"I was given roses for 85 years, but I just wanted attention and love"

Galina Stakhanova is called the "All-Russian grandmother" of cinema. She has more than 200 roles on her record, despite the fact that she did not receive any acting education. She calls the Moscow State University Student Theater, where she started under Mark Zakharov, her school, which she considers better than any university. In an exclusive interview with Izvestia, Galina Stakhanova told how she went from a telephone operator to a recognized actress, and shared her impressions of working with Gosha Kutsenko in the film "Tulips" — the spring analogue of "Christmas Trees", which will be released on March 5. The actress also touched upon the difficult post-war childhood and the superpowers of her ancestors.

— In the novel "Flowers for the beloved" you starred together with Gosha Kutsenko. Is this not your first collaboration?

— Yes, we used to work together at the Christmas Trees. He had a novel with Maria Shukshina. We treat each other very sincerely. Here I play the mother of Gosha Kutsenko's character. He has a big family.: two more daughters, a wife, a sister and a mother-in-law, with whom the relationship is difficult. March 8th is coming up. He should congratulate everyone. Think about everyone. He ordered a bunch of tulips for each of them, but something went wrong. No flowers were brought. Roses were placed under the door instead. And what should I do? He hands his girls these flowers. And they turn out to contain someone else's note. Everyone is upset, but the mother-in-law is especially unhappy.

— The reason for the conflict has been found!

— Of course! She swears at my son, saying that the note is somehow suspicious, and even her daughter did not get a bouquet, only one flower. Of course, I'm standing up for Gosha. After all, it's not his fault and he's trying to fix the situation. I don't want to reveal all the secrets, but the ending of the story is beautiful. The audience will witness a real fairy tale.

— You are a festive actress. First the New Year's "Christmas Trees", now the "Tulips" on March 8th.

— There are also other paintings. For example, I'm currently making films about the war. The series "45 days before Victory" about the Great Patriotic War. And there is also a film about what is happening in Donbass. The working title is "The Old Woman". In the story, I'm the grandmother of one of the fighters. But in fact it is a symbol of the Mother of God. This story is a parable. It has many meanings. I also starred in a movie about vampires, werewolves, and warlocks, where my character works for the Luch agency.

— Are you also an evil spirit?

— No, I'm pure power! I give pistols and other weapons to those who go to fight evil spirits.

— Do you believe in such superpowers?

— I believe it! My mother told me that there were witches and even werewolves in their village near Ryazan. I had a witch in my family: my grandmother treated people, delivered babies, removed evil eyes and spoilage. But she didn't give me such a gift. And my grandfather, though he didn't do magic, was a powerful man. Tall, with a beard just like Karl Marx's! His strength was superhuman! He could lift a cart with a load. And if it goes off, the lights go out in the house. He didn't even die like everyone else. It seemed like the hour of death had come, but my heart was beating. It turned out that there was some kind of appendage in a vital organ. The doctors later said that my grandfather had two hearts. Can you imagine, they even asked my grandmother to give my grandfather experiments.

"She didn't give it back, did she?"

"No, of course not. Grandfather worked hard all his life. The family lived well. He was even called a wealthy peasant. There were horses and cattle in the house. When they began to drive me to collective farms, my family did not want to part with their honestly acquired possessions. They were dispossessed. Although the family was very resistant to this. They fought for their goods. My grandparents had small children. But the authorities were not bothered by this. They cleaned up all the grain. And then the grandmother forced bundles on the children, put food in them, dressed them warmly and told them to run to the forest to hide in the "wolf pits".

"Why?"

— So that the girls don't take off their last clothes. Everyone who, in the opinion of the new government, had something superfluous was dispossessed and taken away. Poverty, gol perekatnaya mostly denounced those who were more affluent. Grandmother recalled how not only houses were destroyed, but also temples. There was a church in their village. It was looted: the icons were removed, the bells were torn down. And then my grandparents moved to Moscow. Our family had a room in a communal apartment on Mokhovaya Street. The neighbors found out that Mom was from a wealthy family, and they started calling her "cam."

— Did your family think that you could become an actress?

— Of course not. Although Mom knew that I was aiming somewhere. Wrong place (smiles). When we returned from the evacuation after the war, I signed up for all the clubs I could. Then everything was free. In the summer, our parents sent us to pioneer camps. And they didn't pay for it: they gave vouchers from the company.

— And what does your daughter do? Why didn't she decide to become an actress looking at you?

— She graduated from medical college. And my granddaughter is currently looking towards the cinema. But I think one artist in the family is enough. The daughter, when asked why she did not become an artist, answers: "You have to have a talent like Mom's, God-given, or not even try."

— What about labor? You can achieve your goal with determination.

- no. You only need to ride on talent! Otherwise, many people are graduating from institutes, and even now they have divorced different acting courses, but they do not know the profession. I didn't finish anything. I didn't need that. I have a better school than any theatrical university — the Student Theater of Moscow State University, which I enrolled in.

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— Many famous people came out of this legendary theater. Mark Zakharov, Roman Viktyuk, Valery Fokin, Mikhail Levitin, and Mark Rozovsky started there.

— Rozovsky was on a parallel course. He had a variety studio "Our House", which he directed. He has gathered strong guys: Gennady Khazanov, Alexander Filippenko, Semyon Farada. And we have Iya Savvina, Alla Demidova, Seva Shestakov.

Mark Zakharov worked as a director at the Moscow State University Theater. He didn't leave us. He graduated from GITIS and worked in the Satire Theater. He also worked with aspiring artists at the Moscow State University Student Theater. That's where I got to. In 1966, Mark Anatolyevich began to stage "I Want to be Honest" based on Voinovich. He gave me a role. So I started at Zakharov's.

— Why didn't you start going to the theater?

— I left school after the eighth grade. She started working early and became a telephone operator at the station. Mom needed help. What kind of theatrical universities are there! I studied at a theater studio. And she got her diploma at the evening School of working youth. But I was constantly drawn to art. I got into the Mayakovsky Theater, I was a makeup artist's student.

— This is one of the most famous theaters in the capital.

— Yes, at that time it was led by People's Artist of the USSR Nikolai Okhlopkov. And what actors served in it! The idols of the whole country are Lev Sverdlin, Alexander Khanov, Evgeny Samoilov, Evgenia Kozyreva, Maria Babanova. These are the stars! I'll hide in the wings somewhere and watch them work. I watch and learn. I've never seen such actors before.

— You have more than 200 films on your track record. And which offers do you prefer?

— For anyone: comedies, tragedies, even about vampires are fine. And, thank God, I have a lot of work to do. The workload is normal. I don't suffer from a lack of work. And it's a real gift.

— What kind of gift would you like to receive on March 8th?

— When the anniversary was, 85 years were celebrated — they gave me roses, which I don't like. But I just wanted attention, love, and more! (Laughs).

"That's all?"

— Yes, that's all. I want everything in my life to be progressive. I have the strength. I'm trying! I'm holding on!