Vasilisa Ivanova - I love fashion and history. Writing interesting texts about people, their biographies.
A A
Even those who have not watched a single film with her participation know a lot about the Soviet actress, called one of the greatest actresses of the 20th century. The bright sayings of Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya still live among the people, and the “queen of the supporting plan” is often remembered not only as smart woman, who knew how to light up hearts with a caustic phrase, but also as a strong personality.
Faina Ranevskaya went through a difficult path to fame - and, despite minor roles, became famous thanks to her character and amazing sense of humor.
Childhood, adolescence, youth
Born in Taganrog in 1896, Fanny Girshevna Feldman, today known to everyone as Faina Ranevskaya, did not know a difficult childhood. She became the fourth child of her parents, Milka and Hirsh, who was considered a very wealthy person.
Fanny's father owned tenement houses, a steamship and a factory: he confidently increased his wealth while his wife looked after the household, maintaining perfect order in the house.
Faina Ranevskaya in childhood; in the photo on the right - with his brother
WITH early years Faina Ranevskaya showed her stubborn and unbridled temper, quarreling with her brothers, ignoring her sister, and not having much interest in studying. But still, she always achieves what she wants, despite her complexes (from childhood the girl was instilled with the idea that she was ugly).
Already at the age of 5, Fanny showed acting abilities (according to the actress’s recollections), when she admired her suffering for her deceased younger brother in the mirror.
The desire to become an actress was rooted in the girl after the play “ The Cherry Orchard"and the film "Romeo and Juliet".
It is believed that it was Chekhov's Cherry Orchard that gave Faina Ranevskaya her pseudonym.
Video: Faina Ranevskaya - The Great and Terrible
How it all began: the first steps towards a dream
Ranevskaya was only 17 when the girl, who was dreaming about the Moscow Art Theater stage, told her father about her intentions. Dad was adamant and demanded to forget about nonsense, promising to kick his daughter out of the house.
Ranevskaya did not give up: against the will of her father, she left for Moscow. Alas, it was not possible to take the Moscow Art Theater studio “unceremoniously,” but Ranevskaya was not going to give up.
It is unknown what Fanny’s fate would have been like if it weren’t for fateful meeting: the girl yearning by the column was noticed by the ballerina Ekaterina Geltser, who decided to have a hand in the fate of the unfortunate awkward girl. It was she who introduced Faina to the right people and agreed on a theater in Malakhovka.
As the Steel Was Tempered…
It was the provincial theater that became Ranevskaya’s first step to fame and the beginning of her long journey of service to art. New actress the troupe was given only tiny roles, but they also gave hope for the future. On weekends, sophisticated Moscow audiences flocked to the performances of the dacha troupe, and gradually Faina acquired connections and acquaintances.
After playing a season in the provincial theater, Ranevskaya went to Crimea: here, in Kerch, the season was practically lost - empty halls forced the actress to move to Feodosia. But even there, Faina was faced with complete disappointments - they didn’t even pay her money, they simply deceived her.
The upset and tired girl left Crimea and went to Rostov. She was already ready to return home and imagined how they would mock her for her “short biography of mediocrity.” True, there was nowhere to go back! The girl’s family had already left Russia at that time, and the aspiring actress was left completely alone.
It was here that the second miracle in her life awaited her: a meeting with Pavel Wulf, who took Faina under her patronage and even settled her in her home. Actress before last days remembered Pavel with constant tenderness and gratitude for his rigor and hard science.
It was from Wulf that Faina gradually learned to turn even tiny things and nothing into true masterpieces. meaningful roles, for which fans still idolize Ranevskaya today.
Starving Crimea
The country torn apart groaned from Civil War. Ranevskaya and Wulf move to Feodosia, which no longer looks like a resort at all: chaos, typhus and severe hunger reign in the old cafe. Girls take on any job to survive.
It was during those times that Faina met Voloshin, who fed them Koktebel fish so that the actresses would not stretch their legs from hunger.
Ranevskaya remembered for the rest of her life the horror of those years that reigned on the Russian peninsula. But she did not leave her place and believed that one day she would play hers again. main role.
The will to live, a sense of humor, an adequate assessment of reality and perseverance helped Ranevskaya throughout her life.
Camera, engine, started: the first film and the beginning of a career as a film actress
Faina Georgievna first appeared in a movie only at the age of 38. And her popularity grew as snowball, which worried - and even frightened the actress, who was afraid to go outside again.
What irritated her most was the phrase “Mulya, don’t irritate me,” which was thrown after her. Ranevskaya became no less charming and memorable in the fairy tale “Cinderella” (), and the popularity of the silent film “Pyshka”, which became her film debut, even went beyond the country. In total, the actress played about 30 film roles, of which only one became the main one - it was the film “Dream”.
Faina Ranevskaya in the movie "Spring"
Ranevskaya was often refused leading roles because of her “Semitic” appearance, but the actress even treated this fact with humor. The more difficult life threw at her, the more sparkling and inimitable Ranevskaya played: difficulties only tempered and provoked her, greatly contributing to the revelation of her talent.
Ranevskaya was memorable in any role, regardless of whether she was a doctor in Heavenly Slug or Lyalya in Foundling.
The year 1961 was marked by Ranevskaya receiving the title People's Artist countries.
A little about my personal life...
Despite her achievements in her film career and intellectual brilliance, Ranevskaya was greatly tormented by burning self-criticism: self-doubt ate her from the inside. Along with loneliness, from which the actress suffered no less strongly.
No husband, no children: the most charming actress remained lonely, continuing to consider herself “ ugly duckling" Ranevskaya’s rare hobbies did not lead to serious romances or marriage, which the actress herself explained by nausea even at the sight of “these scoundrels”: everything love stories turned into jokes, and no one can say for sure whether they were real, or whether they were born by word of mouth like ordinary tales.
However, there were also serious hobbies in her life, among which were (according to eyewitness accounts) Fyodor Tolbukhin in 1947 and Georgy Ots.
Generally, family life didn't work out, and only love In her old age, Ranevskaya became the homeless dog Boy - it was to him that she gave all her care and love.
Facts that not everyone knows about...
- Ranevskaya hated the phrase about Mulya, and even scolded Brezhnev when he tried to joke on this topic, like teasing pioneers.
- The actress was talented not only in acting on stage, but also in drawing landscapes and still lifes, which she affectionately called when drawing another sketch or portrait - “natures and faces.”
- Ranevskaya was friends with Bulgakov’s widow and Anna Akhmatova, looked after the young Vysotsky and adored the work of Alexander Sergeevich, even to doctors when asked “what are you breathing?” answering - “Pushkin!”
- Ranevskaya was never ashamed of her age and was a convinced vegetarian (the actress was unable to eat meat, “which she loved and looked at”).
- In the role of the stepmother, which Ranevskaya played in Cinderella, Schwartz gave her complete freedom - the actress could at will change your lines and even your behavior on camera.
- Close friends addressed the actress as Fufa the Magnificent.
- It was thanks to Ranevskaya that the star of Lyubov Orlova shone on the cinematic horizon, who agreed to her first role with light hand Ranevskaya.
Having devoted her entire life to theater and cinema, the actress played on stage until she was 86 years old, when she performed her last performance - and announced to everyone that she was no longer able to “feign health” due to severe pain.
Admirers of her talent and strong character They still leave flowers on Fanny’s grave at the New Donskoye Cemetery.
Video: Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya. Last and only interview
[To put it mildly]
They say that this performance is not successful with the audience?
“Well, that’s putting it mildly,” Ranevskaya noted. - I called the box office yesterday and asked when the show started.
- And what?
- They answered me: “When will it be convenient for you?”
[The boy obliged! ]
Already at an advanced age, Ranevskaya nevertheless knew how to force people to obey and fulfill her demands. One day, before the Moscow Olympics, Ranevskaya dialed the theater director and said in an official tone that she urgently needed a car. The director tried to refuse, citing the fact that the car was busy, but Ranevskaya sternly interrupted:
- Don’t you understand? I have to go around Moscow and show the boy the Olympic venues. He wants to make sure everything is okay...
The director was forced to send the car to Ranevskaya, although he did not know what kind of boy wanted to check the readiness of the objects. And Boy was the nickname of Faina Georgievna’s beloved dog.
[I am her! ]
During her tour to Odessa, Ranevskaya enjoyed enormous popularity and love from the audience. Local newspapers put it this way: “Odessa is making Ranevskaya’s apotheosis!”
One day, the actress was walking around the city, and a fat citizen followed her for a long time, now overtaking, now coming in from the side, now lagging behind, until she finally decided to speak.
- I don’t understand, I can’t understand, are you she?
“Yes, yes, yes,” Ranevskaya answered in a bass voice. - I am her!
[How is the sale going? ]
At one time, it was Eisenstein who gave the shy, stuttering debutante, who had just appeared at Mosfilm, advice that had a significant impact on her life.
“Faina,” said Eisenstein, “you will die if you do not learn to demand attention to yourself, to force people to obey your will.” You will die, and you will not make an actress!
Soon Ranevskaya demonstrated to her mentor that she had learned something.
Having learned that she was not approved for the role in “Ivan the Terrible,” she became indignant and, in response to someone’s question about the filming of this film, shouted: “I’d rather sell the skin off my ass than act in Eisenstein’s films!”
The author of "Battleship" was immediately informed, and he sent an enthusiastic telegram from Alma-Ata: "How is the sale going?"
[Archimedes' Law. ]
Ranevskaya, like so many women, had absolutely no understanding of physics, and one day she suddenly became interested in why iron ships did not sink.
- How is this so? - she asked one of her friends, an engineer by profession. - Iron is heavier than water, then why don’t ships made of iron sink?
“It’s all very simple,” she answered. - You studied physics at school, didn’t you?
- I do not remember.
- Well, okay, in ancient times there was such a scientist named Archimedes. He discovered the law according to which a body immersed in water experiences a buoyant force equal to the weight of the displaced water... “I don’t understand,” Faina Georgievna threw up her hands.- Well, for example, you sit down in a bathtub filled to the brim, what happens? The water is forced out and pours onto the floor... Why is it pouring? - Because I have a big ass...! - Ranevskaya guessed, beginning to comprehend Archimedes’ law. A person's biography consists of moments, incidents and events. Biography of Faina Ranevskaya - from highlights, extraordinary cases and
interesting events . The life of the great actress was filled with many colorful facts, so to fit them all into short biography hard. But we will try by also telling some interesting incidents from the life of the actress. play "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekhov, Faina firmly decided to become an actress. The father did not approve of this decision, but Ranevskaya still moved to Moscow and got a job in a private drama school, however, there was not enough money to pay for classes and I had to leave my studies.
Real name Ranevskoy - Feldman. At a particularly difficult moment, she turned to her father's friend for help. He answered her: I can’t give Feldman’s daughter a little, but I don’t have a lot anymore...
But Ranevskaya still managed to get a job at the Malakhovsky summer theater near Moscow. During this period, her pseudonym was born.
Having received another remittance from her mother, Faina left the bank, but a gust of wind tore the bills from her hands and began to carry them away. She looked at it all and said: “It’s sad, it’s a pity. But how beautifully they fly away.” A man passing by stopped and said: “You’re just like Ranevskaya from The Cherry Orchard.” That’s how Ranevskaya appeared instead of Feldman.
In 1917, the entire Feldman family emigrated abroad to Prague, but Faina remained in Russia and moved to Rostov-on-Don. Afterwards, Ranevskaya played in many theaters in various cities: Kerch, Feodosia, Kislovodsk, Baku, Stalingrad, Arkhangelsk, Smolensk. The actress managed to establish herself on the Moscow stage only in 1931 - before the war, Faina Georgievna worked at the Chamber Theater and at the Central Theater of the Red Army.
At the age of 19, Ranevskaya joined a provincial troupe and immediately fell in love with her first hero-lover. The young actress did not take her eyes off him, tried to be closer all the time, but the actor simply did not notice her. And one day he suddenly came up and said: “Baby, you’re renting a room near the theater? So wait this evening, I’ll be with you at seven o’clock.” Ranevskaya took money towards her salary, bought wine and food, dressed up, put on makeup and waited. At seven o'clock the actor is gone, at eight he's gone, at nine o'clock he comes... Drunk and with his mistress! “Baby,” he says, “take a walk somewhere for a couple of hours, my dear!”
During the war years, Ranevskaya was evacuated to Tashkent. Returning from evacuation, she worked at the Moscow Drama Theater, at the Alexander Pushkin Theater and at the Mossovet Theater, where she appeared on stage until her death. She appeared in films in 1934, playing the role of Madame Loiseau in the film "Pumpkin". After him, Faina Georgievna was invited to different paintings. But the comedy “Foundling” brought real popularity to the actress, where she played a self-confident woman who commands her husband.
The authorship of the catchphrase “Mulya, don’t make me nervous!” not known for sure. On the air of the television program "Kinopanorama" in 1964, Ranevskaya told the story of how she personally came up with this phrase, and after the broadcast of the program she quarreled with the author of the film's script, Agnia Barto, who attributed the authorship of the phrase to herself. Rina Zelenaya also claimed the authorship of the phrase, being a co-author of the film script.
Nevertheless, “Mulya” haunted Ranevskaya all her life: that’s how the boys shouted when they saw her on the streets, this was the first phrase they remembered when meeting her, and even Leonid Brezhnev could not resist mentioning “Mulya” when meeting Faina Georgievna.
Brezhnev, presenting the Order of Lenin to Ranevskaya in the Kremlin, blurted out:
- Mulya, don’t make me nervous!
“Leonid Ilyich,” Ranevskaya said offended, “only boys or hooligans address me like that.”
The Secretary General was embarrassed and stammered, making excuses:
- Sorry, but I love you very much.
Most best role in the cinema, according to the actress herself, there was a Stepmother in “Cinderella”. In total, Ranevskaya starred in 25 films.
In the Kremlin, after watching one of the films with Ranevskaya, Joseph Stalin said: - Here is Comrade Zharov good actor, puts on a mustache, sideburns or a beard, and it’s still clear that it’s Zharov. But Ranevskaya doesn’t stick anything on and is still always different.
She took part in dubbing cartoons. In particular, Freken Bock speaks in her inimitable voice in “Carlson is back.” By the way, the actress did not want to voice Freken Bock, who, as Ranevskaya thought, was portrayed as ugly. Then they finally persuaded her: they said that children should like such a character. And so it happened.
The unexpected always happened to Ranevskaya on tour. So, in Leningrad in 1950, she was offered a luxurious room in the “European” with a view of the Russian Museum, a square, and Arts Square. Ranevskaya willingly occupied him and for several days, in a good mood, she received her Leningrad friends, told jokes, exchanged news, and scolded the authorities and officials. A week later, the administrator came to her and very politely offered to move to the same room on another floor. - Why? - Faina Georgievna was indignant. - There are many rooms, but you have only Ranevskaya. “Yes, yes,” the administrator babbled, “but we kindly ask you to move, it will be more convenient for you there.” “I feel good here too,” Faina Georgievna refused. The director of "European" came and, turning on the water in the bathroom, explained that a high-ranking person was waiting the other day; this hotel room was the only one equipped with a listening device. After this, Faina Georgievna immediately moved and did not sleep in the new place for the remaining nights, remembering her statements in the previous room and thinking about what would happen to her now.
Faina Georgievna was loved by both young and old.
While on tour in Odessa, some lady ran down the street behind Ranevskaya for a long time, then asked:
- Oh, are you her?
Faina Georgievna calmly answered in her deep voice:
- Yes, I am she.
Ranevskaya devoted her entire life to theater and cinema; she was not married and did not give birth to children. She experienced loneliness very hard, especially when her friends and peers began to die.
Olga Aroseva said that, already at an advanced age, the actress was walking down the street, slipped and fell. He lies on the sidewalk and shouts in his inimitable voice:
- People! Lift me up! After all folk artists Don't lie on the street!
In the 60s she moved from emigration Native sister Bella, deciding to while away the loneliness after the death of her husband with a loved one. Ranevskaya gave her a room in her apartment. However, after this, Isabella Georgievna lived only four years.
Once Ranevskaya demanded that Tanya Shcheglova, an engineer by profession, explain to her why iron ships do not sink. Tanya tried to remind Faina Georgievna of Archimedes’ law.
“What are you talking about, dear, I got a bad grade,” Ranevskaya complained detachedly.
- Why, when you sit in the bath, the water is forced out and pours onto the floor? - Tanya pressed.
“Because I have a big ass,” the great actress answered sadly.
Ranevskaya was friends with many famous people, in particular - Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva.
One day, having received money at the theater, Faina Georgievna went to see Marina Tsvetaeva, who had returned from emigration. The salary was given out in a bundle, Ranevskaya thought that now she would share it, and Marina Ivanovna, not understanding, took the entire bundle and said: “Thank you, Faina! I am very grateful to you, we can live on this money for a whole month.” Then Ranevskaya went and sold her ring. Remembering this, Faina Georgievna said: “How happy I am that I didn’t have time to divide the pack then!”...
The actress could not cope with everyday life on her own - due to absent-mindedness or the inability to count “this stupid money”, so she constantly hired housewives.
Sometimes Faina Georgievna went on a vegetarian diet and then became especially sensitive. During these painful days, she asked her housekeeper: “Lizochka, it seems to me that there is something missing in this borscht?” Lisa answered: “That’s right, Faina Georgievna, there is not enough meat.”
For her creative merits, Ranevskaya was awarded the Orders of the Badge of Honor, Lenin, and the Red Banner of Labor. Since 1937 - Honored Artist of the RSFSR, and in 1961 she was awarded the title of People's Artist of the Soviet Union.
Windows of Ranevskaya's apartment in a high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya embankment They opened onto a stone courtyard. And there is the exit from the cinema and the place where the bread vans were unloaded. Faina Georgievna listened with hatred to the strong expressions of the movers, sounding loudly under her windows, and in the evening she watched the noisy crowds of moviegoers leaving home from “Illusion”. “I live above bread and circuses,” she complained.
Ranevskaya stopped playing on stage just a year before her death. She died on July 19, 1984 in the Kuntsevo hospital in Moscow as a result of a heart attack and pneumonia, a little less than a month before her 88th birthday. In 1992, the editorial board of the English encyclopedia "Who's Who" included her in the top ten most outstanding actresses of the 20th century. In addition to cinema and theater, I was remembered for my sense of humor.
Faina Ranevskaya once remarked to the composer, winner of two Stalin Prizes Vano Muradeli:
- But you, Vano, are not a composer.
Muradeli was offended:
- Why am I not a composer?
- So that’s your last name. Instead of “mi” you have “mu”, instead of “re” - “ra”, instead of “do” - “de”, and instead of “la” - “li”. You, Vano, don’t hit the notes.
Faina Ranevskaya is one of the most famous Soviet actresses. The viewer remembered her not only as a brilliant artist, but also as a person with a sharp mind and great feeling humor.
However, in fact, every day Ranevskaya fell more and more in love with.
One day, when she came home, she told her parents that she was going to become an actress. This news sent my father into a rage. A serious scandal began, but Faina continued to stand her ground.
Ultimately, this led to a break in relations with her parents, and especially with her father, with whom she then did not communicate for many years.
At the age of 19, the future actress left for.
Special signs of Faina Ranevskaya Creative biography
Upon arrival in the capital, Ranevskaya experienced financial difficulties, since her father flatly refused to give his daughter any money.
And although her mother was also against her leaving, she still gave her a small amount secretly from her husband.
In Moscow, Faina began renting a small room on Bolshaya Nikitskaya. This housing was far from being as luxurious as in Taganrog, but she was happy that now no one would finally stop her from becoming an actress.
From that moment on, many significant events occurred in Ranevskaya’s biography. She managed to meet such famous poets, like , and .
When she saw actor Vasily Kachalov, his performance on stage struck her to the core. Judging by Ranevskaya’s memoirs, she was truly in love with him.
Finally, the time has come to enter drama school. The girl spent days and nights preparing for the exams, not thinking about anything else.
However, when they began to announce the lists of those admitted to the school, her name was not there. And although Ranevskaya was very upset about this, she did not give up.
Soon she got a job at private school, but there was no money to pay for her work. At this moment, the famous artist Geltser lent a helping hand to Faina, who made sure that Ranevskaya was taken to one of the theaters.
Having started working at the Malakhovsky Summer Theater, she managed to study the acting of many famous actors. At that time, Ranevskaya was not trusted with any roles, so she had to be content with extras.
In 1917, after the Bolsheviks came to power at the head, two important changes occurred in Ranevskaya’s biography.
The sad news was that her parents emigrated, never wanting to meet their daughter.
But there was good news: the girl was accepted into the Moscow Actor's Theater. Finally, her talent was appreciated.
The first performance in Ranevskaya’s biography was “Roman”, in which she played the role of Margarita. Every year her acting became better and brighter, thanks to which she began to be trusted with more significant roles.
In 1931, Ranevskaya was invited to work in Chamber theater, in which she performed for 4 years. After this, she begins to work in the Red Army Theater.
Faina still continues to demonstrate her magnificent acting, and receives the sympathy of the audience.
At that time, she managed to skillfully play the main role in the play “Vassy Zheleznova,” conveying the difficult fate of her heroine.
In the early 50s, when Ranevskaya was already a popular actress, she moved to the Theater. Mossovet. There she often clashed with directors, because she had her own vision for playing out certain scenes.
There is a known case when Faina Georgievna completely rewrote her role in the production of “Storm” and played it in the way that seemed more correct to her.
In addition, Ranevskaya allowed herself to argue with authoritative artists, telling them the truth to their faces.
Due to clashes with colleagues and directors, the words were often born from her lips. catchphrases and aphorisms. Despite this, it was at the Mossovet Theater that Ranevskaya worked for more than 30 years, playing her most famous roles there.
On the Sunset creative activity She worked briefly at Kamerny, where her theatrical biography once began.
Films by Ranevskaya
The first film in which Faina Ranevskaya starred was “Pyshka” (1934). It is fair to say that during her life she did not play many roles in cinema, preferring theatrical activities.
However, her every appearance in films could not go unnoticed.
In the 30s, she starred in 3 films: “The Man in the Case,” “The Cochin Engineer’s Mistake,” and “The Foundling.” Last film brought her stunning popularity throughout the Soviet Union.
Ranevskaya managed to perfectly convey the character main character. It was in this tape that she said famous phrase“Mule, don’t make me nervous.”
Did you like the post? Press any button.
Meeting with my sister from Paris.
This story about Faina Ranevskaya was told by film director Yakov Segel. He adored famous actress, often visited her at home and then, overwhelmed with impressions, shared them.
In the late fifties, Faina Georgievna was found by relatives and she was able to travel to Romania and see her mother, with whom she had separated forty years ago.
Sister Isabella lived in Paris. After the death of her husband, her financial situation worsened and she decided to move in with her famous sister, who, as she assumed, with all her titles and regalia, was awash in luxury.
Delighted that the first one will appear in her life dear person, Ranevskaya developed vigorous activity and obtained permission for her sister to return to the USSR.
Happy, she met her, hugged her, kissed her and took her home. They drove up to a high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment.
This is my home,” Faina Georgievna proudly told her sister.
Isabella was not surprised: this is the house her famous sister should live in. I just asked:
Do you have an apartment here or a whole floor?
When Ranevskaya took her into her small two-room apartment, her sister asked in surprise:
Fainochka, why do you live in a workshop and not in a villa?
Resourceful Faina Georgievna explained:
My villa is being renovated.
But this did not reassure the Parisian guest.
Why is the workshop so small? How many “living” meters does it have?
As many as twenty-seven,” Ranevskaya said proudly.
But it's cramped! - Isabella began to wail. - This is poverty!
This is not poverty! - Ranevskaya got angry, - This is considered good among us. This house is elite. The most live in it famous people: artists, directors, writers. Ulanova herself lives here!
The surname Ulanov had an effect: with a sigh, Isabella began to unpack her suitcases in the room provided to her. But she could not understand why this house was called elite: there was a cinema and a bread store downstairs, early in the morning the movers unloaded goods, shouted at each other, made noise, and gave all the residents a wake-up call. And in the evenings, at ten, eleven, twelve, the screenings ended and crowds of spectators poured out of the cinema hall, loudly discussing the film they had watched. “I live above bread and circuses,” Faina Georgievna tried to laugh it off, but it had no effect on her sister.
Why were you sentenced to live in such a cell?.. You were probably guilty of something.
On the very first day of her arrival, despite the summer heat, Isabella pulled on fildepers stockings, put on a silk coat, gloves, a hat, sprayed herself with Chanel, and told her sister:
Fainochka, - I’m going to the butcher shop, buy bon fillet and cook dinner.
No need! - Ranevskaya exclaimed in horror. There was a thriving shortage and eternal queues in the country - she understood how this would affect an unprepared resident of Paris.
No need, I'll buy it myself.
Fainochka, you have to be able to choose bon fillets, and I can do that,” Isabella said proudly and headed towards front door. Ranevskaya, like a Panfilov man on a tank, rushed across her.
I will go with you!
Choosing one pound of meat for two is nonsense! - the sister said and left the apartment.
Ranevskaya made a last attempt to save her sister from the shock of Soviet reality.
But you don’t know where our stores are!
She turned around and reproached with a condescending smile:
You don't think I can find a butcher shop?
And disappeared into the elevator.
Ranevskaya collapsed into a chair, imagining the consequences of her foreign sister’s first meeting with developed Soviet socialism. But they say that God helps the holy fools and the blessed: literally a block away, Isabella Georgievna came across a small shop, the sign above which promised “Meat Products.” She looked inside: the queue was crowded and buzzing at the counter, a sweaty butcher was throwing cartilage and sinews he had cut off onto the scales, calling them meat, and in the cash register window a fat cashier with a tower of dyed hair on her head, like a dog in a kennel, periodically barked at customers.
Sideways, sideways, Isabella made her way to the counter and turned to the seller:
Good afternoon, monsieur! How are you feeling?
The buyers realized that this was a circus, and a free one at that, and, as if in a freeze frame, everyone froze and became silent. Even the sweaty butcher did not bring the next portion of “meat products” to the scales. And the former Parisian continued:
How do you sleep, monsieur?.. If you suffer from insomnia, try taking two tablespoons of cognac, preferably Hennessy, before going to bed... How are your children, monsieur? Don't you punish them?.. You can't punish children - you can lose your spiritual connection with them. Do you agree with me, monsieur?
Yes,” the dumbfounded butcher finally squeezed out and nodded in confirmation.
I had no doubt. You look like my literature teacher: intelligence appears on your face.
Not really understanding what exactly was visible on his face, the butcher, just in case, wiped the sweat from his face.
Monsieur,” Isabella Georgievna got down to business, “I need a pound and a half of bon fillet.” I hope you have?
Yes,” Monsieur the butcher nodded and dived into the pantry. He was gone for a long time, apparently he was catching a calf, caught it, killed it and prepared bon fillet. He returned with a portion of meat weighed and wrapped in paper.
Yes,” the butcher nodded for the third time.
While paying at the cash register, Isabella Georgievna pleased the fat cashier by pointing out her peroxide-bleached hair, curled on her head into a heavy tower:
You have a very fashionable color hair, madam, in Paris all the women also dye their hair blonde. But it’s better for you to let your hair down so that the curls lie on your shoulders: loose hair, madam, will decorate your friendly face.
The flattered cashier stuck two index fingers herself by both cheeks and began to forcefully stretch them, trying to smile.
When, having returned home, Isabella unwrapped the package, Faina Georgievna gasped: she had not seen such fresh meat for a long time, obviously the butcher cut it from his personal supplies.
Bon fillet must be able to choose! - Isabella said proudly.
From then on, she visited Butchers every Tuesday and every Friday. These days, at exactly four o'clock, the butcher would dismiss the cashier, close the store, hang a "Re-registration" sign on the door, place a large antique chair bought in an antique store next to the counter, seat his dear guest in it, and she would spend hours telling him about Parisian life, about the Louvre, about the Eiffel Tower, about the Champs Elysees... And he, resting his head on his palm, listened to her, listened, listened... And an unexpected, naive, childish smile suddenly appeared on his face...
