Lyudmila Khityaeva
Photo: Anastasia PLESHAKOVA
The tragedy occurred on July 5. Pavel Belokrinkin, Lyudmila Khityaeva’s son from her first marriage to actor Alexander Belokrinkin, was 69 years old.
– In the morning, my daughter-in-law Yulia called and said: Pasha left. It was shock and shock. I can’t understand anything,” Lyudmila Ivanovna told us. – Pasha has a sick heart. He worked for a long time in Thailand at the Russian embassy. He then went into the business, though not very successfully. The climate there is severe: +35 C. He broke his health with work. He returned to Moscow. I sent him to a rehab center. A whole council was gathered: the doctors could not understand what was happening to him, why fluid was accumulating in his lungs. They said: 70 years is a critical age for men. On July 3, he returned to his house from this center, and on July 5, he passed away. I have become a shadow. A tragedy when a mother outlived her son. She saves me that I am doing funerals. I asked for a coffin, wreaths, flowers. But there was a problem with the burial. It is not yet known whether they will give me permission to bury my son at the Preobrazhensky cemetery or not.
Actress Lyudmila Khityaeva in the film “Quiet Flows the Don”
I think about the future when I ask for a seat. I will be 93 years old in August… We are all mortal. Thinking about my future…
They tell me: the village artists are buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery. But I don’t want to go to Troekurovsky. My parents – my father and mother – are buried in Preobrazhensky. I don’t go anywhere with my parents. Dad died in 1992. Then suddenly we all became beggars. I saved money to buy a family burial site. So it was easier to get permission. It was a small and narrow piece of land. More was not enough. Four years later, in 1995, my mother passed away. And there was no place. On new ground, as they say, now they do not give permission. I don’t understand the reason for the rejection.
The grave of the parents of Lyudmila Khityaeva
Photo: Anastasia PLESHAKOVA
There is free land in Preobrazhensky. I see: new graves appear, huge granite monuments grow on them. So, it is still possible for someone. Are they expecting money from me? Someone said that a square meter of land in Moscow cemeteries costs 500-600 thousand rubles … But it’s not just about money. It’s a shame – you go on stage and they say about you: “Here is our legend, People’s Artist, she starred in the cult films “Ekaterina Voronina”, “Evdokia”, “Quiet Flows the Don”, “Privalovsky Millions”, “Evenings in a farm near Dikanka” … “. These films have become classics, they are constantly shown. I still receive letters from young people, young people greet me, they recognize me on the street, in the store. They appear: thank you for the pictures, say good words. But when you are faced with a real problem, imagine my current state: my only son has died, there is no merit, recognition solves everything. I don’t know what to do: they say that it is necessary to apply with a petition to the city leadership, so that at least as an exception they give permission to bury my son where I ask.
