Yuri Shatunov.
Photo: Evgenia GUSEVA
A year ago the star of the 80s, Yura Shatunov, died. In those distant years, the young soloist of the group “Tender May”, having sung his “White Roses”, became a symbol of a whole generation. Many Russians considered the singer’s departure a personal tragedy. Until now, the artist’s grave is covered with white roses. Despite the lack of titles and awards, Yura was a real folk artist. At 48, he was still that simple boy from the next yard. He lived modestly, communicated without pathos. Yura apparently attracted millions of fans with this genuine sincerity.
It so happened that in recent years Yura went to court with one of the founders of Tender May, Andrei Razin, who wanted to ban the artist from performing White Roses and other legendary hits on solo albums.
– Help me restore justice! These songs are my life. I’m already tired of these courts, Razin does not give me life. “I’ll dust you!” “That’s what he writes to me,” Shatunov told me in our last phone conversation.
Soon after this conversation, Yura will pass away. The reason is banal: the nerves could not stand it, his heart stopped … Due to a fatal accident, two days before the artist’s death, the court allowed Yura to perform all her famous hits. As they say, he defended his work and retired …
On September 6, Shatunov would have turned 50 years old. The artist’s family decided to celebrate this date together with his fans by opening a monument at the Troekurovsky cemetery, where the singer’s ashes are buried.
– My children and I have already arrived in Moscow, we are preparing for the opening of the monument and for the anniversary concert “Yura Was Here”, which will take place on October 17 at the Crocus. Yura’s songs will be performed by her classmates. And the family will show fans rare video footage of Yura’s backstage life, the artist’s widow Svetlana Shatunova told KP.RU.
In the mid-90s, Yura met his wife Svetlana, a lawyer by training, and moved with her to Germany. There they had children: his son Dennis and his daughter Estella. Now the artist’s wife and his heirs also live in Germany and fly to Russia on memorable dates to Yura’s grave.
The children miss their dad very much. They look a lot like him, shares Svetlana, the widow of Yura Shatunov, with KP.RU. – When Yura died, the son still behaved like a man, but the daughter, of course, cried a lot … September 6 marks the 50th anniversary of Yura. At 10 am at the Troekurovsky cemetery we will inaugurate a monument. In order for our children to be the first to see the sculpture, in the morning the guards will cordon off Yura’s grave. First, there will be a memorial service for family and friends. So Yura fans will be able to reach the monument in 40 minutes. The memorial service will be attended by a priest who will read a prayer service. And from family friends we are waiting for the director Alexander Igudin.
– What will the monument be like?
– The monument was chosen by the family. We found a wonderful woman, a portrait artist, with whom we created a model of the monument. It is a two-meter Jura made of bronze. The monument is still in the process of construction, the sculptor has done almost everything, it remains to mold the hands. The monument will have the full name of the husband and her autograph. Everything will be ready next week. From August 30 to September 6, access to Yura’s grave will be closed, since the master will install the sculpture.
– Did you get an expensive monument?
– 10 million rubles. We didn’t ask anyone for anything, it was a family affair.
Model of the monument that will soon appear on the grave of Yuri Shatunov.
Photo: personal archive
– Svetlana, Andrei Razin recently announced that he was going to bury the tooth that Yuri Shatunov extracted from him in 1990… How do you react to such statements?
– No way. And what is the use of responding to the words of a scammer? – says Svetlana Shatunova. “Let him live his own life and do not interfere with us,” Shatunov’s widow said in an interview with KP.
