The expenses for organizing the funeral were covered by the Union of Cinematographers of Russia.
Circus artist Gitana Leontenko passed away in her apartment in the capital at the age of 90. She was laid to rest at the Preobrazhenskoe Cemetery, near the grave of her husband Alexei Batalov. The expenses for organizing the funeral were covered by the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, headed by Nikita Mikhalkov.
Elena Skorokhodova reacted to Leontenko's death. The actress from the films "Lonely People Are Provided with Housing," "Happy, Zhenya!", "The Womanizer" spoke very harshly about the deceased.
"She ruined four lives. First and foremost, her unfortunate husband, whom she took away from his family, made him forget his daughter, not recognize his granddaughter; she zombified him, turned him into a mankurt... She drove her dacha neighbor to the grave with unimaginable accusations," Skorokhodova assured.
The actress also accused Alexei Batalov's widow of causing harm to Natalia Drozhzhina and Mikhail Tsivin. In May 2023, the Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow sentenced the actress from the film "Interdevochka" to four years of probation, while her husband received five years in a penal colony. They were punished for using Gitana Arkadyevna's power of attorney to withdraw almost all her savings — over 20 million rubles.
"She ruined the fates of two innocent people before her, whom she first turned into servants, squeezed everything out of them, manipulated their trust, and then joyfully threw them in the trash. I have no sympathy for her. But I hope that with her passing, the witch's charms will finally disappear, and those suffering from fabricated criminal cases will be released," Elena wrote on her VK page.
Skorokhodova opposed Leontenko even during her life. "Tsivin was waiting for Batalov's widow to come to her senses, as he was not guilty of anything," she claimed.
Elena's first husband was actor Vladimir Vinogradov. For the second time, the actress and poetess married another artist, Andrei Tashkov. She gave birth to a son, Ivan, from him. Their marriage fell apart due to the man's affair with Elena Koreneva.
The actress conditionally sentenced for fraud with the Batalov's property got in touch after Gitana Leontenko's passing. Natalia Drozhzhina called on Nadezhda Batalova to protect her younger sister.
