"Let's kiss": Six women's stories about Boris Nemtsov

Has prepared: Julia Taratuta

Boris Nemtsov - former Deputy Prime Minister, the leader of the Union of Right Forces party, a deputy, an oppositionist and a politician with the most seemingly unusual career in Russia were killed exactly two years ago. Yesterday, meetings and processions of his memory were held in Moscow and other Russian cities. On February 23, the documentary “Too Free a Man” by Mikhail Fishman and Vera Krichevskaya was released - an amazing political biography of a specific person and the whole country. We publish excerpts from the working materials of the film that the authors shared with us: these are six women's stories about Boris Nemtsov, their daughter, wife, ally, friend, confidant, and daughter of the first president of Russia, who persuaded Nemtsov to move to Moscow, take turns.

Irina Khakamada

ex-colleague of Boris Nemtsov in the government, co-chairman of the Union of Right Forces

During the 1999 ATP elections, Borey Nemtsov and I worked for young people — we went on tour in Russia. Endless rock concerts, we were both dancers and shouted from the stage. At first Boria was wildly annoyed. He said: "Er, I can not, I do not know how to dance. My knee hurts. I can not sleep so little." I was joking: “Bor, I’m going to teach you to rock and roll, but you need to sleep less.” Gradually, he wound up and even got a taste. In one of the cities, when the stadium was already full of euphoria, the presenter from the stage began to shout: “Guys, we love freedom, we love Russia. Let's all kiss”. And then Boris says: "Irk, and come on and we will kiss." And we kissed under the spotlights right there.

Once, Nemtsov and I went to a conference in Belarus — we were friends with the local opposition. We arrive in Minsk, there are ten of us. All calmly descend from the ramp. Suddenly, a closed UAZ car pulls up, they carry in such prisoners, take Nemtsov by the arms and clean there. And they say to me: "Irina Mutsuovna, you can go to the bus, you will be taken to the conference." I told them: "I will not go anywhere. And Nemtsov will not give you up just like that. Take me along with him then." We sat down together and drove us somewhere. We drove a long time, about two hours. Boris Efimovich all the time called assistants, tried to get in touch. But I am a big adventurer, I suggested not to get in touch and disappear for two days in Belarus. First, I say, there will be a scandal. Secondly, we will have great ratings. But Nemtsov did not like the idea. He says: “Er, you were stunned? You will be delivered to Belarusian forests now, shot.” I insist: "They will not shoot, we are state people." Nemtsov did not obey, he phoned to anyone, they bring us back to the airport. They roll out a suitcase with our party brochures, and when they open it, it turns out that instead of brochures there are artificial dollars, powdered with copies of the covers.

Nemtsov reached for the suitcase, and I shouted again: "Do not touch, do not leave fingerprints." Remembered, it seems, all the detectives who read in life. We are asked: "Yours?" We say: "No, not ours." Then we were put on a plane and sent to Moscow. We flew in, and in a day Nord-Ost began.

When Nemtsov was first arrested, I thought it was not very scary, there is an unwritten law: if you were in the nomenclature, they will scoff at you less in prison, well, and the merits of the past still work. But, of course, I was worried and called him: how are you, how are you feeling. And he says: “Er, I'm fine. It's generally great.” And then he continues: “Here, you know, a thief is sitting alone, a young guy. He’s crazy for you, can I give him your phone number?” I say: "Bor, stop! What are you doing something?" “No, he’s really good. He’s just so in love with you. It turns out there’s a TV set, and he’s watching all the debates. He’s Armenian, by the way. Do you have Armenian blood?” He still gave my phone to him, and we even corresponded for a while. This is the “good guy” - the whole of Boris Efimovich.

Zhanna Nemtsova

daughter of Boris Nemtsov

In 1992, just a few months after my father's appointment, I gave the first interview in my life, after which I did not give more interviews, it seems, about ten years. When they asked me: "What should the governor do?" - I said: "Resign." In principle, I still agree with this - in Russia, all politicians should resign, and not sit for fifteen years. But at that moment it was completely wrong - after all, I was talking about my dad, who was very young, at my age became the governor, solved a huge number of problems, made, perhaps, not the most popular solutions. I understood what I said was stupid. And the journalist who was interviewing (by the way, it was Nina Zvereva) began to receive letters: “Why this little fool — well, something like that — was released to the screen?”

Actually, I was very shy that my dad was the governor. I wanted equality. And with all my strength I tried not to push out who the dad was, although everyone knew about it. We lived in the country, my father had a Volga, she drove not only him, but also us. She drove me to school. And I always asked that this “Volga” stop not in front of the school, but a mile away, so as not to focus people's attention on the fact that I drive a car. It was probably an open secret. But I was so comfortable.

My life at the time was a semi-arrogant, I was cycling a lot, walking in the woods and picking berries. That is, led a recluse lifestyle. Sometimes I went with my dad, of course, to all parts of the region. Once we were at the opening of a maternity hospital in the city of Vache, for which Mstislav Rostropovich gave money, he was a great friend of Boris Yefimovich. I also remember, in Nizhny Novgorod there was a concert by Alla Pugacheva. Then there was a feast, and I was impressed by Alla Pugacheva, because she is an excellent storyteller.

When we drove back to Moscow, I said: "You will win the election." He says: "Come on, you." I say: "You'll see." There was a feeling of victory

When the parents divorced, we went to celebrate it in three. Haha I remember, it was Kolbasoff restaurant, in my opinion, on Taganka. My parents have a good relationship. And then dad went to the rally. In 2010, on December 31, there was a rally on Triumfalnaya Square in support of Article 31 of the Constitution on freedom of assembly. And my dad was arrested and put in prison for 15 days. And Judge Borovkov judged him. I was at this meeting and gave testimony with my girlfriend, but they were recognized as prejudiced and did not begin to be taken into account. When he came out of the detention center, I met him, we just went to the cafe. And he felt bad because he was sick. And when we left, the Nashists tried to throw a net on him. It was their favorite reception. But they could not. My father had a great reaction.

When dad was elected to the Yaroslavl Duma, part of the campaign was devoted to a healthy lifestyle. And he called me to star in a video. We went to the park of the 1000th anniversary of Yaroslavl. At first they thought about tennis, but tennis seems to be a Moscow sport, and besides, I cannot play now, I have joint problems. Dad decided, we will run and do exercises. And we from eight in the morning turned circles on this park. The video was completely trivial - without airplanes. And then dad was still catching up, doing a classic upturn and turning up and saying something like: “Stop drinking, let's build sites”. By the way, he later sent his deputy’s salary to the construction of sports grounds near schools. When we rode the train back to Moscow, I told him: "You will win the election." He says: "Come on, you." I say: "You'll see." There was a feeling of victory.

Tatyana Yumasheva

daughter of the first president of Russia Boris Yeltsin, former presidential adviser

I do not remember, frankly, how exactly we met Borey Nemtsov. But in the first presidential term, we sometimes met during my father's holidays. For example, we fused the whole family along the Volga and stayed in Nizhny Novgorod, and Boris, of course, as a governor, met us and spent the whole day with us. They often retired with their dad and talked for a long time. I remember once we rested in Sochi, and came to the Big Hat tournament - a tennis tournament where Boris was playing. And my dad and I were sick.

Borya always gave the impression of a bright and, I would say, unusual official and governor, infecting everyone with his energy, positive, smiling, joking. And we have a good relationship. Dad loved such energetic, independent people altogether.

Bori always had his own opinion on every occasion, and he absolutely fearlessly defended him in front of everyone, including the president. Of course, sometimes dad was not very nice. But he appreciated this property in Bor. Dad, I remember, said Bore: "Why does Zyuganov speak so much in Nizhny Novgorod during the election campaign? Just a bit, so immediately from Nizhny Novgorod(in 1996, presidential elections were held, in the final of which Boris Yeltsin opposed the Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov. - Ed.)"Nemtsov said:" Well, Boris Nikolayevich, everything is legal. Democracy. You see, I give everyone a voice. I am for you. But elections are elections. ”Well, dad understood that, of course.

I still have his number on the phone. And I can not erase it, it does not work

When Borya arrived in Moscow (Tatyana Yumasheva also led the negotiations with Nemtsov at the request of President Yeltsin for the post of deputy prime minister. - Ed.)I felt a little responsible for changing his life so abruptly. And of course, I tried to help, maybe, some domestic problems to solve it. Bori had absolutely no time for this: he was busy from morning to evening working in the government. I tried to help his family settle in Moscow. Find a good school for your daughter, advise the apartment. Well, in general, I did everything I could.

I think there were moments when Dad considered Nemtsov his successor. The future president of Russia. There were qualities in Bor that impressed my father, they were close to him. True, we never talked about it. But then, it seems to me, this desire faded away.

So much time has passed, but it is still impossible to believe - that he is no more. It seems that now he will come in, so energetic, with a white-toothed smile, jostling. I still have his number on the phone. And I can not erase it, it does not work.

Raisa Nemtsova

Boris Nemtsov's wife

Boris entered the dining room - we called them obkomovskimi - and everyone gasped. Well, I mean girls who were close by. Because it was an extraordinarily beautiful young man, with a very bright appearance. Almond-shaped eyes. With a huge shock of hair and beard. We are dumbfounded by such beauty. Tall more to the same. He was hyperactive, very noisy. And always in the spotlight.

We met when he was 23, and I, respectively, 26. I worked in the library, and Boris was a scientist. We started going to Sverdlov’s kindergarten, there was a tennis court, and we just learned to play tennis. I'm self-taught. Boris, too, in principle, may have taken a couple of lessons. But he is very capable.

We also ran. Boria taught me to run, we have the Gorky Sea, and we went there for the weekend. There he made me run and pull up. We run somehow with him through the forest, and towards him from his institute guys. They say: "Bor, well, how can you force a girl to run?"

I usually called when I heard that he was arrested. I asked if everything is in order? “Yes,” he said, “I'm in a paddy wagon.” Or: "Everything, already released"

How did he come into politics? In Nizhny Novgorod, in the city, built a thermal nuclear power plant. This meant that the plant generates heat, the water is heated by means of nuclear reactors and enters the houses through heating mains. Mama Bory - a pediatrician - was scary against it, literally outside of herself, especially after the Chernobyl accident. And she first went out into the street. I sat down somewhere on Freedom Square or Gorky Square and began collecting signatures against the construction of the station. And then she turned to Bor, they say, it's terrible, you have to make every effort, support me and in general somehow publicly state this. Boris said - I wrote, an article in the newspaper "Nizhny Novgorod worker." The article caused a great resonance. There was a big discussion, he spoke on television. Then the time of rallies began. And naturally, Boris took part in it. I rarely went to rallies: I needed to prepare and feed a crowd of people who came to our house after that.

We parted when I learned that he has an extra family. I tried to find myself a new life partner, but it didn't work out. Boreas was very easy, you know? Fun. Easy. Not boring. And in general, I felt protected. This feeling has always been that you are protected. I do not know why.

I usually called when I heard that he was arrested. I asked if everything is in order? “Yes,” he said, “I'm in a paddy wagon.” Or: "Everything has already been released." Once he was taken in front of me. We were getting divorced that day - sitting in a restaurant, waiting for a lawyer. We sat for a long time, just discussed something, then we went and filed an application. And then they heard that the people were satisfied with a rally. And they went together - me, Jeanne and Boria. We left Mayakovskaya metro station and from there on foot. He was already waiting.

Nina Zvereva

journalist, trustee Boris Nemtsov in the elections

We had a good television in Gorky. And I taught him where to look. He hated looking at the camera. He said: "I do not want to look into this black hole, I need a man to sit." But he could spend hours explaining what private property is, what freedom is.

When Margaret Thatcher arrived, he worried like a boy. He repeated: "I can not say anything! Nina Nikolaevna, I can not say anything." In fact, we all had meetings on the tennis court. And with Yeltsin, and with Luzhkov-fought just to death. Everyone except Margaret Thatcher seems to have played tennis with Boris. He loved it very much. He had a beautiful form, he was gorgeous in it.

Once Nikita Mikhalkov brought to the Lower International Film Festival. Everyone was waiting for Richard Gere, finally, he arrives, a solemn meeting. Gir, so luxurious, gray-haired, as if descended from a Hollywood screen. And Boris is also tall and beautiful. Gere comes up to Bor and says: "Ai em Richard Gere." To which Nemtsov replies: "And I am Boris Nemtsov." It was right here ah. When meeting. I am a Gear. I am Nemtsov.

I also remember a funny story - how Borya lost weight. And Borya lost weight all the time. He came, sat at the table. He said that there will be nothing today. Hour endured, and then ate everything that was on the table, and left terribly unhappy. This is also Boria.

Once Boris and my daughter Katya decided to dance rock and roll on my birthday. The apartment was small, so Boria Katina smashed the chandelier to smithereens with his heel. But in general he danced very well, with his daughter Zhanna danced at her wedding - really, with pleasure. And when Jeanne was small, I remember that Borya and Paradise rented an apartment - a wreck, but it was always full of people. She cooked paradise, ate everything. And Zhanka was always spinning with adults. I remember she really wanted a cat. And Andrei Dmitrievich, in honor of Academician Sakharov, was going to call him.

Evgenia Albats

journalist, close friend of Boris Nemtsov

In Soviet times, I was a "scientist" - I wrote about elementary particle physics. And my friend Lev Yerukhimov said that he had such Borya in his laboratory (they were engaged in ionosphere physics), and sent an excerpt from an institute newspaper about him. Boria at that time protested against the construction of the nuclear power plant. And since he was a bright and attractive man, he immediately became the leader of the protest movement. Then I published one of my first materials about the KGB in the Moscow News newspaper and in the spring of 1988 — I was still pregnant with my daughter — went to Gorky with an offspring, and the Nemtsov appeared in the hall. That was such a hair and absolutely arrogant eyes.

In 1995, I did research for my Harvard thesis on bureaucracy. I needed a province, and I naturally went to Borka. I remember, it seemed to me that he had a little blown down the roof. Something like that appeared in him, you know, from Ostrovsky - he became as if the master of life. I told him, of course, immediately said that. And he was very upset. He came to my hotel in the evening and for a long, long time explained that it was such a game, the bureaucracy must feel that he was all boss. He told how he first tried to oust all the old officials. And then I realized that without them it is absolutely impossible. For example, he had a clerk, a lady who said: "When I find a mistake in a government document, I have an orgasm."

In 1991, the fall, in Gorky, was an absolute famine. Boris agreed with the military district and placed military field kitchens right on the streets of the city - he fed people. There were also tobacco revolts in Gorky - there were no cigarettes. Of course, he got a lot. Since there was nothing to eat in the country, my husband and I went to the Gorky region to pick mushrooms in Kerzhen forests. You will laugh, I rolled fifty cans, it was possible to hold the winter with potatoes. But there were no roads there - in order to drive, one had to put chains on the Volga. So, we must pay tribute to Bor, in the 95th year the roads appeared in the city.

Boria, of course, was imprisoned for a long life. He has an unfortunate fate in some sense. He was a brilliant man, his colleagues said that he was a very good physicist. Он был один из лучших губернаторов Российской Федерации. Вице-премьером ездил к шахтёрам, которые бастовали, в шахты. Он легко разговаривал с людьми, они ему верили. В нормальной стране у Бориса была бы замечательная политическая карьера. Он был преемником первого президента России. У него был реальный шанс стать президентом этой страны.

Я ужасно ссорилась с ним из-за его любвеобильности. Всё время говорила: "Боря, ну это невозможно. Ты публичный человек. Ну, остановись на одну секунду". Он не мог. В нём было невероятное количество энергии. С утра каждый день Боря шёл в спортзал. Why do I know about this? Because while he was running along the path, we chatted with him. We talked to him every day. He told me: "Albats, tell me!" And I told him something or consulted, or he told me something there. And I called him about everything and asked: "Bor, change dollars or not change dollars?" Very, terribly miss him.

Photo: Wikimedia commons