The main stars of the USSR catwalk: all about Regina Zbarskaya - fashion model No: 1, who committed suicide in a mental hospital.

When it comes to Russian models, most remember only the names of beauties whose careers began in the late nineties and early 2000s. It’s as if before Natalya Vodianova, Sasha Pivovarova, Natalya Semanova, Alexandra and Lida Egorov, the West was not interested in our girls. In fact, little and not everyone knows about the first Russian fashion models, who with difficulty broke through from the Soviet Union abroad. They conquered the harsh catwalks of the USSR, made famous artists fall in love with them, drove representatives of the highest authorities crazy, and at some point put everything they had on the line, not knowing what awaited them next.

Studying the biography of Regina Zbarskaya, it is difficult to believe that so many sad and dramatic events could befall one woman. Moreover, in such a short period of time - as you know, the fashion model committed suicide a month and a half before her 52nd birthday.

Regina Zbarskaya was not just the most famous fashion model of the Soviet Union, she was a mystery woman whose life was always shrouded in secrets and rumors. It is still not clear where the future catwalk conqueror was born. According to one version, this happened in Vologda, in the family of a retired officer, according to another - in Leningrad, in a family of circus gymnasts. Regina herself adhered to the latter option, not forgetting to add that her parents died while performing a dangerous stunt, leaving her an orphan. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Zbarskaya always hid her simplicity under the guise of aristocracy, fearing that she would be exposed.

Carier start

In the spring of 1953, 17-year-old Regina arrived in Moscow. Having entered VGIK, she soon abandoned her studies - new, much more interesting prospects loomed before her. In her first year, Kolesnikova ( the heroine’s maiden name - approx. ProPedia ) caught the eye of the then famous clothing creator Vera Aralova. The fashion designer immediately noted the girl’s European beauty and invited her to try herself on the catwalk. Regina knew that youth and excellent appearance were a ticket to a bright future, and decided not to miss the opportunity to test this theory in practice.

Virtanen M. “Soviet fashion. 1917–1991"

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Miss Crooked Legs

At the House of Models, Regina Kolesnikova instantly became fashion model No. 1 and, despite her newcomer status, immediately began traveling abroad. Western fashion designers admired not only her grace and figure, but also her ease of communication, which other Soviet girls could not boast of due to ignorance of foreign languages.

Among the others, Regina was distinguished not only by her bright appearance, but also by... her legs like wheels. Yes, yes, you heard right, the legs of the most beautiful woman in the USSR were unacceptably crooked.

The girl’s close friend Vyacheslav Zaitsev does not deny this. But he adds that “this was her charm, her special sophistication.”

According to the couturier’s memoirs, Kolesnikova walked the catwalk so brilliantly that no one noticed this flaw.

KGB spy

Spectacular appearance, access to intellectual circles, fluency in two foreign languages ​​( English and French - approx. ProPedia ) - all this made Regina an ideal candidate... for the role of a spy. Representatives of the KGB approached the girl after her return from another business trip to Paris and made it clear that if she continued to travel abroad without hindrance and lead her old lifestyle, she would have to “work hard” for the good of the Motherland. What exactly her duties included is not known for certain, but since then the model has always been present at all meetings of foreign guests who came to the capital, and went with them to restaurants and theaters.

The main mistake in life

The great Frederico Fellini admired the thoroughbred beauty of Regina Kolesnikova, Pierre Cardin gave her his best dresses, Yves Montand dedicated songs to her. There were rumors that even Fidel Castro himself was a big fan of the fashion model, but neither he nor other famous men were able to win Regina’s heart the way the promising painter Lev Zbarsky did.

The girl was blinded not only by the young man’s charisma, but also by the status of his family, which gave her even greater fame and position in society. The lovers were one of the brightest couples of Moscow society. However, behind the elegant façade hid a complicated relationship.

Solonenko V. “The artist of the book Lev Zbarsky”

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At 32, Zbarskaya became pregnant. Dreaming of a son as talented as dad, or a daughter as beautiful as her mother, Regina vividly imagined their future happy life together. But these dreams were not destined to come true: the artist saw in his wife only a muse, but not a woman who washed diapers. Saying a firm “no!”, he forced her to have an abortion. This decision was not easy for Regina. In order to calm her shaken nervous system at least a little, she began taking strong antidepressants, completely unaware that fate, in the person of her beloved husband, was already ready to give her another slap in the face - Lev Zbarsky left his beautiful wife for actress Lyudmila Maksakova. The news that Lev had a child in his new family (son Maxim), whom the artist never allowed Regina to have, completely trampled her.

One hundred nights with Regina Zbarskaya

In any story where there is a beautiful and successful girl, there is always room for dirt. This is what happens today, and it was the same 50 years ago. In the mid-1970s, Zbarskaya, who had just come to her senses after her husband’s betrayal, met a Yugoslav journalist. The young hot guy instantly turned the head of a woman yearning for love and a strong man’s embrace.

Several months of a passionate romance became the basis for the book “One Hundred Nights with Regina Zbarskaya.” Do not think that the writer in love dedicated his work to romantic memories. The publication contained Regina’s confessions about her denunciations of other people, candid photographs and the most intimate details from the life of the “Soviet Sophia Loren.”

Mean, disgusting, humiliating - the main character of the book could not bear such a blow. Severe stress led her to attempt suicide and subsequent hospitalization in an already familiar mental hospital.

From supermodel to cleaning lady

The fall from the star Olympus, as is known, can be unexpected, rapid and painful. Regina Zbarskaya also failed to avoid it.

Failures in her personal life, betrayal by men, an unfulfilled desire to become a mother and, worst of all for a fashion model, fading beauty - all this greatly shook Regina’s already unstable psyche. Taking antidepressants literally dried up the once most beautiful woman in the Soviet Union: her gait became uncertain, her eyes dimmed, her love of life gave way to apathy.

In this form, no one needed her anymore. No one except Vyacheslav Zaitsev. The fashion designer, who did not forget or betray his friends, got Regina into the Model House. True, not as a clothing demonstrator, but as an ordinary cleaning lady.

Here's the harsh truth of life: while young and beautiful girls were learning to walk correctly, the “queen of the Soviet catwalk”, bent double, shuffled next to a dirty rag.

Dangerous to yourself and to society

Zaitsev’s numerous attempts to return Zbarskaya to her former life were unsuccessful: Regina was in a terribly depressed state. And then the 50th anniversary was approaching - a critical age, in the opinion of our heroine. Daily soul-searching on the topic “what has she achieved in life?” did their job - the woman ended up in psychiatric hospital No. 1, known today as “Kashchenko”, where she spent the days allotted to her life until the tragic event that occurred in the fall of 1987.

Forgotten by everyone

The exact date of death, like the date of birth of Regina Zbarskaya, still remains a mystery. According to some sources, she died in mid-November, according to others, a month earlier. Her body was found in the ward, but still no one can say with certainty what happened there: drug poisoning or opening of the veins. This was not the first time Zbarskaya “dabbled” with the latter.

The burial of the “red queen” was not at all like a royal one. Neither colleagues from the Model House, nor friends, nor former admirers came to see off Regina Zbarskaya on her last journey. Her body was cremated, and the burial place remained unknown. 

The ending of the life of the main male model, Lev Zbarsky, turned out to be no less sad. The artist died alone in a New York hospice in the winter of 2016. By pure coincidence, the artist’s grandson was there at that time - your friend Pyotr Maksakov, the husband of Galina Yudashkina. He honored with his presence the funeral of his grandfather, whom he saw for the first and last time in his life.