Batyr Shukenov personal life children. Batyrkhan Shukenov: personal life, wife, children, family, photographs

In the photographs, the future Kazakh pop star is captured with close relatives - older brother Baurzhan and younger Bakhytzhan, sister Raushan, father Kamal Shukenovich, mother Dilara Ibragimovna - and friends.

Batyrkhan Shukenov was born on May 18, 1962 in Kyzylorda. His father, Kamal Shukenovich Shukenov (1935-2011), was a well-known economist and financier in the region.

In 1979, Batyrkhan graduated from secondary school No. 233 in Kyzylorda. During his school years, he began to attend a music club, and immediately after school he entered the Leningrad State Institute of Culture in the orchestral department of the saxophone class, where he studied for two years. He took saxophone lessons from the world-famous saxophonist Gennady Golshtein, as well as from tenor saxophone Vladimir Rabik.

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In 1981, Shukenov moved to the Almaty State Conservatory named after Kurmangazy Sagyrbaev to the faculty of instrumental performance in the saxophone class.

In 1982, Batyrkhan met musicians Baygali Serkebaev, Bulat Syzdykov and Vladimir Miklosic, who invited him to play as a saxophonist in the then-famous Kazakh group "Arai". As part of the group, Batyrkhan established himself as a virtuoso of alto and tenor saxophone, performing instrumental jazz compositions, and in 1983 he became a laureate of the VII All-Union Competition of Variety Artists.

After studying at the conservatory in 1985-1986, he served in the Soviet Army, representing the 12th orchestra of the headquarters of the Central Asian Military District.

In 1987, the musicians created their own group called “Alma-Ata”. As part of the group, Batyrkhan, in addition to playing the saxophone, also begins a vocal career. A year later, the group released its first album, “The Path Without Stops,” on the Melodiya company (all eight songs, two in Kazakh, sung by Shukenov), and changed its name to “Alma-Ata Studio,” and Batyr became the frontman of the group.

In 1989, the band's musicians composed their first all-Union hit, "Julia". Alla Pugacheva meets the group and immediately invites them from Kazakhstan to Moscow. After participating in the “Christmas Meetings,” the singer’s group “A’Studio” will be recognized by the whole country.

The A’Studio musicians worked at the Alla Pugacheva Song Theater from 1989 to 1994. A busy touring schedule, recording records, new songs colorfully performed by Batyr - “Julia”, “White River”, “Stop, Night”, “Soldier of Love”, “These Warm Summer Days”, “Unloved”. The group is perceived as Russian, since most of its time outside of tours it spends and performs in Moscow.

In the fall of 2000, Batyrkhan Shukenov decided to leave the group and return to ethnic music. He started a solo project under his own short name “Batyr”. In 2002, Batyr released his first solo album, “Otan Ana” (“Native Land”) in the Kazakh language. In subsequent years, his other albums were released - “Your Steps” (2006), “Batyr Live” (2007), “Be careful, dear girl!” (2010), “Everything will pass...” (2010), “Soul” (2013).

Since 2007 - Advisor to the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on culture. On November 20, 2009, on the day of celebration of the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Batyrkhan Shukenov was announced by the Representative Office of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Kazakhstan as the UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador in Kazakhstan. And a year later, on November 20, 2010, in this capacity he became a member of the Honorary Ball Committee of the Charity Ball in Almaty.

In 2013, the singer became the winner of the music TV show “Live Sound” on the Rossiya 1 TV channel. In 2015, the artist took part in the musical television show of transformations “One to One” on the TV channel “Russia 1”. On April 30, he was supposed to perform in the final of this Russian television project.

Batyrkhan Shukenov died on April 28, 2015 at the age of 53 in his apartment in Moscow. The singer has recently complained about his health. It is known that the performer returned home from a rehearsal for the show “One on One”, and there he felt ill. The musician himself called an ambulance; doctors fought for the life of Shukenov, who regained consciousness several times, for more than two hours, but they could not save him. The singer's funeral took place on May 1, 2015 in Almaty at the Kensai Memorial Cemetery.

Died suddenly on April 28. Personal life, wife, children of Batyr Shukenov - a biography of the famous Kazakh singer, who spent a lot of time studying music in Russia.

Batyrkhan Shukenov was born on May 18, 1962 into an ordinary family of economists with four children. Batyr had two brothers and a sister. The future saxophonist and lead singer of the popular group “A-Studio” graduated from school in Kzyl-Orda in 1979. Batyr attended a music club together with school, which had a strong influence on his life.

Immediately after school, Batyrkhan Shukenov decided to enter the Leningrad State Institute of Culture named after N.K. Krupskaya in the saxophone class. There he studied for a total of two years, then moved to the Alma-Ata State Conservatory named after Kurmangazy Sagyrbaev, where he continued his studies in the saxophone class.

While still at the conservatory, Batyr met famous musicians from the Arai group - Vladimir Mikloshich, Baygali Servebaev and Bulat Syzdykov. They invited an aspiring artist to join their group as a saxophonist. In 1983, Shukenov even became a laureate of the 7th All-Union Variety Artists Competition. In 1085, his studies at the Alma-Ata Conservatory ended, Batyrkhan went to serve in the army.

In 1987, the Araya musicians decided to leave their leader, Roza Rymbaeva, and create their own group, Alma-Ata. It was with participation in this group that Batyr Shukenov began his vocal career. Approximately after the founding of the new group, it released its first solo album, which included only 8 compositions. Two of them are written in Kazakh and performed by Shukenov. Then the group changes its name to the more sonorous “Alma-Ata Studio”, Batyr becomes its frontman.

1989 becomes a truly successful year for the group. Its participants write their first hit “Julia”. Alla Pugacheva finds out about “A-Studio” and invites them to her “Christmas meetings” - the team is making waves throughout the country.

During its activity, “A-Studio” recorded many songs that became cult songs: “Unloved”, “Soldier of Love”, “These Warm Summer Nights”, “White River”, “Stop, Night”. They have a busy touring schedule, many concerts, but A-Studio spends most of its time in Moscow.

In 2000, Shukenov left the composition of “A-Studio” and decided to devote himself to a solo career called “Batyr”. In 2002, his personal album “Otan Anna” (translated from Kazakh as “native land”) was released.

In 2007, Shukenov’s disc “Batyr LIVE” was released, he performed in Alma-Ata at the Palace of the Republic and became an advisor to Nursultan Nazarbayev (President of Kazakhstan) on culture.

Batyr Shukenov - personal life, children and wife. Not much is actually known about his personal life.

In 2002, Shukenov became a father, but he was not married to the child’s mother (her name is Ekaterina). Maksut is Batyr’s only son; he now lives with his mother in the city of Sarasota (USA), where he emigrated from Jurmala. The son will not be able to come to his father’s funeral, which will take place in Kazakhstan. The teenager simply does not have time to arrive on time.

Maksut also makes music, but in more modern directions. At the same time, according to Shukenov, his son also listens to his work.

In November 2008, Batyr married a 30-year-old girl, Aigerim. He met her in St. Petersburg. At the time of his marriage, Shukenov was already 46 years old, a late marriage. Virtually nothing is known about their relationship.

Dina Shukenova, the wife of Batyr’s older brother, Bauran Shukenova, states that the couple has been divorced for a long time. Shukenov himself called an ambulance on the evening of April 28 to his Moscow apartment.

Dina Shukenova believes that Batyr’s death was caused by heavy workload: there are no other reasons for the singer’s untimely death.

Batyrkhan Kamalovich Shukenov (Kazakhs: Batyrkhan Kamaluly Shukenov). Born on May 18, 1962 in Kzyl-Orda (Kazakh SSR) - died on April 28, 2015 in Moscow. Soviet Kazakh and Russian pop singer, musician, saxophonist, composer, poet. One of the founders and lead singer of the pop group “A’Studio”. Honored Artist of Kazakhstan (2010).

Father - Kamal Shukenovich Shukenov, an economist and financier, from 1970 to 1998 he worked as the head of the Kyzylorda regional financial department.

The family had four children - three sons and a daughter. Of the brothers, Batyrkhan was the middle one.

In 1979 he graduated from school No. 233 named after N. A. Ostrovsky in Kyzyl-Orda.

During my school years I started attending a music club. After graduating from school, he entered the Leningrad State Institute of Culture named after N.K. Krupskaya in the orchestral department in the saxophone class, where he studied for two years. According to Batyrkhan, he took saxophone lessons from the world famous saxophonist Gennady Golshtein, as well as from saxophone tenorist Vladimir Rabik.

In 1981, Shukenov moved to the Alma-Ata State Conservatory named after Kurmangazy Sagyrbaev to the faculty of instrumental performance in the saxophone class.

In 1982, while a student at the conservatory, in Alma-Ata he met musicians Baygali Serkebaev, Bulat Syzdykov and Vladimir Miklosic, who invited him as a saxophonist to the then-famous Kazakh group “Arai”, the accompanying ensemble of the Honored Artist of the Kazakh SSR. As part of the group, Shukenov established himself as a virtuoso of alto and tenor saxophone, performing instrumental jazz compositions, and in 1983 he became a laureate of the VII All-Union Variety Artists Competition.

In 1985 he graduated from the Alma-Ata State Conservatory.

In 1985-1986 he served in the ranks of the Soviet Army, representing the 12th orchestra of the headquarters of the Central Asian Military District (SAVO).

In 1987, the musicians felt closely within the Arai ensemble and left Roza Rymbaeva for “free swimming”, creating their own group called “Alma-Ata”. As part of the group, Shukenov, in addition to playing the saxophone, also began a vocal career. A year later, the group released its first album, “Path Without Stops,” at the Melodiya company (all 8 songs, two in Kazakh, sung by Shukenov), and changed its name to “Alma-Ata Studio,” and Shukenov became the frontman of the group.

In 1989, the group’s musicians composed their first all-Union hit “Julia”. He meets the group and immediately invites them from Kazakhstan to Moscow, to his Song Theater. After participating in the “Christmas meetings” the group "A-studio" the whole country will know.

Next - a busy touring schedule, recording records, new songs performed colorfully by Shukenov - “Julia”, “White River”, “Stop, Night”, “Soldier of Love”, “These Warm Summer Days”, “Unloved”, etc. The group is perceived as Russian, since most of its time outside of tours it spends and performs in Moscow.

A’Studio - Unloved

The A’Studio musicians worked at the Alla Pugacheva Song Theater from 1989 to 1994. According to Shukenov, they were “truly friends” with Pugacheva, “often came to visit her, talked about music, about life, drew,” and she called Batyrkhan “son.”

In the fall of 2000, Batyrkhan Shukenov decided to leave the group and return to ethnic music. He started a solo project under his own short name “Batyr”. One of the authors of his new repertoire was Pavel Yesenin.

In 2002, Shukenov released his first solo album, “Otan Ana” (“Native Land”) in the Kazakh language.

In 2005, he participated in the 1st semi-final of the Russian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, which took place in the capital of Ukraine - Kyiv. With the song “Your Steps”, according to the voting results, he took 7th place and did not qualify for the final of the national selection.

In 2006, he became a laureate of the Tarlan Prize of the Club of Patrons of Kazakhstan in the Music category.

In 2007, the album “Batyr Live” was released on DVD with a concert performance at the Palace of the Republic in Almaty and video clips.

From 2007 to 2015, Batyrkhan Shukenov was an advisor to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan on culture.

On November 20, 2009, on the day of celebration of the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Shukenov was announced by the Representative Office of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Kazakhstan as the UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador in Kazakhstan. A year later, on November 20, 2010, in this capacity he became a member of the Honorary Ball Committee of the Charity Ball in Almaty.

In 2010, Shukenov released his fourth solo album, “Caution, dear girl!” In the same year, the album “Everything will pass...” was released.

On December 7, 2010, by Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev, Batyrkhan Shukenov was awarded the honorary title “Honored Artist of Kazakhstan.”

In 2013, Shukenov’s last album, “Soul,” was released. At the same time, the singer became the winner of the music TV show “Live Sound” on the Rossiya-1 TV channel.

In 2015, a few months before his death, Shukenov took part in the musical television show of transformations “One to One!” on the TV channel "Russia-1". In May, he was supposed to perform in the final of this television project, however, according to an interview with one of the participants, singer Mark Tishman, he felt ill already at the rehearsal of the final number, and as a result he was unable to take part in both the final and in a special issue for Victory Day. He was posthumously recognized as the winner of the show, along with the main one.

Death of Batyrkhan Shukenov

Batyrkhan Shukenov died suddenly at the age of April 28, 2015 at about 23:00 in his apartment in Moscow. According to the official version - from a heart attack.

On April 29, 2015, a farewell ceremony for Shukenov was held in Moscow, in which hundreds of people took part. In Almaty at this time, thousands of fans gathered in the square in front of the Palace of the Republic and sang his songs until the evening.

On May 1, 2015, another civil memorial service for Shukenov took place in the building of the Kazakh State Philharmonic named after Dzhambul in Almaty. Public figures, politicians, cultural and artistic figures, and fans came to see Shukenov off on his last journey and express their condolences.

He was buried at the Kensai cemetery in Almaty.

In 2016, a concert in memory of Batyrkhan Shukenov “Soul” took place. In Moscow, in the Crocus City Hall concert hall, friends of the famous singer, musician and composer organized an event, which was attended by prominent representatives of show business in Russia and Kazakhstan. The famous songs of “A” Studio, as well as Batyrkhan’s solo works, were performed on stage.

In memory of Batyrkhan Shukenov

Personal life of Batyrkhan Shukenov:

He was in a civil marriage with Ekaterina Shelyakova.

On June 7, 1999, their son Maksat Shelyakov was born, who lived only two months - he died on August 11 of the same year. This became a difficult challenge. According to many of the musician’s acquaintances, the death of his son is the main reason why the singer left the group “A” Studio in 2000.

tombstone of Maksat Shelyakov - son of Batyrkhan Shukenov

In 2002, Batyrkhan and Ekaterina became parents again and named their son Maksut. He and his mother lived in the USA.

Shukenov lived with Shelyakova for about 20 years, but she never became an official wife.

In November 2008, Batyrkhan Shukenov officially married Aigerim, whom he met in St. Petersburg. The wife was 16 years younger than the musician; there were no children in this marriage. According to Dina Shukenova, the wife of Batyrkhan’s older brother Baurzhan Shukenov, said on the first day after the musician’s death, Batyrkhan “was divorced for a long time and was not married.”

After the death of the musician, Ekaterina Shelyakova and the singer’s son Maksut found themselves homeless in the United States. In 2015, Maksut, who is the only son of Batyrkhan Shukenov, turned to Andrei Malakhov’s “Let Them Talk” program to talk about the difficult situation they were in. It is very difficult for him to cope with the death of his father, and the same for his mother. On top of that were everyday difficulties.

After Batyrkhan’s death six months ago, they lost everything - their house, car, things. We literally found ourselves on the street. Until recently, Batyrkhan Shukenov dreamed of moving his wife and son to a big house in Florida, where he could come on vacation in between work. The ex-soloist of “A-Studio” wanted to educate his son in America. The $680,000 house was built. In addition, Shukenov made an initial contribution to the construction company, and Ekaterina and her son moved there. However, the sudden death of the musician from a heart attack six months ago turned their lives upside down. Currently, the construction company, according to Ekaterina, has taken the house away due to stopped payments. Now she and her son live in a small room with a friend in the USA. Ekaterina herself works in an antique store, however, according to her, “life in the USA is very expensive.”

As Ekaterina said, during his lifetime Batyrkhan sent his family in America $8,000 a month.

Unloved. Let them talk

Discography of Batyrkhan Shukenov:

As part of the A’Studio group:

1988 - Path without stops
1991 - Julia
1993 - A’Studio
1994 - Soldier of Love
1995 - A’Studio Live
1996 - Unloved
1997 - The Best
1998 - Sinful passion

Solo:

2002 - Otan ana (Motherland)
2006 - Your steps
2007 - Batyr Live
2010 - Be careful, dear girl!
2010 - Everything will pass...
2013 - Soul

— I would like to start from afar. Tell us how you met Batyr, when did this happen? How did you fall in love?

— In the nineties, I lived and worked in Germany to help my family. There were difficult years. My mother lost her job, my cousin went to America, and left her child. I also decided not to stay in Latvia and went to Germany to earn money.

-Where did you leave from?

— I was born in Riga, a Riga resident. Then I came to my mother for the holidays, this was in 1994. A DJ I knew from a radio station called me; he worked part-time in a nightclub. He said: “Katka! Your favorite group is coming - “A’Studio”. I didn’t listen to Soviet pop music, I couldn’t stand it at all. But the appearance of such a group as “A’Studio”, with such quality of music, for me it was “WOW”. I rushed there, saw and heard their performance and told my friend: “I’m not going anywhere until I meet the guys!” She laughed at me and said: “There are thousands of people like you here!” Go here!" and began to pull me home.

And I just felt that it was mine, I can’t even explain, as if something from above asked me not to leave. Batyr was already a superstar then. But I still asked that DJ to introduce us. The guys had three or four hours left before the plane, so we went to talk. Batyr asked me: “What kind of music do you like?” And when he heard my answer about Stevie Wonder, he immediately began humming his songs in my ear. And then we arrived at the airport, he said: “I would like you to fly to Moscow to visit me.” I replied: “We’ll see!” He asked for my phone number. Of course, for me it was something incredible. After that, he started calling me every day. About two months later I flew to Moscow to visit, then he flew to visit me in Germany. So, for two years we flew to visit each other. He loved Germany very much. In general, Batyr loves it when everything is clean, calm, no fuss, no rudeness. He was an oriental man, but at the same time he loved Western culture, although he was a terrible patriot. Somehow I went off topic...

— So you’ve been together since ’94?

- Why didn’t you formalize your marriage?

— I was getting a German passport, if you remember, in Latvia we were given a non-citizen’s passport, they were issued to Russians, and this procedure seemed humiliating to me, so I decided to get German citizenship after all. It took quite a long time. And by the time he received it, disagreements had already begun with Batyr, so the matter never came to the formalization of the marriage.

- What year was this?

— Maksutik was 5 years old, it was 2006. Batyr invited me to go to Almaty; things weren’t going well for him in Moscow. Considering that the relationship was no longer working out, and I did not want to raise a child in a metropolis, I invited him to go home, and I myself went to Jurmala. This was probably my strategic mistake, because Batyr met a young and beautiful girl, Aigul, and he fell under her spell. Moreover, Batyrkhan’s mother, it seems to me, always somehow unconsciously or consciously wanted him to have a Kazakh wife. Although my mother often flew to visit us, I have a good relationship with her, she loved me too.

He married Aigul. It was 2008, and in 2009 my mother died, and besides her, no one kept me in Latvia. Batyr and I jointly decided that there are no good schools in Riga, we can’t handle Switzerland and England, and that Maksut and I would be better off leaving for the USA, where my relatives lived.

— Did you come to the USA separately from each other?

— Yes, I was with my son in September 2009. Batyr arrived in January 2010. He told us that he was getting a divorce and offered to get back together.

—What disagreements did you have? Why did you break up?

- You see, Batyr is a very generous person and I was the same. We didn’t know how to handle money, we spent everything we earned. He gave expensive gifts to people, paid for everyone in restaurants. With the birth of my child, I began to change a little, I developed an instinct: “everyone goes to the house, everyone goes to the family.” And there were always a lot of dubious people around Batyr, who promoted him for stupid projects, where he invested money. And I started telling him all these things, that it was time to stop wasting money. You see, now I don’t think that I was right then, but at that moment I considered it my duty to express it. It seemed to me that after he left “A” Studio, he always came across not quite the right people whom he trusted. On this basis, disagreements began. We often began to quarrel.

— Were you with Batyr when he left A’Studio?

- Certainly!

- What do you think happened then?

— There was no conflict as such at all, as far as I remember. But it’s hard for me to judge, I’m a Westerner, in the East everything is more subtle. People do not open up to each other very much; they carry a lot within themselves. After all, I toured with them all, I saw that this problem in relations within the team had existed for a long time, although no one recognized it.

— Was there any friction between Baigali and Batyr?

- Yes, between them. I have always treated Bora well, but I told Batyr: “This sore of yours is like a cancerous tumor, if it is not cut out, the group may die. Sit down and talk openly!” But, in my opinion, that conversation never took place, they both remained very closed, and the resentment against each other was never expressed.

In addition, at some point the group stopped actively touring, concerts practically stopped, Borya refused to buy songs from other performers. There was no money, Batyr wanted to work, he had ambitions. Therefore, he constantly looked depressed and was depressed. Therefore, it was his decision to leave the group. I just supported him.

—Is this connected with the death of the first child? I remember on the 25th anniversary of the group “A” Studio”, the same Andrei Malakhov’s show talked about this.

- Yes, Batyr also fell into a terrible depression then, he disappeared in the studio all the time. He always healed the soul with music. I was going crazy in my own way, and he became friends with Pasha Yesenin. All day long he and Pashka recorded in the studio.

— They say that Baigali was offended precisely because Batyr became very close to Pavel Yesenin?

- Not because of this. Baigali was offended that Batyr was too sudden in his decision to leave the group. He simply didn’t let the guys come to their senses. Batyr really believed that he could handle both working in a group and performing solo. I think this was influenced by Eric Chanturia, who had already recorded a song with Batyr and shot a video, promising broadcasts. But this cooperation ultimately did not end in anything.

- Well, if all these years you were next to him, why, after he divorced Aigul, did you never formalize your relationship? Were you dating just for the sake of the child?

“Our relationship was no longer marital. But it was even more. Batyr was everything to me: family, father of a child, loved one. For example, I can show SMS messages two hours before his death ( shows sms on phone-V), I write to him: “I love you!”, He answers me: “I love you too!”

This house that he began to build here, he built not only for me and Maksut. He built it for all of us. Including for your mother. He dreamed that she would live here for several months a year. A separate room was planned for her. They even made the Jacuzzi lower to make it easier for her to get into. I think everything was heading towards a formal marriage. We hesitated, looked for happiness on the side, no one found anything, we thought that we needed to settle down and be together. We thought about taking a child from an orphanage and made plans. We planned our future together.

— And all these years you haven’t had a relationship with anyone except Batyr?

- I also had a friend.

- He's not in now? Is he local, does he live in the USA?

- He's local, yes. We broke up with him even before Batyr’s death. The man turned out to be not serious.

— Did Batyr know about him? Have you shared such revelations?

- No. Batyr recently told me about his girlfriends, about some novels, but he never asked me about such things, and I didn’t tell.

— How often did you visit Kazakhstan?

- Once a year.

— Were you able to feel the Kazakh mentality? What is special about our people?

— You talk a lot, do little, to be honest. They like to promise a lot, but do little.

- Now that was a shame!

- Listen, I spent a lot of time with Batyr in the company of your big businessmen. Everything was beautiful at the table, they told me: “We have nothing except oil and Batyrkhan Shukenov!” And as soon as it came to supporting some of his creative projects, it was always very difficult for Batyr. He never complained, didn’t talk about it, he experienced it all within himself. But you are right, I have no right to talk about everyone in this way. Batyr had several devoted friends who always came to his aid. I would like to mention his friend Kanat Uskenov, who is the only one who now calls us every week, finds out how we are here and asks what kind of help we need.

I must also say that Batyr loved Kazakhstan very much and planned his future in his homeland; he did not even consider this house that we were building for permanent living. For him, this house was a place where he could draw inspiration.

— Why didn’t you want to move to Kazakhstan?

- Batyr never asked me about this. Only once, when Maksutik was five years old. And then he already agreed with me that it was better for the child to finish his studies in the USA.

— Why did I ask about the mentality of the Kazakh people, that is, you encountered it in earnest last week. Kazakhs really don’t like it when they wash their dirty linen in public. In fact, Russia is another state, and Batyr is our symbol, the Kazakh one. And what happened happened - you went to the program with Andrei Malakhov. Who gave you the idea?

— The program turned out like this: when Batyr passed away, somewhere at the end of May, Ruslan, Batyr’s director from Moscow, called me and said: “Katya, I don’t know what to do! Soon it will be 40 days and I have heard rumors that Malakhov is going to do some kind of program. There again these imaginary friends, who actually didn’t like Batyr, suddenly pushing everyone aside with their elbows, climb into the screen. Do you have any thoughts on this?” I say: “Let me find Natasha, the producer of the program, and ask what’s going on?” I called Natasha, and at that moment she asked me a question: “Katyusha, how is your life? What's going on with you? And I completely without any second thoughts told everything, in tears and snot, that we were left without housing, that I don’t know where we will live, although I gave Maksut a promise not to take him out of the USA, but I don’t know how to keep it your word. Natasha immediately sent a journalist with a camera from Miami, who filmed the entire move.

— So the move was canceled a long time ago?

- Yes, six months ago! The video has been shelved. Then the producers of the “Let Them Talk” program started calling and asking how we were here, if anything had been decided with housing, I answered that we were still living with friends in the same room! And they decided to make this program, and they told me that it would go on air, regardless of whether I came to the program or not! That's why I decided to fly! And I recommended the director of the Batyr Foundation, Olzhas Baykanov, to fly, because I knew that things were going wrong with raising money for the release of new Batyrkhan recordings.

— I was a little confused by Maksut’s video, supposedly he sent a video message to Andrei Malakhov asking for help on the program? Why did you do this?

— It was the idea of ​​the editor-in-chief of the program!

- So it's not yours?

- No, both Maksut and I were against it. But three days later we agreed.

— They say there were a lot of lies in the program?

- I do not think so. But the word “homeless” hurt my ears. But as you understand, this is television and everyone wanted a sensation.

— Maybe some important parts were missing during installation?

— The psychologist told me for quite a long time that at the age of 14 you shouldn’t take a child out of the environment. This part was missing, and director Ruslan was almost completely cut out, although he said a lot of sensible things. Sevara Nazarkhan was also not allowed to speak out fully.

— At the beginning of the program, you say that you came just to talk about Batyr, his work, and not to ask for anything. And at the end was your appeal to patrons?

“Well, I’m not a television star,” Andrey came up and said, since you have such a chance, make a request. Suddenly someone will appear! I thought: why not. And now I repeat, the house is wonderful, it was designed by Batyr. You call it your property. Everything was agreed upon with him via Skype: from the color of the walls to the furniture. Buy it for yourself, put it in your name, let Maksut live there and finish school in four years. I don't ask for anything more.

— For most Kazakhstanis, the amount of $8,000 that Batyr sent you monthly also seems gigantic!

- The amount is also exaggerated. Three thousand went to rent a house. Between us and Maksut we had about five thousand left. Anyone who has lived in America knows that this is a small amount for two people. We paid for car lease, electricity, school expenses, insurance. Ordinary expenses. I work and earn $1,300 a month, which is enough for pocket money, but nothing more. I am 50 years old, without a master's degree I can hardly earn more in the USA.

- By the way, I did not see aggression towards you from Baurzhan Shukenov, Batyr’s brother, or from Olzhas. They were very understanding of your situation. They promised to help. Maybe it wasn’t worth going to Malakhov after all?

— I love Baurzhan very much. We could talk to him all night long. And I also appreciate Olzhas. They are very good and decent people. Now relations with them have become strained, but I understood that if only one and a half thousand dollars were collected in Batyr’s fund and in six months we had not solved the problem with housing for Maksut and me, something had to be done. And Andrei Malakhov’s appearance in the program really acted as an impetus for all these processes.

- Well, maybe the issue of housing was not resolved for you, because for our people Batyr is separate, you and Maksut are separate?

- This is probably the biggest mistake. Batyr has been with us all these years. We went on vacation together: to Norway, to Jurmala, to London. He flew to the USA. We couldn't imagine a holiday without each other. The rest of the time I was next to our son. For the first time in 15 years, we managed to take a break from each other only last year, when Maksut went with his father to Kazakhstan. Therefore, I don’t understand why in the eyes of the public we suddenly became strangers to each other.

— Maybe because your marriage was not officially registered and most people were not aware of your existence at all?

- May be! But to all his friends and at meetings, he always introduced me as his wife.

— Or maybe because the people were surprised that their idol was not married to a Kazakh woman?

- Maksut thinks so too! I don't want to judge anyone.

— Okay, did you read the comments after the program aired?

- Yes, I was very upset, I cried for several days. I'm a very sensitive person, things like this really upset me. Batyr probably found something in me, since he was next to us for twenty years. And, perhaps, I’m not such a bitch, since two hours before his death he wrote to me that he loved me? If I were so selfish, I would definitely have thought of formalizing our relationship.

I will do anything for Maksut. This was the long-awaited child of Batyr and me. And now I have absolutely no one except him. If mom or dad were alive, I would simply return to Latvia. But I haven’t had anyone there for a long time. I feel like I was just torn away. I am a leaf from a tree, the wind carried me. I understand that I’m an adult woman, that it’s time to get on my feet, but Batyr was more than a husband to me, you know? I have no parents, no sisters, no brothers, no support. All the same, a woman must have some kind of rear. Batyr was this rear for me. We did a common cause together, I never went against Batyr in anything. Therefore, I ask everyone who writes nasty things about me: please, if you can’t help me, at least don’t throw stones at me.

Alisher Elikbayev’s trip to the United States of America is supported by the US Consulate General in Almaty and is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of relations between the US and Kazakhstan. Over the course of the next year, 12 interviews with Kazakhstanis who live in the United States and are trying to make it there will be published on our website. The journey started on October 19 in Boston and will end in San Francisco at the end of November. Commercial travel partners: Altyn Bank, Hyundai Auto Kazakhstan, KFC, Hardee's, Centras Insurance.

After the death of his first child, the career of the lead singer of “A’Studio” went downhill

The sudden death of the 52-year-old ex-soloist of the group “A’Studio” and participant in the current season of the TV show “One to One!” Batyrkhan SHUKENOV shocked everyone. The Kazakh and Russian singer died of a heart attack in a Moscow apartment. Only now, to shame and regret, it turned out that we know very little about Batyr, although his hits “Julia”, “White River”, “Stop, Night”, “Soldier of Love”, “Unloved” are still very popular today. His close friend Alla MEDVEDEVA, bass guitarist of Kristina ORBAKAITE’s musical group, agreed to talk about the unknown pages of the musician’s life.

We have been friends with Batyrkhan for more than 20 years. He was the best of the best, I can’t imagine a sunnier person than him. We called each other almost every day. We planned to meet on May 1st. But on this day he was buried in Kazakhstan,” Alla cries. - Batyr’s heart had been bothering him before, he was examined a year ago. Then the doctors said that everything was not so bad. But the enormous workload took its toll. Flights, concerts, television filming... Apparently, he did not have time to fully recover. Alas, this is how we musicians live: on the run, at a gallop.
According to Medvedeva, she became close with Shukenov, the then lead singer of the A’Studio group, on tour. And one day he took his first wife Ekaterina with him on a trip to Vyborg, and she also immediately became Alla’s best friend.
“Katya is a European woman, originally from Riga,” says Medvedeva. - Her meeting with Batyr happened in a trivial way: she came as a spectator to a concert and fell into his unique energy field. He was also fascinated by the cute girl and did everything to start a relationship with her. However, in his company everyone felt warm, and if Batyrkhan turned on his charm, then anyone would lose their head.
In 2000, young people faced difficult trials. Katya gave birth to a long-awaited son, but the baby lived only 40 days.
“We then almost became pregnant at the same time,” continues the guitarist. - They shared their happiness with each other, chose a dowry for the children and a stroller. When my friend became a mother, everything seemed to be fine with the baby. And suddenly Katya calls me with terrible news: her child is in intensive care. And a few days later the baby was gone...
According to some reports, it was an intrauterine infection.

Divorce

There is a version that it was because of a family tragedy that Batyrkhan left A’Studio. He simply could not continue to tour actively while his beloved remained at home alone with grief. It was then that Alla Pugacheva once again greatly supported him.
By the way, the prima donna at one time contributed to the talented guys from Kazakhstan becoming popular throughout the former USSR: she invited the group to her Song Theater and to “Christmas meetings,” opening the way to show business. Having learned that Shukenov had retired from creativity due to the death of a child, Pugacheva invited him to a meeting and told him:
- You are a brilliant guy, don’t you dare quit music!
And he returned as a solo artist, but, unfortunately, he was never able to achieve his former popularity.

Batyrkhan and Katya were able to pull themselves together, recalls Alla Medvedeva. - We decided to have a second child. In 2002, they had a wonderful boy, Maksut (translated from Arabic, the name means “long-awaited.” - G.U.). Katya did everything to provide a living for her children. Batyr ran to the studio in the morning, and she took care of the baby and the house. But perhaps the death of their firstborn broke their relationship. They separated without scandals. We did everything possible to maintain a decent relationship for the sake of our son. Batyr experienced everything within himself.
I continued to communicate closely with both him and Katya. She first returned to the Baltic states, and then left with her son for the USA, where she started a jewelry business. Batyrkhan and I flew there to visit. After a long flight, I was very exhausted, and he immediately rushed to the ocean - he ran along the edge of the waves and rejoiced like a boy.

Providence of God

In 2008, 46-year-old Shukenov married for the second time. His chosen one was the 30-year-old beauty Aigul. They met in St. Petersburg, where the girl studied and where her relatives lived. The wedding took place in Shukenov’s homeland in Kyzylorda. After the traditional ceremony of betashar (introduction of the bride to her husband's relatives), the newlyweds went to worship the shrines in Turkestan.
“Aigul is a sweet girl,” Medvedeva continues. - But their family life also came to naught - love did not take root in their hearts. One day my husband Anton and I returned home at two in the morning. And we see that in the entrance, on the windowsill, food is laid out - bread, cheese. And suddenly a saxophone appears from the corner, and then its owner, Batyr. Smiles: “I came to spend the night with you.” Even in such a situation, we were glad to see him: he was a very bright person... With his departure, we were all orphaned. My mother even fell ill from the terrible news and could not go to say goodbye.
But, according to Alla, Batyrkhan’s only heir, 13-year-old Maksut, is now suffering especially hard.
“Father and son were true friends,” Medvedeva sighs heavily. - This summer Batyr came up with an extensive program for his boy. It was planned that the boy would visit Jurmala, Moscow and Alma-Ata. But it turned out that the child flew to Kazakhstan ahead of time. To see my father off on his last journey...