“It’s insulting when random people stare at the deceased”: widower Inna Inna Churikova on postponing farewell to her 23.02.2023, 10:20

The actress and the director have been married for almost half a century and have become one of the strongest and most harmonious couples of Russian cinema and theater. They not only lived together, but also worked – Inna Mikhailovna was the main muse of Gleb Anatolyevich.

“I want to write a book about our cooperation, about how we communicated with each other, my impressions are not only about cooperation. At home we talked about different topics. Innochka was the first listener of my scripts, my like-minded person. And I was her devoted admirer. She is a smart person with good intuition, it was always interesting to communicate with her, even if we did not agree on something, “explained Panfilov.

The 88-year-old widower of Inna Churikova admitted that he never limited her creatively, she chose roles and directors herself, but at the same time she valued her husband’s opinion and always consulted him.

The death of a beloved woman brought down the creator of the film “There is no ford in the fire.” The couple has an only son, 44-year-old Ivan Panfilov. He graduated from MGIMO, became an international lawyer and works as a producer. “Our son Vaněčka supports me a lot. He is a kind, gentle person. Unfortunately, we only have one…” — said the director.

Panfilov confirmed that Čuriková postponed the birth of a child for many years because of the painting of Joan of Arc. Gleb Anatolyevich wrote the script and was sure that his wife would play the main character brilliantly, but years passed and Goskin’s management did not give permission for filming.

“Even when we were shooting Vassa, we were still hoping they would let us run. Else was under 40, but she would have played even at that age. Joan of Arc was a country girl whose hard life and war made her look much older than her years. Time passed… In general, it was all empty work, now I know for sure. However, many nerves were spent, “recalled the widower of the actress.

Churiková’s husband said that in recent years she had been sick and tired. “She switched—a lot. You can play 10 shows and not get tired. And you can go completely alone. I saw her after the shows, I saw how dedicated she was. She gave the stage too much energy. Much more than I could recover from. Tired, he suffered from insomnia. Only great masters have such devotion, “quotes KP of the Russian People’s Artist.

Gleb Anatolyevich also explained why they refused to say goodbye to Inna Mikhailovna in their native theater “Lenkom”, the ceremony was held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. “In my opinion, a living artist should stand on the stage and not a coffin with an artist. The image of grieving relatives on stage and random people lounging and staring in the audience offends the deceased. Farewell is not a performance. For relatives – this is a sad fact, but for onlookers – a spectacle. That’s why my son and I opposed the farewell ceremony in the theater,” added Panfilov.

Sculptor Alexander Rožnikov meanwhile presented the project of the monument to Inna Čuríková – according to his idea, she sits on the globe. However, the well-known artist Nikas Safronov did not like the layout.

“There is no need to invent anything, to be cunning. It should be simple, clear and understandable. In the case of this actress, one should not be guided by surrealist ideas. Everything I see in this version is from the evil one. Huge head, small shoulders that are stretched out. The right hand is not visible at all on the presented layout. For my aesthetic taste, for a brilliant artist like Churikova, the monument should be more elegant, ”quotes Safronov MK.