The fate of the actresses of the "White Sun of the Desert": cancer, betrayal, sect and 40 years of happiness

50 years have passed since the release of the Soviet action movie "White Sun of the Desert". The key roles in this film were played by men whose images have become iconic. Comrade Sukhov, Petrukha, Said, Vereshchagin, Abdula - these heroes became idols of boys and heroes of jokes. But the women, of whom there are also a lot in the film, remained in the shadow of their partners in the film. They had different destinies, both happy and tragic.

We decided to recall the actresses who played female roles in the "White Sun of the Desert": Sukhov's wife Katerina Matveevna, the wife of the customs officer Vereshchagin Nastasia and the ninth wife of the bandit Abdula, named Gulchatai. Without their significant contribution, Vladimir Motyl's film is unlikely to become a legend of Soviet cinema.

By profession, Galina Luchai is not an actress, but a TV journalist. After graduating from the journalism faculty of Moscow State University, she began working on Central Television and accidentally caught the eye of the director Motyl. Before Galina, many famous actresses, including Khityaeva and Chursina, auditioned for the role of Comrade Sukhov's wife, but the creator of the film saw his heroine in a journalist.

At first, Galina flatly refused to act. She was persuaded for a long time and eventually she agreed to play this responsible role without words. In order for Luchai to match the image of Katerina Matveevna, her shoulders and hips were expanded, turning her into a typical Kustodian woman. The director did not like Galina's elegant legs and strangers got into the film — more massive.

The film was a dizzying success and offers to shoot showered Lucha one by one. But the woman refused film roles and continued to work on television. She participated in the creation of everyone's favorite TV shows "Kinopanorama", "In the World of Animals", "Film Travel Club" and many others.

In the 90s Galina Panteleevna worked in the Union of Designers, and after that even in the Constitutional Court. This talented and modest woman managed everything, no matter what she undertook. At the same time, Luchai did not bask in the rays of glory and modestly did her job.

Galina was incredibly lucky in her personal life. She met her future husband, journalist Vyacheslav Luchai, as a student and since then, for 40 years, they have been together. Galina Panteleevna died of cancer in 2001, just three days before her 63rd birthday. The husband survived his "dear Tick" for only two years.

Tatiana Fedotova got into the cast of the "White Sun of the Desert" when she was a student of the Vaganova Choreographic School. Another actress was supposed to play the role of Abdul's younger wife, but she refused to shoot because of exams at the circus school.

As often happens, an accident helped the girl to become famous — she was noticed on one of the streets of Leningrad when she was skipping classes. Tatiana could have become a celebrity, but it didn't happen. It's strange, but as an actress, no one else was interested in the girl. She even once sent a photo to the Moth to remind her of herself, but she did not receive a response.

While working at Lenkontsert, Fedotova met composer Gennady Kuzmin, who was married at that time. Tatiana was tormented by conscience because someone else's family was being destroyed and she went to the wife of her beloved man to apologize and say that she was parting with Gennady.

An unpleasant conversation took place, but the result was unexpected. The next day, Kuzmin's wife brought him to Fedotova herself and he did not come back. Although Tatiana was extremely honest in this story, she was condemned for this love triangle.

But the family withstood all the tests. The couple had a son and daughter and they worked together for many years, traveling on tour. In 1994, Fedotova began attending the "Source of Life" church, which is considered a destructive sect in Russia. After retirement, Tatiana Pavlovna worked as a cleaner at the Russian Museum, but then she and her husband moved to the village of Samsha, Ryazan region, to her parents' house.

Now Tatiana Fedotova is 70 years old and she continues to attend meetings of the "Source of Life". The woman does not give interviews, does not watch TV and does not even read newspapers. It is known that she does not regret the missed acting career and considers herself a happy person.

Raisa, who dreamed of becoming an orientalist, changed her plans already at the institute, starting to play in an amateur theater. The girl was lucky to meet the great actors Vladimir Etush and Mikhail Ulyanov, who helped students to stage performances and they determined her choice.

Raisa dropped out of the Institute of Oriental Studies and entered the Shchukin College. Even before receiving her diploma, Kurkina began acting in films, and after finishing "Pike" she was immediately accepted into the Theater Studio of a film actor. During her half-century career, the actress played 75 roles in films.

Among the masterpieces of cinema, in which Raisa Semenovna starred: "Idiot", "The Living and the Dead", "Belorussky railway Station", "Afonya", "The Star of captivating happiness". There could have been more pictures, but for the last 30 years the actress has often refused roles and preferred filming in minor episodes.

In her personal life, this woman was unlucky, so she lived alone for most of it. Kurkina met her first husband, theater director Boris Skomarovsky, during her studies and they immediately got married.

The couple had a daughter Irina, but the family idyll did not work out. The actress often left for filming, and one day, after returning from a business trip, she found out that her husband had cheated on her. Raisa did not forgive the betrayal and filed for divorce. Boris, after the dissolution of the marriage, immediately cut his daughter out of his life and was not interested in her fate anymore.

During the filming of the film "Children of the Pamirs", the actress met director Vladimir Motyl. He was married to actress Lyudmila Podaruyeva for a long time, but he left his family for Kurkina. Vladimir Yakovlevich not only married Raisa, but also made her his muse — in the six years that they were together, the director shot his wife in three films.

The woman's happiness turned out to be fragile. One day, she accidentally found a love note in her husband's pants pocket. At that time, the Moth begged for forgiveness, but the situation repeated itself just two months later. This time Raisa asked her husband to leave. When asked if she regretted her decision, Kurkina always replied that not a second. She could not stand lies and she simply could not be near Vladimir.

After the breakup, the Motyl was taken back by her ex-wife, and Raisa, in her 40s, was left alone. After her second unsuccessful marriage, she firmly decided not to try her luck anymore and completely immersed herself in work. Now the actress is 92 years old and she is single. Her children and grandchildren have moved to Canada, and only a social worker is in her modest apartment.