The tragic, but still happy biography of Peter Leshchenko

Biography of Peter Leshchenko, one of the most famous artists of the XX century, known today, consists of isolated facts that often do not have documentary evidence. During the life of the singer, no one thought about how important it is to record the facts and details of his biography, besides, there was no time to do it, and there is nobody.

A little is known. In the village of Isaevo, located near Odessa, in a poor peasant family in 1898 a boy was born. And three years later his father died. Mother again married and moved the children to Chisinau. With his stepfather, Petya was lucky, Alexey Vasilievich could play musical instruments and instilled a love for this occupation to his stepchild.

In Chisinau, Peter Leshchenko sang in the church chapel and helped (than he could) his parents. With the outbreak of the war, he enrolled in the school of ensigns and soon became an officer of the Russian army. Then participate in military events, wound, hospital. Still not fully recovered, the future artist learned that now he is a subject of the Romanian crown. The fact is that Romania treacherously annexed to its lands the territory of Bessarabia, although it was a Russian ally.

The former front-line officer was forced to make a living by all means available to him. However, he saw the career of a joiner or dishwasher as a forced occupation. The young man dreamed of singing from the stage. Performances in the cinemas "Suzanne" and "Orpheum" - the first steps towards its goal. Almost two years of this scenic practice contributed to the professional formation and appearance of faith in future success.

Biography of Petr Leshchenko is connected not only with Chisinau, but also with Riga, Paris and Odessa. At the age of twenty-five, the young artist sought to improve his professional skills. He wanted to study, and therefore left for this in the Eternal City, where there was a famous ballet school, in which mostly Russian dancers-emigrants were taught. Here Peter met the Latvian Zinaida Zakis, who, despite her young age (she was 19 years old), has already achieved success in classical dance. They perform together, touring, performing joint choreographic performances, sometimes Leshchenko sings. Professional cooperation could not but develop into a closer relationship, they got married.

In 1930, the biography of Peter Leshchenko makes a sharp turn. If so far he was a dancer and partner of his wife, now he is becoming a professional singer. He is 32 years old, he does not have a very strong but pleasant voice, but this is not so important. He is popular, his vocals are wonderful for recording, and the repertoire deserves special attention. Leschenko succeeded in something that nobody could do before him. He combined two of the most popular genres: romance and tango. The result surpassed all expectations.

In the pre-war years, the biography of the singer Petr Leshchenko is quite fully illustrated by the grammars he made on Columbia and Bellacord. He closely cooperates with these companies, the records are sold in millions of copies everywhere: from Buenos Aires to Tokyo. Everything does not concern music, there is no time.

Leshchenko was not interested in politics. In 1942, after arriving in Odessa occupied by the Romanians, he gives concerts in the Russian Theater, and then opens his cabaret in the Theater Lane. Biography of Peter Leshchenko is connected with the solar Black Sea city not only in connection with creativity, but also in a personal plan. It is Odessa that he owes to a new deep feeling, which has already engulfed a young artist. He met Vera Belousova, who became the main love of his life. But Zinaida's wife did not want to give in, she wrote a letter (in fact a denunciation) to the military command, in which she recalled that her husband was Romanian, and, moreover, liable for military service. The world-famous singer is dressed in a bright green overcoat, an angular Romanian army cap and sent to the Crimea, where they are entrusted with the management of the officer's canteen and the organization of soldier's leisure. This tough measure proved to be ineffective, in 1944 the couple divorced.

After the capitulation of Romania, Leshchenko spoke for eight years before the most diverse audience. He was very fond of singing for Soviet servicemen, these concerts were held with great success. And in 1952 an employee of the Romanian counterintelligence, already a communist, displayed on the cover of the cardboard folder in Latin letters a name known to the whole world: "Leshchenko Peter." Biography of the artist was supplemented by another event: he was arrested.

The singer died in 1954. The circumstances of his death are unknown. Did they beat him? Apparently not. Leshchenko, most likely, was tormented by excessive work and meager food. He got into the torture chamber, probably at the request of "Soviet comrades". What was he accused of? This also remained unclear. But there are preserved records with the recording of his voice, which still delivers inexplicable pleasure to fans and connoisseurs of popular music.