In the Year of the Family, People’s Artist of Russia Oleg Gazmanov spoke about what traditions exist in his family and about the principles of parenting.
Oleg Mikhailovich, did your family have any musical traditions?
– In my family there was a tradition of olivier salad for the New Year – I remember that for sure! My parents are veterans. My father went to the front at the age of 17, took Konigsberg, became a military construction engineer, my mother was a nurse in a military hospital, she ended the war on Khalkhin Gol. There was no time for songs! I was the first person in the family to sing. Rodion became the second. Now, probably, a musical tradition has appeared in my family thanks to him.
Do you have a close relationship with your children?
– And what other relationships can you have with your children? We can always get together. We are now competing with Rodion in grilling meat. So we feed everyone, and when we feed them, then we can talk for life, give advice. However, now I understand very well that it is not necessary to force my way with my advice and lectures to children. They will take as much of your wisdom as they need.
Are you a strict father?
– It is necessary to ask my children. I don’t think so. I can’t say that I punished them in any serious way, but the carrot and stick were present at home. When I got my first computer, the Tetris game naturally appeared in it. All these colorful figures made of squares that fall into a glass and disappear if everything goes well. Rodion looked at this toy as if fascinated and could endlessly play with it. Then I hung up a horizontal bar at home and said: pull up 10 times, you can play.
I’m a strict dad, but kids are more afraid of mom!
Because you spend less time with your family?
– Due to the tour and the busy schedule, I really owe my family a lot of time to communicate. Of course, you need to be at home more and more often. But I can’t stop now. A few years ago, when I turned 70, I seriously thought that it was time to end my concert and social activities, but today it is impossible. I have a big team, a huge national movement “Springs”, in which there are almost 100 thousand participants, poets, musicians, composers, arrangers, performers… I feel needed, responsible for him. As long as my songs are in demand, I will continue. I only dream of peace!
What are your ideas about parenting in a real family?
– They are quite ordinary: there should be a man and a woman in the house, they should have children. And all together they love the place they live in, their city, their country. If there is such love, they will make this place cozy and comfortable. I always say: if you want your children not to smoke, don’t smoke yourself! If you’re a slob yourself, you’re unlikely to be able to raise great workers.
I’m generally a terrible traditionalist, and on the stage I’m the same: “but I love girls.” They are the most beautiful, and the men are the strongest. I don’t know why they should pay attention to effeminate personalities on stage. I have always disliked these post-perestroika trends on our stage, copied from the worst Western models. I was brought up on very good music and poetry: the Beatles, revolutionary for that time, our domestic bards Kukin, Gorodnitsky, Okudzhava, Vysotsky – these are amazing poems first of all.
You have remained an idol of the Russian public for so many years. How does it feel?
– You know what they say? “Don’t make yourself an idol.” And I add: don’t create an idol in yourself. As soon as I go on stage thinking that I am an idol and I can do anything, I will immediately end up as a singer. It’s important for me to always feel like this is my first concert and I need to win over the audience. That’s when everything works out!
What is a strong family for you?
– Of course it’s love, children. When there is love in the family not only for each other, but love for the country and the place where we live. We need to think all the time about what our descendants will do, where they will live. To do this, we need to educate our children. Try to make sure that there are some points of contact. If you want them to do something good, you need to show them by example.
source: https://xn--2024-u4d6b7a9f1a.xn--p1ai/Press-centr/region-news/10825
