The singer who survived the tumultuous 90s looks to the future with optimism.
Vika Tsyganova lives in a cozy house near Sheremetyevo Airport - with a pond and a workshop for sewing fur products. Together with her husband Vadim, they have been walking hand in hand for almost 40 years. During the New Year holidays, journalists visited the couple for a cup of Vika's signature tea. First of all, we wanted to know why she is completely absent from television. Is she being boycotted?
- No, no! - she laughed. I do not participate in filming, I refuse concerts, and I am not in entertainment programs. Instead, I perform a lot... I am going to sing in a monastery now. And by the way, I don’t have a television at home.
- What do you live on, if I may ask?
- Vadim and I have managed to save something. My pension is 12,000 rubles. A funny amount. It’s not even enough for hair dyeing.
- Did you celebrate the New Year in a grand way?
- In recent years, I prefer to celebrate Christmas more. The New Year’s frenzy goes away, and then it’s wonderful. …We did have a glass of champagne on New Year’s Eve, of course. There is no ban on alcohol in our house. However, I haven’t consumed it for a very long time. In my youth, it was a different story. By the way, when I was studying in Khabarovsk, I performed a lot at corporate events. I was a professional Snow Maiden. There are many sailors in Khabarovsk who went abroad, and on New Year’s they paid double the price. We ran from one restaurant to another and earned money. We came home in the early morning and fell asleep from exhaustion.
- What did you spend the money on? Expensive outfits?
- I sewed all my clothes myself. But shoes are more complicated. I will never forget how, as a child, I went to the market with two Siamese kittens in a box to sell them and buy new shoes. There was no money in the family. I sold them for five rubles and bought sandals. I stood at the market in minus 25 degrees in a soldier's overcoat and said something about unique kittens. - I - no... By the way, Mikhail Krug loved them very much, and when we were filming the clip “Come to Our House,” my husband gave Misha two cats - for good luck. And to the journalist who was present at the shoot - a ginger cat, which supposedly brings money.
- A wonderful song. Not everyone knows that Vadim wrote it...
- I didn’t want to sing it with Mikhail. I said that I didn’t know him, and that was true. Mikhail was my admirer, and we only met during the filming of the clip.
- By education, you are an actress. Do you communicate with artists?
- I greatly value the kind attitude of Alexander Yakovlevich Mikhaylov towards me. By the way, he signed my diploma in acting education. We went on shoots and performances with Inna Churikova, Nikolai Karachentsov, and were on very good terms. I communicated with Tabakov and remember him warmly. Yuri Lyubimov invited me to the Taganka Theater for the lead role, and it was incredible.
- What is your attitude towards Larisa Dolina after everything that happened?
- I don’t want to comment. I am ashamed of her. God marks the rogue, and no one will remain unpunished. Although, to be honest, there is no justice in the world. It exists only in our hearts.
