Pavel Usanov. The group is preparing a concert in his memory. And the capital's investigators are finding out the circumstances of the conflict in which the musician received serious injury, and three weeks later died in intensive care. The suspect has already been detained, but does not admit his guilt. And the friends of the deceased put forward their own versions of what happened.
Pavel Usanov died in intensive care, having never recovered from a three-week coma. A fracture of the base of the skull and a hematoma in the brain area are the result of a blow inflicted on the musician by 38-year-old Maxim Dobry. Witnesses identified him. It all happened on April 2 in the village of Ozeretsky, where bass guitarist Lube lived with his family.
It is known that the initial conflict occurred late in the evening in a restaurant. Perhaps it was just a verbal spat. In any case, the establishment's employees deny that there was a fight. Pavel only had to walk a few meters to the house in the Mechta residential complex. It is possible that the musician was already on guard here.
“Between Usanov and 38-year-old resident of Solnechnogorsk district Maxim Dobry, during which the accused punched the musician in the head area. Currently, the accused is in custody, and all necessary investigative actions will be carried out with him in the near future,” the official said representative of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Moscow region Olga Vradiy.
In the beginning of April . He still denies his guilt. He just doesn’t deny that he was in the restaurant that evening.
As the waiters of the establishment told us, they saw Usanov while leaving home from his shift. The hall was empty, Pavel was sitting at the bar alone. Obviously, the clash happened earlier. And those who started the quarrel managed to leave the establishment.
"The man is public. The man visited the establishment. He is very good man. They often came with their wife just to eat,” says the restaurant director.
Why did they kill talented musician, exactly unknown. This is the version expressed by Usanov’s friend, writer Zakhar Prilepin.
"Pasha was sitting in a bar, discussing exactly the same topics as... There was someone in the cafe who, apparently, did not like the conversation. They approached Pasha and hit him on the head. From behind. Face to face with him, the killer had Pasha had much less chance to stand up for himself. There were more people who stood up for courage,” says Zakhar Prilepin.
Gnesinka graduate Pavel Usanov came to Lyube 20 years ago. He replaced bassist Alexander Nikolaev, who died tragically in a car accident.
“For us, this is a very big loss, irreparable. He worked with us for 20 years, literally took the place of our bass player, who also died in a car accident in 1996. He was a wonderful guy. And in addition, during this time he also worked other projects: and organized children’s competitions both in Sevastopol and Donbass. It’s hard to go through all this, and somehow everything is very wrong,” says Nikolai Rastorguev, lead singer of the Lyube group.
“No matter what they say now about the death of our friend Pavel, for me it feels like he died in battle. Because his whole previous life was so connected with this: helping people. This also applied to concerts in Donbass in front of residents, and helping children , whom he, using his capabilities, invited to Moscow, to concerts, and somehow took care of them,” explains songwriter Alexander Shaganov.
Pavel Usanov is survived by his wife and two children. , on his small homeland. The farewell will take place on April 21 in Petrovsky Park in Moscow.
In the Church of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God A funeral service was held in Moscow for the tragically murdered bass guitarist of the Lyube group Pavel Usanov. The funeral service for the musician was performed by the rector of the church, a famous preacher, Father Dmitry (Smirnov). More than a thousand people came to say goodbye to Pavel.
Friends, colleagues and associates shared what kind of musician, philanthropist and person he was.
Everyone who walked from the Dynamo metro station towards Petrovsky Park with flowers, it was clear that they were going to Pasha.
In the courtyard of the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary gathered strong, broad-shouldered men with military bearing, long-haired musicians in scarves, clergy in robes... So wide was the circle of friends and acquaintances of Pavel Usanov.
The oak coffin with Paul's body was installed in the southern limit of the temple. From the very morning, the entire space around him was filled with baskets of flowers, and everyone continued to carry them.
“We came to honor the memory of the bright man Pasha Usanov, and also to hand over a funeral bouquet from the St. Petersburg actors from the series “Street of Broken Lanterns,” says one of the musician’s fans, Elmira. - Pasha was friends with these artists. Unfortunately, they couldn’t come themselves; they sent flowers through us. We mourn together with the actors, together with the whole country.
Men in dark suits and camouflage silently entered the temple with flowers. And only on the way out did they agree to talk about Pavel.
- We have known Pavel for more than three years. We had joint projects according to military patriotic education youth. For him, the word “homeland” had a special meaning,” the commander of the special forces “Saturn” detachment of the Directorate shared with us Federal service execution of punishments in the city of Moscow, Colonel of the Internal Service Boris Nikolaev. - Pavel went with concerts to Donbass, sang for the wounded in hospitals, for children from the orphanage. He also constantly visited units of the Internal Troops, the Dzerzhinsky division, and the Special Purpose Center. This is a very big loss for all of us.
His admirer Igor Kuznetsov from Kirov came to say goodbye to Pavel right with a suitcase in his hands.
- I'm passing through Moscow. In our city, Pavel studied at the pop department, at the art school. And he also played for Dynamo Kirov. We consider him a fellow countryman. When he came on tour to Kirov, instead of a restaurant, he went to his native student canteen. He said that the taste of those cabbage soup brings him back to happiness student years. I specifically took tickets for the evening train to put flowers at Pavel Usanov’s coffin.
Alexander Muromsky, a nine-time Russian record holder for strength records, came to remember his close friend with a huge bouquet of roses.
- Pasha and I knew each other for many years, together we patronized 17 orphanages and constantly visited them. Pasha gave almost every week charity concerts. Never turned down military personnel. I thought that I should... After all, at one time he served in the Totsk motorized rifle division. Many guys from his conscription ended up in Chechnya, he was in uniform and did not end up in that party. The guys joked, they say, we'll be back soon... It was 1991. 6 people returned, 90 died. Pasha, as they say, was “sick”, remembering this time, he was very worried...
He shared what he knew best, gave lessons in parishes, taught music to children from difficult destinies. For a year I went to the village of Byvalino near Moscow. Then his students international competition took first place in Bulgaria. When I organized my group “Counter Boy”, I took vocal courses. And he even had surgery on the septum in his nose to improve his breathing. Before that, he wanted to convey what the Lord gave him, namely the feeling of love for the Motherland.
Pasha is the person who could sacrifice absolutely everything. Take, for example, the case of a priest who was kidnapped by criminals in the Stavropol region several years ago. The ransom had to be paid in two days. Pasha immediately responded. He had a dream to build a house in Novokosino; a plot of land had already been purchased. To rescue the priest from captivity, Pasha sold his plot. This amount was not enough for the ransom, he called me, in two days we collected the necessary funds and saved the priest.
Pasha and I also helped send humanitarian aid to Donetsk and Lugansk. When they learned that it did not reach Pervomaisk, they collected a new batch of cargo. These were mainly products. People there simply did not have enough food.
About the events of that ill-fated night when Pavel was injured, Alexander says:
- Those who were in the restaurant said that Pasha raised a toast to Donbass. He did this often, because with all his heart he rooted for the civilians who lived in the basements of houses due to constant bombing. At the next table, as I understood, there were guys from Odessa. They expressed a different point of view than Paul expressed. After which there was a push, Pasha ran into a certain comrade by the name of Dobry, who then called his friends for help, they caught Pasha already on the way to the house, and inflicted fatal injuries on him.
He still made it home on his own... He should have called an ambulance right away, but Pasha was strong and thought he would recover. His wife Juliana asked for help only in the morning. Kolya Rastorguev insisted on this. Time was lost. I remember the doctor came out after the operation, reassured us, said that Pasha would be in an induced coma for two days, then the recovery process should begin. We all relaxed... But he never regained consciousness. Many see mysticism in what happened.
Journalists managed to talk with Valery Lvovich Nikolaev, whose son, bass guitarist of the Lyube group Alexander Nikolaev, tragically died in a car accident in August 1996.
- I think it's all about the guitar. I remember how the band, while on tour in America, bought a guitar from some famous bluesman. The musician himself died, I don’t remember exactly, but in my opinion from drugs. This guitar was made by a well-known company, modern, sophisticated. “Lyube” got it inexpensively,” says Valery Lvovich. - My son Sasha began to play on it. I also asked him then: “Aren’t you afraid? Can the property of the deceased have a negative effect on the new owner?” Sasha then just waved it off. And a year and a half later he died in a car accident. He was replaced by Pavel. Moreover, she and Sasha were even similar in appearance. Pasha was also very friendly, not scandalous. This guitar went to Pasha... How can one not become superstitious?
Friends say that Pavel could have died in Donbass. Their car came under fire several times.
“Having visited the combat zone in Donbass for the first time, he returned silent,” says his friend Yuri. - Then he said: “People’s eyes there seem to be sprinkled with ashes.” And he kept asking: “How can you leave the Russians where it’s hard for them?” He was especially struck by the teachers who, despite the constant shelling, did not stop teaching music to the children. Moreover, they did it for free. They understood how important it is to put talent on the wing, even when there is a war... And Pavel understood this. To give people hope, he organized the cultural and educational movement “Native Spaces”. During the hostilities, he spent children's time with his comrades musical competition in Donbass. Pavel said that shell explosions were heard, and the children continued to courageously play on stage.
Then he and his associates began purchasing things, food, and medical equipment. All this was sent to Donbass as part of a convoy of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
“I’ll go out into the field with my horse at night,” they quietly sang, swallowing the tears of the girls in black scarves.
And there was already a stream of people heading towards the temple.
“I came from St. Petersburg to light a candle at the coffin of Pavel Anatolyevich,” says Gennady, a cadet of the Suvorov Military School from St. Petersburg. – I remember he was with us on January 27, the Day of the complete lifting of the siege of Leningrad. In St. Petersburg, everyone had a candle burning in their windows in memory of the victims of that terrible time. Pavel said that he specially came on this holy day for St. Petersburg people to light his candle... Now I’m here too.
Meanwhile, his friends, with whom he studied at the Gnessin Academy, went to say goodbye to Pavel Usanov.
There were five of us friends, now it turns out that the most talented one is gone,” says Kirill. - Pasha was always very smiling, friendly, and open. We lived in the same dorm room. He always helped everyone out with money. Pasha didn’t remember who owed him what and when they gave him the money, he was very surprised. He was a broad-hearted man, very unselfish. After graduating from the academy, we met with him more than once in the theater Soviet army, when he was already playing in the group “Lube”, and I was in “Dude”. While on tour in Israel, despite his busy schedule, he found our classmate Nikolai there. Friendship for Pasha was sacred.
“Pasha and I worked together in the group for ten years,” says Yuri Rymanov in turn. “He has done so much in forty years that even ten people cannot do.” Even without “Lube” he was a personality.
Friends bitterly noted that today in the church Pavel Usanov “gathered” several generations of musicians who had not seen each other for 10 - 15 years.
- Pasha was like epic hero: strong, reliable, open to people, says poet and songwriter Alexander Shaganov. “I never heard swear words from him.” He was the soul of the Lyube team. He was a wonderful musician, understandable to both a metropolitan resident and an inhabitant of a small village. Without advertising your charitable activities, gave a huge number of concerts for children from shelters and orphanages. He also spoke to conscripts and veterans. They say about people like Pasha - “the salt of the Russian soil.” He lived a short life, but managed to do a lot. He left us in the middle of his life, in the middle of spring. No matter what they say about his death, for me Pasha died in battle. This was not some kind of overnight commotion. He was purposefully killed. They dealt blows that were incompatible with life. Moreover, they attacked vilely, from behind, like jackals...
-Have you seen Pasha's fists? - asks a strong guy in camouflage, who called himself Roman. “The killers couldn’t have dealt with him in open battle.” He was engaged in hand-to-hand combat, went to Gym, ran cross-country, swam in the lake until late autumn. They broke his head, coming from behind.
A woman in black was crying near the coffin: “I struggled for three weeks, balanced, and underwent craniotomy. There wasn’t enough strength...” And already, turning to us, she began to explain: “And how he loved his mother, he tried to come to Novocheboksarsk as often as possible. She worked at the telegraph office, and Pashka worked part-time from the age of 12 by delivering telegrams. “I worked all my life, lived with God in my soul, and drew strength and inspiration from faith.”
“He lived 40 years, 8 months and 8 days,” says the old woman, straightening the ribbons on the wreaths. - Look at the photograph of Pavel, what radiant eyes, an all-understanding smile... He prayed for many, now the time has come for an answering prayer for his repose.
Someone played a song on the phone from the group “Counter Boy,” which Pasha organized in 2006. The wind ruffled the flowers in the hands of Pavel Usanov’s fans. And the lines echoed over the temple: “Who am I? - wolf or brother? Coward or hero? Poor or rich? How many people will remember me?..."
- We will remember! - friends said out loud.
“God rest, the newly departed Pavel,” the woman in black said quietly, baptizing the musician’s portrait. - He is now where there is neither sadness nor sighing.
The funeral service began. The rector of the temple, Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, was in time for it to begin. On this day, Father Dmitry had to perform the funeral service for his old friend and mentor, who passed away at the age of 91. At two o'clock in the afternoon he began the funeral service for Pavel Usanov, who was only 40 years old. Father Dmitry managed to report that the priest from the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who knew Pavel Usanov well, managed to give him communion several times in the hospital.
“Pasha died today,” said the press service of Igor Matvienko. Pavel Usanov died on April 19 in one of the Moscow hospitals, where he was taken in an unconscious state.
At the beginning of April, information appeared about the arrest of a suspect in the beating of a bass guitarist, who on the night of April 2-3 was hospitalized with serious head injuries at the Research Institute named after. Sklifosovsky. Source in law enforcement agencies reported that 40-year-old Usanov was hospitalized in in serious condition with a traumatic brain injury after an attack by unknown persons in the Dmitrovsky district of the Moscow region. The musician was taken to intensive care. He was hospitalized in a Moscow hospital in an unconscious state. Doctors assessed the musician’s condition as serious. He was diagnosed with multiple fractures and a concussion. It was subsequently reported that the bass player underwent a craniotomy.
The day before, his condition improved, and Usanov’s relatives even announced a collection of donations for the musician’s rehabilitation.
On April 3, a suspect in the attack on Usanov was detained in the Moscow region. A criminal case was opened against a 39-year-old resident of the Solnechnogorsk region under Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Deliberate infliction of grievous bodily harm”). According to TASS, due to the death of the musician, the case may be reclassified to a more serious offense.
Usanov joined Lyube in 1996 after the death of the previous bassist of the group, Alexander Nikolaev, in a car accident. Before that he played in Sergei Zhilin’s Phonograph Jazz Band. In 2006, he created the group “Counter Boy”, where he performed in parallel with “Lube”.
Writer Zakhar Prilepin spoke about the reasons for the beating of the bass guitarist of the Lyube group Pavel Usanov, as a result of which the musician fell into a coma and subsequently died. He wrote about this on his blog on the REN TV website.
The incident occurred in one of the cafes in the Dmitrovsky district of the Moscow region. “Pasha was sitting in a bar, discussing exactly the same topics that we discussed with him - Donbass. It hurt us with him - and, there is nothing to hide, we talked about it often,” Prilepin wrote.
According to him, one of those present in the establishment did not like the conversation. “They approached Pasha and hit him on the head. Behind. Face to face with him, the killer had much less chance. Pasha could stand up for himself. Result: fracture of the base of the skull and intracerebral hematoma,” the writer noted.
The information provided by Prilepin was commented on by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova. “Give them human rights, European values, respect. You will have neither values nor respect until you stop shooting people on Maidans, burning in trade union houses and killing in bars on national and ideological grounds. First, intensive rehabilitation from nationalism, then everything else. Otherwise - clinical death from self-poisoning,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
The widow of Pavel Usanov, a member of the Lyube group, who died on April 19, Yuliana is experiencing the loss of her loved one. According to the woman, what happened to the bass guitarist in a bar near Moscow was a complete accident. However, the day before, Pavel's mother had a bad dream about her son.
Juliana and Pavel got married in 2013. The musician's wife also played the guitar and sang songs. Shortly before his death, Usanov signed up his wife for the casting of the television project “The Voice”. Juliana says that now she will have to go there for Pavel. The woman remembered that on the day when the fight occurred, Pavel did everything that was unusual for him.
According to Yuliana, during Lent, Usanov agreed to go with his friend Alexander to celebrate the birth of his daughter.
“I didn’t try to dissuade her and left on business. And when she returned, she found her husband at Alexander’s house drinking cognac, which, like other strong drinks, he never really liked. I became very tense and began to persuade him to go home. The husband promised that he would be there soon, but he never came,” said Usanov’s wife.
Pavel was brought home intoxicated by the village security officers. Only in the morning at Dmitrov’s hospital it became clear that he had a fracture of the frontal bone and numerous brain contusions. Thanks to the leader of the Lyube group, Nikolai Rastorguev, Usanov was taken by ambulance to the Sklifosovsky Research Institute.
Usanov’s wife said that her husband became involved in a brawl with two Odessa residents in a bar. Pavel and his neighbor Alexander celebrated the birth of their son there. Usanov accidentally hit a man behind the bar with his elbow. The bar visitor reacted aggressively to such a gesture. It turned out to be Maxim Dobry, who is now suspected of brutally beating the musician.
“When the establishment began to close, Alexander, without saying a word, got up and went home. Odessa residents also left. Pasha, Dobry and his friend remained at the bar, who had just called a taxi. When the car arrived, Dobry refused to leave. But I know for sure that if he had attacked my husband alone, Pasha would have instantly laid him down on his shoulder. He was definitely attacked by several people, which is confirmed by a witness who watched everything from the window of her house,” Yuliana revealed the details of what happened to Usanov. According to the woman, the musician was beaten professionally - so that no traces were left.
Pavel's wife recalls that that evening Pavel left home without pectoral cross, that is, left without protection. And shortly before that, he starred in a video with a guitar that he inherited from a tragic accident. deceased participant"Lyube." Nikolai Rastorguev previously also claimed that there is something mystical in the death of the bass guitarist.
“I worried for a long time: what if we lost precious time by not immediately calling an ambulance.” But the doctors said that the injury was so serious that it was impossible to prevent the processes destroying the brain,” Yuliana said in frank interview"Express newspaper".
Let us recall that doctors fought for Usanov’s life for about 17 days; they performed a craniotomy operation, but were unable to save the musician’s life. From his first marriage, Pavel left behind a daughter, Sofia, and a son, Vasya.
