Aizenshpis Yuri son. What did the famous producer Yuri Aizenshpis sit for?

Producer Yuri Aizenshpis was one of the first in our country to start professionally "promoting" pop and pop stars. There were legends about this man, and his every step was shrouded in the most incredible rumors. But in spite of everything, all the projects that Yuri Aizenshpis undertook turned out to be successful.

Contrary to the general trend, the performers who left him never slandered him in the press and never entered into litigation.

Yuri Aizenshpis: biography. Childhood and youth

Aizenshpis was born in Chelyabinsk in 1945. His mother, Maria Mikhailovna Aizenshpis, a native Muscovite, was sent to this city for evacuation. Shmil Moiseevich Aizenshpis (father of Yuri) is a Polish Jew who was forced to leave his homeland to escape the Nazis. He fought in the ranks of the Soviet army and was a veteran of the Second World War.

After the end of the war, the family returned to Moscow. Until 1961, she lived in a dilapidated wooden hut, and then received a wonderful apartment in a prestigious area of ​​the capital. At that time they had a gramophone with a large collection of records and a KVN-49 TV.

As Yuri Shmilevich Aizenshpis himself recalled, in his youth he was seriously involved in sports: handball, athletics, volleyball, but due to a leg injury he had to stop training. In addition to sports, the young man in those days was interested in jazz. He had a tape recorder, which the young man bought with his savings.

The first recordings were jazz compositions by famous musicians of the world - Woody Herman, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald. Yuri Aizenshpis, whose photo you can see in our article, was well versed in various directions - jazz-rock, avant-garde and popular jazz. After some time, he became interested in the origins of rock music, the founders of the direction of rhythm and blues.

The circle of lovers and connoisseurs of this music was quite small in those days, everyone knew each other. When one of the like-minded people got a new record, Yuri Aizenshpis rewrote it. At that time, “black markets” were widespread in our country, which the police constantly dispersed. Exchange, purchase and sale were prohibited. The sellers simply confiscated the discs. And in spite of everything, records entered the country from abroad on a regular basis, overcoming the powerful barriers of customs rules and laws. Under the ban were some performers - Elvis Presley, the sisters of Bury.

Education

After graduating from school, Yury Shmilevich Aizenshpis entered MESI and graduated in 1968 with a diploma in engineering and economics. But it should be noted that he entered the institute and successfully graduated only in order not to upset his parents.

First musical project

Yes, a graduate of the Faculty of Economics, Yuri Aizenshpis, did not like his specialty at all. His soul was drawn to music. While still studying at the institute, twenty-year-old Yuri began his creative activity, showing courage and business acumen.

In the mid-seventies, Beatlemania swept the world. At this time, Yuri with a group of like-minded musicians created the first rock band in our country. Since all members of the group lived near the Sokol metro station, they didn’t get too smart with the name of the group and they also called it Sokol. Today this group has taken its rightful place in the history of the Russian rock movement.

At first, the musicians performed the songs of the legendary Beatles in English. At that time, it was believed that rock music could only exist in English. Friends have long noted the activity of Yuri and his organizational talent, so they appointed him as someone like an impresario.

Some time later, the team was admitted to the staff of the Tula Philharmonic. The group toured a lot, and Aizenshpis' monthly income sometimes reached an astronomical amount of 1,500 rubles at that time. For comparison: the salary of the ministers of the Soviet Union was no more than a thousand rubles.

Ticket selling

At the very beginning of his activity, more precisely during his collaboration with the Sokol group, Yuri developed an unusual ticket sales scheme. Having previously agreed with the director of some house of culture or club, Aizenshpis bought all the tickets for the last screening of the film, and then sold them at a higher price to the group's concert.

As a rule, there were much more people who wanted to listen to music than there were seats in the hall. At times things got out of control. It is for this reason that Aizenshpis was the first to hire security guards in the seventies to ensure order at concerts.

With the money received from the sale of tickets, he bought foreign currency, with which he purchased high-quality musical instruments and high-quality sound equipment for the stage from foreigners. Since in the USSR at that time all foreign exchange transactions were illegal, he always took a big risk when making transactions.

Work in the Central Statistical Bureau of the USSR

In 1968, Aizenshpis joined the Central Statistical Office as a junior researcher with a salary of 115 rubles. However, he rarely visited his workplace. His main income continued to be foreign exchange transactions, buying up and further selling gold. He made transactions, the volume of which exceeded a million dollars a month. At that time, the underground millionaire was only 25 years old.

Arrest

But such a life did not last long. In early January 1970, Aizenshpis was arrested. During a search in his apartment, 7,675 dollars and 15,585 rubles were found. He was convicted under Article 88 ("Currency transactions"). Even in places of detention, the entrepreneurial vein of Aizenshpis was manifested. In the Krasnoyarsk-27 zone, the future producer launched a brisk trade in tea, vodka and sugar. Then he began to be appointed to senior positions at local construction sites.

When he was transferred to a colony-settlement, Yuri fled from there to Pechory and settled with a local intellectual, whom he charmed with his charm and talk about the capital. However, he was soon exposed by a guest at home - a police colonel. And again, the amazing luck of Aizenshpis, as well as his knowledge of the basics of psychology, came to the rescue. He was transferred to another colony to an excellent position as a rationer.

Yuri Aizenshpis spent almost 18 years in prison for what any citizen is now allowed to do. But something else is important: for such a long period of time, Aizenshpis did not become embittered, did not become a criminal, did not lose his human appearance.

Life after release

Once free in 1988, Aizenshpis saw Russia unfamiliar to him during perestroika. Alexander Lipnitsky introduced him to the rock scene. At first, he was entrusted to head the directorate of the Intershans festival. Gradually, step by step, he studied the backstage life and the basics of show business, and soon the aspiring producer began working with domestic musical performers.

Yuri Shmilevich formulated his mission quite frankly - to promote the artist using any means: diplomacy, bribery, threats or blackmail. This is exactly how he acted, for which he was called the "shark of show business."

There were plenty of unknown young performers who dreamed of breaking into the big stage. Yuri Aizenshpis chose among them those who could hook the viewer, who had at least a more or less interesting repertoire. At first, through television, he presented them to the general public, and then organized tours.

Group "Kino"

From December 1989 until the tragic death of Viktor Tsoi (1990), Aizenshpis was the producer and director of the Kino group. He was the first to break the state monopoly on the release of records. Already in 1990, he released the "Black Album" with funds taken on credit.

It should be noted: by the beginning of cooperation with the producer, Kino was already a fairly well-known group. At that time, the most successful, legendary album "Blood Type" had already been recorded. According to critics, after him Choi could not write a single line for two or three years. Therefore, cooperation with Kino brought Aizenshpis to a new stellar level of activity, which allowed him to earn credibility in his craft.

"Technology"

If "Kino" at the beginning of work with the producer already had some success, then the "Technology" group was molded almost from scratch by Yuri Aizenshpis. "Lighting the Stars" - this is how the producer began to be called more and more often after his second successful project. Using the example of "Technology", he managed to prove that he can take guys with an average level of talent and "sculpt" stars out of them.

Among the numerous ensembles that existed at that time on the stage was the Bioconstructor group, which eventually split into two subgroups. One was called "Bio", and the second was just thinking about its name and musical concept. They could show only two or three songs, which the already well-known producer liked. As time has shown, Aizenshpis was not mistaken and was able to create a really popular group, which was called "Technology".

Linda

In 1993, Aizenshpis drew attention to the young performer Svetlana Geiman in Jurmala. Very soon, the name of the singer Linda became known to both the audience and music critics. Soon the songs I want your sex, "Non-stop" and the famous hit "Playing with Fire" appeared. Linda's joint work with the producer lasted less than a year, after which they parted ways.

Vlad Stashevsky

This project was more long-term - it lasted six years (1993-1999). The favorite of the beautiful half of Russian viewers, the sex symbol of the mid-nineties was Vlad Stashevsky, who, in collaboration with Aizenshpis, released five albums.

The producer met Stashevsky at the Master nightclub. Yuri Shmilyevich heard Vlad playing an out-of-tune piano backstage and humming songs from the repertoire of Mikhail Shufutinsky and Willy Tokarev. After this meeting, nothing foreshadowed a long cooperation, although Aizenshpis left his business card to an unknown artist.

A few days later he called Vlad and they arranged a meeting, during which Aizenshpis introduced Vlad to Vladimir Matetsky, who took part in the audition. The first performance of Stashevsky took place at the end of August 1993 in Adjara, at a song festival.

Awards, further creative activity

In 1992, Aizenshpis was awarded the Ovation Award as the best producer in Russia. Until 1993, Yuri Shmilevich produced the Young Guns, Moral Code, singer Linda groups. In 1997, he began to study the singers Inga Drozdova and Katya Lel, a year later the singer Nikita became his protégé, and since 2000, cooperation with the Dynamite group began.

During this period, Yuri Aizenshpis became especially famous as a very successful producer. The man who lit the stars on the Russian stage, since 2001, has taken over as CEO of the Media Star company.

Dima Bilan

Yuri Aizenshpis and Dima Bilan met in 2003. According to music critics, the last project of the famous producer, which he worked on for the last three years of his life, became one of the most successful in the work of Yuri Shmilyevich. In September 2005, Dima Bilan was recognized as the best performer of 2004 according to MTV, and much later became the winner of Eurovision 2008.

Other roles

In 2005, Yuri Shmilevich played a cameo role in the popular Russian film Night Watch. In addition, he became the author of the book Lighting the Stars.

Family life

Aizenshpis did not like to talk about his personal life. At the Intershans-89 festival, he met a very pretty assistant director Elena. The couple did not formalize the relationship. In 1993, a baby appeared in the family - the son of Misha. But gradually the feelings lost their former sharpness, and the couple broke up.

Yuri Shmilevich spoiled his son Aizenshpis, however, the educational process was completely shifted to Elena's shoulders. Mikhail often visited his father's office, went to concerts with him. Yuri Shmilevich bequeathed to his son and ex-wife two huge apartments in Moscow. After the death of the producer, Elena married the editor of the TNT channel, Leonid Gyune.

Yuri Aizenshpis: cause of death

On September 20, 2005, this talented person, a recognized and successful Russian producer, passed away. At about eight o'clock in the evening, Yuri Aizenshpis died in the Moscow City Hospital No. 20. Death was due to a massive myocardial infarction. Yuri Shmilevich was buried at the Domodedovo cemetery near Moscow.

Born July 15, 1945 in Moscow.
In 1968 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Economics and Statistics with a degree in engineer-economist. He began his professional career in 1965, working as an administrator with the rock group "SOKOL". Developed an original scheme of the team's activities. After an oral agreement with the director of the club to hold a concert, the administrator bought up tickets for the evening demonstration of the film and distributed them at a higher price. For the first time, he involved in the work of people who ensured order during the performance of the group. January 7, 1970 was arrested. As a result of the search, 15,585 rubles and 7,675 dollars were confiscated. Convicted under article 88 (gold and currency transactions). Released from prison in 1977, subsequently received a paper with an official apology.

For a short time he worked in the TO "Gallery" under the city committee of the Komsomol, organizing concerts of young performers. In early 1989, he produced the KINO group. One of the first to break the state monopoly on the publication of records. Taking a loan of 5,000,000 rubles (1990), he released the last work of the KINO group - Black Album. From 1991 to 1992, he collaborated with the TECHNOLOGY group. Helps musicians to release their debut album "Everything You Want", organizes the release of various printed products (posters, postcards, etc.).
In 1992 he became the winner of the national Russian music award "Ovation" in the nomination "Best Producer". Between 1992 and 1993 worked as a producer with the MORAL CODE and YOUNG GUNS groups. Since the summer of 1994, he has been collaborating with singer Vlad STASHEVSKY (4 albums were recorded in 1997, the debut - Love Doesn't Live Here Anymore - was released on the Aisenshpis Records label). Participated in the organization of the international festival "Sunny Adzharia" (1994), as well as in the establishment of the music award "Star". In 1995, based on the results of work for 1993-1994, he was again awarded the Ovation Prize. In 1997, he continued to work with Vlad Stashevsky, while collaborating with the aspiring singer Inga Drozdova. From 1999 to 2000 he worked on the SASHA project. From 1998 to 2001 - he raised the artist NIKITA to the heights of popularity.

He passed away on September 20, 2005 in Moscow. He was buried at the Domodedovo cemetery near Moscow.

This person is called the first music producer of the USSR and Russia. It was he who, on the wave of Perestroika, introduced the audience to the first cult rock group "Kino", and then, again, he was the first to deprive the state of a monopoly on the publication of records and music albums.

Note that his talent as a businessman and organizer manifested itself much earlier, only then such activities of his fell under criminal articles. So in total, the future famous producer Yuri Aizenshpis spent almost 17 years behind bars.

"Golden" farce

Violation of the rules on foreign exchange transactions was on a different occasion. Having entered the institute, Yuri Aizenshpis, driven by his commercial inclinations, decided to turn to his other youthful passion - to sports. Among his friends there were guys who now played football in the Dynamo team, traveled abroad for friendly matches and received checks that could be sold in the USSR in the only Beryozka currency store.
In those days, a dollar on the black market, that is, from hands, cost from 2 to 7.5 rubles. Yuri Aizenshpis, first through his “old friends”, and then through his own well-established channels, bought checks, sold them at Beryozka, and then sold the acquired scarce goods at three dearly.

With the proceeds, through the administrators and waiters of hotels, he bought foreign currency from foreigners, and then checks again. For example, an imported fur coat could be purchased at Beryozka for $50, and sold to a metropolitan movie star for 500 rubles, a dozen Panasonic radios for $35, and sold in Odessa to the same huckster for 4,000 rubles. But this was not enough.

In the late 1960s, Vneshtorgbank began selling gold in Moscow for hard currency. On this wave, Yuri Aizenshpis took up gold fartsovka. Many nomenklatura workers, especially from the Transcaucasian republics, had big and very big money, but it was not easy for them to shine with currency and generally flicker with so much cash in the capital. And Aizenshpis bought gold bars for dollars at the branch of Vneshtorgbank and sold them to Caucasian party workers (officially, 1 kilogram of gold cost $ 1,500).

If he bought dollars on the side at 5 rubles, then a kilogram of gold came out of him at 7,500 rubles. Another thousand had to be paid to a foreign student who had the right to legally conduct transactions with currency, because an ordinary citizen of the USSR should not have had it. But Aizenshpis sold 1 kilogram of gold to a republican party leader for 20,000 rubles.

Navar was mind-blowing, and it really drove many black marketers crazy. Once, a burned-out gold businessman from Armenia, in order to make it easier to take into account, handed over several of his “colleagues” to the employees of the authorities. Then, in the stagnant year of 1970, many criminals who were held under "economic" articles "for the first time" received 5-8 years in prison, but Yuri Aizenshpis was sentenced to 10 years of strict regime, and besides, with the confiscation of all property, even the parent's apartment .

From scratch

After 7 years, the former concert director was released on parole. There was no trace left of the old connections, and the "commercial activity" had to be started anew. Together with a certain friend, Yuri Aizenshpis decided to buy 4,000 dollars "from hand" on the Lenin Hills. But the seller brought fakes and the criminal investigation officers had been watching him for a long time. So after 3 months of freedom, the future famous producer was again in the dock. As a result, to 8 years of imprisonment under the “currency article”, he was added another 3 years, which were previously “cut off” for the first term and sent to serve in Mordovia, in the notorious Dubrovlag colony, which had the unofficial name “Meat Grinder”, because each day there for "unknown reasons" killed 3 - 5 people.

Seven years later, he was released on parole. There was no trace of the old connections, so we had to re-organize the "commercial activity". Together with one friend, Yuri Aizenshpis bought $ 4,000 from the Lenin Hills. That's just the seller has long been under the supervision of the criminal investigation department and brought fakes. So after three months of freedom, the future famous producer was again in the dock. As a result, to 8 years of imprisonment under the "currency item" he was added another 3 years, which were previously knocked off (when he was serving his first term), and sent to Mordovia to the notorious Dubrovlag colony, which had the unofficial name "Meat Grinder", because every day 3-5 people died there for "unknown reasons".

Under the hood of the KGB

In 1985, Yuri Aizenshpis was again released on parole and returned to Moscow. Now he was being extremely careful. Through a young Muscovite, the wife of an Arab diplomatic mission employee, Aizenshpis not only established a safe channel for buying foreign currency, but also imported clothing and electronics, since the Arab was engaged in export-import. But the KGB officers always looked after any foreigner in the USSR, and soon Yuri Aizenshpis was under the hood.

In the summer of 1986, when he was driving around the capital in new Zhiguli, he was stopped by policemen. During the inspection of the car, it turned out that there were several imported audio tape recorders and one super scarce video tape recorder with video cassettes in the trunk. So, at the suggestion of the KGB officers, Yuri Aizenshpis ended up in a pre-trial detention center. However, the case did not reach the court, since the Arab managed to leave the USSR in time, and without the main defendant, the “high-profile” speculative case soon fell apart. And then Perestroika broke out. After serving almost 1.5 years in a pre-trial detention center, Yuri Aizenshpis was released and never returned to jail.

On July 15, one of the most controversial characters in domestic show business, Yuri Aizenshpis, would have turned 65 [discussion]

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In the last weekly, we started a story about the most controversial producer of domestic show business - Yuri Aizenshpis. From the biography of Yuri Shmilyevich, it is clear that in many ways, without fear of anything, even prison, he went ahead to earn money, which he then invested in show business. And, as those who worked with him assure, today's face of our stage - with all the pluses and minuses - is in many ways the same as Aizenshpis saw him at one time. Today we continue our story about him. About tough character- Yuri Shmilevich tried to control our every step, he had a lot of "ears and informants" in the company, - one of his pets, singer Nikita, told KP. - He tried to get into literally everything, even advised me which girl to be friends with. The one that I had seemed unsuitable to him, he wooed me another one. But once I let him know that I would not tolerate such excessive control, he was offended. He wanted to be friends, to be closer, and I, a closed person, was passionate about music. Usually he gave everyone advice on which parties you can go to and which ones you can’t. I didn’t go to parties at all, but sat in the studio - I wrote songs for myself. We often had skirmishes with him. He just screamed at me. But I also showed my teeth. One day he insisted that I sing one song that I didn't like. It came to conflict. Finally, I was persuaded to make concessions to him. And I... recorded a song with a Georgian accent. Yuri Shmilevich sat down to listen to the recording and shouted: “This is not Nikita singing, is this some kind of Georgian ?!” For a few more minutes, the walls of the studio were shaken by his screams. In his book, Yuri Shmilevich wrote that I was jealous of Bilan. No, I didn't have jealousy. Although I did not understand why he was making a second Nikita out of the new Bilan. Everything that was worked out for me, he skated a carbon copy in the promotion of Bilan. Apparently, he wanted to quickly recapture the money and earn. Shmilevich counted on me a lot, but I bucked - I wanted to write electronic music, and he insisted that I remain in a pop image. As a result, Shpis decided to let me go. By this time, he began to promote Bilan even more actively, who did not argue with him. Although Dima required large financial injections. I wrote my own songs, and I wasn't paid for it. - They say that Aizenshpis took revenge on you, blocked the oxygen?- I heard such conversations ... But I had no other way - with Aizenshpis I did not see development .... - I wrote songs for Aizenshpis's wards. Admittedly, Aizenshpis was incredibly demanding of his subordinates. He himself caught fire with the idea and demanded the same "spark" from everyone who was nearby, - says the "dynamite" Ilya Zudin. - Once I brought a disc with a new record, but the disc does not turn on. Aizenshpis decided that I simply didn’t do the job and was trying to blame everything on technology. He yelled at me without choosing words. I heard such insults that I could not stand it - I slammed the door and promised to break all contacts with this person. However, after a while he called: “Well, he got excited. Let's come to reconcile!" It turned out that the disk miraculously worked, and Yuri was convinced that I had not deceived him ... He was despotic. In front of my eyes, he threw various objects at people. Most often hit in the head. People left with bruises. But they endured - becoming an enemy of Aizenshpis, you know, is dearer to yourself! He could make trouble for those who wanted to cross his path. But he was quick-witted ... On tour in Jurmala, Aizenshpis broke the camera of one photographer who took "spy shots." The fragments hit the face of a photojournalist who wrote a statement to the police. We "made our feet" from this "Jurmala", fearing that Aizenshpis would be imprisoned. He could be cruel. But at critical moments he acted according to the concepts. When my father died, he opened the bag, took out, without looking, an armful of dollars and thrust it at me: "Bury your father with dignity." Then he never remembered this money and did not reproach it ...

"Blue Lobby" The appearance of the “blue lobby” in showbiz is associated with the name of Yu. A. Allegedly, at first, the cool ones brought their mistresses to the producer for promotion, and then they began to bring ... lovers. - For some reason, in recent years, Yura began to promote some slender boys from some of his own considerations. He chose pretty boys with sexy data, as it seemed to him, - Artemy Troitsky told KP. - I did not support him in this direction and told him about it, he was upset. Partly because of this, we almost stopped talking to him. They often argued, even because of Bilan ... Rumors about the non-traditional orientation of "Shpis" reached me. But I can't really blame him for anything. He had a wife, a son. Why they got divorced, I don't know. When for some reason he dyed his noble gray hair blue-black, it seemed wild to me ... - My dancers were afraid of Aizenshpis, - producer Vitaly Manshin told KP. - I noticed that Aizenshpis calmly reacted to the girls, but he quickly found a common language with the boy dancers. I still couldn't find him a backup dancer for Dima Bilan. Sent two girls. He rejected them. He offered him the guys from the Mirage ballet. Aizenshpis liked them. I went on tour with them and with Bilan, and upon returning, the guys rushed to me with goggle-eyed: “No, we will not work with Aizenshpis!” Then I agreed with three guys from the ballet "Dance-master" (one of them was an ex-participant of "Reflex" Denis). The guys somehow hesitated and asked me about Aizenshpis: “Won’t he pester us?” But guys with a normal orientation work with him! However, after a few days of working with Yuri, Denis came running back to me: “No, I can’t do that.” Apparently, something was happening there ... He lured away the dance group from me, apparently, having managed to win over one dancer-leader. - Are you hinting at the unconventional orientation of Aizenshpis himself?- I didn't tell you that! You know, I still want to live. I don't want them to come to me and shoot me in the head. "So he's dead?"- His friends remained. Therefore, I will not speak badly of him ... - A term in prison could affect the orientation of Aizenshpis. If all other producers in those years only promoted lovers, wives, girls (if a boy singer appeared, then most often he turned out to be the son of some producer), then Aizenshpis was drawn to promote guys. Many people spoke about his "blue lobby". Now this is hardly surprising. I know that he did left-wing concerts and received good money from cool stars for inviting them to them, ”Alexander Stefanovich, ex-husband and promoter of Alla Pugacheva, told KP.

Alexander Tolmatsky: “Krutoy took the leadership from Aizenshpis”- I call Aizenshpis the best producer. He worked all his life. He started with me in the 70s, - Alexander Tolmatsky, a former friend of Yuri Shmilevich, told KP, producer of Decl, Oleg Gazmanov, of the Combination group. - Since the late 70s, I and Yura Aizenshpis were among the first to engage in underground concerts, trade (then - speculation) in musical instruments, records. Yura, plus to this, was also engaged in currency trading, for which he sat down. We also had discos. We are one of those who stood at the origins of Russian show business. Everything else is a new generation that appeared in the 90s. Until 2000, I and Aizenshpis were in the lead in the music market. In my company Mediastars, I worked as the director of Aizenshpis, and among my founding partners was the then director of the Muz TV channel, who quietly sold the channel to Igor Krutoy, after which my company lost its leadership position, and Igor Krutoy gained influence in the music market. Against his background, Pugacheva was more of an organizer, not a producer. And Kobzon is not a producer, but an artist. - They say that Aizenshpis communicated with criminal authorities?- You know, all the "authorities" in different areas communicate with each other, it's just the way it is. Everyone respected Aizenshpis. He never did anything in the dark. He was a very decent person. - Is it true that Aizenshpis brought the “blue lobby” into show business?- There is such an opinion (chuckling). He was often surrounded by boys. I will not comment on this point. But he knew a lot about promoting singers! Aizenshpis at the end of his life was very worried about Dima Bilan, who became friends with Yana Rudkovskaya. Yura came to visit me and talked about his experiences, he was afraid that Dima would be taken away from him. Those experiences affected the deterioration of Yura's health. Many of his wards were not very grateful. But when they left him, everything went out. CHAPTERS FROM THE BOOK The Temptation of Dima Bilan * * * The singer wrote about his relationship with Aizenshpis in a book that will be published in the fall. A fragment from it "KP" was provided by Dima Bilan's PR manager. “During the filming of the video “I want to become an oligarch”, we met two respected people - one is very famous in the business environment, the other in the world of show business. Yuri Shmilyevich and I received a very tempting offer - namely, to "buy" my contract and my transfer from StarPro to another production company. The situation was aggravated by the fact that another producer offered a very large amount of money, which doubled all the expenses of Yuri Shmilyevich for my promotion. For me, completely fabulous horizons opened up - the prospect of working with the best Western composers and musicians, which means becoming both a more popular and wealthier person.

What do you say? - Yuriy Shmilevich asked me after listening to the details of the deal from the other side. - And you? - I asked him a counter question. - This is a very generous offer, - Yuri Shmilevich praised. - You need to think it over. Carefully and on a cold head. I took some time to think... ...Businessmen ordered me a very expensive brand of car in St. Petersburg, which at that time I could not even dream of. They drove her and put her right under the window of my rented apartment - at that time I lived on Sokol in a rather modest kopeck piece. In the morning I looked down, saw a beauty sparkling with bumpers and realized that all this could become mine as soon as I signed the necessary papers ... - Yuri Shmilevich! I called one fine day. “Are you sure that this offer must be accepted?” - Let's meet and talk, - Aizenshpis immediately reacted ... ... We met in one of the cafes, each took a cup of coffee and sat silently for a while. - You understand one thing, Dim, - Yuri Shmilevich began to explain. “I can't offer you the same conditions as these people. And in order for us to reach the same level that you can have with them already now, we will need several years ... - But we can, right? I looked up at my mentor. Yuri Shmilevich was silent. He ... was ready to agree with any decision I made. - I don't want to leave you! - I said. - I feel very comfortable, positive, easy to work with you. We have been together for a long time, and there were a lot of things, but I don’t know these people at all. I am sure that they will fulfill absolutely all their promises to the end. But I'm not sure that I can work with them... I looked at Yuri Shmilyevich, and it seemed to me that joy flashed in his eyes. The prickly look softened, his face brightened and even somehow became younger at once ... - Good, - he answered shortly. Thanks for the friendship. * * * For the first couple of years, Yuri Shmilevich and I - or rather, he personally - tested each other for strength. Aizenshpis constantly provoked me, threw some offensive things, and at the same time carefully watched how I would react. There were a great many negative situations in dealing with him, since Yuri Shmilyevich definitely needed to squeeze up to the very boiling point, beyond which a person loses patience and begins to actively protest. It was a kind of "test". Each of his artists or employees at least once reached the last line when he decided to quit and declared: “That’s it, I don’t work here anymore!” Someone left forever, someone eventually returned, but in such extreme conditions there was a forge of personnel named after Aizenshpis. Moreover, as it seems to me now, in the “education program” of Yuri Shmilyevich, this item was necessarily listed - a check by a scandal. Perhaps it had some kind of sacred meaning, because endless concerts and multi-day tours really eat up so much strength, emotions and nerves that not everyone can survive such stress. They trained us, that is.

PERSONAL IMPRESSION He either blacklisted journalists or recognized them as his I was personally acquainted with Yuri Shmilyevich. We felt sympathy for each other and communicated tenderly. Then I was often told about the cool and even cruel disposition of the producer. He could be very rude to journalists, and he did dirty tricks to those who criticized his wards. I could not help believing in these stories, but Yuri Shmilevich turned to me “not with thorns, but with leaves” ... We met in Sochi at a hotel. I was on a business trip, he was on vacation. In shorts, in some unimaginable colorful shirt and a smile in his mouth, like the Nutcracker, Aizenshpis immediately attracted attention. Moreover, the first impression - the shock of his creepy appearance - instantly grew into an interest in this man. He knew how to charm. He could not sit still, everything around him began to spin and sparkle. Immediately ordered to set a table for me. Immediately rustled the pages of magazines that had come from somewhere. Aizenshpis quickly explained that he met a fashion designer here and decided to cooperate with him. I have already agreed with a local magazine that will publish a photo of Dima Bilan in the costumes of that fashion designer. “Will you write about Dima? Agree, a good hotel, my friend keeps it. You say you want to get to the concert of Maxim Galkin, let's do it, the director of the Festival is my friend, ”Yuri Shmilevich listened to me in one ear, and pressed his cell phone to the other, talking with some producer and praising the performance of his singer in Sochi, on which he did not go at all. He killed dozens of birds with one stone on the run, trying to introduce everyone, make friends and spin them into one common cause. “The main thing is that everyone should be profitable and interested,” Aizenshpis told me. - You say our PR manager does not give information? Yes, I'll smear them all on the wall! Yes, eat up! I eat according to Volkov's fashionable diet. The salad is specially prepared for me here. I have diabetes. Lost health in the area. And I want to live. I deny myself the pleasure of eating delicious food ... Look at the photo of Bilan, is it really very sexy ?!” I nodded. I didn't argue with him at all. In each of our subsequent conversations, he did not forget to ask me when I would write about Dima Bilan. I jokingly excused myself: this is a very responsible matter, and I need to prepare well. And along the way, she asked him for minor news from the world of show business. Then I learned that “Shpis” subjected any publication about Bilan to a thorough analysis, after which either the author was blacklisted or included in his own. Neither the first nor the second happened to me. And all because I never wrote ANYTHING about Bilan. Perhaps this circumstance allowed Aizenshpis and I to communicate without problems until the end of his life ... I called him on his mobile two days before his death. Barely recognized his voice. He croaked that he was in the hospital, he was very ill. But then he said that nothing, not the first time, would break through. “I’ll recover a little and go back to battle, Dima needs to do a tour,” he hissed into the pipe. “Come on, call the PR manager, they will tell you something, tell me, I ordered.” And two days later, a message came that he was gone. The official diagnosis is a heart. There were rumors - AIDS. There is a version that this is the result of stem cell treatment. He was a pioneer in everything. Aizenshpis explained his success like this: “We can say that show business is an already established industry, the same industry as the production of cars or iron smelting there. Here, too, there is its own technology and its own laws... The show is a spectacle. The word "concert" does not fit, it is associated with the classical genre, whether it be a symphony orchestra, Zykina or Magomayev ... Show business brought a lot of money two or three years ago. Now the whole society is sick and the area where I work is sick. The sum of expenses for big spectacles today does not pay off with the cost of tickets. Advertisers and sponsors needed. I believe that the advantage in business lies with those in whose genes the blood of a business person flows. Real business is for the talented. This is art. Working capacity, a taste that still does not fail, knowledge of the matter help me.

Popular Artist Dima Bilan now has no right to go on stage and release albums. On March 29, at a press conference in RIA Novosti, she told about this Elena Kovrigina, producer's widow Yuri Aizenshpis.

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At the beginning of the press conference, Elena Kovrigina announced that on the tenth day after the death of Yuri Aizenshpis, she turned to lawyer Pavel Astakhov with a request to prepare all the documents so that the producer's son Misha Aizenshpis entered into the right of inheritance. Kovrigina was worried that her son's rights would not be infringed.

The fact is that at the beginning of his creative activity, Viktor Belan (Dima Bilan) signed a contract with producer Yuri Aizenshpis stating that the brand, image and repertoire of the artist "Dima Bilan" belong to Aizenshpis' production center "StarPro". The contract also stated that if Dima Bilan breaks off relations with StarPro, then he is not eligible to perform for the next ten years. According to the Civil Code, after the death of Yuri Aizenshpis, the StarPro company became the property of the son of producer Misha Aizenshpis.

Pavel Astakhov showed documents to journalists, confirming that the rights to the brand, image, and repertoire of Dima Bilan by right of direct inheritance belong to 15-year-old Misha Aizenshpis. And until the child reaches the age of majority, his mother and guardian Elena Kovrigina will manage the son's property.

According to Elena Kovrigina, she is not interested in show business and she is not going to be engaged in artist Dima Bilan. She signed an agreement with the Soyuzconcert company, to which the rights related to the Dima Bilan project are transferred. Representatives of the Soyuzkontsert company present at the press conference, in turn, said that it is theoretically possible that they will transfer the Dima Bilan project to one of the Western companies. Recall that the dispute over the rights to use the stage name of the singer broke out in September 2005 after the death of Aizenshpis. “Then Bilan disappeared from our field of vision and showed up with new owners. He left the company, believing that the death of Aizenshpis relieves him of all contracts. But he has no right to simply turn around and leave, because we are talking about legally unresolved issues. This is business and nothing more, "Elena Kovrigina said at a press conference. In the fall of 2005, Elena Kovrigina negotiated with the new producer of Dima Bilan, Yana Rudkovskaya. It was about two million dollars, which, according to Kovrigina, Yuri Aizenshpis invested in Dima Bilan and equipment of his studio. Elena offered the new producers to reimburse the StarPro center for these costs. But the negotiations then suddenly stopped. There were no payments from Dima Bilan. The singer continued to perform, while not answering the phone, and only once came home to Kovrigina and brought for Misha a pack of chips and a can of Coca-Cola.Elena also said that Dima Bilan is still registered in the apartment, which belonged to Yuri Aizenshpis.

By the way, Dima Bilan's performance at the Eurovision Song Contest, like any other performances of the singer after the death of Aizenshpis, can also be interpreted as a violation of the law.

Elena Kovrigina explained her almost two-year silence by the fact that even in negotiations with a representative of the new producers and Dima Bilan, she promised not to make a fuss about this issue. And then I was engaged in the preparation of all necessary documents. Whether penalties for non-compliance with contracts will be applied to Dima Bilan, neither Elena Kovrigina nor Pavel Astakhov reported.