Yury Loza on flat Earth, Dolina's scandal, and turning 72

Singer and poet Yury Loza, author of the legendary song «The Raft,» is celebrating his birthday on 1 February—he turned 72. As per tradition, to mark the occasion, E1.RU asked the Ural musician several eternal questions: about the flat Earth, young talents, popularity, and new hits. He answered them all in our interview.

— What«s important for you to receive as a gift at 72?

— Health, because at this age—that«s already a gift. To have enough strength for everything I»ve planned. And I still have many plans, I want to come up with a lot, do good things, write. Create many good songs, perform an unreal number of concerts. I want to live life to the fullest, but for that, you need health.

— Unfortunately, you can«t buy such a gift.

— Unfortunately, no, and it«s unclear who to ask for it. We try to lead a healthy lifestyle, not get upset, not worry about trifles.

— What advice would you give to young people?

— I think the stupidest thing they can do in this life is to rush time. Now, from the height of my age, I can say: «Guys, don»t rush, everything will fly by very quickly.«

— You said you need health, among other things, to create. Do you plan to release more hits?

— You understand that a hit is a well-made song plus promotion. I can make a good song, but I«m not in a position to promote it now. Last year, I released three or four songs. And none of them got promoted the way they should have.

— But Kadysheva managed it.

— You«re talking to a professional. I know how Kadysheva managed all that. A viral video is created. And what is a viral video? It»s a short video for TikTok. Where did Bulanova«s popularity come from? She lived quietly, worked in the background, and suddenly a video about her lazy dancers appeared. And the same songs, the same Bulanova with the same material suddenly—boom—became ten times more expensive.

The same with Kadysheva—she sang her songs, those folk songs that hardly anyone needed. And then a viral video came out where someone was dancing to her music. That video spread, and Kadysheva suddenly sharply stood out from the crowd of other folk singers.

Understand, it«s not interest in the music as such, but interest in that video. Because no other folk singers have blown up like that.

— And why don«t you promote yourself anyway?

— Because I don«t want to write from the raft.

— I think there are other ways.

— I don«t understand what for: to go on long tours and earn a lot of money? But I already have everything: a place to live, something to drive, something to play on. I»ve already been everywhere. They offer me now: «We»ll make you popular with a viral video, and you«ll go on long tours» to cities I«ve already been to five times.

— Do you want peace and quiet?

— And who needs all that? Do you think we have a culture of spending money in Russia? Do you think Kadysheva, who will earn a lot of money, will know what to do with it? We don«t have that system. In Europe, a child is born into a well-off family, and from childhood, they are taught to spend money: how to wear clothes, what to buy, what investments to make.

And here, when a person comes into a pile of cash, what do they start doing? You see the videos where the offspring burn money: some fool is driving a super-expensive car and burning five-hundred-ruble notes.

— Your, so to speak, restrained media presence allows you to live comfortably?

— I have enough money. You understand, the rich man is not the one who has a lot, but the one who has enough. If I don«t plan to buy yachts or villas on the Côte d»Azur, then why do I need a pile of money?

— With proper promotion, can anyone become a superstar?

— Are we talking about super popularity or people«s love? Is Dolina a superstar? Her popularity is insane. Every Russian knows her name. But I don»t want to be such a superstar.

For me, the greatest pleasure is when I«m walking down the street, a stranger comes up and says: »Thank you, can I shake your hand?« For someone else, the greatest pleasure is to be photographed against a backdrop of palm trees in a bikini. So we have different approaches to pleasure.

— Do you think the story with Larisa Dolina«s apartment was a PR stunt?

— If it was a PR move, then it was unsuccessful.

— Will she ever be able to restore her reputation?

— I don«t think so.

I«m also a person on whom a huge amount of various negative information, memes, has been created. For example, recently someone took and concocted another false story: Yury Loza on Radio »Chanson« blurted out some nonsense. But I haven»t been on that radio for ten years.

But this joke spreads across the internet and everyone likes it, you understand? And then they write to me: «You said so much.» I say: «I didn»t say that, they said it for me.«

— Do jokes, for example, about the flat Earth, offend you?

— You understand, the flat Earth—that«s not a joke. There are representatives of the Flat Earth Society in every country in the world.

Moreover, I constantly give links, tell people where to look at the materials. This is serious business. I always say: «Guys, before you joke on this topic, look at the UN emblem.» The UN emblem is a map of the flat Earth.

So I say, as soon as you start thinking for yourselves, many of my statements will seem true to you.

— Do you set yourself the goal of opening people«s eyes?

— How can I open people«s eyes? How can I force people to read books and check the information they receive? And if tomorrow some person writes that Yury Loza recommended treating calluses with dog poop, I tell you, a significant part of our society will believe this nonsense.

— We talked about popularity. Dolina, maybe, went the wrong way. What about young artists, for example, Vanya Dmitrienko and Anya Peresild?

— You know, for me, as a person who will soon be 72, it«s absolutely uninteresting. I have, of course, seen photos where Anya stands, that girl with pouted lips, and just like all the other girls, tries to strike the same pose: pout her lips and stand half-turned. Why should she move me if she»s doing the same thing that millions of other girls before her did? Struck a pose in front of the mirror with pouted lips, and so what? Why should I react to that in any way? Well, she«s standing and standing.

When I see such girls, I start thinking: «And what can I talk to them about?» Communication is very important to me. Discussing silicone boobs, for example, is also uninteresting to me. And these are the topics they talk about.

— How many years have you been married to your wife?

— Many.

— Reveal the secret of long-term relationships.

— Very simple. Once an emcee told the secret of a normal marriage. You must follow the rule of three «u»s: respect (ustupay), yield (ustupay), hold on (uderzhivay). If both partners follow this rule, then all problems end.

— Does this apply to all couples? Just recently Grigory Leps broke up with his young fiancée.

— Respect, yield, hold on. So, one of these rules was violated.

— So do you believe in couples with such a big age difference?

— I already answered in the previous question. What is there to talk about? I always ask people who try to find young companions for themselves: what will you talk to her about? You have no common topics and no common past. And if you discuss youth, yours is different. What can you talk about? Silicone boobs?

Be sure to read our anniversary interview with Yury Loza. He told us whether he considers himself a Ural native and also tore into modern musicians and filmmakers.

Also, Yury Loza refused to write songs for Klava Koka. The singer-songwriter, popular in the 80s and 90s, explained why he doesn«t highly value the work of Klavdiya Vysokova.