In what year did tender May appear? The Curse of Tender May

72 rebounds, 2 of them this month

Biography

The group "Tender May" was formed on December 6, 1986 in the Orenburg boarding school No. 2. Then it consisted of only two people: a talented poet and composer, who at that time worked as the head of the music circle of the same boarding school, Sergei Kuznetsov, and a thirteen-year-old pupil of the Akbulak orphanage, Yuri Shatunov. . Already for the New Year they created a musical program, which they performed at the same boarding school. And then there were rehearsals, writing new musical material, participation in a show of amateur performances in orphanages, Shatunov’s escape from the boarding school and rehearsals again. This is how 1987 passed. For the New Year holidays, the guys made a new program, and then, on February 18, they recorded Shatunov’s voice in one of the local cultural centers and, putting it on a musical soundtrack, thus created their first magnetic album. After that, Sergei gave it for a purely symbolic price to one of the music stalls at the local train station and...

And then something unprecedented happened: within a couple of months the entire Union was listening to “Tender May.”

This is how popularity came - the group began performing in local cultural centers, and media attention appeared. However, not everyone was ready for such a rapid rise of the local youth group; in particular, this did not suit the director of the boarding school, Valentina Nikolaevna Tazikenova, who began to “squeeze” the group in every possible way, motivating her actions with concern for the fragile psyche of Shatunov, who, in her opinion, was not ready for the popularity that has befallen him. After all, it’s one thing for a boarding school musical group performing at matinees and discos, which can always fill the gaps in cultural and entertainment events on a large scale, and another thing is for a group that attracts the attention of television and crowds of fans. The administration of the boarding school began to accuse Kuznetsov of exploiting a child and stealing musical equipment, which led to Sergei’s dismissal and the initiation of a criminal case. As a result, the group actually disintegrated.

Approximately then - in the summer of 1988, Andrei Razin, who actually works at the Moscow recording studio "Record", appears in Orenburg with the fake crust of an employee of the Ministry of Culture. Shortly before this, Razin accidentally heard about the Orenburg group, which was already quite popular at that time, and a plan of action was immediately born in his head. Having caused a stir in the “cultural elite” of the Orenburg region, Andrei hushes up the scandals associated with Kuznetsov and strictly forbids the boarding school management from letting the press near Yuri Shatunov, because only in this way, in the absence of any information about the group, will Razin be able to join the team and carry out his plans. Next, Andrei Razin persuades Kuznetsov to move to Moscow to work at the studio, promising to soon transport Shatunov there. Sergei agrees and on July 4, 1988 he arrives in the capital. However, in reality everything turns out differently; it turns out that in Moscow, with the light hand of Razin, complete strangers calling themselves the group “Tender May” have been performing for several days now to the soundtrack of Yuri Shatunov. Under the pretext of earning initial capital, Andrei Razin persuades Kuznetsov to participate in “tours”.

Seeing Razin’s inaction in transferring Shatunov to Moscow, Sergei himself goes to Orenburg and, without permission from the boarding school management, brings Yuri to Moscow on September 9, 1988.

Based on the current situation, Razin makes every effort and soon officially enrolls Shatunov in Moscow boarding school No. 24.

Soon the band was joined by Sergei Serkov (Shatunov’s friend from boarding school) as a drummer, and on January 3, 1989, Kuznetsov brought Igor Igoshin and Sasha Priko (keyboards) to Moscow from the Akbulak orphanage.

Also in January 1989, the “Morning Mail” program premiered the “White Roses” video, at the same time the country saw the main soloist of “Tender May” on the screen for the first time.

A little later on February 11, a musician arrives from Akbulak - an old acquaintance of Sergei Kuznetsov, thanks to whom the fateful meeting of Sergei Borisovich Kuznetsov and Yuri Vasilyevich Shatunov - Slava Ponamarev - took place.

However, the “expansion” of the creative team did not end there - later Razin created the studio “Tender May” under the banner of this, gathering a huge number of people and putting together several groups that, on behalf of the group, simultaneously performed in different cities, earning money simply unprecedented for pop performers at that time money.

Razin also persuades Kuznetsov to record a solo album for him, which is subsequently presented under the guise of “Tender May”. So Razin moves from the administration of the group to vocalists.

By that time, a rather unhealthy situation was developing in the group - relations between Sergei Kuznetsov and Andrei Razin were very strained. Sergei was not outdated by the current state of affairs, but he could not influence the current situation in any way.

And Kuznetsov left the band, having previously recorded the album “Adults” in March 1989 with the new soloist Alexander Priko. Subsequently, this album, simply superimposing Shatunov’s voice on the soundtrack, the group “Tender May” publishes in its own name, which noticeably “seats” Kuznetsov’s new team called “Mama”.

For two years in a row, in 1990 and 1991, during the school winter holidays in Moscow, the Olimpiysky Sports Complex hosted the largest concerts of the group "Tender May" - the show revue "White Roses - White Winter", which in its popularity and the number of tickets sold was eclipsed by the famous “Christmas meetings” of Alla Borisovna Pugacheva, who invited the most famous stars of the pop scene. Before these concerts, the very first music newspaper in the history of the Russian stage, published by the group itself, was sold in the foyer. "Tender May" now has its own printed organ with the same name. You could subscribe to the newspaper at any post office in the country.

Together with Sergei Kuznetsov, Alexander Priko, Igor Igoshin, Slava Ponomarev and a little later Sergei Serkov left “Tender May” to work in the new group.

Also, by the summer of 1989, the group “Tender May” was left by lead singer Konstantin Pakhomov, who worked with Kuznetsov back in Orenburg during the period when the boarding school administration persecuted the young team, stopping any meetings between Sergei and Shatunov. In fact, from the main composition of the group, only Yuri Shatunov remains with his director Arkady Kudryashov and, of course, Andrei Razin, who, having created countless clones of the famous group, held the reins of the team in his hands. Moreover, in order to maintain interest in the team, Andrei Aleksandrovich chose very controversial methods, which, in particular, later led to the collapse of “Tender May”. Namely, Razin periodically released news of a dubious nature to the press, which often had a very detrimental effect on the group itself. According to Andrei Razin, he believed that scandalous articles regularly appearing in print were able to keep the group afloat. However, in reality, everything turned out differently, the group began to develop a very scandalous reputation - it was overgrown with a lot of rumors, the faces of the soloists, who constantly changed in the group, did not have time to remember even the most devoted fans, plus the glory of the group working only under the “plywood”. All this led to the complete discredit of the team.

As a result, in January 1992, Yuri Shatunov left the “Tender May” group, and after some time Andrei Razin announced the dissolution of the group itself. The latest events have a very strong resonance in society, again not without the assistance of the team itself. Andrei Razin accuses Shatunov of seizing a mansion in the city of Sochi and threatens him with conscription into the ranks of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, he, in turn, broadcasts from television screens that Razin stole from him and does not think of giving up all the creative material, work book and passport.

However, over time, passions subside and after the release of several solo albums, former colleagues gathered together again in 1996 to take part in the election campaign of Gennady Zyuganov for the presidency of the Russian Federation. Several joint concerts are held, campaign advertisements with photographs of the “stars” are issued, and with the completion of election campaigns, Yuri Shatunov and Andrei Razin break up again in order to again disappear for several years from the sight of their fans. Andrey is involved in politics in the Stavropol region, Yuri lives in Sochi for some time, then leaves for Germany to learn the profession of a sound engineer, while occasionally giving concerts for local emigrants from Russia.

But everything changes Changes with the advent of the new millennium. In the wake of the rise of disco music, Shatunov makes remakes of old compositions and returns to the Russian big stage with this material in 2002. His songs are once again a resounding success, and although his popularity cannot even be closely compared to what it was during the heyday of “Tender May,” he again gathers halls, his videos are shown on TV, and his songs are heard from radios every now and then.

At the same time, Yuri Shatunov speaks on his own behalf, calling him his current brand, thereby emphasizing his non-involvement in the notoriety of “Tender May”. However, not everyone is so indifferent to the promoted name of the once popular group; interviews with Andrei Razin appear in the press, in which he announces a new reunion of the group led by Yuri Shatunov and holding grandiose performances similar to those that took place in 90 and 91. m years in Moscow, then about a new soloist who will take his old place. However, in 2002, while Razin, as usual, was making unrealistic promises, the former composer of “Tender May” Vladimir Shurochkin, who worked in the group after the departure of Sergei Kuznetsov, released, with his silent consent, his own songs (not his own!) in a new arrangement and performed by two unknown guys and one girl whose father he is, calling his work “Tender May NEW 2002”.

After this, Razin made accusations of illegal use of the group’s name and threats towards Shurochkin, who reciprocated. They are once again featured on television. Then information appears on the Internet either about Razin’s disruption of the presentation of the new album of Shurochkin’s group, or about changing its name, or about its performances abroad. At the same time, there are rumors that several groups calling themselves nothing less than the group “Tender May” are again traveling around the country.

At the moment, it can be stated that Shurochkin’s project is not a real success, his discs are sold in small quantities. Andrei Razin continues to be involved in politics, occasionally appearing on talk shows on central television channels with stories about “Tender May” and singing the song “White Roses.” The brilliant poet and composer Sergei Kuznetsov, although he has been engaged exclusively in music in Orenburg all these years, also does not have the desired success due to limited funding for his projects. And perhaps only Shatunov at the moment has relatively great popularity. After the release of the album “Gray Night,” in 2004 he released the album “If you want, don’t be afraid,” which is a compilation of old hits performed in almost their original sound and new compositions with lyrics, again written by Kuznetsov. However, this work is received by the public with more restraint.

Well, that’s all that can be said at the moment about the group called “Tender May”, if you don’t go into details However, it’s still, oh, how early to put an end to the history of the group. More than once again the sonorous name of the cult group “Tender May” will be heard on radios and televisions, and more than once we will hear the immortal hits of the legendary band!

Grown-up fans believe that one of the fans was involved in the deaths and misfortunes of the legendary 80s group.

In December 2017, it will be 31 years since the cult group of the 80s “Tender May” was created. They still talk about her to this day. But in recent years, conversations have increasingly revolved around the curse of the collective. In September alone, several members of the group died in different years.

Igor Igoshin, died at 19 years old

Igor Igoshin became the first member of the team to suffer an unexpected death. Igor was the bass player in the group. His producer of "Tender May" Andrey Razin brought from the Akbulak orphanage (Orenburg region) to Moscow in 1989. Razin always spoke of him as a talented musician.

Igor Igoshin did not work in the group for long, went to another team, and then served in the army. His body was found on February 29, 1992 on the porch canopy. They say that Igoshin, having received leave, rushed to Moscow because he learned about the wedding of his beloved girl. He even ended up as a guest at the celebration, and then began to “deal with” the groom’s friends. They said that he was then severely beaten, after which he was taken home. And literally an hour later Igoshin was found falling out of the window.

Igor died in intensive care. It is still not known whether it was suicide, an accident or murder. According to one version, the musician wanted to go down from the fourth floor through a drainpipe and fell through. On the other hand, they helped him.

Mikhail Sukhomlinov, died at 18

Misha Sukhomlinov I was a party animal and dreamed of becoming an artist. At one of the concerts, the boy met Andrei Razin, and soon became the keyboard player for Tender May. All the neighbors looked out the windows to watch the teenager leaving for work in the Chaika, which picked him up every morning.

Misha became his best friend in Tender May Yuri Shatunova. When the guy turned 18, he went into business, bought an apartment in Moscow and a luxury Cadillac. Despite the fact that Mikhail left the group, he continued to communicate closely with Shatunov. On the morning of September 29, 1993, friends left Shatunov’s house. Suddenly a shot was heard from a passing car. They say that Sukhomlinov died in the arms of Shatunov. There is also a version that the killer (he turned out to be a mentally ill person) aimed at Shatunov, but missed.

Publication from Andrey Razin “Tender May” (@razin_andrei_lm) Aug 16, 2017 at 4:16 PDT

Yuri Barabash (Petlyura), died at 22

Yura Barabash was a difficult teenager and a nickname Petliura received for his “exploits”. He learned to play the guitar in the yard. As Andrei Razin told reporters, one day he was walking down the street and heard from an open window a boy singing with a guitar. The producer liked it, he entered the entrance, found and invited the guy to Tender May.

Petliura became a soloist in the group, performing under the pseudonym Yura Orlov, and his mother was an accountant for the team. But Barabash worked with Razin for several months and decided to pursue a solo career.

On the night of September 27-28, 1996, he was relaxing with friends. As the press subsequently reported, the tragedy occurred when Barabash, being the only sober person in the company, took his friends in a newly purchased car to buy beer. Since Yuri had little driving experience, he lost control and the only one of the five people in the car died. Andrei Razin called another version: a wheel flew off the car, which is why the accident happened.

Arvid Yurgaitis, died at 35

Arvid Yurgaitis He was fond of rock and was a keyboard player in a little-known band. The producer of “Tender May” once noticed him at a party near the Bauman Institute and invited him, as a professional, to teach the guys how to play the keyboard and move correctly on stage.

Yurgaitis was a member of the group until its dissolution. The musician also died tragically in a fire at his own dacha on June 1, 2005. They said that after the collapse of Tender May, Arvid became addicted to alcohol. He dozed off with an unextinguished cigarette, which caused the fire. Yurgaitis began saving things from the burning house and when he grabbed the tube TV, it exploded in his hands.

Vyacheslav Ponomarev, died at 37 years old

The bass guitarist was the oldest in the group and met Yura Shatunov in the orphanage. He left the team even before the collapse of Tender May. As Ponomarev said then, he did not want to play in a group where deception reigned. I tried to play in other bands, but was unsuccessful. They said that due to lack of demand, he also started drinking. In 2007, Vyacheslav died; he was sick with tuberculosis.

Alexey Burda, died at 38

He started as a keyboard player in Tender May, then began producing. His body was found early in the morning on June 2, 2012, near a cemetery in northern Moscow. The day before, Burda went to the Muz-TV awards party; how he ended up near the cemetery remains unclear.

At first, the cause of death was called poisoning by an unknown substance, then another version was put forward - severe alcohol intoxication. The investigative authorities categorically rejected the option of killing Burda. But the widow of the deceased, Karina Barbi, stated that her husband was killed by an evil fate, and that Alexei, by his death, saved her from death.

Yuri Gurov, died at 41

Yuri Gurov was one of the main soloists of the group. He was considered the soul of the team. He always stood up for the guys in front of Andrei Razin, resolved some scandalous situations himself, and constantly came up with something. At a very young age he performed in the Altair ensemble, and after the collapse of Tender May he returned to his native Stavropol region. At first he worked as a security guard, and then decided to go into business - he traded grain.

Gurov died on August 25, 2012 in a terrible accident. Early in the morning on the Rostov-Stavropol highway, a car in which Yuri was sitting in the passenger seat jumped into the oncoming lane and collided with a MAZ. The impact threw the car under another truck. The former lead singer of “Tender May” and his friend died on the spot.

Igor Anisimov, died at 40

Keyboard player from the first composition of “Tender May” Igor Anisimov died absurdly on February 20, 2013 - in a drunken brawl. His body was found late in the evening in a private house near Zvenigorod. Igor’s drinking buddy, a previously convicted 37-year-old Muscovite, after a quarrel, stabbed the musician three times in the stomach, from which Anisimov died.

Curse in action?

Rashid Dayrabaev, administrator, and later the first concert director of “Tender May,” died at the age of 46 on February 28, 2013 in the intensive care unit of a Moscow hospital. He was hospitalized with acute pain in the heart area. People close to Dayrabaev said that he was very worried about the deaths of Yuri Gurov and Igor Anisimov. There were rumors that Rashid was going to Anisimov’s funeral, but when they brought him a black suit, he lost consciousness.

Evgeniy Zakulaev worked for 25 years as deputy director of the “Tender May” center for gifted orphans. He was seriously ill for a long time. But his death in 2013 at the age of 49 was also associated with the evil fate of the once legendary group.

Another tragedy happened quite recently, in March 2017. The producer of “Tender May” Andrei Razin’s 16-year-old son died Alexander. The young man suddenly felt unwell on the street, and they could not save him.

Doctors named heart problems as the official cause of the young man’s death. Complications were caused by an acute respiratory viral infection, which Alexander suffered the day before.

Publication from Andrei Razin “Tender May” (@razin_andrei_lm) Apr 14 2017 at 8:54 PDT

But many fans of the group believe that the death of the son of the group's producer was also not an accident. They say that the curse of “Tender May” continues to operate. It was rumored to have been put on by one of the group’s fans, who was suffering from unhappy love. Andrei Razin himself admitted a few years ago that he felt terrified because of the ongoing tragedies, but he refused to believe that evil fate was haunting the team because of a curse.

Publication from Andrey Razin “Tender May” (@razin_andrei_lm) Aug 16, 2017 at 4:12 PDT

Of the 9 members of the first group, only Yuri Shatunov survived

Today, many rumors are circulating around the mysterious “pestilence” that attacked the members of the notorious group “Tender May” in the early 90s. Over a quarter of a century, 8 of its original participants died under various circumstances, and one of the producers suffered a cardiac arrest. Some explain the chain of deaths of the “backbone” of the group as banal alcoholism, others - as retribution for numerous scams behind the heartbreaking singing of orphans, idols of the dashing timelessness.

The MK correspondent talked with the one who calls herself the “black widow of Tender May” and assures that she foresaw and continues to foresee the inevitable course of events haunting the former “Tender May”. She, Karina, nicknamed Barbie, wants to warn Yuri Shatunov and Andrei Razin, who have survived the evil fate for now.

Alexey Burda with Andrei Razin (right).

Members of the group “Tender May”:

Drummer Igor Igoshin - died in 1992 at the age of 20.

Keyboardist Mikhail Sukhomlinov - was shot dead in 1993 at the age of 18.

Soloist Yuri Petliura - died in 1996 in a car accident at the age of 22.

Keyboardist Arvida Yurgaitis - burned down at his dacha in 2005 at the age of 36.

Bass guitarist Vyacheslav Ponomarev - died in 2007 at the age of 37.

Also, on February 28, 2013, at the age of 45, director and producer Rashid Dayrabaev died of a massive heart attack.

I was the wife of the ex-keyboardist of “Tender May” Alexey Burda. And mysticism has haunted me since the first day I met my husband. And today I am sure: everything that happens to the group, this whole series of mysterious deaths, is not an accident!

We met Lesha at the Muz-TV award ceremony. I could not even imagine that exactly a year after the same event, my beloved would be found dead...

Lesha and I immediately began to live together. Before I met him, I had the image of a glamorous blonde “a la a Barbie doll,” who is always in pink and deliberately annoys everyone with her arrogance and stupidity. Lesha came up with the exact opposite image for me - a gothic brunette vampire in black and red. Theoretically, I agreed with him, but in practice I could not part with the image of a stupid doll. Because of this, Lesha and I often argued; he was offended that I did not accept the new image he had invented. And I began to change under his leadership - slowly, hard, but surely. And then all my projects got off the ground, I was finally able to buy an apartment in Moscow, and moved my parents from Kazakhstan. And now I understand with horror: the story did not end with the death of my husband!

- Why with horror?

The fact is that I wrote a book about Lesha. But some otherworldly troubles kept interfering with my work on the manuscript. I wrote it during his lifetime; shortly before Lesha’s passing, the book was almost finished, and I had to take it to the publishing house any day now. But I couldn’t come up with an ending. I stubbornly didn’t like the ending of my story, it seemed somehow incomplete... And I kept dragging it out, as if I was waiting for something. Lesha asked: “Well, did you return the book?” And I told him: “Not yet, wait...” My husband was surprised: “Why wait?”

And on June 1, it became clear what... For the first time I felt superstitious horror when I realized that I had a presentiment of something, although I was not aware of it. And then - when I realized that with Alexei’s departure the strange signs and omens did not end! I am like a conductor through which “SOS” signals are sent to the surviving participants of “LM”.

- How did you and Alexei spend your year together?

When we first got together, it was hard. Everyone's attention was focused on us - conversations, gossip, gossip. We often quarreled through all sorts of slander, and we even broke up a couple of times. But this did not last long. Somehow, having once again parted and returned to each other, we sat down, had a heart-to-heart talk and decided not to advertise our relationship in the future... Now I remember our conversation a couple of days before the tragedy: Lesha suddenly, out of the blue, This brought up the topic of death. “What do you think, Karin, why do good people always leave this life very early?” I was a little confused: “I think no one leaves here until they complete their mission.” "Yes?" - the husband asked again and seemed to calm down. We continued the conversation about death, but not in a tragic, but in a creative context.

Andrei Razin loves a damn dozen.

- How is that?

We planned to put him in a coffin - but not him, but me! A week before the tragedy, Lesha wrote for me the song “Bride of Satan,” for which we wanted to shoot a video: I’m lying in a coffin, the coffin is in the church, a funeral service is underway, Lesha is in the role of a priest. And so the young priest, singing the funeral service for me, suddenly, against his will, begins to sinfully lust after my lifeless body... And thus revives me! I rise from the coffin, we merge in the dance of love. But we couldn’t start filming because of me.

- Were you afraid to go to the coffin?

No, I didn’t suffer from superstitions at all before, I wasn’t afraid of the coffin at all - on the contrary, I really wanted to shoot the video faster. But something always got in the way. The plane in which I flew to filming did not want to lower its landing gear. I went down and up again for almost half a day, when I was already hopelessly late! Then my performance fell through, and the organizers, whom I considered my friends, “threw me down.” In general, in that last week, all my imaginary “friends” became more active - the obsequious sycophants that every celebrity has. In that fateful week before Lesha’s death, these cowardly jackals seemed to feel some kind of satanic support - they suddenly became insolent, began to play dirty tricks behind their backs... I felt something was wrong. After all, that night when there was a drinking party on the occasion of the presentation of the music awards, I was not at the party...

-Where have you been?

At the cemetery. On the morning of that fateful day, when the award was presented, a bell woke me up. And just at this party we wanted to amaze everyone: drive up in a black hearse, from which four goth guys would carry me out right in my coffin. This would be like a preview of our video. Lesha and I often imagined how cool it would be! But in the morning of that day they called me and informed me that this year they were refusing me to participate: they say, “they have already scheduled everything.” I called Lesha in anger - this was our last conversation with him. I said I didn't want him to go to that damn party either! She said I had a bad dream, almost a vision. I dreamed that at this event there would be a terrorist attack, an explosion, a lot of blood, and many people would die... But Lesha just laughed: “You’re too suspicious, but I’ll go anyway!” Then I snapped in my heart: “Do as you know!” - and hung up.

That night I couldn't sleep. And shortly before midnight I went out of the house onto the street to get some air. It was a warm summer night, and I myself didn’t notice how I reached the cemetery. When I got there, the clock showed 12. I wandered among the crosses for a long time and talked to myself. And then I walked for a long time in the night in the park, where Lesha and I had been more than once...

- And in the morning you found out that he was found dead not far from the same place where you were?

That morning started out like a bad dream! I was woken up by a text message from a mutual friend: “Is it true that Lesha died?” The first thing I thought was that this was a stupid joke from Lesha himself, who got drunk at a party. But still she got up and turned on the Internet. And then - horror! At that time, there were already more than 10 reports of his death. At first, I still had hope that this was someone’s stupid prank - like two years ago, when, while I was on tour, someone on the Internet started a rumor that I had been hit by a car, and I was dying in intensive care. Then all my family and friends almost went crazy, but I couldn’t hear or feel anything! But - alas! - everywhere it was written that Lesha’s lifeless body was found early in the morning, near that same “our” cemetery. Having come to my senses a little, I called the police and asked for information on the corpses of the previous night. I was switched from number to number for a long time, and someone eventually answered: they say, yes, so-and-so was found dead, come and get your things... When I arrived to get my things, they told me that the body was in the judicial morgue, and I will only be able to see it three days later, after the autopsy.

These three days I could not eat at all. On the morning of the third day, a driver came for me and took me to the morgue. I was on the verge of fainting... And that same night, the most terrible and at the same time wonderful event happened to me for the first time.

Nine victims of "LM".

- What exactly?

Then Lesha first contacted me. At about half past four in the morning - I think it was then that his soul left his body - a shelf on which Lesha’s Bible and two candlesticks stood fell from my wall. I woke up from the noise, and a few seconds later I heard Lesha’s voice: “Karinka, don’t be afraid, I’m here, nearby!” The voice was quiet, as if only in my head, but it answered questions! And Lesha and I began to talk as if on a mobile phone, but not out loud. Lesha said that he was watching me, and it was very painful for him to see how I was killing him. I asked him: why didn’t he come earlier? Why didn’t he show up for three days if he saw me suffering? Lesha explained that he could not separate from his body, and came immediately as soon as his soul gained freedom. And then he said: “You are ungrateful, Karina! Don’t you understand that I saved you and averted death? After all, you were supposed to die that night with me, but I intervened and accepted death for the two of us. And now you must live for us and continue our work. And don't you dare torment yourself anymore! Well, get up, go to the table and eat well, otherwise I’ll never come to you again! And one more thing: promise me to NEVER put a drop of alcohol in your mouth!”

- So, maybe that’s just the point? Stress, hunger, wine, sedative - did you imagine?

Soon I received indirect confirmation of Lesha’s words (or his ghost, as you wish) that I was really on the verge of death. After all, forensic examinations were carried out on Lesha’s body three times, and in the end, experts established the cause of death: poisoning with an unknown substance. But we always drank from the same glass! And if I had been with him that evening, we would not have changed our habit.

- And how long was Alexey in touch with you?

My husband is still in touch with me. But not so regularly anymore. And at first Lesha came to see me almost every night. He talked to me, told me what I needed to do. He told me to communicate more with his circle, and not with mine... Lesha warns me all the time, sending signs. And saved me several times again! Once I was riding an escalator in the subway, when suddenly people began to fall in front of me like dominoes. A drunk man pushed a woman and then fell himself. And the woman, falling, pushed the guy who was standing right in front of me. He staggered, and at the same moment I heard Lesha’s voice: “If you’re afraid, you’ll soon roll after the others! Get a hold of yourself!" And the fear instantly went away. The staggering guy in front of me barely managed to stay on his feet. And again Lesha’s voice: “You see! Don’t be afraid and you will always survive!”

And recently I had another incident: I had to cross the Kashirskoye Highway, it was late in the evening. There are no people on the street, practically no cars either. I look, the road is completely empty, I think: why should I make a detour to the underground passage? Let me run over like that. The view of the road is good, if a car starts driving, I will notice it from afar. I reached the middle of this big road - and with horror I saw that huge headlights were rushing straight at me: it was a huge black Hummer. I seemed frozen in a stupor, I stood there and couldn’t move. Neither raise your arm, nor move your leg, nor even avert your eyes - this sometimes happens in nightmares. It seems like you need to run away from danger, to save yourself, but you can’t move. And then there was a grinding, squealing of brakes - and this gigantic colossus froze in front of me as if rooted to the spot - at arm's length. And then I heard Lesha’s voice: “I said, stop being afraid!” And instantly the huge jeep disappeared.

Since that day I have changed a lot - at first externally. I made a tattoo on my left shoulder with Lesha’s name and the signature that my love for him is eternal. Then she changed formally: she took the name Lesha, officially, in her passport. And finally, after all this, I changed internally: fear and any doubts completely left me. I know that Lesha is always standing over my shoulder, looking after me and protecting me.

Karina "Barbie" and Alexey Burda.

- But it’s hard when there’s someone hanging over your shoulder all the time!

No, it helps me predict the future. Immediately after I learned about the death of Yuri Gurov at the end of the same summer of 2012, I felt that the deaths would continue. I did not remain silent, but tried to somehow convey to the surviving gentlemen that a mortal threat hung over them. But few people believed me, you understand. And I knew for sure: blood would be shed soon! And so, at the very beginning of 2013, the massacre began: on February 22, Igor Anisimov was killed, and not just killed, but brutally stabbed to death with 9 stabs... Just a few days later, on February 28, I was on television and, taking advantage of the opportunity, said, that the evil fate of “Tender May” will not stop with 8 deaths; there will soon be a 9th loss in the team. But to be honest, I didn’t think it would happen so soon! Literally 2-3 hours after my words in that interview, the director of the team, Rashid Dayrabaev, died in the hospital. Rashid did not survive the death of Igor, he was a kind-hearted person. When we lost Yuri Gurov, Rashid cried for a very long time, but he was especially crippled by Baskov’s betrayal. Rashid put his whole soul into him, made him a star, and then Basque simply turned away from him, he didn’t want to know. Not only did he not come to the funeral, but he didn’t even send a wreath! And the death of Igor Anisimov was the last straw for Rashid: he was taken to the hospital as soon as he learned about what had happened. But at the same time I was still going to the funeral. But when a black suit was brought to his room, Rashid felt bad, he burst into tears and fell into a coma, from which he never came out...

You would think that would be the end of it. The ninth death should be the final one in this cycle. Nine losses are like nine planets in the solar system. But there is only one catch: Dayrabaev was part of the group, but he did not sing or play instruments like the previous victims, he only led. Is his taken life capable of fully replacing the life of a group member? Also, pay attention: in the dates of birth and death of all members of the group, as well as in the date of creation of the group itself, there are numbers 13, 666 and 613. These are all signs of Satan. We all not only washed ourselves with blood, but have been bathing in it for a long time. There are a lot of “collateral” deaths among people who are somehow associated with the group. For example, on Friday, January 13, 2012 (also Friday the 13th), Olga Nikitina, the concert director of LM, who was responsible for concerts in Perm, had a terrible accident. Olga crashed on the 13th, and died on the 16th - all the numbers are bad, mystical.

It feels like evil fate wants to destroy any mention of “Tender May”! Now the old “LM” is almost gone. Either, having taken the last and most “iconic” victims in the person of Yuri Shatunov and Andrei Razin, rock will finally erase from the face of the earth everything connected with this group, or “LM”, like the Phoenix bird, will be reborn into something new that will surpass itself . Both Dayrabaev and Anisimov came to me after death.

- And what did they tell you?

That the deaths will continue unless I try to stop them. Rashid and Igor told me what the reason was and suggested a way out: reconcile and revive. They revealed to me the secret of the great extermination of Tender May. It all started after Andrei Razin and Sergei Kuznetsov ( composer, founder of the group, author of the legendary hits “White Roses” and “Grey Night”. - Auth.) stopped cooperating and became enemies. This feud continues to this day. A huge amount of negativity and crap has been flying in both directions for many years now. Because of this, not only the opponents themselves suffer, but also everyone around them. And only the loss of the ninth member of the team will put an end to this war. It’s not for me to judge which of the two is right - Andrey or Sergey. Each of them has its own truth. They do not understand only one thing: there can be no winner in this struggle. Andrey and Sergey, you are always quarreling, suing, throwing slop at each other. Is it really only the ninth death that can stop you and lead to a truce? All the deaths of the first team are a sign that you are one family, one blood, one pride. So why are you all squabbling among each other? At least in the name of the memory of the departed guys, stop! By uniting, you can create a new legend - even stronger and more powerful than back then in the 90s. Just believe in it and forgive each other.

I am trying to unite and reconcile all those who survived, under the banner of the revival of “LM”, but in a new guise. She proposed that the day following the death of Rashid Dayrabaev - that is, the first day of spring - be considered the birthday of the new legend. I came up with the name of the group “Tender May” that rose from the ashes - “NON-Tender Paradise”.

In memory of my late husband, I created a charitable foundation, and once a month we go to an orphanage and an animal shelter. We bring gifts and sweets to children, and food and vitamins to animals.

-Are you no longer afraid of anything?

No, I'm still afraid. Just one, but really scary thing. And this is not death, this is life. For me, the worst thing is to have excellent health and live a long time, but at the same time be a restless soul, live without a goal, in envy or anger, melancholy or despondency, and never find your place in this life, your calling. And for the nine “Tender Mayans” who died, my soul is at peace: they fulfilled their duty in this world, gaining immortality in our hearts, and left as legends.

The group Tender May was created on December 6, 1986 in the Orenburg boarding school No. 2 by the head of the local music circle Sergei Kuznetsov, who graduated from 5 classes of music school and spent 7 months in music school, and by a thirteen-year-old student of the Abulak boarding school, Yuri Shatunov. The first composition of the group "Tender May" included Yura Shatunov, Slava Ponomarev and Sergei Kuznetsov.

In the spring, Tender May performed for the first time at the amateur festival of orphanages. April, birthday and Yura Shatunov sings the love song “Melting Snow”. The jury was disappointed, but it turned out to be honest and did not give a bad mark, although organizational conclusions were made at the boarding school and Sergei Kuznetsov no longer worked there... Then it was difficult, but the group did not break up, but began performing at different cultural centers.

On New Year's Eve, the boarding school took mercy on Kuznetsov and invited him back - the artistic director's headquarters was empty, the administration could not find anyone else for that kind of money, and it was impossible not to prepare a concert and discos for the holiday.

Kuznetsov agreed to return and made backing tracks for the holidays, and then, at the beginning of February, he allowed Shatunov to record his voice on them. This is how the first recording of Tender May came out, which turned out to be of no use to anyone except the station kiosk seller, for three chervonets. So on February 18, 1988, the country began to get acquainted with the work of Tender May.

Three months later, “White Roses” became a huge hit without any advertising. It is impossible to understand how this happened... however, it is somewhat reminiscent of the story with Okudzhava and Vysotsky. After this, Kostya Pakhomov joined the group.

Together with him, Tender May began performing at stadiums and concerts organized by the Orenburg Philharmonic. It must be said that Shatunov himself did not solo on them - for some reason the regional leadership forbade him to perform. This went on for a couple of months, and during this time...

“Tender May” is already performing in Moscow’s Gorky Park, naturally to Shatunov’s plywood. And not only in Moscow, but also in Vladivostok, Leningrad, Frunze, Omsk. However, before meeting Andrei Razin (his real name and surname is Vadim Krivorotov), ​​who invited Kuznetsov to Moscow, Sergei did not know about this. He went to the capital and they began working together until the fall of 1988. Then Sergei Kuznetsov returned to Orenburg and took Shatunov from the boarding school. They went together to Razin.

Performances began again at stadiums, sports palaces, in concert halls, and the only difference was that at these concerts the real Tender May performed and with musicians recruited from everyone in Orenburg and the surrounding area - Sergei Serkov, who lived in the same boarding school, as Shatunov and his other friends - Sasha Priko and Igor Igoshin. So Tender May received its full composition - Shatunov, Serkov, Priko, Igoshin, Ponomarev, Pakhomov, Rafael, Razin. Naturally, they performed only to “plywood”.

The first youth musical group in the USSR, working in the style of “Euro-pop of the 80s”, was designed for a youth audience aged 10 to 25 years. Tender May had unprecedented popularity both among the country’s young audience and throughout the country as a whole. On the other hand, it was practically not mentioned in the USSR media. At the same time, the group Tender May also gained scandalous fame.

Due to the incredible success of the group, in 1989, at the peak of its popularity, various “clones” appeared with names similar to “Tender May” and toured in different cities of the former USSR.

“Tender May” itself attracted stadiums of many thousands (40-60 thousand people) and set a record for the number of concerts per day. The group gave up to 8 concerts per day, and more than 40 concerts per month. The Russian stage is faced with a still inexplicable phenomenon. The songs, simple at first glance, turned out to be too much for many composers and poets who had been working in show business for a long time. Attempts to create new songs, such as “Pink Roses to Svetka Sokolova” and other similar pop compositions, were not as successful as copying the style of “Tender May” itself.

Andrei Razin worked as an administrator of the famous group “Mirage”. He organized the first studio recording of Laskovoy May at Yu. Chernavsky’s Record studio. Following the group's first disc, "White Roses", two more albums were released in 1988.

Later, as a result of the scandal with Kuznetsov, Razin becomes the director and soloist of the Laskovy May studio. All the group's phonograms were re-recorded by Igor Babenko - in one of the Record audio studios. All arrangements of Tender May, with the exception of later works, belong to Sergei Kuznetsov. Record employee, sound engineer Anatoly Meshaev, who worked there at that time, turned out to be a direct participant in all the hits created by “Tender May”.

By the beginning of 1989, the until recently unknown "Tender May" became the most popular pop group in the country. In the spring of 1989, when its founder and ideological inspirer Sergei Kuznetsov left the group, a split occurred in Tender May. Together with Kuznetsov, Alexander Priko and Igor Igoshin left, who created the group “Mama”. Besides them, Konstantin Pakhomov left the group.

Now Vladimir Shurochkin began composing songs for Tender May, but he was unable to repeat Kuznetsov’s success. It was not possible to find anyone to replace Pakhomov and the situation became catastrophic, especially after Shatunov had problems with his voice. “Tender May” becomes the epicenter of scandals and after the summer of 1989 the group practically does not perform. Shurochkin, seeing this, founded his solo project and abandoned the group. Andrei Razin invites Yuri Kulikov as a new composer. His “October Album” fails and Anatoly Meshaev writes songs for the group instead.

At the beginning of 1990, the disc “Silly Snowflakes” was released. Oleg Krestovsky and brothers Yuri and Andrey Gurov come to "Tender May". Tender May, or rather a completely new team with this name is producing a grandiose show “White Roses in White Winter”. The group travels with him all over the country.

Razin begins to try himself in politics and business and abandons the group’s affairs, the organization of concerts deteriorates. In addition, he opens the “Tender May” studio, which promotes young performers, and introduces them to the once popular group.

This leads to the departure in the spring of 1991 of Andrei Gurov and Sergei Serkov, who joins the Mama group. From the original composition of Laskovoy Maya, only Shatunov and Razin remain, who are trying to pull together the collapsed group. In the summer of 1991, the last album, “You Know...”, was released, but this was already the end of May and in February 1992, Yuri Shatunov left the group. There was no one to replace him and “Tender May” ceased to exist.

“Tender May” became a group that in Russia had a huge influence on the formation of the pop music genre.

A quarter of a century has passed, but such old hits of affectionate May as Gray Night, White Roses, Pink Evening, Childhood still find a huge number of new listeners. On October 1, 2009, the feature film “Tender May” (dir. V. Vinogradov), telling about the life of the group, was released.

Kuznetsov seeks to transfer Shatunov to Orenburg, where they begin to rehearse and record the first album, with which they begin to perform at local discos and pioneer shows, the album is quite quickly sold out in the Orenburg recording tents.

People started talking about “Tender May”; people came to the orphanage to film a story about young talents.

The director of the Orenburg orphanage does not like everything that is happening. Kuznetsov is fired from the orphanage, where he is listed as an electrician, and the police open a criminal case regarding the theft of disco equipment from the orphanage. But here the enterprising Andrei Razin, who was involved in the promotion of musical stars in Moscow, intervenes in what is happening. Razin easily achieves the closure of the criminal case against Kuznetsov and the transfer of Shatunov to Moscow. Konstantin Pokhomov is also going to Moscow at Razin’s invitation.

In Moscow, Razin put “Tender May” on a commercial basis and in September 1988 the group’s trumpet tour began with 3 soloists Shatunov, Razin, Pakhomov. 3 albums are being recorded: “White Roses”, “Autumn”, “A Little About Me”. In January 1989, Priko and Igoshin arrived from Orenburg. There are vigorous tours, 3 more albums are being recorded: “March 8”, “Pink Evening”, “On the Roof”. The popularity of “Tender May” is taking on unprecedented proportions and with them disagreements appear in the group, due to which “Tender May” Kuznetsov is leaving. Priko, Igozhin, Serkov, who in March 1989 created the group “Mama”. Pakhomov also leaves the group and begins a solo career. After Kuznetsov’s departure, the place of composer is taken by Vladimir Shurochkin, whose songs are used in albums: “Goodbye Baby”, “Tender Summer”, but he also decides to start performing solo.

The “October Album” is being written, which is much inferior to the previous ones. From January 28, 1989 to January 10, 1989, the revue show “White Roses, White Winter” was held at the Olimpiysky sports complex. In 1990, new soloists appeared, brothers Yuri and Andrei Gurov, fellow countrymen Razin and Oleg Krestovsky. The albums “Silly Snowflakes”, “Naughty Girl”, “Come Back” are being recorded. Razin begins to actively engage in politics, runs for People's Deputies, writes books about the group “Winter in the Country of Tender May”, “Party Man”, publishes the newspaper “Tender May” in Minsk. But the group begins to decline, unknown soloists take part in concerts, and Shatunov appears less and less often. In winter, regular concerts “White Roses, White Winter” are held, but they do not have the same success. In 1991, the last albums of “Tender May” were recorded: “Do you know?”, “Fatima”. The Gurovs leave the group. For unknown reasons, Razin announces a boycott of Moscow and Leningrad, declaring the cessation of concerts in these cities.

In February 1992, the almost collapsed “Tender May” left Shatunov. Razin tries to bring Shatunov back with threats, when this fails, Razin attempts to replace him with another soloist, but this also fails. Razin announces the dissolution of the group.