Regina Zbarskaya - biography and personal life

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

The world famous Soviet fashion model, who was called either the weapon of the Kremlin or the Soviet Sophia Loren, Regina Zbarskaya, whose biography, whose personal life is now known to few, has remained a mystery to biographers and film historians. Surrounded by a light haze of mystery, she herself came up with the facts of her biography, which even close friends willingly believed.

Childhood and youth

With the same frequency and approximately the same degree of probability, Regina's biographers voiced two versions: the first claimed that she was born in Vologda, her mother was a doctor, and her father was a military man. The second, more romantic, but poorly confirmed by facts, said that the parents were circus performers from Yugoslavia, who crashed while performing a dangerous stunt, which made the girl a pupil of an orphanage.

At the zenith of her fame, Regina Zbarskaya came up with a romantic and very tragic legend: her parents, artists of the Leningrad circus, allegedly died many years ago while performing a complex act. "Poor thing!" - the fans sympathized. They, of course, did not know that Regina's father and mother were, but the girl did not want to talk about them. And what can I say? Father is a military man, mother is an accountant, both are simple workers from Vologda, where in 1935 Zbarskaya herself, nee Kolesnikova, was born.

She risked remaining an ordinary provincial, especially since her appearance was appropriate: chubby cheeks, a long braid. Yes, just not about that she dreamed of: Regina thought that she could become an actress, a creative person … Alas, she was not taken to the acting department of the Moscow State Institute of Cinematography, she had to go to the economic one.

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Studying 17-year-old dreamer was of little interest. After class, she hurried to bohemian parties, where creative youth gathered.

It was there that Vera Aralova, an artist-fashion designer of the All-Union House of Models, noticed her. I looked from the side - nothing special, also crooked legs. But there was something eye-catching about Regina.

Serving the catwalk

In Soviet times, the term "model" was not at all associated with the world of fashion, but was perceived exclusively utilitarian as a model or standard of something. The beautiful girls who shone on the catwalk were called fashion models. They received very modest fees and dreamed of a rich groom who would not dare to resist their charm. All this had little to do with our heroine.

She stood out favorably against the background of many colleagues with extraordinary beauty and refined manners. Despite the far from ideal shape of the legs (they were slightly bent), Regina always knew how to beat this drawback, thanks to which many women with similar problems stopped experiencing an inferiority complex.

The first public screening with the participation of Zbarskaya took place in 1961. She showed charming women's boots with zippers on the shaft to the Parisian public. Interestingly, the girl was officially listed as a worker of the 5th category, formally having nothing to do with fashion.

After that, frequent trips abroad began, which most Soviet citizens never dreamed of, and Zbarskaya was allowed even more than others during such business trips. For example, she was allowed to go to the city on her own, which her colleagues could only dream of.

The common consciousness perceived fashion models as women of easy virtue, so many models tried not to spread about their occupation. Regina was one of the few who did not hide her profession and knew her own worth.

In the 60s, the Leningrad magazine "Fashion" set the tone in the secular fashion industry, and it was a great honor to get on its pages. Its publishers often talked about the creations of designers from Kuznetsky Most. In 1967, the International Fashion Festival was held in Moscow, which was attended by the best couturiers of the planet.

A new issue of the magazine was timed to coincide with this event, on the cover of which Regina flaunted in a dress with the symbolic name "Russia", stylized in the manner of Old Russian icon painting. The issue of the magazine spread all over the world, and Zbarskaya became a real fashionable symbol of the Soviet Union.

After Regina's hair was shortened and a page-style haircut was made (V. Zaitsev convinced her of the need to change her image), she turned into a real "Italian beauty". The foreign press, reeling from the beauty of the secular model, immediately called her “Russian Sophia Loren”.

In the service of the motherland

It is believed that Regina actively collaborated with the KGB and even took part in special operations to collect information about the political moods of guests of the capital who came from the West. One of the objects of her observation was allegedly the famous French chansonnier Yves Montand, with whom, on instructions from the security services, she maintained a relationship.

Career decline

After the departure of the former spouse of L. Zbarsky abroad, the affairs of the model, who had lost its former attractiveness, did not go well at all. She opened her veins and ended up in a psychiatric hospital. After completing a course of therapy, Regina tried to return to the podium, but quickly realized that the way there was closed, and she simply could not do anything else. V. Zaitsev, who took pity on her, arranged for her to be a cleaner of the premises, and now once the main star of the Soviet podium watched others walk on it.

Shortly before her death, Regina's former lover, a journalist from Yugoslavia, published the book "One Hundred Nights of Regina Zbarskaya", in which he spoke about Zbarskaya in an unpleasant light. The book said that the model had love affairs with representatives of the ruling Soviet elite. In addition, it provides details about Zbarskaya's denunciations of other models.

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As the author claimed, having arrived in Moscow, he started an affair with Regina, courted beautifully and promised to marry. She fell in love with him and, trusting, began to tell him some secrets, which he secretly recorded on a dictaphone. They became the main material of this work.

Having become acquainted with the contents of the book, Regina again made a suicide attempt. In parallel with this, the KGB took an active interest in her persona. The confluence of these two circumstances again led the former fashion model to a psychiatric hospital. After the end of the treatment, Zbarskaya helped V. Zaitsev as best he could, buying her shoes and clothes. But exacerbations of mental illness and unexplained breakdowns occurred more and more often. During seizures, she could tear off her clothes and shout that she was not worthy to wear good things.

In 1984 she starred for a fashion magazine for the last time. Alas, not a trace remained of the former beauty. Even makeup and artificial lighting could not hide the dull eyes and excess weight.

The Voice of America was the first to announce the death of the model. In the Soviet capital, there were various rumors about this, from opening the veins to poisoning with medications. It is also unclear where she died - in a psychiatric hospital or at home. One thing is certain - the tragedy happened on November 15, 1987. According to some reports, at the time of her death, she had a notebook with her, but there is no information about this in the investigation protocols. Meanwhile, this source could shed light on the circumstances of the incident.

The funeral of the former prima of the Soviet catwalk was held behind closed doors, none of the colleagues at the Model House was present. The burial place of Regina Zbarskaya is also covered with mystery.

Personal life

They say love makes a person weak … In the early 1960s, at another star party, Regina saw Him.

The Moscow artist Lev Zbarsky differed from other men in his formidable and concentrated appearance, and behaved in an emphatically gallant manner. He considered himself a serious person, and therefore considered it necessary to end even a light affair with a stamp in his passport. Regina did not mind: she suddenly realized that happiness lies not only in fame and expensive clothes.

Over time, Zbarskaya realized that for the sake of her family she was ready to give up everything she had. She wanted a daughter and a son, but her husband refused to talk on such topics, and she went all-in. I just came and said, "I'm pregnant." “Well,” Leo said, clearing his throat. "So we will have an abortion." Anything, but just not such a reaction Regina expected from her loving spouse. He saw in the young wife, first of all, a muse and was afraid that after the birth of the child she would sink into diapers and cease to inspire him.

A couple of weeks after the abortion, Regina realized that she had committed murder. She tried to suppress her feelings of guilt with the help of strong antidepressants. They acted, but they clouded their minds. It was the beginning of the end.

Betrayal

Many looked askance at Zbarskaya. She often traveled abroad; it was rumored that Regina was making friends with difficult people, even connected with the KGB. In suitcases she carries fur coats and jewelry, and in her lovers there are people whose names are forbidden to mention. Which of this is true and which is false is still unknown. She was often summoned to the Lubyanka, but what they asked about, what they found out, and to this day a secret sealed with seven seals.

Regina could endure a lot, close her eyes to many things, except for one - the betrayal of a loved one. Despite the reputation of a decent man, Zbarsky, like any creative person, was an addicted person. Tired of Regina, he found himself a new consolation - the beautiful Marianna Vertinskaya. And soon, fed up with her, he switched to the next victim - Lyudmila Maksakova.

After the divorce, Regina tried not to follow the adventures of her ex-husband. But, seemingly, having already forgotten about his existence, she suddenly received news. So, in 1970, Zbarskaya learned that Leo and Lyudmila had a son. He didn't let her become a mother! Zbarsky's new marriage turned out to be short-lived, he soon left his family, emigrating to America. But for Regina, all this was no longer important. Double betrayal was the last straw that filled the woman's mind. The amount of pain exceeded the acceptable threshold: tranquilizers no longer helped. Maybe if there was a close friend nearby, everything would have turned out differently … Regina was taken to a psychiatric hospital.

A handful of pills, after which an unbearably headache ached, an electric shock, from which it is impossible to recover … After the "treatment" the depression went away, but indifference to everything that was happening appeared. The only thing left for Zbarskaya was work. The woman came to the Model House with hope, but was greeted with a cold welcome. "Who will take her to work after the psychiatric hospital?" - whispered behind Regina.

And yet they took it. Elena Vorobei, deputy director, was filled with pity. Having received a second chance, Zbarskaya tried her best not to let her savior down. But the age made itself felt - the models were written off early, and the pills did not go unnoticed. Zbarskaya's gait became uncertain, her gaze faded. “Sorry, you can see it yourself, nothing comes of it,” Sparrow summed up, signing the letter of resignation.

In his personal life, too, everything was not easy. Zbarskaya's new lover, a young Yugoslav journalist, turned out to be a scoundrel. After parting with her, he released the book "100 Nights with Regina Zbarskaya", in which he revealed many intimate details of their relationship, the recognition of the model herself about the connection with members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, denunciations of her colleagues True, even if she wanted to, this book was not found, they say, the entire circulation was immediately withdrawn.

Emotionally exhausted, morally crippled, at the age of 50, Regina Zbarskaya looked like an old woman. Vyacheslav Zaitsev tried to help a longtime acquaintance by arranging her as a cleaner in the Model House, but Regina could not rub the podium on which she had walked with a rag. Only occasionally did she come to look at young girls who were just starting their journey. She sat in a corner where no one saw her, and gazed thoughtfully into the distance, remembering her youth.

Death

The book published by Yugoslavs was almost immediately withdrawn from sales, but Zbarskaya faced a real political scandal, after which she twice tried to commit suicide, but both times to no avail. The last days of the podium legend spent in a psychiatric hospital and, according to the attendants, felt the strongest guilt for the fact that she spoke so badly about her country and people she knew.

The third suicide attempt was the last. Poisoning became the cause of death of the model. Regina Zbarskaya drank a large dose of sleeping pills and died on November 15, 1987. According to the official version, she managed to get poisoned in the hospital where she had stayed recently; according to other sources, the woman took the medicine at home and started calling her acquaintances in order to apologize for the denunciations that had once been written.

None of her former colleagues was present at the funeral of Regina Nikolaevna. The public learned about the death of Zbarskaya only from the news of Radio Liberty, but the Soviet media were silent about this tragedy. The body of the legendary fashion model was cremated, but it is still unknown where her grave is.

The feature film "The Red Queen" was made about the life, career and death of Regina Zbarskaya, where the role of the famous woman was played by the aspiring actress Ksenia Lukyanchikova. In addition, viewers could see the documentary investigation.