Almost 70 years of living and working together: the love story of Alexandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov
One of the
strongest and most inspiring couples in the history of the Soviet culture is
the family of a composer Alexandra Pakhmutova and a poet Nikolay Dobronravov.
Just three months after they had met, the sweethearts got married and had a
wedding party. This union had lasted for 67 years, until Nikolai Dobronravov
passed away in 2023.
The couple
met in 1956, at the All-Union Radio, in the children's broadcasting
studio. The editor invited the young
people to work together — this is how their first joint song "Motor
Boat" appeared.
For more
than six decades, Pakhmutova and Dobronravov had written hundreds of songs,
many of which have become the symbols of an entire epoch: "Goodbye,
Moscow", "How young we were", "Nadezhda",
"Belovezhskaya Pushcha", "Chicken does not play hockey",
"Eaglets learn to fly", and others. Their love didn't need big words,
it was expressed in music, lines, and silence at the backstage.
Pakhmutova
and Dobronravov never parted for long.
"I
went away just for 15 minutes to talk to you, but I miss her already. And if we
need to part for longer during the day, then we constantly call each
other," Nikolay Dobronravov said in an interview.
Being asked
what was the secret of their close-knit and strong family, Nikolay Nikolaevich
liked to cite a phrase from the book "The Land of Men" by the French
writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery: "Loving is not just looking at each
other, it's looking in the same direction".
Before the
start of the 2nd All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Connecting Hearts"
are only 6 days left. It will be held at the National Centre RUSSIA, and will
last from July 8 to July 10. Stories like those of Alexandra Pakhmutova and
Nikolay Dobronravov show that true life-lasting love exists.
The festival program includes official
wedding ceremonies of more than 200 couples, as well as many special events:
concert programs with popular performers, creative workshops from experts in
the wedding industry, fashion shows and much more.
A space of the branch of the National Centre RUSSIA in Vladivostok will be technologically advanced and interactive.
The cultural diversity of the country will be showcased through photography at the National Centre RUSSIA.
The final of the competition will be held on December 17 in the Grand Concert Hall of the National Centre RUSSIA.
