Galina Volchek uses a wheelchair. Galina Volchek in a wheelchair at Nina Doroshina's funeral shocked with her painful appearance Galina Volchek in a wheelchair

Photo: Persona Stars, Yatsina Vladimir/TASS

Galina was born in the family of the famous director and cameraman Boris Volchek and screenwriter Vera Maimina. The most famous theater actors, directors, and screenwriters entered Volchek’s house; from infancy, the girl was surrounded by the romance of bohemian life and closeness to art.

Among her parents' friends, Gali's true Nordic character was formed, but her parents, especially her mother, stubbornly did not notice this. The main thing was that my daughter was studying well. Galya had not upset her mother for the time being. She brought in only A's, received certificates and did not try to stand out in any way. Until one day my parents divorced.

Volchek harbored a grudge against her mother, who for so long did not believe that the child had grown up and become a person. The father, with whom the girl stayed, tried to somehow curb her manifested harsh temper, but it was all in vain. Rebelling, the future director even changed her last name to Volchok - this is how she tried to emphasize that she no longer related to her parents.

But teenage storms, like a new surname, soon became a thing of the past, because it was necessary to prepare for admission. Dad, seeing that he had raised a modest, quiet person with a difficult character, suggested that I try to study at the Gorky Literary Institute. But here, too, the parent was late with her advice: she already knew that she would only enter the Moscow Art Theater School.

And so it happened. I confronted my dad with the fact that he needed to update his wardrobe for the entrance exams. He took her to a tailor, who built an absurd suit with bulky shoulders for the overweight, complex girl. In this form, she had already completed two rounds of the coveted studio school when her mother found out about her dream of a stage. Worried about her daughter, she forced her to play it safe and take the documents to Shchuka as well.

Confident that they saw a deep provincial girl, the teachers sitting on the admissions committee laughed at the girl, but after the audition they announced that Galina had been accepted. She burst into tears and ran away, saying: “I don’t want to go to Shchuka, my mother made me!” She also went to the Moscow Art Theater Theater Studio and, of course, chose him.

Evstigneev

She has already become one of the popular students. She blossomed, learned to put on makeup and dress when she turned her attention to the provincial big-nosed Zhenya Evstigneev with sad, always heavy eyes. Someone will say later that for Volchek it was another rebellion - to fall in love and marry the most homely, albeit most talented guy on the course.

Zhenya walked around for weeks in just a shirt and stupid suits made of bad fabric, disgustingly tailored, not fashionable and in no way decorating him. And Galya already understood then: happiness is not in clothes. And after the wedding, she dressed up her personal genius so that the course trembled.

Evstigneev was immediately transformed when it came to fashionable items. Not a trace remained of the stamp of provincialism. His suits fit him like a glove, his gait changed, he gained confidence, and a slight negligence gave the man charm.

Wise woman

However, the dramatic changes in appearance did not worry Volchek’s parents. They knew that the young man, firstly, was seven years older than their daughter, and secondly, had already worked as a mechanic and milling machine before going to the theater. Behind the soul - nothing, what future is completely unknown!

The young began to live with Volchek’s parents. But they wished a different share for their only child. Scandals began. After the next one, the young people simply collected their things and left the apartment, towards the unknown. We spent the night at train stations for two days, and then we found a small cheap room and moved there.

Volchek and Evstigneev lived in love and harmony for nine long years. During this time, they gave birth to Galina’s only son, Denis, who has now become a director. But I couldn’t keep my husband. Evgeny has a new woman.

She was going through a difficult divorce. As luck would have it, it was during this period that both starred in films where love had to be played. But true female wisdom cannot be taken away from Volchek. She managed to remain on friendly terms with her beloved, albeit ex-husband until the end of his days.

Professor

Sovremennik quickly became popular and began touring. One day the troupe went to Murmansk, and after the performance Volchek became an involuntary witness to a conversation between a spectator and Igor Kvasha. He said that the production itself was junk. Except that Tabakov played well.

It turned out that the picky theatergoer is a Moscow scientist, professor of the construction institute Mark Abelev, who ended up in Murmansk for several days for work. In the capital, he made friends with Kvasha and was invited to dinner.

Galina was already preparing to cross swords with him in a verbal duel in the evening, but after talking a little, she cooled down. A charming man, reminiscent of Pierre Bezukhov, joked somehow especially subtly. Galina definitely liked him!

... and he liked Galina. He cared as warmly and generously as he laughed. He gave flowers, supported and listened, bought Galina an expensive astrakhan fur coat, and became friends with little Denis. Volchek was captivated and, of course, agreed to marry him. She felt enveloped in care on the one hand, but also received stings of jealousy on the other.

No one will now say whether Volchek was inclined to have affairs on the side, or whether Abelev went crazy for absolutely no reason. Only one day he found his beloved in a restaurant with actor Georgy Tovstoganov. He sent a waiter to call Galina into the foyer and took his wife home.

Volodya

She was tormented by jealousy; it is not surprising that she began to pay attention to other men. She left Mark for a scientist named Vladimir. At the time of the meeting, he also had a family, but both decided to sacrifice their legitimate halves for the sake of common happiness.

According to her friends, Volchek truly loved her physicist. She burned every time she saw that a man’s soul was still yearning for that family where there was a wife, children, a familiar way of life.

In addition, Volodya’s mother was very ill, so their meetings were rare. She suffered terribly from the thought that her beloved man was lying, and, saying that he should spend the evening with his mother, he went to his wife. In the end, she could not stand it and broke the vicious circle herself.

In one of the interviews, Galina Borisovna said that she directly forbade him to come and call, and also predicted that Volodya would pay for his decision to stay with his family all his life and consider his wife to blame. They say this is what happened: the man could not forgive his legal wife for parting with her beloved.

Now Volchek says that she sold herself into slavery to the theater, and this is true. The wonderful productions that are on at Sovremennik right now, as well as a real crown of brilliant artists, are the merit of Galina Borisovna.

At 60, she announced to her son that she planned to live alone and demanded respect for this decision. In the end, the director needs to take a break from the audience in order to return to the theater again and again and give new impressions, thoughts, feelings...

Galina Volchek is a Soviet and Russian theater director, actress and teacher, who in 1989 received the title of People's Artist of the USSR. In the theatrical environment, for example, she is called the “Iron Lady” - she is idolized and feared, respected and worshiped. Galina has done a lot in her life to raise culture to a high level, for which she became a holder of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland.

Galina Volchek was born in the early 30s in Moscow, into a family that was directly related to the stage and cinema. Galina’s mother, Vera Maimina, is a Soviet film screenwriter, and her father, Boris Volchek, is a famous director and cameraman who shot Soviet film hits “Pyshka”, “Thirteen”, “Lenin in October” and others.

As a child, Galya loved reading, so the girl’s free time rarely passed without her favorite book in her hands. Seeing his daughter’s interest, the father pushed Galina to enter the only Literary Institute in the Union named after. But it is unlikely that a child who has absorbed the life of an actor and director from the cradle would have chosen a different path. Galina entered the Moscow Art Theater School, where she studied until 1955.

Theater

The theatrical biography of Galina Volchek is full of significant events from the very beginning. A year after graduation, Galina Volchek, together with Liliya Tolmacheva, founded the new “Studio of Young Actors”, which will soon turn into the cult Sovremennik Theater.

And if in the late 50s Volchek appeared on stage as an actress, then in 1962 Galina Borisovna began her directorial career, which will go down in the history of Soviet and Russian art. Looking ahead, we note that in 10 years Galina will become the main director of the theater, and in the late 80s she will head the theater as artistic director.

In 1984, Galina Volchek plays Martha in the production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and this role becomes Volchik's last appearance in the theater as an actress. From this moment on, the artist focuses on her directorial career.

Volchek’s first directorial experience brings tremendous success. This was a production of William Gibson's play “Two on a Seesaw,” which has not left the Sovremennik stage for more than 30 seasons. Two more significant works of the director are “An Ordinary Story” based on the novel and the play “Three Comrades” based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque. The first of them brought Galina Volchek the USSR State Prize, and the second in 1999 “raised the ears” of Moscow and created a real sensation.

Galina Volchek was the first Soviet director to break the cultural blockade between the Soviet Union and the United States. She staged several performances of Russian classics in American theaters, including the famous Broadway, where a Russian troupe played for the first time since 1924. And these were not just performances “for show”. Volchek's tours were marked by one of the most prestigious US national awards in the field of dramatic theater - the Drama Desk Award, which for the first time in the long history of this award was awarded to a non-American theater.

The famous director shared her experience with the new generation, and taught mainly not in Russia, but abroad. For example, Galina Volchek recently conducted a course of lectures and practical classes at New York University.

Galina Volchek’s last production to date was William Gibson’s play “Two on a Swing” in 2015. This is the same work with which Volchek’s directorial career began. Fans see a mystical and cyclical meaning in this and note with sadness that the first work may be chosen by the director for production specifically in order to become the last.

Movies

Galina Volchek made her screen debut in 1957 in the film adaptation of the Spanish classic novel Don Quixote, playing the role of the strong maid Maritornes. Then there were roles in the films “The Sinful Angel”, “A Bridge is Being Built”, “King Lear” and others.

Sometimes the actress appeared only in episodes, but she also made them bright and unforgettable. For example, in the tragicomedy “Beware of the Car,” she simply played a tape recorder buyer in a store, but managed to attract the attention of the audience in ten seconds.

In the fairy tales “About Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Little Mermaid”, Volchek has negative roles of the wolf mother and the sea witch, but in them the actress perfectly realized her own talent. The films “Autumn Marathon”, “Unicum” and “Tevye the Milkman” were also successful.

In 1996, the actress stopped acting in feature films, but began to appear annually in documentary projects.

In the new millennium, Galina Volchek starred in a number of films dedicated to the actress’s colleagues: “The Life of Desdemona. ", "Unknown", ". Furious actor", "Three Loves", ". From hatred to love", ". A man with a past" and others.

The actress also starred in multi-part documentary projects “To Be Remembered”, “Idols” and “Film About a Film”, where she also talked about her colleagues, and not about herself. So far only books have been written about Galina Borisovna herself: “Galina Volchek. In the absurd and tragic mirror" by Gleb Skorokhodov, "Galina Volchek. As a rule, outside the rules" and "Galina Volchek. By itself” by Marina Raikina.

Galina Volchek tried herself in cinema and as a director. True, for a long time she simply filmed her best theatrical productions “An Ordinary Story”, “Hurry to Do Good”, “The Cherry Orchard” and many others. But she also had experience filming original scripts, for example, the heavy psychological dramas “Echelon” and “Steep Route”.

In 2015, Galina Volchek suddenly returned to television screens as an actress in a feature series. The actress played herself in the drama “Mysterious Passion,” a film adaptation of the novel of the same name. The series tells about real creative people of the last century, who, for the sake of artistic storytelling, wear fictitious, but easily decipherable names.

Personal life

Officially, Galina Volchek was married twice. The actress's first husband is the famous actor Evgeny Evstigneev, with whom she lived for 9 years and gave birth to a son. The son of Volchek and Evstigneev also could not leave the world of cinema and became a director. The child did not save the acting marriage; Volchek and Evstigneev separated.

Volchek claims that she was the initiator of the divorce from Evgeniy Alexandrovich. Despite subsequent relationships, the actress did not have any more children; the son from Evstigneev remained the only child of Galina Volchek.

Galina's second husband is the Soviet scientist Mark Abelev, Doctor of Technical Sciences, who taught at the Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering. Their union also did not last long, and the couple divorced.

Galina Volchek’s third marriage was civil and lasted almost 10 years, but the director prefers not to remember this period. In her own words, she “had two husbands, several affairs and one misunderstanding.” After this relationship, she no longer tried to start a family, considering that it was impossible to completely devote herself to theatrical activities and at the same time be a happy family man.

Galina Volchek’s main hobby, as the director likes to say, is “making stars.” Of course, you can’t argue that thanks to Galina Borisovna, the world learned about a huge number of artists. But if we talk about hobbies, it is worth noting that Volchek is a good fashion designer and has created a number of memorable outfits.

In 1995, Galina Volchek agreed to nominate her own candidacy for elections to the State Duma and entered the federal list of the electoral association “All-Russian socio-political movement “Our Home is Russia”.

For four years, the director sat in the State Duma and worked as a member of the Culture Committee, but in 1999, by her own decision, she left the walls of parliament.

Galina Volchek now

Recently, the 83-year-old star’s health has begun to fail. The director often ends up in hospitals; the last time Galina Volchek was on March 21, 2016, was with suspected pneumonia. After Galina Borisovna’s health condition stabilized, the director returned home.

Today Galina Volchek uses a wheelchair, but details about the director’s health are not disclosed. The press has not come to a consensus on this matter: some claim that Galina Borisovna is confined to a wheelchair and no longer walks, others adhere to the optimistic theory that the director is simply trying not to burden himself and give the body rest.

At the same time, a wheelchair does not prevent Galina Volchek from organizing creative evenings, meeting with friends and attending social events.

On April 28, 2017, Galina Volchek received the title of Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation with the wording “for special labor services to the state and people.” Also in 2017, Galina Borisovna celebrated a double theatrical anniversary: ​​60 years of working at Sovremennik, 45 of them as chief director.

Filmography

• 1970 - “King Lear”
• 1975 - “Waves of the Black Sea”
• 1977 - “About Little Red Riding Hood”
• 1979 - “Autumn Marathon”
• 1983 - “Unicum”
• 1983 - “Black Castle Olshansky”
• 1985 - “Tevye the Milkman”
• 1992 - “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
• 2008 - “Contemporary”
• 2010 - “Catherine III”
• 2015 – “Secret Passion”

The state of health of eighty-three-year-old Galina Borisovna Volchek was discussed after she appeared in a wheelchair at the ceremony of awarding the Hero of Labor stars in the Kremlin on April 28, 2017. Among those who were awarded on the eve of International Workers' Solidarity Day was the artistic director of the Moscow Sovremennik Theater.

During the award ceremony, Galina Volchek did not rise from her wheelchair, which indicates that the condition of the musculoskeletal system of the actress and director requires a gentle regimen. The reason lies in the displacement of the spinal discs.

It all started a few years ago with back pain. For a consultation, Galina Volchek turned to the Israeli clinic Ilya Pekarsky Center for Spinal Surgery. Many stars were treated there at one time, including those with the consequences of sports injuries. There she was diagnosed and announced a possible surgical solution to the problem.

In the case of older patients, associated problems are:

1. degeneration of bone and connective tissue;
2. weakening of muscle tissue;
3. bone fragility.

To avoid possible risks, the artistic director of Sovremennik uses a wheelchair. However, this does not in any way prevent her from continuing her productive creative activity.

Rumors about Galina Volchek's illness

Galina Borisovna herself prefers not to talk about problems. He doesn’t have the image of a strong man who has no time to get sick. In part, this gives rise to a lot of speculation regarding her state of health.

In 2016, Galina Volchek was hospitalized due to complications from the flu. The diagnosis made by the doctors sounded like pneumonia. However, before it was made public by Galina’s relatives, the media spread a rumor about cancer.

Age makes itself felt to this courageous woman. So in 1999 she left the political field, as it was becoming increasingly difficult to cope with public and theatrical affairs.

Prognosis for the disease: apparently, Galina Volchek is undergoing therapy on an outpatient basis. At her age, surgery is very difficult to tolerate, so this method can only be used as a last resort. If specialists give her a chance to solve the problem in a more gentle way, she should use it. As for work and possible overloads, it is difficult to determine them as a destructive factor. Very often a person gives up precisely when he is taken away from what he loves.

The funeral service took place in her native theater, and many colleagues came to say a few farewell words to Nina Mikhailovna.

Among them was Galina Volchek, who has headed Sovremennik for many years. Those present noticed that Galina Borisovna looked exhausted and sick.

84-year-old Volchek was brought to the funeral ceremony in a wheelchair. She barely held back tears and hid her swollen eyes under dark glasses. Galina Borisovna looked so sick that many thought she was paralyzed.

In fact, the famous actress and director has not been able to fully walk for several years due to severe back pain.

Experts diagnosed Galina Volchek with an intervertebral hernia. Discs weakened by a herniation poorly fix the vertebrae of the body along the physiological axis, increasing the load on the muscles and causing unbearable pain. With this diagnosis, emergency surgery is sometimes prescribed.

Galina Borisovna turned for help to the Israeli Center for Spinal Surgery, where one of the world's most famous specialists in this field, surgeon Ilya Pekarsky, works.

At one time, he performed spinal surgery on Evgeni Plushenko, helped Stanislav Govorukhin and other Russian stars. The main problem is that Volchek does not have a very strong heart, so the operation can lead to fatal consequences.

In recent years, Volchek has been admitted to the intensive care unit several times with various diagnoses. The position of artistic director of a complex creative team brings stress and nervous situations every day.

Childhood

Young Galina spent her childhood reading books. She read a lot, learned to speak with intonation. In fact, she was a “gray” mouse. Galina had eternal two braids on her head. From school she brought only certificates. Her parents were proud of her. Especially mom. She bragged to everyone about how great her daughter was. In view of this, a conflict was brewing with my mother. She didn’t quite understand, or simply didn’t want to understand, that a person’s personality and essence are formed much earlier.

That is why Galina Borisovna soon changed her last name and became Volchok. But after many, many years I realized that this was all nonsense and idiocy. She regained her previous surname.

Of course, a childhood spent reading books yielded results in choosing a profession. Father wanted Galina to study at the Literary Institute. But only Volchek herself knew that she wanted to study only at the Moscow Art Theater. Galina Borisovna finally made her dream come true by graduating from the Moscow Art Theater School.

Theater

Galina Volchek. "Alone with everyone"

“Two on a Swing” is Volchek’s first work, which she directs. This performance was doomed to success. For thirty years, the play has been included in the theater program because it is a huge success among the audience.

This is followed by directorial works: “At the Lower Depths”, “The Cherry Orchard”, “Three Sisters”, “Steep Route”, Pygmalion”, “An Ordinary Story”, it will later be called one of the best performances by director Volchek. For him she received the USSR State Prize. The work “Three Comrades” became a real breakthrough on the Russian stage.

There were wonderful works: “The Princess and the Woodcutter”, “An Island of One’s Own”, “Weather for Tomorrow”, “The Scaffold”, “Stars in the Morning Sky”, “Death and the Maiden” and not only these, but also many other performances staged by the legendary Galina Borisovna Volchek.

The young director Galina Borisovna was the first to combine the cultures of the USA and the USSR. She is directing the play Echelon in Houston. The premiere took place at the Alley Theater.

Galina Volchek on video

When the Goodwill Games were held in Seattle, Volchek showed two performances: “Steep Route” and “Three Sisters.”

Volchek tours the world with his works. The director spends a lot of time in New York with his troupe. They show their performances on Broadway. These theater tours became the most prestigious awards in the field of drama theater, the Drama desk award. Moreover, this prize has never been awarded to an American theater.

Galina Borisovna is especially popular abroad. She is invited to stage plays in theaters in Germany, Finland, the USA, Hungary, and Poland.

Volchek also taught for many years abroad.

Movie

Personal life of Galina Volchek

Volchek’s second husband was Professor of the Construction Institute, Doctor of Technical Sciences Mark Yuryevich Abelev.

Afterwards there was a civil marriage in which she lived for ten years. Galina Borisovna made a conclusion for herself: “My whole life I brought myself to the point that a family became impossible for me. This is the natural state of a person who sold himself into slavery to the theater. The theater ground me in its meat grinder so much that it was impossible to connect it with something It would still be unnatural." Galina Borisovna lives and works in Moscow.

Awards

Volchek Honored Artist of the RSFSR, People's Artist of the USSR, RSFSR. She was awarded the USSR State Prize for the play “Ordinary History”. He has the “Own Track” award, two “Olympia” awards, and “Theater Star”. Volchek is an academician of the Russian Academy of Cinematographic Arts "Nika".

Galina Borisovna has staged more than thirty performances.

An actress and director in one person, she was a member of the KVN jury more than once, and the chairman of the Kinotavr-2005 jury.