This year the international space festival “Tsiolkovsky” was held in our city for the fifth time. Among its participants is the daughter of the first person in the world to go into outer space, Oksana Alekseevna Leonova.
She showed the Kaluga residents the film “Alexey Leonov. Space Inside” is the first in a series of future films about the life of the legendary cosmonaut.
Oksana Leonova shared with our readers her impressions of Kaluga, where she came for the first time, talked about interesting facts from the life of Alexei Arkhipovich and her creative plans.
About Kaluga and Los Angeles
– Oksana Alekseevna, are you in Kaluga for the first time or have you already been to our city?
– Until today, I had never been to Kaluga. But I find great pleasure here.
– Where did you manage to visit today? What impression did Kaluga make on you?
– A beautiful ancient Russian merchant city. We walked around the center. The impression was wonderful.
– You graduated from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages with a degree in translator. From what language? Has this profession been useful to you in your life?
– Yes, sure. I have been working with English all my life. She was a simultaneous interpreter, interpreter and translator. Sometimes I had to work with Spanish, but not much.
– As far as I know, you now live in Los Angeles, and it turns out that you also communicate in English there?
– No. I have been living in Russia for a long time. I came from Los Angeles in 2001. 23 years ago. So this information is outdated.
But, of course, there I also worked with English and Russian languages: I distributed foreign films in the territory of the former Soviet Union. For all republics.
Movies and book
– At the film festival you introduced the residents of Kaluga to the film “Alexey Leonov. Space inside” How and when did you come up with the idea of creating it?
– Since about 2012, I have been hatching the idea of filming a personal interview that my dad could give me. I definitely wanted to get this from him, because I understood that only I had the opportunity to obtain exclusive information about his biography, access to his body and soul.
I hoped that I could win over my dad and record not the usual 15, 20, 30, 40 minutes of interviews, but many hours of our conversations. Which worked out well: over the course of three days, I recorded 16 hours of our conversations.
– Does this film have something in common with your book “The Time of the First. My destiny is myself”?
– Yes, it echoes. The book was published based on transcribed interviews.
– How long did it take you to create this picture? Where did its premiere take place?
– We created the film for several months. And its premiere took place on January 23 last year in Kemerovo. After all, Kemerovo is my father’s homeland.
We also presented the second episode of our film, called “Alexey Leonov. Right on the edge.” Its premiere also took place in Kemerovo on April 11 this year.
It covers the period of Alexei Arkhipovich’s life from 1965 to 1975, and also concerns preparations for the lunar program. Part of the film is dedicated to preparations for the flight on Soyuz-11, when backup crews flew into space for the first time in history. Dad’s understudies…
As you know, it all ended in disaster: the crew of Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev died. This tragic episode also plays a part in our film.
Well, we end this series with preparations for the international flight under the Soyuz-Apollo program.
– What other films about your family can we see?
– For now I can only share ideas. I won’t even tell you the working names yet. But we will definitely film episodes dedicated to Alexey Leonov’s communication with Yuri Gagarin and Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. There will certainly be a film about the warm friendship of Alexei Arkhipovich with Thomas Stafford, which he carried throughout his life. He and Thomas were sworn brothers.
I would like to make a film about the family life of mom and dad. Maybe there will be a separate series about Leonov’s historical meetings with Charles de Gaulle, Pablo Picasso and many, many other wonderful people.
Astronaut and artist
– In the memory of the whole world, Alexey Arkhipovich will remain the first person to go into outer space. How do you remember him as a father?
– Kind, warm, soft, sincere, sympathetic, the best dad in the world.
– Your film says a lot about Leonov the artist. When and how did Alexey Arkhipovich come to painting? How many paintings did he paint in total? Where can you see them?
“Dad came to painting as a child, as soon as he could pick up a pencil and brush. This is a natural talent, a call, a divine spark that he managed to realize.
I won’t tell you how many paintings dad has. There are many, many of them. Two of them are in the Dresden Gallery and two in the Tretyakov Gallery. There is a large permanent exhibition at the Space Museum on Mira Avenue. The one under the rocket.
There are paintings by Alexei Arkhipovich in his second small homeland: Kaliningrad. But in a private collection.
– Do you have your dad’s favorite paintings? Have you tried using a brush yourself?
– I have many favorite paintings written by dad. They hang in my home and bring me joy. A whole collection. I like it very much”Malibu Beach“, “Lebanese cedar”, “Oksana forest“… In general, I just look at them and somehow don’t concentrate on the names. Therefore, I won’t name everything that I like right away ( smiling ).
One of the pope’s most powerful paintings, “Over the Black Sea,” is in the Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics. This is his calling card. It depicts an astronaut flying above the surface of the Earth.
I also tried to draw. My second education is as a decorative artist. I’m good at botanical painting. I dabbled a little in oils and watercolors. But now I don’t draw: I have no time, and the inspiration is gone…
To be first
– Is it important, in your opinion, to be first in life?
– No, it doesn’t matter at all. But in a good sense, only exceptionally talented God-chosen people get ahead. Not everyone can be the first. At the same time, you cannot become the first without the help of those who help exceptional people achieve their high goals.
– Did you like Dmitry Kiselyov’s film “The Time of the First,” in which the role of Alexei Arkhipovich was played by Yevgeny Mironov? What was Leonov’s opinion of him?
– Yes, I really liked it. Great movie.
Alexey Arkhipovich acted as his consultant and had a very good opinion of both the film and Evgeniy. Everything was taken from his words.
After the first official viewing, Evgeny Mironov was very nervous. He approached Alexei Arkhipovich and said:
– Well, did you like it?
Dad replied:
– Very.
– It was scary?
– Scary. But only in life it’s even worse.
Amazing twists of fate
– What detail from the biography of Alexei Arkhipovich, in your opinion, is the most surprising?
– His entire biography consists of many amazing details. It’s interesting that dad had a choice: to become an artist or a pilot. As a result, due to a number of life circumstances, he became a pilot. But, nevertheless, the craving for painting never left him. And here you go: he realized himself not only as a pilot and astronaut, but also as an artist. Isn’t it amazing?
And it’s no coincidence that the second episode of our film is called “On the Very Edge.” During his life, Alexey Arkhipovich was repeatedly on the verge of death. But, thank God, everything worked out. And this is also surprising in its own way.
And the people he met…
And in general, the events that happened in dad’s life would have been enough for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people. And with him they were all concentrated and lived with dignity and honor.
– What did your children connect their lives with?
– My son is engaged in journalism. He works as a chief editor at the television company Sputnik TV, where he translates Russian news for foreign listeners and viewers. English is his native language, just like Russian.
The daughter is a mother of many children. She has five children. Very young: one and a half years old, two and a half, three and a half, nine and ten years old. Therefore, now it is difficult for her to work anywhere. She takes care of her family and home.
Meetings
– You have traveled a lot around the world and communicated with many people. Are there any meetings that you particularly remember?
“I especially remember all the meetings I attended with my dad. Every year I accompanied him to spaceflight conventions. There I was lucky enough to meet all the cosmonauts and astronauts of the world.
During the congresses, we also met with Nobel laureates, artists, religious and political figures. It was incredibly interesting and memorable for a lifetime…
– What could you wish to the Kaluga residents?
– I would like ideas about space to be developed even more deeply in your city. Let space education begin in kindergarten, where children will be taught about space flights and space heroes.
There are three of them in Kuzbass: Alexey Leonov, Boris Volynov and Alexander Grebenkin, who is now on board the ISS. But the Kaluga resident, as far as I know, has not yet flown into space…
Interviewed by Kirill GIZETDINOV.
Tags: Cosmonaut artist secrets life legendary cosmonaut Alexei Leonov revealed daughter Kaluga Kaluga News
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