"Brezhnev could have been accused of betrayal and betrayal of the Motherland"

The political detective story "Dear Willy" is the story of how Leonid Brezhnev saved his country from a crisis that could turn out to be no less dangerous than the Caribbean. On November 1, the multi-part film will be shown in its entirety on REN TV. The decoration of his acting ensemble is Sergei Makovetsky, who played the General secretary of the USSR, and his Brezhnev does not look at all like the hero of jokes about himself, although he is happy to tell them. On the eve of the TV premiere, the People's Artist met with Izvestia and talked about how he created the image of Leonid Ilyich.

"He put his all into making sure there was peace in the whole world"

— You don't play statesmen that often. Especially the level of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. What qualities were you looking for in yourself to play a man invested with power?

— I watched a lot of documentaries of that time, six hours of chronicles. And I became convinced that Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was incredibly collected and cheerful in those years. Very sociable, very hooligan, very brave. And indeed, for him, "world peace" was not an empty word: he put his life into it. And I gave myself an inner attitude: "I'd rather not finish playing than turn Brezhnev into another joke."

Sergey Makovetsky as Leonid Brezhnev in the TV series "Dear Willy"

Photo: TV Format

— How exactly do you need to balance in order to...

"Don't ask me how. If it succeeded, it means that what I wanted and what we achieved together with the director happened. It's better if I don't finish playing, it's better if somewhere in the frame there will be once the eyes of Sergei Makovetsky, and then instantly the eyes of Leonid Ilyich. If it succeeded, then it's good. Well, I'll tell you how! Did you succeed?

— I succeeded!

— I can't tell you secrets. When you treat a person with respect, you begin to understand something. A lot of our viewers don't know him as I saw him. They probably only remember the absolute inadequacy in the last years of his life. But it's not his fault. Brezhnev wanted to leave, but they wouldn't let him in. This is the story of a man invested in power, whom the team held with all its might.

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We have a different story, and we're talking about a different person, who Brezhnev was in the 60s and 70s, when the events of the film "Dear Willy" take place. In the chronicle, I noticed how he communicated with astronauts, with workers, how he drove a car, and how he bullied. Brezhnev could easily get behind the wheel and drive at high speed. And there are some nurses in the back seat. He could suddenly miss the right turn and slam on the brakes. The car turned around and hovered over the abyss. Can you imagine what happened to the guards when they saw the Secretary General's car balancing over the abyss?

Sergey Makovetsky as Leonid Brezhnev in the TV series "Dear Willy"

Photo: TV Format

— I must have had a stroke.

— Leonid Ilyich was a bully. But when I learned the story of "Dear Willie," I discovered how the concept of "peaceful coexistence" was formed inside him. He spent his whole life doing it, he devoted himself to making sure that there was peace in the whole world.

Today it seems: just think, "world peace", what's original here. But just today, when everything is so on edge, this idea is seen as very modern. It requires a lot from politicians: courage, wisdom, risk — but smart risk. Leonid Ilyich risked everything in the story we tell about him. If it hadn't worked out, he could have been accused of anything: betrayal, treason. It was very serious.

"It seemed to me that it was communism"

— The world was on the verge of nuclear war, and Leonid Brezhnev and Willy Brandt prevented it.

— Risking everything, Brezhnev ensured that neither side crossed this line. Because we were ready to make a preemptive strike, and they were ready to do the same. Brezhnev, risking everything, stops this situation, because he understands perfectly well that war is not a victory parade. This is a game that is better not to finish playing. If we managed to convey this in the film, it means that we succeeded.

A shot from the TV series "Dear Willie"

Photo: TV Format

— How do you remember the Brezhnev era? I remember when I went into the bookstore, there were stacks of portraits of Brezhnev, Suslov, and other members of the Politburo.

— It was the 80s, I remember that too. I knew all the members of the Politburo. I saw Moscow in the 80s, because I had just joined the Vakhtangov Theater. It seemed to me that this was communism. I remember very well when our Olympic bear flew away. But it was the 80s, and we're talking about the 70s. I was still a young man at the time, and we hadn't paid attention to anything yet. We lived, and we had fun.

— And what the Secretary General says from the TV screen didn't interest you?

— Not in the 70s. We were teenagers. Do you think it was important for us?

— And we had political information lessons at school.

— We didn't have any political information lessons.

— What features of Leonid Ilyich helped you work on the image?

"I won't tell you. Don't ska-zhu! Take a look!

— You have a great duet with Vladimir Konkin, who plays the main ideologue of the USSR Mikhail Suslov. The actor hadn't acted in 18 years before that. Was it easy to find a common language with him?

— We instantly found a common language. And it was very cool.