Mikhail Zadornov: His Mother's Ufa Romance and Family Scandal

Legendary satirist Mikhail Zadornov performed in Ufa multiple times and called it his hometown. He didn«t say this out of flattery, as his parents met in the capital of Bashkiria, which even led to a scandal. Read more in the UFA1.RU article.

Mikhail Zadornov was born in 1948. He finished school in Riga, enrolled in the local Polytechnic Institute, but transferred to the Moscow Aviation Institute, where he later worked as a lead engineer. According to Zadornov, he chose the specialty out of fascination with aircraft, but during his studies, his creative side awakened.

At the institute, there was a student theater where Zadornov acted and wrote scripts, and later became the artistic director. With the troupe, he traveled extensively across the Soviet Union and once received an invitation to perform one of his monologues on television.

Later, one of the feuilletons that the satirist presented on the show «Vokrug Smyekha» (Around Laughter) brought him nationwide popularity. In the 1980s, he got a job as head of the satire and humor department at Yunost magazine. Many famous artists, including Yevgeny Petrosyan, performed his stories and sketches, but then Zadornov began performing them himself on stage, quickly winning over the audience.

By the way, Zadornov is considered the author of the famous phrase «In Russia, there are two troubles: fools and roads.» He attributed it to Nikolai Gogol, but historians and culturologists found no such statements by the writer. Eventually, experts concluded that Zadornov «gave» his own aphorism to the classic of Russian literature «for greater authority.»

Another landmark event in the satirist«s career for the entire country was the »presidential« New Year»s greeting. Traditionally, the head of state delivers such an address on television, but in 1991, against the backdrop of the collapse of the USSR, the political situation in the country was very confused, and so the humorist went on air. Moreover, President Boris Yeltsin«s greeting was recorded in advance but included in the broadcast after Zadornov.

In 2019, a poll in Russia found that Mikhail Zadornov was the country«s most beloved comedian. Much of his fame also came from »anti-American« satire. In it, he mocked national stereotypes by comparing customs in the USA and Russia. Essentially, Zadornov created an entire subgenre, and the phrase »Well, they«re stupid!» became his signature.

The humorist was married twice, and in 1990, he had a daughter.

In 2016, the artist was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In November 2017, he passed away. He was buried in his native Jurmala, and hundreds came to say goodbye. The satirist rests next to his father — also a writer.

Zadornov Sr. is less known, but his fate was also remarkable. Nikolai Pavlovich was born into a family of a veterinarian, traveled extensively across Russia from childhood. In school, he participated in plays and founded an agitation brigade. Later, he performed at the Siberian Experimental Theater and then moved to the Ufa City Theater.

Simultaneously, Nikolai Zadornov engaged in journalism and worked as a literary employee for newspapers «Beloretsky Rabochy» (Beloretsk Worker), «Sovetskaya Sibir» (Soviet Siberia), and «Krasnaya Bashkiriya» (Red Bashkiria). In one of the local editorial offices, he met his future wife Elena, who later gave birth to Mikhail.

But by that time, Elena was already married and raising a son. Her husband worked at the Ministry of Heavy Industry, and the family moved from city to city until they ended up in the capital of Bashkiria, where, as Mikhail Zadornov recalled, a large plant was being built. Probably, it was about UMPO, to which, during the Great Patriotic War, productions from all corners of the country were evacuated.

«In Izhevsk and Krasnodar, Elena worked as a proofreader in publishing houses. And when they moved to Ufa, for the construction of a large plant, she was hired at the factory newspaper. And one day… One day, a journalist from the city newspaper — Nikolai Zadornov — appeared in the editorial office. His essay Elena criticized to smithereens. That»s how love began,« wrote Mikhail Nikolaevich on his website.

According to him, a scandal erupted due to the office romance. To avoid trouble, the couple had to leave Bashkiria immediately after the divorce and wedding.

«How could it be — a journalist stole a wife from an engineer! [The first] husband sent a letter with threats. With this letter, she [mom] went to the registry office, and there, without any trial, they issued a divorce. And the secretary of the regional committee, a Bashkir, meeting [Nikolai] Zadornov, patted him on the shoulder: »Well done!«» the satirist recounted.

In the end, his parents settled in Riga, where Nikolai wrote books, worked as a translator and editor of a magazine. They had a daughter Lyudmila, and Mikhail was born in Jurmala. Several times Zadornov performed in Ufa and called it his hometown, because here his mother found love.

Another circumstance connects Mikhail Zadornov with Ufa. While gathering material about the death of actress from Bashkiria Alena Kuznetsova, UFA1.RU surprisingly discovered a touching note from the artist addressed to the deceased and her daughter. Read more about the tragedy on our portal.