Regina Zbarskaya: the life and death of the Red Queen

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

She was called "Soviet Sophia Loren" and "the most beautiful weapon of the Kremlin." Model Regina Zbarskaya managed to show the whole world: there is fashion in the USSR and Soviet women, if desired, can be graceful, beautiful and even luxurious. Alas, from her own experience, Zbarskaya realized that the distance from love to hate, from deafening success to complete oblivion is rather short. She happened to experience the triumph of the queen of the catwalk and the bitterness of an outcast woman. And the last Regina could not stand it. And hardly anyone would have survived.

Almost every star has its own legend. Today this technique is a classic of the PR genre. Young Regina Kolesnikova realized this when she was very young. It is still not entirely clear where the celebrity was born. According to one version, she was born in Vologda, in the family of a retired officer (this version was used by the creators of the series "The Red Queen"), according to another - in Leningrad, in a family of circus gymnasts. Regina herself told exactly the last option, specifying that her parents died while performing a dangerous stunt.

In 1953, at the age of 17, the girl came to conquer Moscow. She entered the Faculty of Economics of VGIK, at the same time began work in the House of Models, under the leadership of Vera Aralova, a famous fashion designer at that time. In the House of Models, Regina faced a serious confrontation: colleagues openly criticized her "western appearance" and laughed at the imperfect shape of her legs. Of course, almost all models start their careers in a highly competitive environment. But if you consider that in the 50s in the Soviet Union, the work of a fashion model was not included in the lists of honors, it is difficult not to admire Kolesnikova's steadfastness.

Cover with Zbarskaya

In 1961, Kolesnikova presented Aralova's collection in Paris. Moreover, Regina could boast not only of a spectacular appearance, but also of the ability to maintain small talk not only in Russian, but also in English and French. The European audience was delighted. The beauty from the USSR was admired by Pierre Cardin and Federico Fellini, French journalists called her "the most beautiful weapon of the Kremlin" and "Soviet Sophia Loren".

“All the models were good, but Regina seemed the best because she knew how to present herself. Even her flaw - imperfect legs - she presented as a virtue,”- the screenwriter Evgenia Solodovnikova recalled at that time.

Vyacheslav Zaitsev was of the same opinion. “Now the fashion models are mostly faceless,” the designer reasoned 15 years ago in an interview with the Ogonyok magazine. - And then there really were characters: Regina Zbarskaya, Rumia, Mila Romanovskaya, Augusta Vikhrova. Completely different from each other. With luxurious charm, with dignity. You had to be brave to decide on this profession. They were individuals and knew how to take risks. They looked great. Regina Zbarskaya was not just a stunning beauty, but also a clever girl."

Together with the success on the podium, a great love appeared in Regina's life - the Moscow artist Felix-Lev Zbarsky. He called Regina his muse and painted in the image of an ancient Roman goddess in illustrations to Ovid's Metamorphoses. And the model dreamed of family comfort and heirs. The couple got married and lived for several years in complete harmony. Until Regina got pregnant.

Lev Zbarsky

Zbarsky did not want children. And he gave his wife an ultimatum. She could not resist. Regina underwent an artificial termination of pregnancy. And this trouble was just the beginning. The star lost its nerves. Breakdown. Antidepressants as a means of numbing mental pain, forgetting about a failed attempt to create a normal family, relieving guilt.

And yet, Zbarskaya found the strength to work further, remaining the recognized queen of the podium. She was already about thirty years old, and during this period she actively collaborated with Vyacheslav Zaitsev. At the photo shoots of those years, Regina is a gorgeous woman with sadness in her eyes, which gives the image a special expressiveness.

Regina and young Zaitsev

Meanwhile, fate prepared several more difficult trials for Zbarskaya. In 1967, fashion designer Tatyana Osmerkina presented a red boucle outfit that became the hallmark of Soviet fashion. Art critics would call the stylish dress "Russia" later. Regina Zbarskaya, and the entire audience was absolutely sure that it was she, the Red Queen, who would represent the toilet to the European public. But … in the end, this honor was awarded to her main rival on the podium - Mila Romanovskaya.

Meanwhile, Lev Zbarsky became interested in Marianna Vertinskaya, then Lyudmila Maksakova, demanded a divorce from Regina and went to Maksakova altogether. Further - more: in the early 70s, the artist emigrated to Israel. And his former spouses were subjected to long and humiliating conversations with the KGB officers.

Zbarskaya again found herself on the brink. An affair with a handsome journalist from Yugoslavia seemed to the star a good way to forget and be comforted. But the savior turned out to be the executioner - Regina's beloved painted the details of the novel in bright colors in his book “One Hundred Nights with Regina Zbarskaya”. And he also accused the model of "snitching" on colleagues on stage.

And again, long conversations with harsh State Security officers. Excuses like "female weakness" were not accepted. The model could not stand it and tried to commit suicide. But then they managed to save her. Then there was another unsuccessful suicide.

In the late 70s, exhausted and withered, Zbarskaya returned to the Model House. Zaitsev, from old memory, gave her a job. “She has a tragic fate. But I always adored her,”the fashion designer recalled later. Only now the queen did not parade on the catwalk. She washed him after the shows: Zbarskaya became a cleaner.

She held on for a long time. But there is a limit to everything. In 1987, "Soviet Lauren" left. There are several versions. First: Zbarskaya died in a psychiatric clinic. Second, she committed suicide by taking a lethal dose of antidepressants. Third: Regina was helped to leave this world. The burial place of one of the most striking models of the USSR is also unknown. According to the most common version, the star's body was cremated. The ashes remained unclaimed.