For Natalia, the marriage with Vadim Merkin was the third and the happiest.
Photo: SOCIAL NETWORKS
The mourning unexpectedly came to the house of 47-year-old Natalia Ragozina. Her husband Vadim Merkin died suddenly.
“Listen to Nobody”
From her first husband, master of sports in hand-to-hand combat Mikhail Kolpakov, Ragozina gave birth to a son, Ivan. Now the guy is 22 years old, he served in the army, studies at MGIMO. Ragozina broke up with Ivan’s father because of her husband’s assault.
– He ruined everything with his jealousy. And when he raised his hand against me, I took my one-year-old son and went to my mother, ”Ragozina recalled.
Then the blonde married the star lawyer Sergei Zhorin. But this union did not last long. According to Natalia, Zhorin was not ready for family life. However, the champion maintained friendly relations with the lawyer.
With her third husband, financier Vadim Merkin, Ragozina met two years ago. And then – everything is like in a fairy tale: a happy marriage, the birth of a long-awaited daughter. Ragozina and Merkin got married in Israel, where the financier had real estate. Her daughter Nastya was born there 11 months ago. By the way, from her first marriage, the banker has an adult daughter, Maria, who became friends with Natalia and became godmother to her younger sister.
– I wanted a girl so badly – beyond words! But for many years I was unsuccessful, – Natalya Ragozina recalled in a recent interview with KP. – Sometimes they would tell me: “You are now an old grandmother, where are you going?” Then I realized that you don’t need to listen to anyone, you need to try. Thank God, at the age of 45 I met my beloved man – he became the best husband in the world and made me happy. Vadim promised that we would have a child, a girl. And my dream came true. We went to Israel, in Jerusalem I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, I prayed, I asked for my daughter. Going out, I forgot to bend over and hit my head hard – it hurt, the bump came out. The husband says: “That’s it, God heard you” … And soon we found out that we were waiting for Nastenka. It’s just a miracle…
Rivals nicknamed the invincible athlete the “Russian Mallet”. Photo: CHRISTIAN SCHROEDTER/Legion-Media
died in hospital
More than a month ago, the champion disappeared from social networks. Subscribers were worried: what happened?
Ragozina’s last posts were joyful. Natalya posted a file photo where she is pregnant with her daughter, she signed the photo: “I miss my tummy! The best moment! The husband said, don’t be sad, let’s repeat!
The champion was on the rise that day: she and her husband flew to Israel for vacation, celebrating their daughter’s 10-month-old there. In the video, the husband stands with a suitcase and jokingly says goodbye: “Well, Natasha, what you came with, you left with it!” Ragozina laughs in response: “Well, will you come back?” To which Vadim, smiling, says: “Wait for me, and I will return.”
As KP.RU found out, 57-year-old Vadim Merkin rushed to Russia on business, leaving Natalya and their daughter behind in Israel. Please rest, I’ll be back soon…
did not return Merkin died in Russia on July 10. So far, the athlete has not announced the cause of her husband’s death, but, as KP.RU learned, the businessman died in Moscow, in a hospital. There is a version in social networks that the financier had a heart attack, but friends of the deceased say that Vadim died for a different reason.
Doctors suspected food poisoning. Apparently, he ate something wrong, perhaps something he was allergic to. Due to poisoning, Vadim’s kidneys failed, an acquaintance of Merkin said in an interview with KP.RU.
However, we have not yet been able to officially confirm this information.
way to business
During her career, the tall Ragozina (the athlete’s height is 181 cm) was nicknamed the “Russian mace”. Vadim Merkin was almost a head shorter than his wife, but next to her Natalya felt happy and protected.
Everything was going well in the family and financially. The spouses had a luxurious house on Rublyovka with a large staff and a strong fleet of vehicles. Judging by the video on social networks, Merkin was always accompanied by two or three guards. Between cities and countries, the family flew in a private jet.
Vadim gave his beloved a decent collection of diamond jewelry, Natalia became a frequent guest of expensive boutiques…
According to experts, the estate of the late banker is estimated at several tens of millions of dollars. It is not yet known if he left a will, but her friends say that Natalya took over the management of her husband’s affairs.
Not much is known about the deceased. Vadim Merkin did not like publicity, he did not communicate with the media. Behind the shoulders of the husband of the champion was a diploma of the State Financial Academy. The career developed rapidly: service in the bank “Russian Credit”, then Merkin headed the bank “Khovansky”. In addition, in the early 2000s, the financier founded the League of Pawnbrokers and opened a company that was building a large village of elite townhouses on Rublyovka.
In addition, the financier’s assets included several non-residential premises in the center of Moscow, which he rented. And then there were three operating companies with a wide range of activities, from real estate and financial assistance to the sale of consumer goods. The former banker was engaged in the business of advertising, consulting and analysis related to public opinion. Over the past year, in this field, one of Merkin’s companies, Video-Delta, earned 121 million rubles.
FROM THE “KP” DOSSIER
Ring star and fashion model.
Natalia Ragozina is the main star of women’s world boxing. The blonde managed to get out of this sport undefeated.
The athlete began her career with kickboxing. In the late 90s, Ragozina switched to amateur boxing. She has won the World Championship twice, the European Championship once, and the World Cup once. In the early 2000s, Natalya found herself in professional boxing. She had 22 fights and won 22 wins. Ragozina became the world boxing champion among professionals in the second middleweight (up to 76,203 kg). The last fight of the athlete took place in 2009.
Before the birth of her daughter, she was fond of hockey, headed the Women’s Hockey Night League, and then, on the advice of her husband, she chose a less traumatic sport as a hobby – tennis.
Ragozina more than once got into the ratings of the sexiest athletes on the planet and agreed to candid photo shoots. For example, she posed in her underwear for the German tabloid Bild. And in 2007 she posed topless for the men’s magazine Sim.
AND WHAT ELSE
elite skyscraper
In recent years, the financier led a very complex and scandalous project. A few years ago, Merkin bought the building (and the land beneath) the Nightingale Concert Hall on Druzhinnikovskaya Street in Moscow, on the site of the former Presnensky Baths from the merchant Pyotr Biryukov. Ragozina’s husband planned to demolish the Nightingale and rebuild an elite skyscraper in its place. Unrest began among the filmmakers: it was a shame for the historic building, and they did not want to lose a profitable cinema.
Then Merkin reassured the filmmakers, explaining that the building was dilapidated and in any case was being prepared for demolition, since it was not suitable for mass events in terms of technical indicators and from the point of view of security against fires. He promised to allocate space for film screenings in the new building. But it is clear how the main object built a luxurious residential complex on the site of the hall. Merkin planned to rent an apartment with a gym, a swimming pool, a large shopping arcade and a cinema in 2024. And, apparently, in order not to disappoint the expectations of people who have already invested in apartments, Natalia must now master the basics of business.
