The Leningrad group is well known to fans of modern popular music. The collective was created in the mid-1990s in St. Petersburg by Sergei Shnurov. Few then could have imagined that Leningrad would become one of the most popular groups on the Russian stage, and Shnurov would make a huge fortune on his project and become one of the three richest people in the world of Russian show business and sports according to Forbes magazine.
The musical collective owes its success, of course, to Sergei Shnurov. It was he who once came up with the idea to organize a group. The first line-up was formed in 1995, but 1997 is considered to be the official year of the creation of "Leningrad".
Facts from the biography of Shnurov
The future leader of the group, as well as a poet, musician, composer, artist, TV presenter and public figure, was born in the hero-city of Leningrad in the spring of 1973 into a family of engineers.
He received his secondary education in an ordinary Leningrad school. At the insistence of his parents, after graduating from school, he entered the LISI (Civil Engineering Institute), but did not manage to finish it. He was expelled for academic debt.
After that, Sergei went to study at a restoration school and began to earn money in order to have pocket money. His working career began with work as a watchman, then as a loader, carpenter and, finally, as a designer in one of the small advertising agencies. Another opportunity for Sergei to earn money was the work on the manufacture of grave fences. The pay was high. Therefore, he worked part-time in this area for quite some time.
Another interesting fact in the biography of Shnurov is his training in theological seminary. They say that once a friend of Sergei asked to go through an interview with him, for the company. He agreed, passed the interview, passed the required exam - an essay - and was enrolled in the seminary. After studying for three years, Shnurov left from there. By that time he had already got married and had a daughter. The family needed to be fed, so there was no time for study.
Shnurov repeatedly said in his interviews that he got to the seminary quite by accident. But some sources claim that in those days Sergey was looking for answers to life's questions in faith. Studying and getting to know the clergy helped him in this.
He still has a friend who works as a watchman in one of the temples, with him Shnurov occasionally meets to philosophize. It was rumored that he even had his own confessor, to whom Shnurov came to confess. But how much all this is true is unknown.
It cannot be denied that faith and the birth of his daughter literally saved him from drug addiction. Many of Sergey's friends did not have such a chance.
Sergey took up musical creativity in his student years. He organized a group, calling it "Alkorepitsa". Then he became a member of the group "Van Gogh's Ear". Finally, the image with which he entered the stage and the song direction were formed in Sergei in the mid-1990s. It was then that the idea appeared, which ultimately led to the creation of the "Leningrad" group.
Facts from the history of "Leningrad"
At the first performances, the soloist of the collective was Igor Vdovin. Shnurov only wrote songs and sometimes played along with the bass during performances. After Igor's departure from the group, many performers were invited to the role of the soloist, but all who came Shnurov did not suit. So in the end he decided that he would write and perform his own songs.
In the late 1990s, the band released their first album, and then recorded the soundtracks for the film "DMB 2" and immediately became very popular on the radio.
A few years later, the group announced their disbandment. Then Shnurov took up a new project called "Ruble".
In the summer of 2010, the Leningrad group began its touring activities again. From that moment on, their popularity began to grow literally before our eyes.
In the spring of 2019, Shnurov announced that he was stopping his concert activities and would make his last tour of Russian cities.
How much does Leningrad and its leader Sergei Shnurov earn?
It is impossible to talk about how much Leningrad earns separately from Sergei Shnurov. All accounting since the recent past passes through SP Shnurov S. V.
At the peak of its popularity, especially after the release of the clips "Exhibit" and "In St. Petersburg - Drink", the team became one of the highest paid on the Russian stage. In 2016, performing at corporate events cost 6, 2 million rubles.
Forbes claimed that from mid-2016 to mid-2017, Leningrad earned more than any of the well-known representatives of show business. The amount was called $ 11 million.
For a performance on New Year's Eve from 2016 to 2017, "Leningrad" and the leader of the group S. Shnurov had to pay 300,000 euros. In addition, the artists should have been accommodated in the best hotels and paid for the transfer and accommodation. A week before the New Year, the performances of the band began to cost 150 thousand dollars.
Today Shnurov is on the second line in the Forbes ranking. In three years, he managed to climb twenty-six points, overtaking many famous representatives of show business and sports. The standard performance fee was $ 100,000.
Sergey Shnurov's income for 2018, according to Forbes magazine, is $ 13.9 million. Only the famous hockey player Alexander Ovechkin earns more than he does.
Another form of Shnurov's income is film and television activities. One day of filming Shnurov in the film costs about 400 thousand rubles.
Filming the leader of the Leningrad group in eight commercials for Ali Caps cost the company 180 thousand dollars.
Today Shnurov also runs his own business and owns several large real estate properties and the CoKoCo restaurant. True, according to some reports, after the divorce, the restaurant went to his ex-wife.
Shnurov also has his own recording company, the founder of which is also his ex-wife Svetlana.
After the divorce proceedings with Matilda, Sergei lost almost half of his fortune. According to him, he was not very upset about this, but he was not happy either. His new companion Olga Abramova is from a very wealthy family, so Sergey does not need to spend a lot of money on her, because it is almost impossible to surprise a girl with something.
In June 2019, Leningrad's farewell tour of Russian cities began. The cost of tickets varies from 1,500 rubles to 20,000 rubles, depending on the city in which the concert will take place and the chosen place in the hall.
