FAQ for Journalists
What’s the role of computer
and Internet in your life? How frequently do you go online? What kind
of information are you after?
When at home I spend from one to two hours online every morning answering
letters, downloading music and reading news (cultural events mostly).
How frequently do you chat online
with your fans?
Never (apart from 3 or 4 press conferences organized by someone.)
Do you like virtual communication?
Yes, I do.
Are you visiting the sites of your
Russian and foreign colleagues?
Yes, the sites of my favorite musicians and writers.
Do you and your family members play
computer games? If yes, which ones?
The children are always playing: from Sims to Civilization (including
absolutely everything else in between.)
What are your wishes to the readers
of our newspaper?
Read books instead of newspapers.
What does the “home” mean
to you?
It’s the place to keep the books and the music + the city where
my kids go to school at this particular moment.
Do you like to spend your spare time
at home?
Yes, because it happens infrequently.
Do you like to travel?
Yes.
Do you like Nizhniy Novgorod?
Yes. It’s imposingly fundamental the Russian way.
Do you like to have guests?
Sometimes. Not all the time.
What kind of food do you like?
Chinese tea.
Do you cook?
Practically not, but I’m not dying of hunger when I’m on my
own.
Are you athletic?
Yes, though I never went in for sports.
You have any pets?
A cat.
You’ve got a hobby?
Composing music.
What’s your education?
State University of Leningrad, Applied Math.
How did you do at school?
Not bad.
What did you want to become as a child?
I don’t remember. The wishes were changing direction all the time.
What had prompted your creative development?
Was there anyone who helped you in the very beginning?
It had all started with the desire to get as close as possible to the
magic of music. All of my friends were helping me, both the ones in the
Aquarium and those outside.
Is it difficult to work on a major
bandstand?
I do not consider an opportunity to play and write music a work, but a
blessing from above.
What do you think of your popularity?
I like it (but you’ve got to know how to treat it, for example one
shouldn’t consider it one’s own achievement)
Are you satisfied with your career
or do you want something greater?
My “career” ended up in 1980 when I was fired from my work
and kicked out of comsomol (communist youth league). From that time on
I’m a free man, I do whatever I like and enjoy it. Only a complete
revelation may be greater.
Didn’t you ever want to go back
to being a just some petty guy and take a break?
The wish to take a break is there, but the desire to do something new
is always greater. There’s the desire to use that opportunity to
the uttermost while you’re alive. I simply won’t be able to
become a petty guy again. I’m far too used to an eventful life full
of beauty. And a petty guy by definition simply can’t see it.
What’s necessary to have a career?
I’m not the one to answer.
What are your wishes to those starting
their careers?
Good luck. Much later you’ll come to realize you’ve wasted
your life.
We thank Denis Bessonov
(“Birzha” newspaper, Nizhniy Novgorod)
for his question.
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