How and where did Mikhail Krug die? “This is some kind of nonsense.” What's wrong with the murder case of Mikhail Krug? Beginning of a musical career

Childhood

Krug is the stage name of the artist, whose real name is Vorobiev. He was born into a family far from art. His father worked in the highway department, his mother was a simple accountant. The family also had an eldest daughter, Olga. Mikhail's father dreamed that his son would learn to play the accordion, and the boy was sent to music school early.

Teachers noted that the child had excellent musical abilities, but he lacked perseverance. Little Misha did not have the slightest desire to spend hours learning scales and soon abandoned music lessons, which gave way to football and yard games with the boys.

Actually, the entire childhood of the future artist was spent in the yard. There he first heard tape recordings of Vysotsky, with whose work he fell madly in love once and for all. There he first picked up a guitar when he was not yet 11 years old. There he met his first love, to whom he wrote his first poems.

And school teachers constantly complained to parents about their unlucky son, who systematically skipped school and almost never taught homework. Therefore, high school was completed with difficulty and somehow, after which Mikhail entered a vocational school to become a repairman, deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Sharp turn

After college, Mikhail was drafted into the army. As usual, after serving, he returned and almost immediately married a girl from a good, intelligent family, whose parents categorically insisted that their son-in-law go to college. Perhaps the son would have followed in his father’s footsteps if he had not accidentally seen an announcement about an art song competition.

He decides to try his hand and unexpectedly takes first place. The young talent was indirectly prevented from returning to his usual activities by E. Klyachkin, whose words that Mikhail had real talent, and it must be developed, sank into his creative soul.

Mikhail decides to collect his songs and independently creates his first original album, “Tver,” in a small recording studio.

To the author's surprise, the debut album sold out instantly. Mikhail records two more with new songs, which also quickly find their many admirers. The Circle's songs begin to be copied onto tape recorders, sung in courtyards, and distributed through pirated means. Inspired by success, in 1994 Krug released his first official album, which included his best songs “Zhigan-Lemon.” And the next morning the author wakes up famous.

At the pinnacle of glory

Soon after the presentation of the debut album, Krug goes on a tour of the provinces, which ends with a triumphant performance in Moscow at the Russian Chanson festival. After which his first video for the song “It Was Yesterday” was shot, which was immediately sent into rotation on the central television channels of Russia.

Back then, albums by popular artists were distributed on regular cassettes, for which Krug and his group still had not received a fee for recording them. Later it was re-recorded onto CDs, and for this Krug received the first money - $3,000, although all the work on the album cost him a much larger amount.

But the main thing is that his songs were heard and loved by millions of people across the country. The cassettes were played to death, the discs were copied and played on auto-repeat. The tours lasted for several months, during which the artists could work 2-3 concerts a day. And by 1998, there was no longer a person in the country who did not know such a performer - Mikhail Krug.

By 1997, Krug and his group went on a foreign concert tour for the first time to Germany, where the musicians performed mainly in front of a Russian-speaking audience. And in 1998 he received his first prestigious music award “Ovation” in the “Russian Chanson” category, becoming on a par with Russian pop stars.

Krug's popularity was significantly increased by his filming in the crime film "April", where he played the role of a thief in law. He succeeded so brilliantly in this role that rumors immediately spread across the country that he had a criminal past behind him. It is reliably known that Krug had no criminal record, but his connection with crime bosses still remains a legend.

Krug's songs very quickly became popular not only in courtyards, but also in Russian prisons. They had life-like plots, plausible texts and were replete with thieves' jargon. Maybe that’s why the legends about the Circle’s involvement in the world of thieves were born.

And very few people knew that most of the criminal words and expressions were taken by the author from a rare printed publication - a dictionary for NKVD workers, produced in 1924, which Krug accidentally bought at a flea market and which he never parted with.

Another mystical item was the famous ring with three large diamonds, presented to Krug by the thief in law Khobot, but under what circumstances and on what occasion is not known for certain.

Perhaps some kind of connection between the Circle and the top of the Russian criminal world still existed. The true reason for the murder of the talented bard has still not been revealed, although it happened back in 2002 in the singer’s own Tver house.

A robbery was committed on the house, during which the bard’s mother-in-law was injured, and he himself received two gunshot wounds, from which he died in the hospital.

The most obvious version has long been considered a banal robbery attempt. But it was, as they say, “sewn with white thread,” since the Circle was under the unspoken patronage of thieves in law and it is unlikely that anyone without an order from above would have decided to attack the singer’s house.

Most likely the murder was ordered and carefully planned. But this version remains unproven, and the killers have not been found.

Mikhail Krug was buried in his native Tver. His songs still continue to be heard and remain loved by many listeners. By the way, back in 1994, after he had just become famous, a documentary was made about him. But it was shown to a wide range of viewers only in 1999, at the very peak of the artist’s popularity, having lain on the shelf for more than five years.

After the death of Krug, relatives created a special fund that collected money for a monument to the singer, which was erected in 2007 and a museum in his memory was opened, where you can buy recordings of songs and badges with portraits and symbols of the poet. Every year at the end of June, bard song festivals are held under his name, which open the way to the stage for young talented performers.

Personal life

Krug's first marriage soon broke up. Mikhail left behind a son, whom he took away from his ex-wife through the courts and kept with him. Having completely immersed himself in creativity, Mikhail completely forgot about his personal life for some time. But time takes its toll, and later he decides to build a new relationship.

Mikhail Yurievich Vorobiev

Born in the old district of the city of Kalinin (now Tver), which was called “Morozovsky Town”, now has the name “Proletarka’s Yard” about which the song “My Dear City” was written.
Mikhail wrote his first poems at the age of 14, which he dedicated to his classmate. At that time, Mikhail’s idol was V.S. Vysotsky. After the army, Mikhail, impressed by his songs, began to play the guitar and sing in his style.
Mikhail graduated from school No. 39 on Sominka in the city of Tver as an auto repairman by profession. Coming from the army, Mikhail got married; his wife’s parents insisted that he go to college, since 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 seriously began writing songs, but 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...”.
Mikhail recorded his first album “Tver Streets” at the “Tver” studio, then the second album “Katya” was recorded, and the third album without a title, all of them had no release, but were stolen and distributed pirated. 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 ring with three diamonds, which he always wore, was given to him by the 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.
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.

On the night of June 30 to July 1, 2002, Krug’s house was attacked in Tver. The criminals shot at the singer several times, mortally wounding him. The singer's wife, mother-in-law and child who were in the house were not injured. Mikhail Krug died that same night after surgery in a Tver hospital.

Mikhail Vladimirovich Vorobyov (April 7, 1962 – July 1, 2002) – Russian poet and performer. The most popular composition was his famous “Vladimir Central”, for which Mikhail was nicknamed “the king of Russian chanson”.

Childhood

Mikhail Vladimirovich was born on April 7 in the city of Kalinino, into a working-class family with an average income. His father was an engineer and combined two jobs at once: a factory and a construction company, where he managed several small projects. Misha’s mother worked as an accountant at a high school, where Vorobiev himself later studied. Besides him, the family had an eldest daughter, Olga, whom her brother loved very much and always helped.

From childhood, Mikhail was sent to a music school to learn how to play the button accordion. Initially, the parents planned to send their child to the piano, but Vorobiev himself asked to study the button accordion, because he considered learning the piano a waste of time.

The first manifestation of creative abilities dates back to the same period of his life. Despite the fact that Mikhail Vladimirovich had not yet composed songs or poems, he tried to give the compositions something new when performing them on the button accordion. By the way, many of the “innovations” of the young talent were subsequently used by professional accordion players and music school teachers.

But in high school things were very bad. Vorobyov’s character was quite grumpy and selfish, so many of his classmates had a hard time. The boy often fought, and even ended up in the local police station several times, from where his parents, tired of his antics, took him away.

Numerous conversations and persuasion to “change anger to mercy” did not help - the next day after a serious conversation, Misha again quarreled with his friends and again received complaints from teachers.

Youth

At the age of 11, the boy decides to quit playing the button accordion and learn to play the guitar. It was no accident that he chose such a musical instrument - at that time Vladimir Vysotsky became his idol, some of whose songs he would later begin to perform independently.

At the age of 15, Misha writes his first poem, which is dedicated to a classmate - the first love in Vorobyov’s life. But the feelings turn out to be non-reciprocal, and at the school graduation Misha performs one of Vysotsky’s compositions with numerous uncultured language, after which he becomes the main character in a huge scandal.

After school, Krug leaves for military service in the army. He is sent to Ukraine, to the city of Lebedin, from where he returns after a couple of years and gets a job at the Production Association of Freight Transport (POGAT). Since the guy does not have a higher education, he cannot apply for a good and highly paid job, so he agrees to be an ordinary driver. By the way, he has been delivering goods by truck for ten years. And even when in 1987 he was appointed head of one of the production departments of POGAT, Krug refused to work and again chose cargo delivery.

Beginning of a musical career

A couple of months after resigning from the position of boss, Mikhail begins to realize that he simply needs to graduate from college so as not to work on a truck for the rest of his life. Therefore, he goes to the Polytechnic Institute and there he learns about the art song competition. Naturally, he decides to take part in it, performing the composition “About Afghanistan”, and becomes the undisputed winner of the competition.

There, Vorobiev meets the bard Evgeny Klyachkin, one of the members of the competition jury. An experienced performer advises Misha to choose a pseudonym and seriously engage in creativity.

In 1989, Mikhail Krug’s first album, Tver Streets, was released. Six months later, two others appeared - “Katya” and another untitled album. Despite the fact that the compositions in them are not absolute chanson, the performer is prohibited from officially releasing them. But fortunately, albums are leaked to the radio and copied by pirates, released as “bonuses” to other artist albums.

In 1994, Krug sought the release of his first official album, “Zhigan-Limon”. It still remains unclear to many fans that the first three albums with lyrical compositions were banned, but for “Zhigan-Limon,” an album with a lot of chanson, the author received almost instant permission. Nevertheless, this was the first official success of the Circle and a statement that from now on there is another direction in the music industry - chanson.

After the government and the public officially recognized his talent, Mikhail Krug began recording songs both solo and in duets with such bards as Alexander Belolebedinsky, Leonid Efremov, Arkady Severny and many others.

The compositions “When we met”, “Chaim”, “Hello, Mom!”, “I went through Siberia”, “Cry, violin” appear. The composition “Vladimir Central” stands out separately - a song that has become the most popular and famous of all the works of Mikhail Krug. According to rumors, it was dedicated to the authoritative thief in law Sasha Severny, but Mikhail himself always denied such rumors.

Killing a Bard

On the night of June 30, unknown persons burst into the house of the Krug family, where at that time the bard himself, his wife, three children and mother-in-law were located. Having gone to the third floor, they found the performer's mother-in-law, who tried to escape, but was severely beaten, after which she lost consciousness. Mikhail Krug came running to the noise and tried to disarm the criminals, but he was seriously wounded and also lost consciousness due to loss of blood. Later, after waking up, Mikhail Vladimirovich manages to reach his neighbor Vadim Rusakov, to whom his wife ran.

A friend tries to call an ambulance, but the doctors, having heard about the robbery attack on the family of the perpetrator, refuse to come to the call without the presence of the police. Risking everything, Rusakov himself takes Krug to the nearest hospital, where doctors fight for his life until the end of the night. However, the severe wounds received, broken ribs and large loss of blood lead to the death of Mikhail Krug on July 1, 2002.

There are several versions about the reason for the attack on the Krug family. According to some sources, the criminals wanted to get the artist’s last fee; according to others, it was a contract killing (however, Misha’s friends stated that the bard was respected in the criminal world, so they would not allow this to happen). Mikhail’s mother-in-law completed a rehabilitation course and recovered from her injuries. The performer's wife and children remained unharmed.

Childhood and youth

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.

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

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.”

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 album 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.

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

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

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.

Consequences and memory

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

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 handle 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.

Mikhail Krug (real name Vorobiev) was born in 1962 in Tver and was raised in a simple working-class family. Since childhood, the boy also dreamed of helping Soviet society and working as a driver. Mikhail was also interested in music from an early age and especially loved the work of Vladimir Vysotsky. The latter quickly became his idol, and the boy, imitating him, began to learn to play the guitar. During his school years, he performed both well-known songs and tried to compose his own. Additionally, Mikhail attended a button accordion class and a choral singing section.

After graduating from school, Vorobev began studying to become a car mechanic, still cherishing the dream of getting a profession related to cars. He served in the army and then got a job delivering dairy products and within 10 years climbed the career ladder well, receiving a leadership position. Mikhail took his famous pseudonym in 1989. Before this, he had already won standing ovations at various bard festivals, where he most often performed original songs on the topic of the war in Afghanistan that was relevant at that time.

It was at the end of the 80s that Mikhail Krug’s first album, Tver Streets, was released. After that, he continued to release solo compositions, the recordings of which sold like hot cakes throughout the country. Soon Krug met musicians from the Tver Palace of Culture “Metallist”, and together they formed the group “Fellow Traveler”. In the future, it was the “metallists” who helped the singer in recording his songs and holding concerts. In 1994, Mikhail Krug’s official album “Zhigan-Lemon” was recorded, and his exotic “thieves’ romance” was very much loved by the audience. The musician’s most famous song, “Vladimir Central,” was released as part of the album “Madame,” which was released in 1998.

In total, Mikhail Krug released more than ten albums during his life, the last of which, “Confession,” was released after the artist’s death. His family actively supported him in his work. In 1987, Krug first married a woman named Svetlana, and soon they had a son, Dmitry. And yet the couple divorced, and in 2000 the singer married his band’s costume designer, Irina Glazko. They had a son, Alexander.

Death of Mikhail Krug

On July 1, 2002, unknown masked men broke into the private home of Mikhail Krug and his family. They beat the musician's mother-in-law and then fired several pistol shots at Mikhail himself. Fortunately, his wife and children were not injured in the attack. Mikhail found the strength to get to a neighboring house and call an ambulance. He was taken to the hospital, where surgeons fought all night for the bard’s life, but the wounds turned out to be too serious, and he died in the morning.

The death of the beloved artist shocked the residents of Russia, who came in crowds to the Tver Drama Theater, where the funeral service was held. People accompanied the funeral cortege all the way to the Dmitrovo-Cherkassky cemetery, where Mikhail Krug found his final resting place. At the same time, an investigation began into a criminal case initiated for murder, which lasted more than ten years.

The criminals were identified in 2008: they were members of the Tver Wolves criminal group, Alexander Ageev and Dmitry Veselov, the latter of whom was already dead by that time. Ageev was sentenced to life imprisonment for a combination of previously committed crimes. Mikhail Krug became a victim of racketeers, refusing to pay them a large part of his fee for patronage. Today, fans of the chansonnier continue to remember and listen to him, and the loving widow Irina Krug performs bard compositions in memory of her husband.