The publishing house “Mirgorod” published the book of journalist Alexander Kushnir “Mike Naumenko. Escape from the zoo”. A richly illustrated volume about the leader of the group “Zoo” turned out like a Museum, some exhibits which deserve special attention, says Boris Barabanov.The chief work of Alexander Kushnir “100 magnitoalbom Soviet rock” was recently with great fanfare reissued. For 20 years, generational change, and new readers found it does not unknown facts from the lives of familiar characters, but a completely new universe of superheroes. Under the jackets janitors and guards they fought hot rock-and-roll hearts, and their abilities included the ability to extract the audio from the for the items and writing great songs, being under the influence of dangerous liquids.Favorite method of a workaholic Kushnir, known for “100 magnitoalbom”,— a detailed survey of hundreds of characters with the aim of creating a reliable picture. He adopted in the book about Mike Naumenko, which was the final part of the trilogy about “life forbidden people” (the first two were the biography of Sergei Kuryokhin and Ilya kormil’tsev).In “Escape from the zoo” an incredible array of speakers items. Many of them were handed over to another writer Mike Naumenko of the Boris Mazin — his memory is dedicated to the book. Typescripts, rare photos, letters, posters, old samizdat, tape the film to all of this Kushnir feels almost warmer feeling than to the people.At the time Mike wrote Paul Krusanov and Alexey Rybin, who knew him personally. And in 2018, the screens out the film by Kirill Serebrennikov “Summer”, the script of which has grown from a few pages of memories of the wife of Mike Naumenko Natalia. According to Alexander Kushnir, the idea to write the book came not from a desire to ride on the notoriety of “Summer”, and due to a confluence of circumstances Dating with collectors, the acquisition of rare artifacts and even dreams. And yet the “Escape from zoo” — not just a collection of facts and catalog rarities like “the Museum of important shit” nick cave.Apart from endless descriptions of drinking and music underground appartment, which smoothly flow into each other throughout the book, in its pages there are some accents that the author of these lines is not seen from other biographers. First and foremost is the story of meeting Mike Naumenko and his friend Boris Grebenshchikov with Oleg Ossetian — screenwriter of “star of captivating happiness” and “Mihailo Lomonosov”, and also the father and producer of the pianist Polina Osetinskaya. In relation to BG frequently used the definition of “guru” and Mike over this word openly laughed (cf. “Hello, I am guru from Bobruisk” from the album “LV”). In the pages of “Escape from zoo” timevorachivaetsya story about how young, but already reputable rock star came under serious influence of the mentor-manipulator who considered himself to be their producer and at some stage really helped the people of Leningrad to Express themselves in Moscow.How Mike managed to get off the needle of his patronage, I would like to read more. There are a number of topics could be given more attention. For example, the relationship with the bit-Quartet “the Secret”, for which Mike was a teacher and who has largely made a name for himself by performing his “Buoyant rock-n-roll” and “Boogie-woogie every day”. Did Mike’s contributions as the author of hits performed at the concerts of the “Secret” until now? And whether “secretory” next in late, alcoholic-depressed period of life Mike?Alexander Kushnir captures only in passing and the strange “spy mania” shirt, which resulted in his categorical unwillingness to participate in the contacts of the Leningrad rockers American singer and producer Joanna Stingray. The result was the absence of a “Zoo” in the famous book “Red Wave”. I would like to understand, how is it that a man whose worldview was formed by the best representatives of English-speaking rock — T. Rex, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, etc.,— in the years of perestroika never went to concerts abroad and do not have used “publicity” for the international promotion of his work, as did his companions BG and Choi.In fact, the book tells about a man who has lost interest in life when she offered new horizons. Rarely wrote songs, dissolve one part of the “Zoo” for others, for the most part sat in his communal apartment in front of the TV, and on the road hard drinking. According to the book Kushnir, most comfortable underground rocker Naumenko felt stagnant Soviet Union with its system of prohibitions but also with its relaxed parallel art-life. A secret like a spy novel, the gathering, the typewritten translation with English words, handwritten, thoughtful arguments on the pages of samizdat about Frank Zappa and about how “Americans don’t get it”, all this is an example of living in a dream world, quite inhabitable. Changes are also promised a big opportunity and a big disappointment. Mike, as a wise man, understood it — and, it seems, was afraid of change.
