Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava is a Soviet and Russian poet, novelist, bard, composer and screenwriter. He is considered one of the brightest performers of the author's song in the period from the sixties to the eighties of the last century. He penned more than 200 songs, many of which have absorbed legends from the folk epic of the Caucasus. Admirers of the great artist's talent are especially interested in knowing the details from his personal life, including information about children.
Several generations of our compatriots were brought up on the work of Bulat Okudzhava. This genius man was able to personify an entire era, having accustomed his fans to a new perception. Of course, the bright professional activity of this extraordinary person could not be reflected in his stormy personal life, which was filled with many romantic relationships and two official marriages.
The popular bard was born on May 9, 1924 in Moscow, and died on June 12, 1997 in France. His parents are Shalva Stepanovich Okudzhava and Ashkhen Stepanovich Nalbandyan. Children: Bulat Bulatovich Okudzhava and Igor Bulatovich Okudzhava.
The first love
The debut arrhythmia of the heart, associated with the romantic hobby of the growing Bulat, fell on the fourth grade of high school and belonged to classmate Lele, who did not react at all to the awkward courtship of a modest boy. It was a real shock for him to learn from his parents about the transfer to another school, because all thoughts were connected only with the "girl of his dreams."
After an unrequited photo was sent to the old school with the caption "Lele from Bulat", the unrequited boy went on a date with sweetheart. According to Olga Nikolaevna Meleschenko herself, who remembers this scene many years later, she “almost fainted” when, during a history lesson, she saw “a familiar face” through the window.
Their meeting after school took place 60 years later, when they visited the literary club "Candlelight" in Nizhny Tagil. It is interesting that then Okudzhava did not recognize Olga Nikolaevna, and after her presentation he was very moved. For the following three years before his death, he wrote nine letters to his former lover, thus maintaining the connection with her, established from childhood, to the last.
Fantastic love
In the Great Patriotic War, to which he volunteered, the famous bard was seriously wounded, after which he was discharged. After the execution of his father as an "enemy of the people" on a false denunciation and the arrest of his mother, Bulat arrived in the capital, where he met a girl named Valya on the Arbat. Fatally, the story with first love repeated itself in detail. The owner of a radiant smile accepted courtship, flirted and in the end gave her girlish preference to Bulat's acquaintance.
The talented young man even wrote poems in honor of his heart dependence, which he will not publish later, considering them too personal.
“Your heart is like a window in an abandoned house, Locked it tight, now I'm no longer close …
And I followed you because I was destined
I am destined to look for you around the world …"
And Valentina will carefully preserve them, and, later becoming a famous TV presenter, she will often remember their ardent author, who has become a symbol of the post-war generation. As time passed, Okudzhava could not even imagine that “Aunt Valya from the TV” was his post-war love. And half a century after parting, he presented her with the author's collection of poems, in which he made a commemorative inscription: "How many things could have been different …".
First spouse
After the capital's heartfelt history, Bulat Okudzhava left for Tbilisi, where he received a pedagogical education at a local university and after that began to work as a teacher. Having met Galina Smolyaninova in his student years, he did not ponder for a long time about the need to create a family and went with the girl to the registry office. According to the bard himself, Galya was able to give him home comfort and care, which were so lacking. After all, the young man who lost his parents early then really needed warmth and a home.
The wife insisted that the talented author put his poems into music. And she herself was an excellent vocalist. At this time, the happy newlyweds were preparing to become parents. However, the daughter who was born soon died, and the marriage suffered from this tragic event. Bulat and Galina could not even be helped by the birth of their son Igor.
Already a famous poet, Okudzhava moved his family to Moscow, where he and his wife often attended various literary events. However, such an artificial approach to an urgent problem could not save their marriage. And after the meeting of the bard with Olga Artsimovich, this marital union, as they say, ordered to live a long time.
Second spouse
The girl devoted to science knew practically nothing about Okudzhava. However, from the first meeting, she was amazed at his genius. And the next day there was a meeting at the Central House of Writers, where they, without stopping, talked for several hours, feeling in each other a spiritual closeness. It is interesting that on the same evening Bulat made Olga a marriage proposal.
Soon he divorced Galina, and Olga left her husband. They decided to live in the city on the Neva. But a year later, the serene family happiness was broken by the sad news of the death of his ex-wife. Bulat did not manage to take his son Igor to him, because the relatives of the deceased mother entered custody. In addition, the living conditions in a one-room apartment in no way contributed to this development of the situation. After all, Olga has already managed to give birth to a son, Anton.
And Igor, far from his eminent father, grew up a spineless and weak person who, having contacted bad company, became a drug addict and died at the age of 43 from an overdose. The father survived the son by only a few months.
The youngest son of Bulat Okudzhava decided to follow in the footsteps of the eminent parent. Anton grew up to become a music performer, lyricist and composer. And in general, according to eyewitnesses, this marriage was quite smooth and calm.
last love
The meeting with Natalia Gorlenko took place when Bulat Okudzhava was 46 years old, and his chosen one was 26. They met at the Institute of Soviet Legislation, where a young woman worked, and the bard performed with a concert program. And their romance, hidden from everyone, began 5 months after the first meeting, when Natalya, experiencing unbearable pain from the loss of her child after childbirth, in confusion dialed the phone number left by the previously popular poet and asked for a meeting.
This period of life, associated with the special secrecy of relations, was characterized by constant dates and trips, during which Okudzhava became the most open and natural. Then the lyrical work "All lovers are inclined to run away …" was written, which fully reflects the general state of the couple in love. Despite the feeling of guilt that haunts the poet before Olga and Natalia, he allowed the owner of a beautiful voice to accompany him at concerts.
It is interesting that "Ptichkin", as Okudzhava affectionately called his love, often took more applause from the halls than the eminent artist himself. This romantic story was accompanied by striking events, including a seven-year separation, during which Natalya married another, gave birth to a child and even divorced.
However, be that as it may, Bulat Okudzhava was dying in Paris in the hands of his official wife Olga Artsimovich.
