Rybnikov passed away, then Alla. And 20 years ago, because of alcohol and drugs, their Alena went for her parents. As for the relationship of the spouses, Kolya loved his wife so much that he closed his eyes to many things. It is clear that Larionova was interesting and charming, but with age everything went away. And it seems to me that she was able to truly appreciate and understand who Kolya really was for her only following his death.
The talented Gena Yudin also drank. I immediately gave him a bottle, and he tried to stretch it for a long time. Clearly, this is a disease.
About the first family and diplomatic work
– I married my first wife Tatyana, an employee of the Lenin Library and the mother of my daughter, when I was sent to Iran. Only married people were taken there. Here in 1958, even before the birth of our Karina, they signed.
But as a result, I divorced Tanya, they turned out to be completely different. And Karina became a journalist, she worked at Kommersant. And now my daughter is 63 years old, and she is retired. Helps me, cooks delicious dinners.
She has been divorced for a long time, her son, my beloved grandson Willy, is 38 years old. He and his wife Masha (both graduated from the Academy of Foreign Trade) have been living and working in Malaysia for 16 years. They have two children – a daughter and a son, my beloved great-grandchildren.
Once I also worked in Malaysia, I maintained business relations with that region for the USSR. And I still have a friend there – billionaire Robert Kuok, the owner of a large company. He will be 100 years old this fall.
And then we supplied him with sugar and fertilizers, in return we bought palm oil from him. So he took his grandson to work. Willy Jr. is there with the issues of shipping shipments, brings a good profit to the company.
After leaving prison, Georgy Yumatov was diagnosed with an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta. From her break, he died at 71 in the fall of 1997. In the photo – the widow Muza Krepkogorskaya at the coffin of the people’s artist
About my Hope
– For more than 40 years of life with Nadia, we have always been for each other and just a couple. Longed for a meeting if someone went on a business trip. But we traveled through so many countries together! Nadyusha is small, smiling, naturally talented, completely unstarry and unpretentious. She learned English and French, she might even tell jokes in them. At diplomatic receptions, she always communicated with everyone. The soul of the company, might untie anyone’s tongue.
When we met by chance in 1965 at the birthday party of a mutual friend, we quickly got to talking. She knew nothing regarding foreign trade, and I, in general, knew little regarding cinema. But Nadyusha turned out to be so inquisitive. While walking from Maryina Roshcha to her house near the Aeroport metro station, we talked all this time. “Girls”, of course, I watched, and it was very interesting to me with her.
By that time, I had left my wife, leaving her and my daughter an apartment, and lived with my parents. And then he moved to Nadia. She was then at the peak of popularity, and I studied and worked, met in fits and starts.
Although I am an Armenian, I have lived all my life in Moscow and, of course, I am Russian to my liking. Nadya said to me: “Willy, I don’t know how to cook Armenian dishes, maybe your mother will tell me?” And my mother, so pleased, wrote a whole notebook for Nadia with national recipes.
Best of all, Nadia turned out khash on beef legs. And this is the night not to sleep, so much was required to cook them. And so every weekend, when our friends gathered. In the end, Nadia howled. Like, once every few months – one, and every week – excuse me!
So we lived for three years without a painting, and when they decided to send me, the deputy head of the department, on another business trip abroad, of course, a seal was needed. I asked, “What do you think regarding marriage?” – “As you say!” she replied. I didn’t even think regarding my career, as long as I felt good. They played a modest wedding with parents and friends in the Aragvi restaurant.
And then – a business trip to Egypt. She took care of my health and at the right time at the receptions she spoke Armenian “khekhry”, that is, “do not drink”.
Nadezhda Vasilievna on her 70th birthday with her husband Willy Vartanovich, his daughter Karina and grandson Vilik
When the war began in Egypt, all the wives of diplomats were taken to the Union. And mine was back. The captain of the ship on which Nadia was sailing turned out to be an Armenian. And he sent an encryption that it will be coming soon. Meet, please. I come angry to Alexandria: “What the hell did you sail for? War!” And she smiles: “I don’t want to sit at home. You are here and I will be with you!” And life boiled over. The wives of colleagues also raised a high and returned. What made me happy. Because some of our diplomats without second halves began to drink hard.
With my daughter Karina Nadia became very friendly. And I am very guilty before Nadia that we never gave birth to a common child. They were quite healthy, but I put everything off – work, business, and then it was already too late. But she never blamed me for anything.
Abroad, Nadia led a secular life, she went to a women’s club, she had various interesting acquaintances and meetings.
I earned money, put it on her table and said: “Spend it on whatever you want.” He persuaded me to buy beautiful things for myself, because we will not take money to the next world. The vendors laughed at us. Usually the opposite happens: the wife asked her husband to buy her at least something. And I convinced Nadia: “You go out into the world, you just have to have a lot of expensive clothes, you are the face of the USSR.” And she thought she had enough of everything.
… My Nadya has been bringing good things to people from the screen for 50 years, rest in peace to her. I come to the cemetery, stand, cry and wait for a meeting with her.
▼ sources
Photo source: Social networks, Personal archive, Evgeny Volkov / “Archive” EG “, Viktor Budan / TASS
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