More than four months after the terrible terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall, Emin Agalarov, whose family owns the building, gave a long interview. In conversation with journalist Laura Dzhugelia, the singer and businessman explained why he remarried his wife, recalled the conflict with the young artist Tima Belorussky and, of course, touched on the fate of the building where at least 145 people died.
On Pugacheva, Leshchenko and scandals with youth
Emin regularly organises large music festivals, to which he invites not only Russian-speaking stars, but also foreign ones. According to the impresario, among Russian artists, the most popular are young musicians. But those who have been on stage for many years take it much more easily.
“Alla Pugacheva, Sofia Rotaru, Yuri Antonov, Grigory Leps, Lev Leshchenko… All these artists, in my experience, when I organized large concerts, have the fewest problems. Their vast experience shows that they have already acquired such a status and such weight that they are unshakable in the face of part of this petty everyday life. I have never heard from them anything but words of gratitude.
There was a scandal with Tima Belorusskikh at the Zhara award. Well, what can I say, a fool? A man who became an artist yesterday, and today he is already saying stupid things that have no basis in themselves. There was the Heat award, where he arrived late. And since this is being filmed, we placed extras at the first tables for the artists. When he came up, he just turned on the camera and started saying that his place was taken and left,” Emin said.
About the second wedding with the second wife.
The businessman told why he decided to marry his second wife again. He dated Alena Gavrilova in 2018, but broke up a couple of years later. In 2024, the couple reconciled and decided to have a second wedding.
“We had been thinking about doing this for a long time, we chose a date, signed it and had a dinner in honour of our painting. They probably invited 60-80 people, their closest relatives. My dad came this time. He was at my first wedding (with my ex-wife Leyla Aliyeva – editor’s note), missed the second one and came to the third one.
“We already had our first wedding with her, which was magnificent, but unpainted. Then we separated when our daughter Atenea was born. Then we got back together and decided that, after all, our marriage should be legal,” admitted the businessman, adding that he spent a lot of time trying to persuade his ex-wife to come back.
On the fate of Crocus City Hall
After more than an hour of interview, Laura Dzhugelia touched on the topic of the Crocus City Hall, where a terrible terrorist attack took place on March 22, leaving at least 145 people dead and hundreds injured. First of all, the journalist asked how the Agalarov family survived this tragedy.
“My first few days, my main concerns were for my father, naturally, because I mean, everything fell mainly on him. He was very depressed. Naturally, I was worried about his health and his condition. A very difficult period emotionally, because it is a hellish tragedy for everyone, for the whole country.
“I don’t think anyone has experienced it yet, because these things can’t happen quickly. Life goes on anyway, but it’s impossible not to remember it, not to think about it,” the singer said.
Agalarov said that even after so much time after the tragedy, he still doesn’t know what to do in place of Crocus. The main idea is to build a concert hall there again, otherwise the family business will suffer a severe blow. However, Emin does not rule out building a parking lot at the site of the terrorist attack.
“It’s not about money at all, the question here is whether exactly this part of the building needs to be restored and in what way is not clear. We are now passing by, everything is cordoned off and there is a dilapidated roof, glass, pieces of metal. In some way, I think it should be restored. Whether it is a concert hall or something else, you still have to put some effort into it. The decision has not yet been made. My position with my father is that this concert hall needs to be restored, naturally with a memorial and everything that goes with it. Otherwise, Crocus can simply retire without this hall, unfortunately.”…”
I don’t know what to do correctly: restore the hall, make a memorial where people can bring flowers and this will be another reminder that this is a tragedy… Or is it right to demolish everything with a tractor and make a parking lot there, for example. “I don’t know what is right,” Emin complained.
The businessman noted that Crocus is his father’s life’s work. According to him, Araz Agalorov is very worried about the tragedy, but rarely discusses the fate of the business with his son. Dzhugeliya asked Emin if he had discussed this issue with his father Araz Agalarov at his recent third wedding, to which the businessman replied that such a celebration is not the place where such things are discussed.
At the same time, Emin noted that, in his opinion, companies cannot protect themselves from such situations. The fact is that, according to the artist, private security cannot carry weapons, and in order to help ensure security, some kind of justification is needed from law enforcement agencies, and government agencies themselves make a decision: whether reinforcement is needed in this or that case or not.
Emin admitted that, in addition to the 100 million rubles that his family transferred to the Magomayev Muslim Aid Fund, they continue to help the victims.
“This will be targeted assistance, I will make sure that the team follows me. They are processing applications because it is very difficult to sort everything out. And scammers appear, naturally, and so on. The priority is, first and foremost, to help families, children who have lost their parents and the poor. We have a gradation of how the assistance will be distributed. It is on target and the first payments will begin soon,” said the businessman.
