Dubas remains at large. Vera Polozkova and Alex Dubas: true stories about travel and about themselves Silver rain alex dubas

Alex Dubas is a radio and TV presenter and now a writer. On the air, his interlocutors usually become well-known and highly respected people. The book for Alex, rather, is a sincere conversation with himself.

Alex, your job is mostly meeting interesting people. Is there a person you would like to invite to the broadcast?

You know, I recently discovered with surprise that I am much more interested in people whose existence I did not suspect than those who are on everyone's lips. Probably the only famous person I would like to talk to is Tonino Guerra, an Italian screenwriter who worked with Tarkovsky, Parajanov, Fellini, Antonioni. I really like the way he writes and thinks. In many ways, I caught the mood of my book from him ...

You say that your book Aquastop Rules is about men and women, men and children. Are you describing your bad experience? After all, your first marriage ended in divorce.

Yes, but we maintain a very good relationship, we have a son, and we can only say good things about each other. Of course, not everything was rosy and not without pain, but in general, marriage is a good experience. It just so happens that love, and relationships, and tenderness pass ...

What needs to be done so that the relationship does not fade away?

And I'm not sure what to do at all. If love passes, you should not hold on to it to the point of paranoia ... Yes, when a break occurs, when you
broken, lonely, the words of friends who say that everything will work out seem so unconvincing. But then time passes, and you suddenly emerge. And you emerge to where there is a sunny day, where there is a beautiful forest, blue sky. And you understand that life goes on, and it is no less, and sometimes even more interesting than it was! Everything starts spinning, strumming, ringing. It becomes so magical that you really understand: but life goes on.

There is a perception that relationships are hard work. What do you think?

Strongly against. There are two people: they have love, God gave them this. And where does the word "work"? I immediately imagine this sad family: late November evening, two people are sitting and trying to find out something there in the kitchen: “There is a crack in our relationship, and we need to work hard to save them ...”

Maybe marriage in our time is an obsolete structure? Especially for free people like you.

No, what are you! .. Yes, in my essence I am a rather free person. But, unfortunately, and very monogamous. Although, probably, I would not use the turnover “unfortunately”, because I look at my comrades who seem to be successfully married ... And now they come from Riga to Moscow on business. And they definitely need to take a walk, break away - they are three nights in Moscow, in this huge metropolis with alluring lights and opportunities. And I understand that nothing stands behind this marriage - only an elegant facade. For me, in this sense: if I live with a person, this is marriage. It is sealed by a priest in the church or a seal in the registry office - the second thing, a formality. Although sooner or later, probably, it will be necessary to comply with this formality.

Why do men get married at all?

Well, let's do it. First. Every man needs a muse. Even if he is not a creator: not a writer, not a director. To have fire in his eyes
he needs a girlfriend who inspires him...

Or maybe there are other reasons?

There are probably others. But by and large, all this is not so important. If there is a muse in a man's life, he is able to do the rest himself. Let's say if your loved one can't cook, then she will inspire you so that you want to cook yourself. Or what will be in your house
work the best housewife in the world. Inspired by your muse, you will earn so much money that you can afford everything in the world. It seems to me that the main task of a woman is to inspire a man to be a man. Everything else will follow.

Have you personally met examples of ideal marriages?

There are several such couples, and they can probably all be combined in one word - “calm”. Completely without nerves, without tantrums, without trying to change each other. It cannot be said that they are all the same, but there is calmness in relationships everywhere. Let me remind you the famous aphorism of Saint-Exupery: "Love is not when two people look at each other, but when two people look in the same direction."

How is your relationship with your 11-year-old son?

I emphasize right away: in relations with a child, work is needed, it is even necessary! I always find time for me and Robbie, despite the fact that we live in different cities (I am in Moscow, my son is in Riga). But he often comes to me or I to him. And then there is Skype. In Riga - small, gingerbread, wonderful Riga - everything is ten times faster. We arrived at the skating rink - it's an hour. "Now, dad, let's go to the pool!" We swam and went to the water park. Then we went to the forest - there lives an English teacher in a hut. We also managed to have dinner somewhere, and in the evening we went to the cinema. This is the advantage of a small city, a city without traffic jams. In Moscow, such a rhythm is absolutely impossible. Here in a day we managed to do one thing. Plus, everything is in order with the environment in Riga - there is not a single plant, not a single pipe smokes the sky. Therefore, the son is really better there.

When did you last see your son, what did you do?

Just recently, my son flew to Moscow, lived with me for a week. And I just happened to have some absolutely incredible amount of work that I could devote time to him only before going to bed, and basically my son only saw my back when I went to radio or television. But he also saw the result of my work, what I'm doing.

Can you say: what is the most pleasant thing about fatherhood, and what is the most difficult?

The most pleasant thing is when you see the return. When you watch your son in relationships with peers, with other people, you stand somewhere behind or around the corner and hear how this little man expresses his thoughts. And in these very thoughts, in his words, manners, you find yourself. That's probably the most enjoyable part. And the most difficult thing… I have a story, "My first fishing", it's just about dad and son. And there is such an idea that we are all selfish, we love ourselves. But when a child is born, you understand that a person has appeared on planet Earth who is more important than you in principle ... You know, at the time of Robbie's birth, I was there and, when I took him in my arms, I realized: if now, suddenly, God forbid, I will get into a situation where I will have to give my life for him, I will not think for a second! That is, at the moment of the birth of a new person, I became ready to die myself. And if we talk about the minuses, then this is the fear of loss. Because not everything depends on you. I would not call it negative, but this is the main pain.

PHOTO: KIRILL SAMURSKY; FROM THE PERSONAL ARCHIVE OF THE HERO

DJ Alex Dubas, who cut producer Grasmanis with a knife, will not sit down. In court it was found out, as the newspaper "HOUR" notes, that Grasmanis forgave everything.

At the trial in March of this year, when Dubasu's preventive measure was discussed, the lawyer presented a document signed by producer Grasmanis, stating that the hospital bills (approximately 300 lats) were paid by Dubas' wife. As a result, the radio host, after serving less than a month, was released.

At yesterday's meeting, Dubas confirmed that he fully recognizes his wink. And, as "HOUR" marks, process has managed without judicial investigation, check of materials, statements of witnesses, etc.

"At the debate, the prosecutor announced that "society is not so bloodthirsty" to demand a real conclusion - especially since Dubas is so clearly repentant. And he asked to give him four years probation. The disc jockey himself confirmed that he intends to continue paying for Grasmanis's treatment" - writes today "HOUR".

Surprise at "HOUR", was caused by that fact, that Ojara Grasmanis in general has decided to appeal a verdict of the first instance. So, as the newspaper writes, in the beginning of July it became known that, according to Grasmanis, the court issued a too lenient decision. "The verdict should correspond to weight of the committed crime, - he then explained to "Hour". - Recently, everyone heard a story about how a man who stabbed a homeless man was given 7 years in prison. And in my case - only a suspended sentence. The verdict passed in my case is some kind of mockery ... "

As a result, he filed an appeal demanding that the case be reconsidered and the previous, too lenient, sentence be reviewed.

Alex Dubas himself (by that time already back on the air) was shocked by the decision of the victim: “I really don’t know how to comment on this decision of Grasmanis. Previously, he stated that he had forgiven and had no claims to the court's decision. And here you are, this is happening. I don't see any explanation for this."

The trial in the Riga District Court was scheduled for Monday, September 13th. However, the trial did not take place. As it turned out before the meeting, the victim withdrew the appeal. Thus, there will be no changes to Dubas' sentence. And the popular presenter will no longer be in prison.

What are the reasons for the noble deed of Grasmanis? The suffered head of "Pasadena group" has answered this question to "Hour" with all frankness:

You know, there are several reasons. Firstly, our family is now preparing for another, more important process for us - a lawsuit with the Riga Maternity Hospital (“Hour” wrote about this case: the birth of Oyar's wife, Natalia Grasmane, was accepted with numerous violations. The child turned out to be disabled for life. Spouses require 2 million lats from the maternity hospital). I don't want to deal with two cases at the same time.

Secondly, there is, if you like, a moral-religious moment here: I don’t want more evil. After the appeal, my heart felt bad. After all, Alex also has children, and I would have brought evil to his family, insisting on severe punishment ... In general, I look at what happened differently: I survived, and thank God. Little by little I started playing sports, swimming. In addition, we are expecting an addition to our family soon.

Thirdly, Alex and I agreed that he would compensate me for the sanatorium, if necessary, plastic surgery ... He, too, now looks at everything in a completely different way.

Recall that on February 14 of this year, not quite sober representatives of show business met at the PuPu Lounge club - the head of the Pasadena Group Promotion company Oyar Grasmanis (1.6 ppm) and the DJ of the SWH+ radio station Alex Dubas (0.8 ppm). A conversation took place between artists, which suddenly turned into a conflict and almost immediately into a fight.

What exactly happened in the back room of the club, where Dubas invited Grasmanis to come out, is not exactly known. The parties prefer to keep silent about it. However, the result of the fight was that the producer was taken to intensive care in a serious condition: the DJ threw him on the table and struck him several times in the chest with a kitchen knife, and some of the wounds fell on the heart.

The producer survived. The DJ spent about a month in the isolation ward.

Hello Alex! I have been meaning to write to you for a long time. Three years. But, as it usually happens, sometimes it’s uncomfortable, sometimes there’s no mood, sometimes there’s no time. And now the moment has come when you reconsider a lot in your life and understand that you don’t need to put off the main things for later. In this case, it's about gratitude. She's so important, isn't she? We are so looking forward to it, sometimes we live and work for it. How often do we thank others? So I decided that even though you will live in peace even without my THANK YOU (fortunately, you are a well-known person and receive thanks often), now it is most important for me that I am writing this. I hope you read to the end.) A few years ago there was a difficult period in my life. The only person I could talk to about this topic (and it's so important to talk to someone who understands you!), was my friend, but it was no longer possible to abuse her time and patience. Books, trainings, films, sports, etc. did not bring satisfaction and did not relieve the feeling of loneliness. No, no, I have many acquaintances, I am sociable and have friends, loving parents, but ... in difficult times, we are still alone, although we feel their support. It interferes with normal life, work, sleep. And then one fine morning I decided to change the radio wave on the advice of a friend. And I still don't regret it. It's amazing how sometimes unexpectedly for us something suddenly changes. Your morning broadcasts were like medicine for a sick person. How many people, books and events you opened up for me. But the biggest discovery was that I found a companion for myself. The one with whom you could talk about everything! Paradox! You don't even know about me, but I communicate with you. With you, with the entire audience of the country. Thank you so much for being such a conversationalist. For your kind transmissions, for the ability to return to people the joy of childhood emotions, for the ability to dream and for many other things that I can’t even remember. And I was mentally fishing with you, and sitting by the fire, and remembering grandmothers)) Your "Breakfast for Champions" brought me back to life again and made it clear that there are many like-minded people around who understand my torment, and my dreams do not seem ridiculous . It's a pity that now I can't hear you in the morning. I go to work at the same time, but I always return in different ways. But I see you on the Culture channel. Such is the compensation) I have never been a fan of anyone to such an extent as to follow creativity, but it is interesting to follow your work. I was at your performance with Mikhail Kozyrev in Moscow. And with the charming Zhenya Lyubich. Very dramatic. And thank you again!) I read your book Aquastop Rules. Enjoyed! And that doesn't happen often these days. And again THANK YOU! I understand that you, as an author, value the opinion of readers. And I would like you to know that your work (and I am sure that when writing the book you spent more than one day in doubt) brings joy, makes you think and believe in the best. I really hope that you will not stop there) Well, something like this ... It turned out a bit dry, but I was very afraid to overdo it so as not to scare you))

Dear Vera, I am in Ireland. I look at the ruins of the castle, which is two thousand years old. It belonged to a big businessman Connel Kernah. What is this man famous for, you ask? Actually, by the fact that, while traveling around the Roman Empire - Ireland, as you know, was part of it - he got to Jerusalem, where Pontius Pilate was procurator. According to Irish guides, quite by accident, Connell witnessed the execution of Jesus Christ. He was not an evangelist and did not convert to Christianity after this event. It just so happened that Connel was there that day, and that's the only reason why he made history. I immediately remembered how I myself was in Hong Kong at the moment when he left the protectorate of Great Britain and returned to China. And in my hometown of Riga - when another, Soviet "empire" was disintegrating. That is, sometimes you still travel during some life-forming events. And these journeys make you an eyewitness and an observer. Such an interesting quality.

I know people, Alex, who live an everyday, quiet life next to the gods: they don’t sit down to breakfast without “feeding the deities” - without sprinkling the holy altar stones with flower water and oil, without going around the house with incense. In Vrindavan, where, according to legend, Krishna spent his childhood and is invisibly present everywhere, you can leave your house late at night and find yourself in a stream of people bypassing Govardhan - a sacred hill that no person has the right to climb: they walk twenty kilometers, barefoot, in silence, they repeat the prayers, sometimes stopping to drink a twenty-rupee masala chai, which is served to them in an uneven earthenware cup, sometimes handing out a few coins to old monks who sit by candlelight in wheeled carts and chant kirtans. If you saw a castle that belonged to a contemporary of Christ, then in Vrindavan, it seems, the Old Testament times are still - a separate floor can be built in the house for a one and a half meter statue of Hanuman, the monkey god, cow cakes are dried in the sun and towers and towers are erected from them - because this is the main fuel, and in winter it gets quite cold here.

There is also the Florentine syndrome - it is also Stendhal's syndrome, because Stendhal fainted from beauty

Insolent monkeys pull bright scarves off the pilgrims and fly away to walk along the roadsides in new clothes. At first it seems to you that you fell like a coin into some temporary hole, and then you become incredibly calm: you will not disappear here, even if you are left without a passport and phone: on the streets, travelers are given sweet rice, and in the temple they will always treat prasadam - fruits and sweets. You can sleep under a woolen scarf under the stars, like simple pilgrims, the main thing is to hide food - so as not to wake up nose to nose with a cow eating your cake right from your hands.

Paris surprised me again. Today I found myself in a place... You will be surprised. This is a mosque where you can kiss and smoke. This is really weird. The cathedral mosque near the Garden of Plants, which is about 90 years old. It was built in memory of the Moroccans, Tunisians, Algerians (citizens of the former colonies of the French Empire) who fought in the First World War. The mosque is legendary in its own way. During World War II, Jewish families hid here. They were given passports of the same Algeria or Tunisia. There is a cafe right on the premises. And you can have tea there. French students are sitting at the next table - the Sorbonne is nearby. Kissing, smoking cigarettes. Gitanes without a filter, as students smoked twenty and thirty years ago. I don't understand: how can that be? And here come the women with wet hair. And they don't look like Muslims at all. No. They are just Parisians. They go to the hammam, which is nearby. And then the price list hangs: a hammam, a soapy massage, and after that - a tajine or couscous and a few glasses of mint tea.

And all this costs 48 euros. Women's days - Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays. This is the place in the center of Paris. I was so relaxed there that I took out the Charlie Hebdo newspaper from my bag, the one with the cartoons. I was wondering what this newspaper is like, some of the cartoons from which are periodically reprinted. Nothing special. Parodies of Trump, Putin, something else. I was flipping through it, and then suddenly I remembered where I was. And got scared. Well, actually no one paid any attention to me at all. I don’t know about equality in France, but freedom and fraternity are still present there. Still, kissing people in the mosque is amazing.

Louis took my hand and said that he was a widower and the mayor of a wonderful city, and if I want to change my life, I know where to find him.

In the mosque - never, but in the Venetian cathedrals I happened to observe kissers many times: apparently, an avalanche of aesthetic delight so overwhelmed the unlucky tourists that they urgently needed to somehow capture it bodily. I like how Venice rationally manages its own heavy beauty: a small automaton in the church of San Pantalon with a ceiling painting by Fumiani, insane, 700 square meters. m area - in order to turn on the light under it for a euro and examine it in detail. Files of old architectural magazines and volumes of encyclopedias, from which the high staircase leading from the bookshop up to the canal and the bridge is composed. In the trattoria, where the gondoliers still dine every day, and once Iosif Brodsky liked to have a glass of grappa with his friends, an elderly waiter tells me that he remembers him distinctly: this is where he usually sat, this is how he hung his raincoat, this is how he loved treat friends. I have a series of postcards from Venice, and one of them reads like this:

I am not in poverty, - Stefano says, - I am not in poverty, -
I chew sea greens and heavenly peel:
there is also an eatery at Fondamenta Nani:
one and a half coins for a tuna sandwich.
There is such consolation: with a crumpled dry face
and a hole in your pocket

I do not complain, - he claims, - I even please myself -
I carry a flask of grappa everywhere with me:
whether in a plaid vest, whether in a jacket.
A quarter of a century ago, my friend, to spite the doctors,
did the same until the heart was taken
poor guy in San Michele.

It was opera, girl, how he drank, it was his ballet:
sorry, you'll never see it, -
only managed to throw snacks on the tray.
And then he went in - he was not there, and after he went in - everything was gone.
Was he a poet, I don't know, was he a poet?
The devil will understand him in Russian.

Vera, I've been in Normandy for two weeks now. The end of my journey is coming soon - on the Kruzenshtern I have to go from Le Havre to Polish Gdansk. Time has slowed down. It seems that in this part of France some kind of collective resistance to old age and time in general is organized. No wonder Proust and Flaubert worked here, who were in no hurry to go anywhere. I twist a copper cap in my hands - you know, those on a wooden handle, with which they extinguished candles? In Deauville, this is by no means an antique bought at a flea market. I live with friends. And they also extinguish candles with caps, and with a special paper cutter (another curious thing) they open bills from a French company that supplies electricity, or simply invitations somewhere. And once a ringed dove flew to them. There was a note. Phone number. They called. The owner of this pigeon said: “Yes, he must have lost his way. Can you give him water to drink, then feed him, let him go further? Good.

Brodsky had an incredible talent for describing places. But one of his most unfair essays is about Istanbul

For some reason, I remembered here how, as a child, I read a story about a boy who played war with friends, they left him as a sentry and forgot about him. His uncle met him and said: "You don't have to stand here." - "No, I was appointed, I have to fulfill my duty." And then he found a senior officer who freed him from his word. In Deauville, I have the feeling that I, too, have been forgotten. But I would like to not be removed from this clock, but left, forever forgetting that I was standing there. Or, more precisely, he sat on the banks of the English Channel and looked into the distance. And sometimes I would open letters from you with a knife ...

Personal meeting

Alex Dubas: Vera, I'm very glad to see you! I confess I was waiting. I want to note that shooting at the Rizhsky railway station is already a journey. Here they filmed "Seventeen Moments of Spring", "Station for Two". Here, on this platform in the film “We are from Jazz”, remember, a train with a jazz star arrived - Larisa Dolina, disguised as a black woman?

Vera Polozkova: Tell me, please, my dear, how many thousand times have you left this station in your native direction? Or do you fly mostly?

Alex Dubas A: I used to go. Often. And I saw off my beloved here, who has now become my wife. She is also from Riga. One day we arrived earlier, half an hour before the train left, we hid and kissed. We thought that no one could see us, but it turned out that there were cameras everywhere - after all, the station. A policeman came up to us, introduced himself and said: “Well, of course, we can wait until you start having sex. But, actually, you don't have to do that here." While we were taking pictures here, I remembered a lot. But I want to ask you a question: tell me, Vera, are you preparing for the trip? In a sense, you are interested in who went here before you, what did you note, how did you tell about it?

Going to India is like going to Mars without leaving the planet

Vera Polozkova: Necessarily! I can’t get into a place if I don’t know at least several versions of why it is beautiful, what it is sanctified, who this place gave birth to talented, because geography without a myth does not immediately permeate. One of my favorite books is The Genius of the Place by Peter Vail. I always re-read it carefully, going on a new or well-forgotten old journey.

Alex Dubas: You know, one day I suddenly found myself in Lisbon - a city on the outskirts of Europe. I think: “Which of ours wrote about him?” It turns out Brodsky. He and Dovlatov were at some conference, drinking. And Brodsky wrote the poem "Postcard from Lisbon", which begins like this: "Monuments to events that never took place." What is it about? In Portugal there is a monument - a dedication to the fact that she did not take part in the war, that is, she managed to avoid this, while maintaining neutrality. I am standing near this monument, reading a comment on my smartphone - how exactly he formulated it.

Vera Polozkova: Brodsky, of course, had an incredible talent for describing places. But one of his most unfair essays is about Istanbul. When I read, everything in me boiled with indignation.

Alex Dubas: Why?

Vera Polozkova: I understand that Brodsky was not obliged to love and penetrate the beauty of Istanbul, which I see in it, but I so wanted to stand up for this city.

Alex Dubas: But he was completely rehabilitated by Orhan Pamuk. By the way, I was impressed by the "City of Memories" and looked into the bazaar and bought a cologne there for six lire...

Vera Polozkova: Shipr?

Alex Dubas: Like a chypre, yes. On the label - men with frizzy hairstyles. I have it at my house now, and I really use it. Obviously, this cologne has been sold there since the 20s, and the heroes of Pamuk also bought it. Yes, and Pamuk himself, probably. What do you bring back from your travels?

Vera Polozkova: I have fantastic bamboo towels from Istanbul, which are produced only there and can be bought in the big bath shop in the bazaar. My homemade cosmetics are all Ayurvedic - from my beloved India. A variety of oils, creams. Indians also have wonderful mixtures for colds - you dilute them in boiling water, inhale the smell (you can’t drink it) and, like in a cartoon about an angry king, you immediately turn purple, they are so nuclear. But in a day - you are absolutely healthy. I also like to bring tea. By the way, in Tbilisi on Galaktioni Street there is an absolutely wonderful tea shop Shota Bitadze. He has his own plantations - and tea grows next to blueberry bushes. Incredibly delicious. And the coolest jam is made by Elena Magnenan in Plyos. Orange with nuts, I take it out of there in cans.

Alex Dubas: Exactly, I know this woman, she has a wonderful restaurant of Russian cuisine. In this sense, there is a feeling that the world is small. Although it seems to be big - there are seven billion of us, it seems. But back to India: there is such a well-known travel description of Nabokov: “I read about India, which I have never been to, about bayadères and tiger hunters, about snakes, and still I don’t know anything about it. But Kipling's story is about how he put his boots on the threshold in the evening, and in the morning they were all in green mold ... "

Vera Polozkova: "...tells me a lot more about India." This is true. I came to Rishikesh, where I lived in the ashram for a month and did yoga for six hours a day - I even have a certificate that I can teach. So, after 10 days, to my horror, I discovered that my very beautiful designer slippers were covered with a thick layer of mold.

Alex Dubas: When you write a poem, do you understand that it will be a kind of guidebook?

Vera Polozkova: Of course. Moreover, my book with the first Indian cycle was published in 2008, and I still receive letters where people tell how they followed me and my best friend along the route that we came up with - because I set myself the condition to write on poem in every city.

In Odessa, I was going to give birth to a child and stay, but a number of sad circumstances prevented me

Alex Dubas: Do you explain in the texts some terms that you heard there?

Vera Polozkova: I never take notes. What is lassi, churidars, kurta is now googled in two seconds. Besides, when you make a little effort to get into a poem, you then love it more and remember it longer.

Alex Dubas: Frankly speaking, I have always been frightened by articles that begin with a description of what is seen on the approach to the place where the adventure begins: “And now the Nice embankment appeared from the porthole window ...” I understand that a person is already lying from the very beginning, because on the approach everyone thinks about landing well.

Vera Polozkova: Absolutely. But in this sense, India is incredibly honest with you - you sit in red smoke. And in the red smoke in Delhi you rush to visit someone or to a hotel, and for the first hour it seems to you that you are driving past houses abandoned forever - with holes half the wall, missing windows and roofs and rags instead of partitions. And only an hour later you come to the conclusion that no, they are residential. You find yourself in Wonderland, and from that moment everything is new for you. Even tea here is a completely different thing than what you imagine. They pour you a brown spicy liquid - masala tea, which will later become your favorite, of course. But you don't know about it yet. Going to India is, in general, the same as flying to Mars without leaving the planet. And it is precisely for this that I love her and for nine years I have been returning there, making forays into new areas. My child went to India, every winter we live there. Namaste is a completely natural gesture of gratitude for him.

Alex Dubas: Listening to you, I thought, what habit have I learned from traveling? Here you are chai masala, he is namaste. And I - you know what? I learned to drink and fell in love with draft coffee. And now in hotels, I always ask not for a double espresso and not some other craft white. "Is there a filtered one?" - "Yes". - "Wonderful! Pour it, please."

Vera Polozkova: I like hotels in general, I must say. The feeling that you owe nothing to this space gives such freedom to thoughts...

Alex Dubas: And if the hotel is good and with a view, then this is generally the best place for sex.

Vera Polozkova: Okay for sex - for creativity!

Alex Dubas: On the other hand, you don't want to go out into the city from such a hotel. But you are a traveler, you need to see everything. Do you know what urban syndromes are? I'm not even talking about Stockholm. And about Jerusalem or Paris, which happen to you only in these cities.

Vera Polozkova A: I don't know anything about them.

Alex Dubas: Jerusalem - when something incredible happens, even unbelieving people, for example, stigmata appear on their hands. This is even reflected in The Simpsons. Do you remember, suddenly something descended on Homer and he began to consider himself the Messiah? The second is the Paris syndrome, and it happens more often in the Japanese, oddly enough. This is when people faint, they feel bad because Paris is not what they imagined it to be. Apparently, there was some kind of Japanese film about Paris. And there is a third one - Florentine - also known as Stendhal's syndrome, because Stendhal fainted from beauty.

Vera Polozkova: I have a poem about the stone cinema in Florence - the picture is so rich that you sometimes want to go to some simple street or square where the symbolic row will not be with you in such an intense dialogue. Because you have a visual overdose during a walk about three hours later. Then you come to Venice, about which I already wrote to you a little in my diaries, and visual intoxication happens to you right away. The first few times I had the feeling that this is such an incredibly pompous mausoleum - a monument to beautiful, amazing times that have long since sunk into oblivion. But this spring, I lived in Venice for two whole weeks and suddenly discovered a completely different city in which people live. Children go to art circles. There are small libraries floating. Venice is saved by the fact that it is car-free. Why is crime so low there? “If you stole it, then you can’t run away quickly. This is the first thing that struck me. And the second - since it is all of bridges and canals, the main tourist flow is in the city center. But if you turn into any street, then even at rush hour you will find yourself in silence and emptiness.

Alex Dubas: If not Moscow, where would you live? What cities are yours? Where would you move?

Vera Polozkova: To Odessa. I was going to have a baby there and stay, but a number of sad circumstances prevented me. It did not yet seem that this war would last for a long time. But I don't give up my dream of living there for a year or two someday. It seems to me that if you can learn to feel that you are not superfluous in this world and have every right to joy and all these pleasures that surround you, then, of course, in Odessa. If you are in despair or even just in some blues, you will not be left alone there until you come to your senses. To be unhappy in Odessa is something so unnatural!

Alex Dubas: Tell me, do you sometimes allow yourself to travel alone?

Vera Polozkova: Necessarily. For me, this is the main way to replenish the depleted resource. I love traveling by train. Not very far. Peter, for example.

Alex Dubas: I, too, every third or fourth trip happens alone, and I understand that I go for it consciously. I tried to answer myself - why does it fill? I analyzed and realized that at this moment I am completely open to the perception of the world. You don't have to be the strongest for your child...

Vera Polozkova: ... Well, or invent something for the woman you love. We immediately become less maneuverable as soon as someone appears nearby for whom we are responsible. And when you travel alone, fate seems to receive a signal. And if suddenly she had miracles in store for you, just at that moment they happen - you suddenly find yourself in a series of amazing events.

Alex Dubas: Tell me, Vera, is there a country that you will no longer give a chance to?

Vera Polozkova: I think that without some incredible reason I will not go to Egypt. In some places it is very beautiful, but I don't like hotel rest, I don't like all-inclusive. I don’t understand why go if you don’t see the locals, if you don’t know anything about their way of life. In India, for example, I live in a house for 350 rupees a day, in which there is no hot water, and the gaps between the roof and walls are such that everyone who wants to crawl in. Geckos come at dawn, and thanks to them you understand - six in the morning, you can get up. You hear everyone who sings and croaks there. And it's all happening for you. For me, this is a mega-luxury vacation.

Alex Dubas: Wait, you don't even have a mosquito net in there? What if not a cute little gecko crawls, but a snake, for example?

Vera Polozkova: The snake is not stupid and knows that where people are dangerous. But in the places where we live, you rarely meet someone like that. The crocodile will not come, but a cow may come in to chew on a towel.

Alex Dubas: Did you get into any funny situations from ignorance of the local subculture?

Vera Polozkova: I will never forget the day I met Gurudev, the teacher of the Vaishnavas in Russia, who are also known as Hare Krishnas (this is their outdated name). I read a lot of his books, articles, he, by the way, is Russian - an incredible clever man and a great connoisseur of poetry. And the first thing I did when I saw him was I hugged him, of course. At that moment, everyone around them with a gnash, just like in The Matrix, their face falls to the floor. I jump back - he's a monk, and women can't touch him. This is considered offensive. The only person who did not flinch a single facial muscle was himself, letting me know that nothing terrible had happened. And everyone else stood in such icy horror, as if I had made an attempt on his life.

In Colombo there is a three-star hotel that smelled of something, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov lived there. I always stop there

Alex Dubas: And I had a story, but in Thailand, I once talked about it in my program on Silver Rain. When I wanted to leave a tip to celebrate in a bar. And they have checks, as we used to, they prick on such special pins. I took out a 1000 baht bill. By the way, do you know that it depicts King Rama IX of Thailand, who died last year? He is standing with a camera, and when you zoom in, you can see that this is Nikon, his favorite model. And the king in Thailand is revered as a deity.

Vera Polozkova: And you put on this pin as a king?

Alex Dubas A: I didn't think about it at first. But then the music stopped, all the dancing people froze.

Vera Polozkova: Well, it's almost the same - you encroached on the sacred!

Alex Dubas: The situation was saved by a female bartender. She took off the bill, sealed it and said: "It's okay." The music started again and everyone danced.

Vera Polozkova: But of course there has to be some basic respect for where you are. When in an ancient Shaivite city, where pilgrims come from all over the country, you suddenly see an irresponsible Russian girl in shorts above her panties, it is amazing. And you, of course, gently catch her by the hand and say that it’s just not possible.

Alex Dubas: Listen, you don't have that... For example, sometimes I deliberately stay in hotels where famous people lived. For example, Singapore, The Ruffles Hotel, Somerset Maugham has been there. Or in Colombo there is a three-star hotel Grand Oriental, smelling of something, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov lived there.

Vera Polozkova: I remember the Havana "Bodeguita" (bar La Bodeguita del Medio), where Hemingway liked to drink. There, I also hit a local caipirinha, then started dancing with the mayor of a Mexican town named Luis. It was about eight years ago, by the way, I danced well then. And this Louis at some point very touchingly took my hand and said that he is a widower and the mayor of a wonderful city in which there are 120 thousand people, and if suddenly I want to change my life forever, I know where to find him.

Alex Dubas: Well, this offer has no statute of limitations, right?

Vera Polozkova: (Laughs.) But you know what else struck me - the guys-musicians in this bar beat out rhythms on a donkey's jaw, using it as a percussion instrument.

Alex Dubas: Yes, there is something in it. And I'm sure that under Hemingway they also played with a donkey's jaw, and that Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, looking out the window from the room of the Grand Oriental Hotel overlooking the port, was inspired by the same view. Well, maybe the cranes were not iron, but wooden. And so, nothing has changed.

“Tolerable lightness of being”

Traveling with Alex is like having a very tasty dinner, after which you come out a little hungry. Alex will feed you in a tiny restaurant with a multiple Michelin star who, as a warrior of light, learned his craft at the Hong Kong fish market. Alex will show you the play "Brodsky / Baryshnikov", take you backstage, and there, over a glass of champagne, you will talk about the immortality of friendship. Alex will introduce you to his friend, who makes the best fish sandwiches on the streets of Istanbul, and then he will take you to the roof and there, looking at the ships cruising the Bosphorus, you will talk about how big “little people” can be.

Who is Alex Dubas?

Alex Dubas was born on May 29, 1971. Alex is a Latvian citizen living in Moscow. He works as a host of the radio station "Silver Rain", on the TV channel "Culture" and "My Planet".

Biography

Professional activity

He currently works at the Silver Rain radio station, where, together with Marie Armas, he hosts a program about the search for happiness, under the telling name "Something Good". Recently, the recording of the program has also been broadcast on his native radio station in Riga - SWH+. On the Kultura TV channel, Alex watches the most remarkable events in the world of art, and with the My Planet channel he travels around the world, telling viewers about the most interesting corners of the Earth.

The Internet audience knows Alex through his incredibly successful personal blog on Facebook. Here he shares with the community the secrets of a happy life, stories and thoughts about beauty. Alex also performs with literary evenings, which are held in the format of "kvartirnik" and are accompanied by soundtracks - live music. Alex also writes for glossy magazines - he writes his own column in Grazia magazine and is regularly published in many other publications.

Alex Dubas recorded a song together with the singer Yolka - "Advice to Graduates".

Alex Dubas and Yolka

Lines from the song: "Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; As long as you don't like life, it passes. But believe me, in 20 years you will look at your photos and remember what you can't understand now: how many opportunities were before you, and how fabulous you really are." looked. You don't weigh as much as you think."

Radio and TV

Theater and cinema

Performance MKAD. Together with Mikhail Kozyrev, Alex Dubas created the play “MKAD”, the name of which is composed of the first letters of their names. In the production, Mikhail and Alex read excerpts from their books and tell the most exciting stories from life, allowing the audience to “surf” on the waves of emotions – from mild sadness to sincere joy.

Books by Alex Dubas

Happy moments

In 2016, Alex Dubas published Moments of Happiness, a collection of more than 900 true stories of people from all over the country. They talked about the happiest moments of their lives. Of these, at least two million watched the Kultura TV channel and listened to the Silver Rain radio, where Alex Dubas constantly talked about happiness and collected it. A few tens of thousands more read about it on Facebook.

Prizes and awards

Personal life of Alex Dubas