Thousands of Russians on Saturday queued to pay a final farewell to the grande dame of Soviet cinema whose death this week robbed millions of one of their best-loved links to the past. Lyudmila Gurchenko, who died on Wednesday aged 75, starred in a sequence of hit Soviet films that are watched to this day, winning hearts with her radiant voice and sweet girl-next-door looks.
In a dramatic final act to her life, thousands of Russians braved the late winter cold and long queues to file past her coffin in the Central House of Literature in Central Moscow, television pictures showed. Meanwhile, her estranged daughter Maria, who reportedly had not spoken to her mother for years and only found out about her death from the media, made an unexpected appearance to lay flowers at the coffin.
"An unbelievable number of people have come to say goodbye. She earned it. She always said that she worked for the people," said legendary Soviet and Russian film star Sergei Yursky, quoted by RIA Novosti. "A golden era has ended," added writer Mikhail Zhvanetsky. "This is her last full house."
Weekend commuters on the Moscow metro, meanwhile, were serenaded by recordings of Gurchenko singing in some of her best loved films. In bizarre twist, the Life News website said Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov, a businessman once ranked the world's third most wanted fugitive and known by the underworld nickname Taivanchik (Little Taiwan), was paying for the funeral. The website also said her personal stylist Aslan Akhmadov had been allowed into the morgue to ensure Gurchenko was in the best condition before going to the grave. There was no official confirmation of the reports.
She was later buried in Moscow's famed Novodevichye cemetery after a funeral procession through Moscow led by a giant photograph of the iconic actress, watched by applauding onlookers The cemetery is the last resting place for many of Russia's cultural elite from the last century, including writer Anton Chekhov and a host of great actors.
Comments
Comments are closed.