Favorite women of Mikhail's circle. Mikhail Krug - biography, photo, personal life, songs When Mikhail Krug was born and died

The King of Russian chanson - that’s what his fans called this talented musician. A very interesting and fascinating film has even been created about Mikhail Krug, which lifts a certain curtain over his life. And once upon a time I didn’t want to believe that the author and performer of such famous songs as “Vladimir Central”, “Madame”, “Golden Domes” was shot dead in his own mansion. Various versions of the murder were considered. To understand this issue, let’s dive a little into the master’s biography.

Chanson. Mikhail Krug

His real name is Vorobiev. He was born in 1962, in Tver. His father was an engineer, and his mother was an accountant. There was also an older sister, Olga. Mikhail studied at school No. 39 reluctantly and often ran away from classes. At one time I went to music school and learned to play the button accordion, but then I abandoned this activity. He loved playing hockey and was a goalkeeper on his team.

His idol was Vladimir Vysotsky, so from the age of 11 he played the guitar. Mikhail began writing his first poems at the age of 14 and dedicated them to a classmate. In his work, he tried in every possible way to imitate Vysotsky, and a scandal even broke out at school about this.

Then Misha joined the army, upon returning from it he worked as a driver and delivered dairy products around the city for 10 years. Then in 1987 he was promoted to the head of a motorcade and sent to study at the institute. But he didn’t want to sit in the office; he also abandoned the institute and went back to work as a driver.

Personal life

His first wife's name was Svetlana, she was a lead guitarist in the instrumental ensemble of the Institute of Light Industry. It was she who became his first producer. She looked for him all sorts of music competitions where he could show his musical talent. She recorded Mikhail Krug's songs on audio cassettes. In 1988 they got married, and after a while their son Dmitry was born. However, a year later the couple broke up due to her husband’s constant infidelities.

In 2000, Mikhail married a girl from Chelyabinsk, Irina, for the second time, whom everyone now knows as the popular chansonette Irina Krug. She already had a daughter from her first marriage, and soon she gave birth to Krug’s son, Alexander.

Views and beliefs

Mikhail was somewhat conservative in his views and beliefs. He had an aversion to feminism. And, most interestingly, he was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and an assistant to its odious leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky. In his interviews, Krug openly emphasized his anti-communist orientation.

Mikhail Krug: albums, creativity

The album “Tver Streets” became the first. He recorded it in 1989, followed by the album “Katya” and then a third untitled one. These albums were never officially released, but were stolen and distributed illegally.

But Mikhail Krug did not stop there; he continued to create his albums. A turning point in his career was the new collection of songs “Zhigan-Limon”. The songs mostly had a “near-criminal” theme, but there were also lyrical and ironic compositions. Mikhail Krug came to Russian chanson with them.

His popularity grew at an extraordinary speed; in 1995, the film “Bard Mikhail Krug” was made about him. A year later, his video for the song “It Was Yesterday” debuted. Since 1997, he began performing abroad in Germany, America and Israel. And he did not forget to perform charity concerts in prisons and colonies, if only he knew what kind of “gratitude” awaited him from those about whom he sang so soulfully.

The most famous songs of Mikhail Krug are “Kolshchik”, “Golden Domes”, “Vladimir Central”, “Madame”, “I went through Siberia”, “The trial is over”, “Sparks in the fireplace”, “Student”, “Hello, Mom “,” “To you, my last love,” etc.

Awards and achievements

In 1998, the singer received the Ovation Award in the Russian Chanson category. In 1999, he took part and won the “Music Ring”, where his opponent was Sergei Trofimov. In 1999, he took second place in the Russian Chanson.

In 2000, he starred in the feature film April, where he played a crime boss.

The series “The Legend of Mikhail Krug” was even filmed about this extraordinary personality, where very interesting facts from his life were used.

Investigation. Versions of murder

The famous bard was shot dead on the night of June 30 to July 1, 2002 in his mansion in the village of Mamulino (Tver region). Forty days after Krug’s funeral in Tver, a grand concert in his memory was held at the Khimik stadium. The stands were packed with spectators, and many famous and popular artists performed on stage. Many were then sure that the musician had become an accidental victim of a banal robbery, if we speak “in terms of concepts,” a gop-stop. It was believed that the bandits who sneaked into the house did not intend to kill him; in one minute everything did not go according to the thieves’ scenario.

On the question of who killed Mikhail Krug, some believed it was a contract killing and that his business competitors were the killers, others believed that it was done by vodka mafiosi. And when, literally two months after this tragedy, a Tver authority named Arkasha (Ibragim Azizov) was shot with a machine gun, rumor immediately spread that this was revenge, since it was his gang that was engaged in robbing rich mansions.

How it was

The question of who killed Krug Mikhail was also asked by the strongest psychics. According to their visions and according to eyewitnesses, a clear picture was created of the moment of the crime. Although the evidence differs in some cases, in general the situation has become clearer.

So, at the time of the murder there were five people in the house: mother-in-law Zoya Petrovna, three children (from Krug’s first marriage, Dima’s son, Marina, Irina’s daughter, and their joint one and a half month old son Sasha), Mikhail and his wife Irina. Closer to midnight, the owner went into the bedroom, and his wife put the children to bed. The mother-in-law was sitting on the sofa on the third floor and watching TV, when suddenly she was attacked by two people in masks. They hit her on the head with a pistol and tried to strangle her.

Irina ran out towards the noise, one of the criminals suddenly turned out to be without a mask, she saw his face, and he chased after her. Mikhail, hearing his wife's scream, ran out of the bedroom and came face to face with the criminal, who shot him twice and he fell. The ambulance refused to go without the police, time was lost. Neighbor Vadim Rusakov took him to Tver City Hospital No. 6, and by morning Krug died from loss of blood.

The children were not injured, since the two youngest were sleeping, and the eldest Dima was sitting with headphones on, playing on the computer and did not hear anything.

10 years have passed since the death of Mikhail Krug, and this is what his friends in the criminal world managed to find out. Thief in law (to whom the lines from the song “Vladimir Central” are dedicated) claims that they conducted their investigation, and it turned out that the singer’s death was not ordered, the circumstances just happened that way. The North hinted that the pointer on the rich cottage was a third person, and that everyone involved in the murder had already been found, punished and was “in its right place.”

Wolves

Regarding the topic “Who killed Mikhail Krug”, it should be noted that in 2008 the police arrested the Tver Wolves gang, which could have been involved in this tragedy, especially since Krug’s wife Irina identified one criminal - Alexander Ageev, who attacked them. However, his involvement in this case could not be proven. But he received a life sentence for other crimes.

In the summer of 2012, information appeared in the press that the remains of the murderer Krug had been found in Tver; they were pointed out by a man serving a life sentence. At the end of spring 2013, the widow Irina identified this murderer, Dmitry Veselov, from a photograph, which was confirmed by the killer of the “Wolf” gang, Alexander Osipov, who was sentenced to capital punishment. In the Komsomolskaya Pravda article dated March 7, 2014, details of the murder of the famous musician were first published. Now the case is closed, and the question of who killed Krug Mikhail has been answered comprehensively.

Conclusion

On the morning of July 3, after the funeral service in the church, Mikhail Krug was buried at the local Dmitrovo-Cherkasy cemetery. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Katya Ogonyok, Efrem Amiramov, the Zhemchuzhny brothers and many other celebrities came to say goodbye to him.

“The King of Russian Chanson,” as many still call him, died nine years ago in Tver on July 1. Our correspondent visited the house of Mikhail Krug and learned a lot about his personal life.

Peonies are blooming sweetly in the yard and birds are chirping. I can’t believe at all that it was in this house, in which everything is now so peaceful, that two unknown people in black masks shot Mikhail Krug with a pistol in front of his wife. The singer died from his wounds in the hospital.

– The prosecutor’s office promised that the killers would be found. So what? - I ask Krug’s sister Olga, who now lives with her family in her brother’s house.

– So far the prosecutor’s office has not told us anything new. It is unknown who killed Misha, and for what reasons, too.

In the depths of the yard there is another house; Krug built it for his mother. Zoya Petrovna Vorobyova worked with her grandchildren. One of her hands is bandaged.

– I broke it in the spring, but the plaster has already been removed. “She takes me into a room where all the walls are hung with portraits of her son. “For about three years after Misha’s death, I thought I heard a knock on the window. During his lifetime, he sometimes woke me up at three o’clock in the morning. “Mish, well, I was sleeping.” And he: “Mom, don’t you want to see me?” Not long ago I had a dream: there were a lot of people, Misha was sitting on some hill. And I shout to him in the crowd: “Misha, Misha, do you know what your Sashka has become?” This is his youngest son. And Misha says to me: “Mom, I know everything, I see everything.”

First wife

Leafing through the family album. In the faded photo I see Mikhail’s first wife, Svetlana. She came to Tver on assignment after the Kharkov Institute of Light Industry. She worked in a garment factory. A friend of Krug introduced them.

“Misha was 25, she was 24. They were completely different in character,” admits Zoya Petrovna. – Sveta has golden hands, she sews and knits. But the language is very caustic. She couldn’t stand that Misha came drunk. She gave up on him early. Or maybe the parents played a role. Sveta’s mother is a teacher, her father is an ophthalmologist. They wanted her to choose a decent person, but Misha has an education - a vocational school. They began to put pressure: “This is how Sveta is, you need to catch up.” Misha went to polytechnic school, then gave up, saying: “This is not mine.”

It was at the Polytechnic that Mikhail saw on the board an announcement about an art song competition, from which his pop career began. But his wife soon left the Circle. His son Dima was about 3 years old; Mikhail kept the child for himself by court decision.

“I took Dima to kindergarten and went to school for parent-teacher meetings,” my grandmother recalls. – Sveta took her son only on the day off. After 14 years, Olya took more care of Dima. When the grandson went to enroll in Leningrad, they met at the station - Olya, Dima and Sveta. Sveta went on vacation to her parents, and Olya and Dima went to take exams.

– Does Dima look like his father?

- Not good. Misha was active. At school, I received reprimands every now and then for running around and fighting. And Dima is calm, homely. On the computer all the time. He could spend hours putting together puzzles and was fond of origami.

Now Krug’s eldest son works in the department of internal affairs of the Tver region as a lawyer.

Marina

Few people know that there was a fatal love in the life of the Circle. The name of this woman - Marina - appears in one of his songs. It was to her that Krug dedicated most of his creations, including “My Queen,” where there is the line “My heart has decayed to gray ash...”

He met her in a restaurant - Marina performed in ballet. She is 17 years old, he is about that.

“Marina was beautiful,” recalls Zoya Petrovna. – Long curly hair... They met secretly from me - they spent the night at the apartment of Misha’s friend. When my son left for the army, he said: “I didn’t sign with Marinka, but while I’m serving, take her with you.” He was afraid of losing her and wanted me to look after her. But she stayed with her parents.

Less than two months later, Misha sent a letter home: “Mom, find out why Marinka doesn’t answer. Maybe she’s sick?” Zoya Petrovna went to the girl.

“I asked her: “What’s going on with you and Misha?” She says, “I’ll write to him.” For some reason there were a lot of flowers in the apartment. I returned home, and my husband was dumbfounded: “You don’t know that Marina got married? I came across my friend Mishin at the store, and that’s what he said.”

Marina and her husband went to Urengoy - he got a job as a club manager there. She gave birth to a daughter. But the husband became addicted to drugs and soon died. Marina returned to Tver and began teaching dance in a circle. She was a good dancer, studied with Alla Dukhova, but she broke her leg and no longer performed on stage.

“One day Mikhail came home excited: “You know, mom, I met Marinka,” continues Zoya Petrovna. – I went to see a friend, and Marina opened the door. Soon she and Misha began dating again. He loved her very much. Once he said: “I’ll sign with Marinka.” I told him: “Only over my corpse.” I didn't believe her. Then one of his friends whispered something to him, and Misha fell behind Marina.

– After your son’s death, did you communicate with her?

- No. She never came to us...

I tried to find Marina at the market on Nogina Boulevard, where, according to rumors, she sold perfume. One woman recalled:

“She worked here for a short time.” I knew her before - the Circle hid her in our village. I wanted to hide from my friends that I was drinking.
Krug’s friend Leonid Teleshev told me that he had not seen Marina for a long time:

– When Misha broke up with her, he was very sad. I’m driving, and he’s standing near her house in his car. I kept watch like I did in childhood.

Second wife

After Marina, Krug lived alone for eight years. In 1999, in Chelyabinsk, in the Malachite restaurant, I saw a black-haired waitress. She was 14 years younger than him. When I met her before, Irina talked about her first meeting with the Circle:

“I’m clearing the table, and Mikhail suddenly says to me: “Sit down with us.” I want to offer you a job.” I think, well, that’s it, he’s messing with me. She sat down. I'm silent. He offered to work for him as a costume designer. He promised a good salary. And I have a situation - I broke up with my first husband, I have a little daughter in my arms. Only a year later I made up my mind. The first time I flew with Krug to Volgograd. I ironed everything for him and cooked for him. Then he brought me to Tver.

And here’s what Krug’s mother says about her:

“Misha brought the girl and said: “Here, he’s doing my costumes.” At first I rented her a one-room apartment. Then: “What if I pay the rent for the apartment, let him live here.” Well, I understood why he invited her. He bought Ira a white dress, and they signed. Her daughter Marina, she was five years old, called Misha dad. Then their son was born. Sasha was only a month old when Misha passed away.

Now Irina Krug has moved to Moscow and married Sergei, her press secretary. And she herself became a famous singer. Many people go to her concerts to see what kind of wife Krug had.

Interestingly, Irina knew about Marina:

– Mikhail is such a monogamous person by nature. I wonder what he saw in her? Probably he just loved him, that’s all. And I hooked him with my sincerity. He really wanted a family. And I'm glad that I gave him something at least.

...Each of the women, once loved by the Circle, lives her own life. The others are now men. And only the mother still mourns her son.

“It was so bright with him,” she says. - And it ended so abruptly that it seems to me: wasn’t it all a dream?!

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Biography, life story of Mikhail Circle

Mikhail Vladimirovich Krug is a poet, bard, performer of songs in the chanson style.

Early years

Mikhail Vladimirovich Krug (real name Vorobyov) was born on April 7, 1962 in the old district of the city of Tver, which was called Morozovsky town (later became known as the “Proletarka’s Courtyard”; the song “My Dear City” was written about it).

Misha’s father, Vladimir Mikhailovich Vorobyov, was a civil engineer and served as head of communications at the Moscow-Riga Highway Administration in Tver. Mom Zoya Petrovna worked as an accountant at a cotton mill. Vladimir passed away in 1995, Zoya at the beginning of 2019.

Mikhail with his parents and older sister Olga lived in a small room in the barracks. When Misha was very little, he dreamed of becoming a driver. With age, the desire changed - Mikhail wanted to become a musician. On his 11th birthday, he received a guitar as a gift from his parents. Misha was extremely happy to get his own musical instrument. Their neighbor knew how to play a little, and it was he who showed the teenager a few chords. It only took Mikhail a few days to learn them.

One fine day, teachers at a local music school heard Misha improvising on the guitar, and immediately suggested that his parents send their son to study. But the Vorobyovs did not rush into this - their financial situation was not the best. They had just bought a piano for their eldest daughter Olya and were not at all ready to splurge on a music school. Fortunately, Misha turned out to be so talented that he was accepted into the school on a budget basis. So the boy became a student in the accordion playing class. True, Mikhail studied for only six months - he fell in love with playing the button accordion immediately, but the boring solfeggio lessons were difficult for him. And in the end he just quit classes.

In high school, Mikhail also did poorly. He often skipped classes and did not complete assignments. But Misha loved sports very much - he played hockey and football, stood on the goal.

CONTINUED BELOW

Mikhail wrote his first poems at the age of 14, which he dedicated to his classmate. At that time, Mikhail’s idol was. After the army, Mikhail, impressed by his songs, began to play the guitar and sing in his style.

Mikhail graduated from college No. 39 on Sominka in the city of Tver as an auto repairman by profession.

After the army, Mikhail Vorobyov got a job as a dairy product delivery driver. One day, a young man did an unimaginably daring act - he swapped packages of milk and sour cream for senior party leaders with packages intended for ordinary people. The quality of the products varied greatly. When they found out about Misha’s trick, they first wanted to open a criminal case against him; but then the story hesitated, and Vorobyov himself, during 10 years of work at the enterprise, rose to the position of chief.

And also, after returning from the army, Mikhail got married. His wife's parents insisted that he go to college because... their daughter graduated with honors from the Institute of Light Industry, and his education did not correspond to their principles. In 1987, Mikhail successfully entered the institute, where he learned about an art song competition, took part in it and took first place. After that, he began writing songs seriously. E.I. played a significant role in this. Klyachkin, who was the chairman of the jury at the 8th art song festival, where he saw the hidden talent in Mikhail, and said: "Misha, you need to work...".

Music

Mikhail recorded his first album “Tver Streets” at the Tver studio, then the second album “Katya” was recorded, and the third album was untitled. All of them had no way out, but were stolen and distributed in a pirate way. Almost all the songs from these albums were rewritten and sung in the albums “Green Prosecutor”, “Madame”, “Rose”, “Mouse”. In 1994, the first official album “Zhigan-Lemon” was released.

The first performance of the Circle took place in Moscow, at the Variety Theater at the Russian Chanson festival in November 1996. In the same year, the first video “It Was Yesterday” was shown.

On the cover of the Zhigan-Lemon disc, Mikhail is depicted with his musicians. On the left is Vladimir Ovcharov (left for Israel), on the right is Vlad Savosin, accordion player.

For the release of audio cassettes with the album “Zhigan-Limon” from the Soyuz studio, Mikhail did not receive a penny, but for the release of laser discs with the same album he received three thousand dollars ($3,000), although he spent much more on the recording.

The second video, “A Day Like a Day,” was made by his friends. It can be seen on the videotape "Songs of Mikhail Krug".

The song "Kolshchik" took three years to write and had three different versions. The last option on the album "Zhigan-lemon".

Mikhail dedicated all his songs in his first four albums to his first love, Marina. The song "Pie Girl" was written in 1987 and dedicated to her.

The first time Mikhail Krug performed abroad was in 1997 at the “Russian Chanson in Germany” festival, where he sang four songs, one of which, “Madame,” was sung in a guitar version. It can be heard on the disc "Russian Chanson in Germany" released by the German company "Solo-Florentin".

In February 1997, a new soloist, Svetlana Ternova, began working with Mikhail, whom he heard at the Zavolzhye song festival and took her into the group. In parallel with his work, he wrote her an album in pop style.

Mikhail wrote the songs “Green Field” and “My Queen”, which Sveta sings, at the age of 16 and also dedicated them to Marina. He remade them to be performed from a female perspective.

On March 27, 1998, at the Cosmos Hotel, Mikhail took part in the presentation of the Ovation Award and received it in the Russian Chanson category.

The most popular song by Mikhail Krug is “Vladimir Central”. According to some reports, the Circle dedicated this song to Sasha Severov, a famous thief in law.

In 1999, Mikhail Krug participated in the TV show “Musical Ring”. At the show, the artist competed with the singer. The confrontation ended in victory for the circle. In the same year, Mikhail took part in the “Russian Chanson” competition and took an honorable second place there.

Mikhail Krug had a very extensive touring geography. He has given concerts in Israel, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus, America, Germany and other countries.

Mikhail Krug often gave charity performances. He often organized concerts for prisoners.

Interesting facts

Mikhail gave his first big interview, answering questions in an hour-long program in the A.L.S. cable television studio. March 9, 1998 (Moscow, Goncharova St., 17).

In the summer of 2000, filming of the film “April” was completed, in which Mikhail Krug played a crime boss.

There was prohibition in his group for three years.

One day Mikhail gave money for a new video, but they returned it to him because... his songs were banned from television.

The ring with three diamonds that he always wears was given to him by thief in law Khobot.

Mikhail takes the criminal expressions for his songs from a 1924 dictionary for internal use of the NKVD, which he acquired by accident.

In 1994, the film "Bard Mikhail Krug" was filmed. It was shown on the Culture channel only in 1999.

At a concert in Boston, the Italians gave Mikhail cool trousers.

Personal life

Mikhail's first wife's name was Svetlana. Svetlana was also a musician - she played guitar at the VIA Institute of Light Industry; worked at the House of Models. It was Sveta who gave Krug self-confidence. Before meeting her, Mikhail wrote songs only for himself; and Sveta convinced him that the works were in fact talented and interesting and simply had to be presented to a wide audience. Svetlana did not just support Mikhail with words - she promoted him to music competitions, helped with recordings, and sewed concert costumes with her own hands.

Mikhail and Svetlana got married in 1987. In 1988, the couple had a son, Dmitry, and already in 1989 the couple filed for divorce. Svetlana was very tired of Mikhail’s constant betrayals and decided to put an end to their family life.

In 2001, the chanson singer married for the second time. She became his second wife (born in Chelyabinsk on March 29, 1976). Irina worked for Mikhail as a costume designer for many years. On May 26, 2002, Misha’s son was born. The boy was named Alexander. Their family also raised a daughter from her first marriage, Marina (born in 1995).

Death

On the night of June 30 to July 1, 2002, Mikhail was killed in his home in Tver. On that ill-fated night, unknown persons broke into the house of Mikhail Krug. The villains brutally beat the artist's mother-in-law. Spouse

(1962 - 2002)

Mikhail Vladimirovich Vorobyov (Mikhail Krug) was born in 1962. The seventh day of April was marked by the birth of the future singer and composer, whose popularity not only outlived him, but also continues to grow over the years.

Mikhail's childhood years were spent in the old Tver district, now called "Proletarka's Courtyard" (the old name was "Morozovsky Town"). Already at the age of 14, he wrote his first romantic poems, intended for a classmate. Under the influence of the work of Vladimir Vysotsky, Mikhail began to master the guitar and try out for the first time as a vocalist.

After graduating from high school (8 grades) and the Automotive Repair School in his hometown, after serving his military service, in 1987 Mikhail continued his studies and entered college. The biography of Mikhail Krug was not at all easy. Having married immediately upon returning from the army, he was never able to establish relations with his wife’s parents: the guy did not correspond to the ideas and principles of his wife’s family, since he had neither a prestigious education nor a prestigious position.

At the institute, Mikhail takes part in a student competition, the theme of which was an original song. First place in the competition, acquaintance with E. I. Klyachkin, who chaired the Eighth Festival of Author's Song, an irresistible desire to work on himself and his own songs prompts Mikhail to leave the institute, and then refuse the position of head of the motorcade.

The starting point in the biography of Mikhail Krug was the title of laureate, which he received in 1987 at the Art Song Festival, held in Tver. From this moment on, Mikhail Krug firmly decides to forever connect his life with an extraordinary bard song.

His first albums (“Tverskaya Streets”, “Katya” and an untitled album) were recorded in his hometown at the Tver studio. The fate of these albums is sad: without an official release, the songs were distributed pirated. Mikhail Krug rewrote all these songs and included them in the following albums “Madame”, “Mouse”, “Rose” and “Green Prosecutor”. Many of these songs were dedicated to Marina, Mikhail's first love.

In 1994, “Zhigan - Lemon”, the first official album, was released, and 2 years later Mikhail Krug performed at the Moscow festival “Russian Chanson”.

Since 1997, Mikhail Krug has been touring with Svetlana Ternova, a vocalist he heard at the Song Festival. Successful tours take place not only in the Russian Federation and CIS countries, but also in cities in Germany and the USA.

In March 1998, Mikhail Krug received the prestigious Ovation Award. This period was full of constant foreign tours, writing songs for the new album “Mouse” (2000) and filming in the feature film “April” (the role of the authority of a criminal structure). In addition, in 1999 the film “The Bard Mikhail Krug” was released, filming of which was completed back in 1994.

The work of Mikhail Krug was tragically cut short along with the life of the popular bard: the Master of Russian chanson was killed in his home on the night of July 1, 2002. Having received several gunshot wounds to the chest and heart, Mikhail Krug died in the hospital.

The funeral of Mikhail Krug took place with the participation of thousands of fans of his work, among whom were not only crime bosses and “brothers,” but also completely ordinary people who had nothing to do with “prison romance.” The variety and originality of the famous Bard's songs found a response in the hearts of millions of devoted and grateful fans, captivated by the gentle melody of the sound and the bold poignancy of the lyrics.

Those responsible for Mikhail's death have not been found, but all admirers of his talent are sure: the highest justice exists, and the murderers will be punished!

Mikhail Krug (real name Vorobiev) is a Russian bard, performer in the chanson genre and, according to fans, “the king of Russian chanson.” The author of the most popular composition in this genre is the song “Vladimir Central”. His life was cut short by a bullet fired at him in his own home by robbers. For many years, Krug’s murder and his mastermind were unknown, but in 2019, new details appeared in the case that helped identify the killers.

Childhood and youth

Mikhail Vladimirovich Vorobyov was born in the city of Kalinin (present-day Tver) on April 7, 1962. His father, Vladimir Mikhailov, worked as an engineer at a carriage factory, and his mother, Zoya Petrovna, worked at a cotton mill. Mikhail became the second child in the Vorobyov family, whose daughter Olga was already growing up.

Misha Vorobyov spent his childhood and youth in the old proletarian district of the Morozov town, about which he later wrote the song “My Sweet City.” These were ancient barracks, heated with peat. They lived poorly, but amicably. Little Misha was different from the dejected inhabitants of the microdistrict: he constantly joked, amused the adults, and was a tomboy. Later, his father was given an apartment on Ordzhonikidze Street, but the memories of his childhood in the Morozov barracks remained with Mikhail for the rest of his life.

At a music school, the boy learned to play the button accordion, but completed his education. Vorobiev studied poorly at secondary school, and, as his relatives and friends recall, he constantly skipped classes.

The teachers bombarded schoolboy Vorobyov with comments: his classmates could have one, maximum two comments, but he once accumulated as many as 47: either he didn’t say hello to the teacher, or he didn’t bring his shift. When mom wanted to know the reason for this behavior, Misha took the pose: “I don’t greet her because she’s unfair!”

Mikhail always took the side of truth and justice. Although he was considered the first bully in the class, he was also the most sympathetic and caring student. He was the first to go out on cleanup days, and many years after graduating from school, he was the only one who visited his first teacher.

At the age of six, Mikhail first heard the songs of Vladimir Vysotsky and immediately fell in love with the work of this poet and musician. This passion helped Misha fall in love with music. At the age of 11, the boy had already mastered the guitar, and when he was 14, he wrote his first poems, which he dedicated to a classmate. One day at school, Mikhail sang the song of his idol Vysotsky, after which a scandal broke out.

Having received a matriculation certificate, the future musician went to the Kalinin School and received the profession of a car mechanic there, and then was called up for military service in the Sumy region of Ukraine.

Upon returning from the army, Mikhail continued to perform songs, imitating Vysotsky. From 1986 to 1993, Vorobiev worked as a driver at various enterprises. He was fired from one of his jobs, at a dairy factory: he lost his temper when he learned that fat milk was poured into some cans for party officials, and water was added to the milk in those intended for ordinary residents of Tver. He changed the cans, but the deception was revealed.

Then, for a short time, Mikhail was the head of the city motorcade. He quickly became bored with office work, and he returned to the driver’s seat, where he worked until 1996. By that time, he could already make a living exclusively from music.

Creative path

In 1987, Mikhail was sent from work to study at the Polytechnic University, which he, however, soon dropped out of. That same year, he decided to take part in an art song competition, where he performed his composition “About Afghanistan” and took first place.

The first victory instilled in him more self-confidence, and he took songwriting seriously. The bard Sergei Klyachkin, who was the chairman of the festival, also pushed him into creativity. The musician appreciated Vorobyov’s talent and told the debutant: “Misha, you need to work...”. The aspiring bard chose the pseudonym Mikhail Krug.

Why Circle? We don’t know the exact answer to this question, but we will quote his mother’s words:

He liked this figure. He told me: “If you stand in the center of the circle, you will be equally distant from any point.” And thirdly, as in fairy tales: “If there is any trouble, draw a circle around yourself - and you are safe.”

However, there is an opinion that Mikhail Krug was named after the hero from his favorite Soviet TV series “Resident's Mistake.”

In 1989, Krug released his first album entitled “Tver Streets”. A year later, a second album appeared called “Katya” and a third without a title at all. However, none of these records were officially released - they were all distributed throughout Russia through piracy. Later, Krug himself re-recorded almost all the compositions from the albums on his next records.

Mikhail Krug - “Zhigan-lemon”

In 1994, the artist’s new album, “Zhigan-Limon,” appeared, which became a turning point in the musician’s fate. Despite the fact that the name of the record refers to criminal themes, not only criminal, but also lyrical compositions were recorded on it. “Zhigan-Limona” was subsequently reissued several times, and it was this album that became Mikhail Krug’s symbolic invasion of Russian musical and poetic culture.

In 1994, a documentary film “Bard Mikhail Krug” was made about the musician, which was shown on the “Culture” TV channel only in 1999. For some time, Krug was simply not allowed on television - the musician’s videos began to be broadcast only in 1996. The first audience saw was the video for the song “It Was Yesterday.”

“It Was Yesterday” - the first video by Mikhail Krug

Mikhail Krug performed abroad for the first time in 1997 - at the Russian Chanson in Germany festival he sang with the Zhemchuzhny brothers. At that concert, Krug performed four songs, one of them – “Madame” – in a guitar version. In the same year, a new soloist, Svetlana Ternova, began working with Mikhail Krug.

In 1998, Russian migrants in American cities became acquainted with the work of the Russian performer, and in 2000 the musician toured Israel. Mikhail Krug very often gave charity concerts and performed for free in prisons.

It is worth noting that the artist himself never sat in places not so remote.

Usually Krug sang songs of his own authorship, but a number of compositions were written for him by Alexander Belolebedinsky. These are “I passed Siberia”, “The process is over”, “Hello, Mom”, “Sparks in the fireplace”, “Cry, violin (In every city)”, “Chaim” and “Student”. These songs were previously performed by Arkady Severny. But “Svetochka” was written by Leonid Efremov - Krug only slightly changed the original text.

The most popular and beloved among fans was Mikhail’s song “Vladimir Central”, which became one of the most famous compositions of Russian chanson in general. The song was first performed in the album “Madame” (1998). There is an assumption that it is dedicated to thief in law Sasha Severny.

Mikhail Krug - “Vladimir Central” (concert at Luzhniki, 2000)

In March 1998, Mikhail Krug received the Ovation Award in the Russian Chanson category. And in the fall of 1999, the musician entered the “Music Ring” together with Sergei Trofimov and defeated his colleague in a friendly duel. In the same year, the singer took second place in the Russian Chanson competition. At that time, he became one of the most popular artists in the country, although the attitude towards his work among different circles of society was ambiguous - the creative intelligentsia called the success of the Circle a symbol of the crisis of Russian culture in difficult times for the country.

Personal life of Mikhail Krug

Mikhail Krug's first love was called Marina. The young man spent all the pennies he earned on her. She promised to wait for him from the army, but did not keep her word. Mikhail got married for the first time after serving in the army. The wife's name was Svetlana. She was a seamstress, and they met through a mutual friend. But family life was short-lived: the wife did not like that her husband often came home drunk, and her intelligent parents never tired of reminding her that a vocational school graduate was not a match for her. In 1988, Mikhail Krug divorced his wife and sued her son Dmitry - he decided to raise the child on his own.

In 2000, Krug married for the second time. His chosen one was a waitress from Chelyabinsk Irina, with whom he, a restaurant client, fell in love at first sight. In order to constantly be close to this beautiful woman, the musician offered her a job as a costume designer, but at first the girl refused. But, after weighing all the pros and cons, Irina later accepted the job offer and for a year simply carried out her tasks and toured with the Circle. The musician rented her a one-room apartment in Moscow and helped her financially in every possible way.

Finally, in 2001, Irina married Mikhail. She already had a daughter from another marriage, Marina, whom Krug took under his wing and began to raise as his own. In 2002, the family had a common child - son Alexander.

By the way, the musician was an adherent of monarchist political beliefs, a conservative and a homophobe, supported the Domostroevsky way of life in the family and had an aversion to feminism. He considered the Russian stage to be “dominated by people of non-traditional sexual orientation.” Krug was a member of the LDPR and one of the assistants to its leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

Death

On the night of June 30 to July 1, 2002, in the Tver village of Mamulino, the artist’s house was attacked. At that moment, in addition to the singer, his wife, mother-in-law and children were in the house. Two unknown men entered the third floor of the house, attacked the artist’s mother-in-law and began to injure her. Krug himself and his wife Irina came running to the woman’s screams. Then the criminals opened fire on them. Irina was able to escape, and Mikhail, who protected her from the bullets, received two serious wounds and lost consciousness. In the confusion, the attackers managed to escape, finally shooting the dog.

The circle came to its senses and was able to get to neighbor Vadim Rusakov, where Irina had fled. The man took the musician to the Tver City Hospital. At this time, the police were already working at the scene, and doctors were helping the musician’s mother-in-law. Fortunately, the children were not harmed.

The farewell service took place on July 3. The whole world saw off the musician on his last journey. Not only colleagues, but also government officials came to say goodbye. The funeral ceremony stretched for several kilometers. Mikhail Krug was buried at the Dmitrovo-Cherkassky cemetery.

Consequences and memory

After the death of her husband, Irina began performing under the pseudonym Irina Krug. Most of her repertoire are songs dedicated to the memory of her late husband.

Irina Krug - To you, my last love

Mikhail's eldest son, Dmitry Vorobyov, was barely 14 when the bard was killed. Relatives were worried that the loss of his father would have a negative impact on the teenager and decided to transfer him to the cadet corps. Of course, at first the boy did not understand why such a punishment would be given to a man who had just lost his father? But he quickly got involved and even fell in love with cadet life. Subsequently, he graduated with honors from the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and became a policeman.

Dmitry is similar to his father in appearance, but not in character: he is a very reserved person, does not play the guitar, does not sing, and avoids communicating with the press. However, relatives say that he changes around those close to him: he jokes, smiles, and is always ready to help.

The youngest son of Mikhail Krug, Alexander, does not remember his father, nor does he remember that ill-fated night. According to press reports, the boy officially took the surname Krug, as his mother Irina wanted. Unlike his brother, Sasha loves attention: he runs Instagram, which has several thousand subscribers, and sometimes participates in talk shows. Outwardly, he clearly took after his mother.

In 2007, a bronze monument was erected to Mikhail Krug on Radishchev Boulevard in Tver. A Russian bard and chansonnier sits on a bench and rests his hands on a guitar, next to him there is a free place where anyone can sit and take a photo. Funds for the installation of the monument were raised by the Mikhail Krug Foundation, which was headed by his older sister, Olga Medvedeva.

Investigation into the murder of Krug

A variety of versions of the murder appeared one after another. Producer Vadim Tsyganov suggested that it was a banal robbery attempt. On the eve of the murder, the musician, together with Vika Tsyganova, Vadim’s wife, recorded the record “Vladimir Central-2” and was supposed to receive a large fee. According to another version, the artist became the victim of a planned and perhaps even contract murder

The case of the musician’s murder got off the ground only in 2008: the Tver Wolves gang, possibly related to the murder of Krug, was arrested in Tver. One of its participants, Alexander Ageev, was identified by the musician’s widow Irina as the killer of her husband. However, his involvement could not be proven. Ageev received a life sentence, but for other crimes. The case was suspended out of despair.

Mikhail Krug: murder solved?

2019 brought new clues. An investigative experiment was conducted in Krug's house. Two members of the Tver Wolves gang, Dmitry Veselov and the same Ageev, testified. It turned out that one of the local crime bosses, nicknamed Lom, gave them the order to rob Mikhail Krug. He believed that the chansonnier’s modest house was stuffed with antiques and jewelry.

The bandits thought that no one was home, but in the midst of searching for the valuables, Mikhail’s family returned home. The criminals hid on the top floor and were taken by surprise by Mikhail's mother-in-law. The men hit her with the butt of a pistol and tried to escape, but on the way out they ran into Krug. While fleeing, Veselov shot the musician twice. The wound turned out to be fatal.

Veselov is no longer alive. A year later, he was shot by another member of the Tver Wolves, an admirer of Mikhail Krug’s work, Alexey Osinov. He is now serving a life sentence. Since Ageev is already serving a life sentence, and also due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for attempted theft (his offense was included in this article), his punishment has not changed. The criminal case has been discontinued. Mikhail’s mother never found out the names of her son’s killers - she died of a heart attack in January 2018. Irina Krug thanked the Investigative Committee staff for solving the case.