Russian pop singer, whose popularity peaked in the late 90s of the 20th century. Known for his shockingness and extravagance: for a long time the artist did not have his front teeth, which is why he had a lisp. Repeatedly became the object of parodies. Winner of the “Golden Gramophone”, “Silver Galosh”, “Sound Track” awards, etc.

Biography of Shura

Alexander Vladimirovich Medvedev, known under his creative pseudonym Shura(SHURA), was born on May 20, 1975 in Novosibirsk in the family of Vladimir Shapkin and his wife Svetlana. Having given birth to a son at the age of 18, the mother soon married a second time - to Nikolai Medvedev, and two and a half years later Shura had younger brother, Mikhail, who later became a businessman.

Alexander learned about his own father only when he died: “I don’t even have a photograph of my father, but my mother somehow mentioned that I look very much like him.”

His own father and stepfather did not take part in Alexander’s upbringing, and his mother sent her first-born at the age of nine to an orphanage, from where the future singer was taken by his grandmother Vera Mikhailovna, who worked as a chef at the Novosibirsk restaurant “Rus”. It was there that Shura, who can be called a real genius, since he never studied professional music anywhere, began his ascent to the creative Olympus. At the age of 12, the boy, expelled from school with a certificate of incomplete secondary education, began performing in front of restaurant audiences.

According to the performer, he had no friends among his peers; his classmates, for example, seemed stupid to him; he did not know what to talk to them about. He was drawn to adults and noisy companies. So, in the restaurant where he sang, he felt at ease. However, according to Shura, there were also disadvantages: there he learned to swear and drink vodka: his grandmother had strict morals, but did not have time to keep track of everything.

Shura's creative path

Having subsequently completed a design course in Riga, Shura came to conquer Moscow, and he presented himself as nothing less than a foreign pop star. His first performance in the capital took place at the Manhattan Express club. Here Shura met a stylist Alisher, with whom he began to collaborate since then. True, yours unusual image he explained it not by the efforts of this master, but by the influence of his grandmother.

Shura recorded his debut two albums (in 1997 - Shura, in 1998 - Shura 2) in tandem with the Novosibirsk composer Pavel Yesenin, who also acted as a backing vocalist, and a few years later began to collaborate with such stars of domestic show business as Dmitry Malikov, Alla Pugacheva, Diana Gurtskaya, etc. In 1999, Alexander’s third collection, “Fairy Tale,” was released, then the albums “Thank You for Second Wind” (2001), News (2003), and “Forbidden Love” (2004) were released.

About outrageous singer they started talking almost immediately, and his compositions “The Summer Rains Have Stopped,” “Do Good,” and “Cold Moon” immediately became hits. The performer was presented with various professional awards, including: “Song of the Year” (“Don’t Believe Tears”, “The Summer Rains Have Stopped”), “Song of the 20th Century”, “Golden Gramophone” (“Do Good”), “Hit FM”, “Stylish singer of the year”, “Best singer of the year”, etc.

However, the wave of popularity gradually subsided, and Shura was very worried this fact. Dark times and loneliness, drugs, terrible disease- cancer, which he openly stated in interviews.

Shura: “Cocaine appeared... It was this that saved me from loneliness after concerts... Because I was very lonely. But I didn’t have any loved ones, because everyone was driven away from me. It was not beneficial for anyone that I had a soul mate. The dealers lived with me, you know? They rented apartments nearby. They didn't let me go. I won’t say that this happened with all the stars, but in general there was a specific additive. Thank God, such a disease as cancer happened to me, and I quit drugs myself. I went to church, prayed to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, then they injected me with chemotherapy in one arm, and drugs for drug addiction in the other arm. That is, I miraculously survived.”

Over time, the singer moved away from his extravagant image, put in teeth and began to appear in public in elegant clothes. However, he himself once admitted that he could do something crazy at any moment: “I can’t stay in the same image for a long time - it immediately becomes boring.” In an updated image, Shura returned to the stage in the late 2000s and immediately became a guest on popular shows, including “Musical Ring”, “You are a superstar” on NTV, etc.

In 2014, Shura released the song “Laughter and Tears” and a video clip for this composition. In 2015, he took part in the transformation project “One to One!”, Season 3, on the TV channel “Russia 1”. His rivals and colleagues on stage were: Alexander Rybak, Nikita Malinin, Mark Tishman, Batyrkhan Shukenov, Svetlana Svetikova, Anzhelika Agurbash, Evelina Bledans and Marina Kravets. To participate in the popular show, Shura studied with an Italian vocal teacher and lost ten kilograms. To return former form, the musician took up swimming and went on a strict diet.

In 2016, the artist, who tried to reconcile with his own mother on his birthday with the help of Andrei Malakhov’s talk show “Let Them Talk,” presented a video for the song “Penguins,” and in 2017 released a video for the song “Girlfriend.”

Shura's personal life

Shura's personal life is shrouded in darkness. In 2010, on his 35th birthday, he brought out a girl Lisa Tuchnina, introducing her as his future wife. There was talk of an imminent wedding, but nothing is known about this solemn event in the singer’s life. The performer said about Lisa that they had known each other for many years and understood each other perfectly, dreaming that they would have twins.

Subsequently, the singer did not reveal practically any details about his personal life to the public. In 2017, in an exclusive video interview with the online TV guide “Vokrug TV,” Shura admitted that it was not his rule to wake up in his bed alone: ​​“My bed is mine and only mine. It is huge - 2.20 by 2.20 meters. It’s very difficult to buy underwear for her... Yes, I can make love on this bed, and then give a kick...” In the same frank conversation, the performer mentioned that he was visited by thoughts of creating a full-fledged family.

Shura: “I dream of a cozy little house. Of course, about family. I thought about children for a very long time. Since I am a former cancer patient, I still doubt whether it’s worth it - because, well, God forbid... After all, oncology is like that... But I want some kind of family, probably already. Still in my fifties.”

Shura's health

For five years, the pop singer fought an oncological disease, for the treatment of which about a million dollars was spent in clinics in Russia and Switzerland. Only a few of his most devoted friends helped the artist financially, while the rest, having learned about Shura’s diagnosis, turned away from him. According to him, not only money, but also a Chihuahua named Matilda helped the singer overcome cancer.

Shura about overcoming the disease (video interview, November 2017): “This is a very difficult situation in general. They announce your sentence and you don’t want to live. I don’t want to strain my relatives... I don’t want to undergo chemotherapy. In my case, some kind of fiction helped me. One clairvoyant said: “Get yourself a dog, it will save you.” I didn’t want to live for my relatives, that is, to strain them. Every day they will endure your chemotherapy courses, investing money in it, because it costs a lot... Thank God that the people around me helped me. I didn't want to live. I got myself a dog and lived for this little lump. I came after a course of chemotherapy, I felt bad. Then he kissed this little lump. I lived for him. That is, you need to decide on the purpose for which you live. For example, a loved one. But at that time I had no one except this dog. She pulled me out of oncology. Not relatives, but a dog.”

Shura, who overcame a terrible illness, got rid of everything else from drugs and alcohol addiction, began to lead correct image life and expressed the confidence that in no case should you give up; on the contrary, you need to grit your teeth, fight and go towards your goal. Speaking about plans for 2018, the musician noted that he intends to undergo a course of treatment in the Russian scientific center"Restorative traumatology and orthopedics" named after academician Ilizarov.

Awards and achievements of Shura

• 1997: “Golden Decibel”; first place in the hit parade for the song “Cold Moon”.
• 1998: “Golden Gramophone” (song “You Don’t Believe Tears”), winner of the “Song of the Year” competition in the nomination “Best Performer and Best Singer” (song “Don’t Believe Tears”); first place in the Muz-TV hit parade (clip “Summer Rains Have Stopped Noisy”).
• 1999: “Stopudovy Hit” prize for the song “Don’t Believe Tears”; victory in “Song of the Year” (“The summer rains have stopped making noise”); “Muz-Oboz” award in the category “Best Performer of the Year”; “Silver Galosh” award in the “Smile of the Year” category.
• 2000: Golden Decibel Award in the category “The Most Popular Singer of Novosibirsk”; competition “Stylish things” - award “Stylish singer of the year” (“The sky is for us”).
• 2001: Golden Gramophone award (song “Do Good”); “Soundtrack” award (song “Artist”).
• 2002: Golden Duck Award; Night Life Awards in the category “Best singer in the world of night music.”
• 2003: “Soundtrack” award (song “Zimushka-winter”); “Silver Galosh” in the “Most Stylish Performer” category.
• 2007: Order “Benefit, Honor and Glory of Russia” for high professionalism and an invaluable contribution to the development of art.

2013: award from AURUM magazine.

Shura discography

• Albums
• 1997 - Shura (in collaboration with composer Pavel Yesenin)
• 1998 - Shura-2 (in collaboration with composer Pavel Yesenin)
• 1999 - Fairy Tale
• 2000 - official collection + two songs
• 2001 - “Thank you for the second wind”
• 2003 - News
• 2011 - “New Day”
• 2012 - “The Heart Beats” (single)
• 2012 - “Prayer” (single) (together with Svetlana Surganova)
• 2014 - “Laughter and Tears” (single)
• 2015 - “Dreams” (single)
• 2015 - “Our Summer” (single)
• 2016 - “The Heart Beats” (single)
• 2016 - “Penguins” (single)
• 2017 - “Girlfriend” (single)
• Video clips
• 1997 - “Cold Moon”
• 1998 - “You don’t believe in tears” (concert)
• 1998 - “The summer rains have stopped making noise”
• 2000 - “Do Good”
• 2001 - “Take a Step”
• 2003 - “Hello”
• 2004 - “Forbidden Love” (together with Irina Berezhnaya)
• 2010 - “Balloons”
• 2012 - “The Heart Beats”
• 2012 - “Prayer” (together with “Surganova and the Orchestra”)
• 2014 - “Laughter and Tears”
• 2016 - “Penguins”
• 2017 - “Girlfriend”
• Popular compositions
• The summer rains have faded
• Don Don Don
• Are You Ready
• Cold Moon
• Eternity
• Zimushka winter
• Don't believe in tears
• Porushka-poranya
• Day outside the window
• Fairy tale
• Treasured land
• Do good
• And autumn just came
• Artist
• Make a step
• Please say hello
• Old artist
• On the cheeks
• Peace and goodness (Do good 2)
• Or or
• New day
• Balloons
• Heart beats
• Laughter and tears
• Our summer
• Penguins

Filmography of Shura

• Actor
  2007 - 2015 My truth (Ukraine, documentary)
  2001 Fox Alice (party singer)

The performer of the hits “Do Good” and “The Summer Rains Have Stopped Making Noise” is being evicted from his apartment by his relatives through the court

Missing front teeth, a bald head, high-platform shoes and strange outfits - this is what singer Shura looked like when he appeared on stage in the mid-nineties. They called him gay, a feathered wonder, mentally unstable. By show business standards, the Shura project was extremely successful, but in 2002 the singer disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared, and reappeared only five years later. The artist transformed himself, changed his crazy outfits to a solid suit, put in teeth...

As a child, Alexander Medvedev (real name Shura) was not loved, and was not taken seriously in his youth. Now the court is trying to deprive him of his apartment birth mother. ABOUT lawsuit and not only 38-year-old Alexander Medvedev was interviewed by the host of the “We Talk and Show” (NTV) program Leonid Zakoshansky.

* “I returned to show business as a completely different Alexander Medvedev,” says the artist

— How did you find out that your mother sued you?

Shura:— My mother sent a lawsuit for my eviction from an apartment in Novosibirsk to my director by mail. IN statement of claim she pointed out that I have several apartments in Moscow and my own office. Although in reality I have nothing in Moscow! No registration, no apartment, not even a car!

In general, I was in shock, although I always knew that any inappropriate act could be expected from her. But still, this is my own mother! She could have called me and suggested, Sasha, let’s sell the apartment, I would have understood. But act on the sly! So mean...

Director and friend of Shura Pavel Deperschmidt: — When Sasha saw this lawsuit, at first he didn’t even understand what was happening, he was so amazed. He paused, then said: “Okay, let him check out of the apartment.” A minute later it dawned on him: “What is this, am I going to be homeless now?” After all, now he can’t go to the bank, or get a foreign passport, or get medical insurance... Sasha loves his mother, sends her money. And she states in the lawsuit: “We do not maintain relations with him. Presumably lives in Moscow.”

The artist’s lawyer Alexander Treshchev:— It is impossible to discharge the singer from the apartment unless he provides documents proving that he owns other real estate. The court cannot rule in favor of the mother and throw Alexander out onto the street. (The court granted the claim of singer Shura’s mother for the loss of his right to use an apartment in Novosibirsk. Alexander Medvedev appealed this decision. - Ed.)

- Do you really not communicate with your mother at all? Maybe, at least for some reason family holidays is she calling you?

Shura:- Never. Recently I was attacked on the street with a knife. They talked about this on TV and wrote in the newspapers. And even then she didn't call me. Only one day on my birthday (I turned 25) my friend Natasha secretly found my mother’s number in my phone and called her. When my mother answered the call, Natasha literally forced her to talk to me. We talked for the first time in a long time. They talked for a long time, even both of them burst into tears. But this was an isolated incident.

*Singer Shura: “In the middle90sthe public could only be surprised by a shocking image and complete absence complexes"

— Have you visited your mother recently?

Shura:- Well, first of all, not visiting my mother, but at home. I still think it's mine native home, although I don’t even have keys, because my mother constantly changes the locks. Last time I was there about five years ago. And during that wonderful time when we worked seven days a week, I sent my mother $500 from each concert for several years.

— How did your mother treat you as a child?

Shura:“I was an unwanted child, she wanted to get rid of the pregnancy.” Mom called me a miscarriage and always found a reason to scold me. It seems to me that she loved my father so much that when he left her, she began to blame and hate me. Imagine, she didn’t even allow me to call her mom - only Sveta! Otherwise she would beat me. As a child, I couldn’t understand why my mother couldn’t be called mom, but I didn’t want to get punched in the face either...

One day I returned from school early and found my mother with her lover. Out of jealousy, I cut off all the buttons on his clothes. And in general, then he tried in every possible way to quarrel between them - he “kissed” his shirt with red lipstick, and put soldier’s shoulder straps in her pockets. But I was not a bad son! I loved my mother and still love her. I was always drawn to her, gave her gifts made with my own hands, and she... sent me to an orphanage when I was nine years old. Why? Yes, I just disturbed her, because my mother was young, and the apartment was one-room. She tried her best to arrange her personal life, but potential suitors for her hand were blown away like the wind when they saw children's things in the apartment. So she blamed me for her loneliness.

— Was life bad in the orphanage?

Shura:“I’ve always been a lively kid, and orphanage No one really touched me. Moreover, I often went to my grandmother’s restaurant, where she worked as a chef, and picked a bunch of fruit there. By the way, my mother strictly forbade me from telling my grandmother that she sent me to an orphanage. Grandma continued to think that I lived at home. So, I picked fruit from her and distributed it to the children. This is how I earned myself immunity and even, one might say, authority.

— So you didn’t lose your front teeth in an orphanage?

Shura:- My younger brother Misha (Mikhail Dudchenko) knocked out my teeth. Ed.). And I still have a lot of scars from him. Mom constantly pitted us against each other and wanted us to be at enmity.

The artist’s mother was not present in the studio, but in her interviews she tries to justify herself. "There was no orphanage! - states Shura's mother Svetlana Medvedeva. “I didn’t have a husband, I was alone with two boys, and they had endless fights, so much so that the glass in the doors broke!” I sent Sasha to boarding school so that he could live in peace for at least a week. But as soon as he complained, she immediately took him away. Terrible things happened at the boarding school - children hurt each other, set fire to beds... Sasha only stayed there for a month.”

Shura:“My grandmother took me from the orphanage, she was the only one who needed me.” I was teased at school, and after sixth grade I dropped out. Yes, yes, I didn’t even finish school, can you imagine! Why do I need education when I have a “honorable diploma” from the school of life. But he began performing at the restaurant where my grandmother worked.

— Did your stage image begin to take shape already then?

Shura:- Yes, and also thanks to my grandmother. Grandma is the most cheerful and sincere person in my life. One day, two weeks before the New Year, she began to wear an unusual gypsy skirt, which was embroidered with... bottle caps. My grandmother also allowed me to try on her wigs, of which she had a lot. And so, at the age of 12, I began to put on my grandmother’s costumes, jewelry, and platform boots and go on stage dressed like that. I sang songs by the groups “Tender May” and “Modern Talking” and, you know, received a storm of applause.

“But it wasn’t your performances in the restaurant that made you popular.” How did you manage to reach a new level?

Shura:— You can say that the restaurant gave me a chance. It was there, when I was 17 years old, that I met the young musician Pavel Yesenin. Pasha wrote several songs for me, over time they became hits. The first person to appreciate my album was my grandmother. She said: “You sing so well! But I didn’t understand in what language.” Then Pasha convinced me that success would shine for me with this album. And I went from Novosibirsk to Moscow. By the way, five years later Pasha became a famous composer - he wrote songs for Alla Pugacheva, Diana Gurtskaya, Dima Malikov.

It’s clear that no one was waiting for me in Moscow. For two weeks I lived... in a botanical garden, right on a bench! It’s good that it was summer - I picked berries and ate. It was fun. During the day he begged, and at night he went to nightclubs and looked for at least some kind of work. He even agreed to be a dishwasher. And when he really wanted to eat, he offered his songs in exchange for a bowl of soup. One Moscow prostitute saved me. She took pity on me and let me live with her. But for some reason she was afraid to leave me at home alone, so she took me with her to work. So I was in the right place at the right time. In one of the most popular clubs in Moscow, a casting was held for aspiring singers. This was my chance! I was the last one to go on stage, wearing a fur coat and bright makeup. In the mid-nineties, the jaded Moscow public could only be surprised by a shocking image and a complete lack of complexes. And in the end, I was one of hundreds of applicants who got a job in a prestigious nightclub.

Pop artist Alexander Peskov:— I was on the jury of this competition. When Sasha came out, I was stunned, in a good way this word. And I thought: “Wow, how brave!”

Journalist Otar Kushanashvili:“Even though I was warned to take Validol with me to his performance, I thought that this was said for form’s sake. But it turned out to be true.

Shura:— The managers announced me as the son of Russian emigrants from America. The director of Zhanna Aguzarova came up with this game: “You sing one song in English, pretend that you don’t understand anything in Russian and leave.” But in fact, I didn’t know a word of English! I had to bluff. The lack of teeth played a hand here - English sound“the” was very easy to pronounce. One day the famous stylist Alisher saw my performance. He was working on his image best stars Russian stage- Sofia Rotaru, Zemfira, Pugacheva, Kirkorov, Rasputina...

Alisher asked me only one question: am I ready to become a star? He convinced me to add some details to the image. When working on the image, we were guided by Ozzy Osbourne and Marilyn Manson. In general, Shura was a blast.

— How did you feel when you became a star?

Shura:“I was blinded, dizzy in an eternal holiday.” Along with popularity came a bunch of pseudo-friends. I borrowed money left and right, paid for everyone at banquets, bought drinks, threw parties... I'm generous, yes. Money doesn't mean much to me at all. If it's enough to buy my dog ​​a piece of meat, everything is fine. This is important to me, but money is not.

But I still remained a lonely Novosibirsk boy. And that’s why, when they first offered me drugs, I didn’t refuse. I was accustomed to such rubbish that you get used to incredibly quickly, but it causes constant feeling anxiety and irritation. I constantly had a headache; one unkind word was enough for me to fall into hopeless depression. At the slightest provocation he would shed tears and throw tantrums. I became uncontrollable - I threw myself at the guards, pulled assistants by the hair, disrupted concerts - it’s terrible to remember. But the public was only entertained by this, everyone thought it was a show, and no one understood that in fact I was just dying. At concerts there were five thousand people in front of me, but when I came home, I was left alone. I constantly heard in my head: “Nobody needs you.” And I had to suppress these thoughts with drugs.

— When did you decide to quit drugs?

Shura:— One morning I saw that my dog ​​had nothing to eat. And I have nothing either - the refrigerator is empty, there is no money. I decided: to hell with all these crowds of guards, retinue, let it all go... far away! I realized that I want to go back to normal life, and voluntarily went to a drug treatment clinic. Just in time, as it turned out. Doctors discovered I had knee cancer. In two months I was supposed to die. And then, when I called all my “friends” and asked them to borrow at least a little money to save my life, every single one of them told me “no”. At that moment I could have gotten drunk, called drug dealers, forgotten, but I pulled myself together and survived! The operation was performed, everything went well.

Treatment for cancer took place simultaneously with treatment for drug addiction. I was lying under two IVs: in right hand They put chemicals on me and anti-addiction drugs on my left side. I had time to reassess my life and I felt sick of myself. After leaving the hospital, I threw away all my heels, terrible outfits and began to clean myself up. But because of chemotherapy, I had another problem - my metabolism was disrupted, I gained weight from 46 to 130 kilograms! I was terribly embarrassed by this, afraid to leave the house, not to mention the stage. No diets or diet pills helped. I had to take desperate measures: I borrowed money from the owner of the establishment where I started my career and had liposuction. I don't hide it. I had 50 kilograms of excess fat removed.

— Was it scary to return to the stage after a five-year break?

Shura:- Terrible! Besides the fact that I was still full, my hand began to shake. When I was invited to speak at a private party, I was more nervous than ever. I understood that if even one person let me know that they noticed my hand, which was just shaking, I would burst into tears. But everything worked out - I spent the performance sitting on a bar stool, with my hand under my butt. And the fear began to recede. And I gradually returned to show business. But a completely different Alexander Medvedev.

Prepared by Ilona VARLAMOVA, especially for FACTS

For several months now, singer Shura has been in the most difficult situation. The artist lost his only home. He purchased an apartment in Moscow 15 years ago. But also in nightmare he could not imagine that the day would come when strangers would come to him and assure him that the living space now belonged to them. About all the vicissitudes of this tragic story Shura told our correspondents in an exclusive interview.

“In 2002, I decided to buy myself an apartment,” says the 43-year-old singer. — I came to the Stolitsa company, whose employees I was friends with at that time. They offered me to enter into a contract with CJSC Gradostroy. So, “Stolitsa” found an apartment for me, and I paid “Gradostroi” 30 thousand dollars as a down payment. The house was sold to me at cost - around $900 per square meter. At that time the dollar exchange rate was about 28 rubles. It turns out that the apartment cost 95 thousand dollars. But at that time I was still a drug addict, and for me it was a lot of money. The trouble is that I was not legally savvy, I didn’t read any papers, I was busy with my career. I had no time to delve into everything. I just regularly carried money to the company. I still had a debt of 25 thousand, but they told me that I could move into the apartment, make repairs there and live. We agreed that I would either work off this money through barter for my concerts, or pay it in later. That's exactly what I did. I drove into concrete walls and made repairs, which cost me more than three million rubles. He lived in peace, paying all utilities.

For all these years, the singer could not have imagined that the company, it turns out, had not registered the apartment in his name.

“And here comes my birthday this year,” the public favorite sighs sadly. — Three days after it, I go out into the street to buy some water. And at the entrance there are two handsome young men with papers for my apartment and absolutely culturedly, without any attacks, they say: “Alexander, we purchased this apartment!” It turned out that “Stolitsa” registered my housing in the name of its employee Arabov Murad Mansurovich. I’m in shock, running away from grief into the bushes to cry. I was afraid that now they would come into my apartment and immediately evict me. But thank God, the new owners and I agreed that I would rent housing from them for six months for 60 thousand rubles a month.

The new owners are already planning to put the apartment up for sale.

“I’m still afraid to even think about where I’ll go,” the artist complains. — To take out a mortgage, you need a down payment. I don't have one. Roughly speaking, it takes eight million for this, but my fees are not a million rubles, and I have generally refused all tours because of all these proceedings. And now I need to pay lawyers, because I want to file an application in court so that the company fulfills its obligations and provides housing to my property.

Shura assured us that he is not even dreaming of any unprecedented luxury now:

“As you know, court proceedings are very long and unpredictable. But I need to move somewhere now. “I’m used to living where it’s green, I really love my Leninsky district,” the star shares. “But here you don’t have to choose anymore.” Wherever they give it, I’ll settle there. It would be good if there were people who could give a mortgage without down payment. Because I don’t want to rent an apartment and pay money anywhere.

Andrei Malakhov and Viktor Rybin have already offered Shura a helping hand, saying that they can give them the keys to their homes. The singer’s mother Svetlana Ivanovna, with whom he reconciled six months ago after 25 years of misunderstanding, also began to persuade her son to move to Novosibirsk with her. The artist was also inundated with letters from fans from many regions of Russia with offers to live with them.

“One woman wrote: “I live alone in a three-room apartment, come, I’ll give you two rooms,” Shura smiles. — Mostly, of course, they write not from Moscow; in the outback people are more responsive. But I won’t leave Moscow, I have work here. It’s also a shame that so many lies are now being written about my situation. They say that my apartment was taken away for debts, drugs, etc. And they wrote to my lawyer that I was doing PR for myself with this and that no apartment was taken away from me. On this moment an interview with you is the only truthful printed source of information. In the meantime, most publications do this: I told them one word, and they will write ten more!

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Shura has had a deplorable housing situation. At the dawn of his career, when he had just moved to Moscow, the future star had the opportunity to spend a whole week in the Botanical Garden, eating the berries growing there.

“I started out as a homeless person, and I continue to do so,” the artist says sadly. - Well, what should I do now, go live on the same bench? By the way, my first home in Moscow after botanical garden it was also on Leninsky Prospekt. I lived there with a prostitute Tanka. At that time, I had already started singing in one establishment for a bowl of soup, and I took it with me. She made money there. I also fed her Pekingese dog when Tanka was away for a long time. I remember thinking: it’s better to eat the carrots yourself or feed them to the dog.

Singer Shura. Photo: personal archive of Alexander Medvedev.

Alexander Medvedev, known under the pseudonym Shura, is a colorful figure. Inconceivable outfits, platform shoes and missing front teeth attract the public no less than vocal abilities. By the way, music education the singer does not. The nugget spent his universities in restaurants, where he sang from the age of thirteen. Alexander inherited his artistry from his grandmother, who was of gypsy blood and performed amazing romances. Flipping through Family album, Shura talked about how he got rid of his drug addiction, defeated cancer and charmed Patricia Kaas.

1. I am thirteen years old. I'm passing through Moscow - going to Riga for design courses. You can say that I fell in love with Moscow from the first candy. When I was five years old I was given a box chocolates with the image of the Kremlin. I took it out into the yard and treated it to the guys. Then he cut off the cover with the picture and hung it above his bed. I said that I would definitely live in this city. And the dream came true.

2. Central park of the city of Novosibirsk, where I spent my childhood and youth. A very happy time. From the age of thirteen I sang in restaurants, earned money and took the kids from my class to the park to have fun. We walked, rode carousels, ate barbecue. I have never spared money for entertainment, for my family and friends.

3. This is me at my good friend Natasha’s dacha. I really like this place near Moscow. We often relax here, barbecue, and make fish soup. Well, yes, I like to fool around. These lambs are ceramic floor sculptures. Did you think they were alive? Ha ha ha.

4. I am with my grandmother Vera Mikhailovna, the closest and most adored person to me. She always supported me, gave me her blessing and money for all my endeavors. The grandmother was of gypsy blood and sang romances beautifully. She also had a skirt made from forty pieces, lined with bottle caps along the edges. When grandma walked, the skirt rattled like a tambourine.

5. Filming some TV program. I was a TV presenter. In total I had twelve different female images. As for Ksyusha Sobchak, we get along great. For her birthday, she often books a concert with my participation. I respect her, love her and say: “If I ever marry, then only someone like Sobchak.”

6. I’m at the Metelitsa club, running my own program. This is my last bleaching with blonde: already then my hair began to fall out a little. I was diagnosed with cancer. I perceived what happened as a pattern. I had prophetic dreams that, they say, you will make it if you don’t stop taking drugs. But it was hard to stop. The illness became an incentive to quit, leave the environment that was sucking money from me for drugs, and completely change my life.

7. My twenty-second birthday. We celebrate it at the Metelitsa club. My girls are with me good friends. They sang in some youth group. Now I don’t remember the name, it quickly faded away. I love my birthday. I always celebrate it on a grand scale, noisy, fun and insanely expensive. Although I am getting older and older.

8. I’m in the guise of Baba Yaga, singing a song from the cartoon “The Flying Ship”, with the backing vocals “Buranovskie Babushki”. That day I had to go to the dentist and had my upper teeth. The director exclaimed: “Look at Shura: how responsibly he prepared for the role!” It was a fun number.

Shura (Alexander Medvedev)

Singer Date of birth May 20 (Taurus) 1975 (44) Place of birth Novosibirsk Instagram @shuramedvedev

Singer Shura is a shocking artist who attracts attention with his creativity and unusual appearance. His star lit up in the late 90s. Then Shura's hits were recorded, which have not lost their popularity two decades later. The artist's fate is filled with contradictory events. There were ups and downs in musical career. The singer had to survive cancer and again achieve success on stage. Today there is less shocking in a man’s life, but he still plays music and participates in entertainment programs.

Biography of Shura

Alexander Vladimirovich Medvedev was born on May 20, 1975 in Novosibirsk. He was raised by his mother and stepfather. Most of all, the boy loved his grandmother, who instilled in him a love of unusual outfits and vocals. Sasha's childhood was not joyful. He received little attention, and at the age of 9 he was sent to a boarding school. After some time, the boy was taken in by his grandmother. With family at Shura's difficult relationship. The artist does not communicate with either his mother or brother, but helps them financially.

Alexander started earning money at the age of 13. Having no musical education, the guy performed at a local restaurant, surprising visitors with his shocking appearance. Then he decided to try his hand at Moscow. The debut in the capital took place at the Manhattan Express club. The love of shocking again helped the aspiring artist to the rescue. There he was noticed by fashion designer Alisher, who agreed to sew stage costumes for Shura.

His unusual appearance and original manner of performance, which was explained by the lack of teeth, contributed to the growth of the popularity of singer Shura. The artist released his first albums in tandem with composer Pavel Yesenin. The records were called “Shura” and “Shura 2”. Then there were the albums “Fairy Tale”, “Thank You. Second wind".

Medvedev was awarded the Golden Gramophone and participated in the “Song of the Year”. in the 2000s, Shura suddenly disappeared from television screens. The cause was drug addiction and cancer in advanced stage. The man needed a lot of effort, time and money to recover.

In 2007 he reappeared on TV in music shows. In 2011, the singer released the album “New Day”.

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Shura's personal life

Many people spoke about Shura as an artist gay. The singer strongly supported rumors about his homosexuality, but later admitted that it was nothing more than a PR stunt to attract more attention to his person. In 2010, the man went out with his girlfriend Elizabeth. According to Shura, he long time lives with a girl in civil marriage he simply hid the relationship, preferring to keep information about his personal life secret. In 2017, news appeared in the press about the artist’s desire to have a child. Shura himself does not comment on the rumors.