Novikov official. Alexander Novikov - biography, photo, personal life of the singer: "Prison gave me faith in myself"

Alexander Vasilyevich Novikov - Soviet and Russian performer of his own songs in the style of "Russian chanson"; a musician who three times refused to be awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia.

Alexander was born in the military town of Burevestnik, which is located on the island of Iturup, part of the Kuril archipelago. The Novikov family ended up there thanks to the service of their father, a military pilot. The mother of the future singer was engaged in housekeeping. A few years later, the Novikovs moved to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where Sasha went to school. But the young man graduated from the senior classes already in the capital of the Urals - Yekaterinburg.

Alexander, as a teenager, began to have a negative attitude towards the Soviet political system. Sasha even refused to join the Komsomol, because of which he got problems with both teachers and law enforcement agencies. This fact was the reason why Novikov never received a higher education. The young man entered institutes three times - first at the Ural Polytechnic, then at the Sverdlovsk Mining, then at the forestry. But every student was expelled.

However, the young man was not too upset, because by that time he decided to plunge headlong into rock music, and then into chanson. The musical career of Alexander Novikov was already gaining momentum when, unexpectedly, the artist was arrested.

The primary charge was the anti-Soviet lyrics of his songs. But since even with a strong desire to wishful thinking was impossible, the investigation replaced the accusation. Novikov was convicted of alleged speculation and falsification of musical equipment.


Of the 10 years that were given, the singer spent six in prison. Moreover, despite the fact that Alexander was offered more or less comfortable activities in the zone, for example, the position of a librarian, Novikov refused and, along with others, worked at a construction site and logging.

The artist with dignity overcame the difficult period of his own biography, for which he earned the respect of other prisoners. Only in 1990, Alexander was released ahead of schedule, since the Supreme Court recognized the sentence as false, and the arrest had no basis.

Songs

In the early 80s, Alexander Novikov became interested in music and decided to organize his own team, which he called "Rock Polygon". For the group, the musician wrote songs, performed and played the guitar. The style of the singer's first compositions was very different from what fans were used to later. The guys played rock and roll, in which there was even a small share of punk rock.

In 1981, the first magnetic albums were created at their own recording studio Novik Records. And in 1984, Alexander dramatically changed the genre and recorded a collection of soulful songs “Take Me, Cabbie”, which included the musical compositions “Where the Paths Lead”, “Ancient City”, “Rubles-kopecks”, “Telephone Conversation”. Then there was a long pause in the career associated with being in prison camps.

Returning, Novikov re-releases the previous album. The songs "Remember, girl! .." and "Eastern Street" become popular. Later, the compositions “Urban Romance”, “Chansonette”, “Break Up with Her” were recognized as hits. Alexander writes his own songs himself. On hits, the artist creates clips that are popular with viewers.

But the singer has a number of albums based on poems by other authors. In 1997, the disc "" was released, where the poems of the great Russian poet became the texts of the hits. Later, the chansonnier repeated this experience. The disc "I remember, my love" was released again on Yesenin's poems and "Pineapples in champagne", in which various poets of the Silver Age turned out to be the authors of the texts. In total, the artist has more than 20 studio works on his account.

Since the mid-90s, the singer has regularly created solo programs and gives concerts. The artist records music from performances in the form of live albums. In total, fifteen such discs were created. During his musical career, Alexander Novikov was nominated twelve times for the Chanson of the Year award, of which he received the award nine times.

Social activity

In 2010, Alexander Novikov was appointed artistic director of the Variety Theater in Yekaterinburg, which became his native city. First of all, the musician looked through the repertoire and banned the production of "Blue Puppy", which was loved by the Ural theatergoers. The artist saw in the performance a hint of the theme of pedophilia, the low-grade and bad taste of the artistic presentation of the material.


In 2011, Novikov, along with an opposition politician, urged the residents of Yekaterinburg not to ignore the elections and to cast their votes in good conscience. There was even a video parody of the standard campaign ad, GOLO... SHIT! And in the summer of 2016, it became known that Alexander Vasilyevich was going to run for deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region.

It is also worth noting that Novikov acted as a director of several documentaries - “I just got out of the cage”, “Gop-stop show” and “Remember, girl?”. The most popular was the biographical tape "Oh, this Farian!" about the founder of the group "Boney M" Frank Farian. True, this picture was never shown on Russian television, although it was a success abroad.

Personal life

Alexander Novikov met his only wife, Maria, even before the tragic page of fate. Both were students of the Geological Institute and were doing geodetic practice. When the singer went to prison, the woman did not turn away from her husband. Maria, together with Alexander, went through the difficulties of life and now the couple have been happy for 41 years. In his own interview, Novikov said that he was grateful to his wife and would not change anything in his personal life.

In this marriage, two children were born - son Igor, who is professionally engaged in photography, and daughter Natalia, a designer and art historian. Thanks to the children, the singer has already become a grandfather.


Alexander Novikov is a deeply religious person. But the singer was not limited to prayers and going to church. Together with a bell-maker from Uralsk, in 1993, the chansonnier cast seven large bells with his own hands and decorated various princes from the Romanov family with bas-reliefs. The belfry was selflessly transferred to the monastery, where it still serves people.

On behalf of the artist, the official website operates, on the pages of which photos and videos with the participation of Alexander Novikov are posted.

Alexander Novikov now

In 2016, the artist delighted fans with new works - the Blatnoy album and the Hooligan Songs collection, which included popular hits of the past and new musical compositions.

In 2015, Alexander Novikov was charged under the article “large-scale fraud committed by a group of persons by prior agreement” in connection with the loss of 50 million rubles during the construction of the Queens Bay housing and construction cooperative. Mikhail Shilimanov, former Deputy Minister of Economy of the Sverdlovsk Region, was also involved in the case.


The case went on for two years. In August 2017, the court of Yekaterinburg issued a final verdict on the musician's involvement in the crime. Alexander Novikov remained in disagreement with the accusation, providing evidence of his own innocence, one of which was the completion of construction and the handing over of real estate to the shareholders of the housing and communal complex.

After the trial, the program “Let them talk” was broadcast on Channel One, where the public spoke about the scandal. In turn, in October, the singer attacked the creators of the TV show and the TV presenter, accusing them of slandering and slandering the artist's reputation. Alexander announced this from the page of his own account in "

October 31, 1953 in the village of Burevestnik near the island of Iturupe, the creative and famous Alexander Novikov was born. Known as an author-musician of songs in the genre of Russian chanson. His father is a military pilot, his mother is a housewife.

From an early age, parents comprehensively developed the guy. As a child, I went to boxing, then to sambo. Mom tried to instill a love for the theater. The first production where they visited was "Unknown with a Tail". The family moved to Kyrgyzstan in the city of Bishkek, the boy was 6 years old. Went to first grade in 1960. In 1969 moved to Sverdlovsk, where he completed his education, and in 1970 received his diploma. To this day he works and lives in Sverdlovsk. After he graduated from school, he entered three universities - the Ural Polytechnic, Sverdlovsk Mining, Ural Forestry, each of which he was expelled for his own reasons.

Personal life

In the last university I met a girl Masha. Soon, in 1975, she became his wife and in the same year gave birth to his son Igor. Seven years later, she also gave birth to a daughter, who was named Natasha. Novikov challenged rules and principles. The guy was with character, often went against the opinion of people. The Soviet regime criticized. The Komsomol was not fundamentally, he terribly did not tolerate them. The authorities were interested in such a person, the higher circles were vigilantly watching him.

Hobbies

Since the 1970s, he has been very fond of cars, for this reason he got a job as an auto mechanic. His job was to restore cars after a car accident. Novikov had a "penny" car, which he purchased. Some driver crashed on it, and Alexander managed to restore it, thus he appropriated it for himself. In the late 70s, he became interested in rock music. Sasha got a job as a musician and singer in restaurants in Sverdlovsk. He worked in such establishments "Cosmos", "Malachite", "Ural dumplings".

The beginning of creativity

For 4 years of work, I collected a lot of money. He opened his own master studio "Novik-records". There he began to record his rock songs.

He created his own group "Rock-polygon" in 1980. He called his first album "Rock Polygon". The songs were performed in the styles of rock and roll, reggae, new wave with elements of punk rock and psychedelic rock. The government did not support the activity of the musicians, so the group was not entirely legal. The musical equipment was made by Novikov himself. Musicians still use some of the equipment.

In 1984, Alexander Novikov liked the chanson, he wanted to create his own "plow" songs. In 1984 he released an album with 18 songs. The following people worked on the creation of the album: Abramov, Khomenko, Chekunov, Kuznetsov, Elizarov. So the hits “Take me, cabman”, “I came from the Jewish quarter” and “Remember, girl?” appeared.

We worked on the album at night in the House of Culture of the Sverdlovsk Uralmash plant. They avoided the authorities, they were afraid that they would not have time to finish what they started, but they were not afraid of prisons. Some elderly gentleman, a specialist in this business, took up the promotion of this album. True, he immediately told Novikov: “I can roll it out all over the country in two months, but you, young man, will be imprisoned.” The moral character of the guy did not stop, and already in May, on the 3rd of 1984, the album “Take Me, Cabbie” was released. The album became very popular, it broke all records in circulation, it was listened to in all corners of the country and throughout the Soviet Union. The furore was amazing. The musician was followed, his phone was tapped, the sector of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was outraged by such behavior.

Arrest and freedom

On October 5, 1984, the musician was seized right on the street and placed in an isolation cell in Sverdlovsk. In the criminal case there was every song of his and a review of it. The authorities believed that Alexander Novikov should end up either in a psychiatric hospital or in prison. The musician was also accused of creating musical equipment. He was given 10 years of strict regime.

For all the years of imprisonment, he was offered light work, but Alexander refused, he, like everyone else, worked at a logging site, a construction site. Novikov was a man with a modest demeanor who was not afraid of hard work, for which he was respected by all the prisoners. Being in a cell alone for 30 days, he wrote his another song "On East Street". Was released in 1990 by the Russian Armed Forces, annulled the sentence. In the 1990s he became the artistic director of the Song Theatre. The musician was put on the list of undesirable persons for his unpleasant remarks.

creative upsurge

Closer to the mid-90s, Alexander Novikov began to speak on television and radio. He toured, gave concerts and recorded new albums.

In 1993 he was the producer of the young singer Natalia Shturm. He made a film in the documentary genre about the group "Boney M." and its creator Frank Farian "Oh, this Farian!" in 1994. Filming took place in Luxembourg and Germany, the film includes Farian's unique interviews and materials from his personal archive. The film was not shown in Russia. Alexander Novikov also starred in such films as "Gop-stop show", "Remember, girl?", "I just got out of the cage." Novikov received the Ovation Award in the Urban Romance nomination in 1995. He created an album called "Sergey Yesenin", wrote songs to the poet's poems, the musicians appreciated his album and considered it the best. Alexander wrote over 300 songs and poems.

The first clip that became unique is "Chansonette". In this clip, all the characters were made by hand without the help of computer graphics. Alexander Novikov was the first to create the urban romance genre.

Life today

Today Sasha lives with his wife, is proud of his children and grandchildren. Likes fishing, hunting. He became an authority in criminal circles, but he sees nothing wrong with that. Sasha is a believer, he helps in the construction of the temple. He cast bells for the Church-on-the-Blood and for the monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers at Ganina Yama. The bells are unique. He became an outstanding musician of the 20th century. The best work considers "Remember, girl?". Takes part in the Kremlin in the National Award "Chanson of the Year". He refers his songs to male lyrics. Tours frequently. Alexander Novikov is a musician, composer, singer, author and public figure. President of the Ural Foundation "400 Years of the House of the Romanovs". Directs the Variety Theater in Yekaterinburg.

When he was appointed artistic director, the first thing he did was to give a decree to ban the play "The Blue Puppy", in which he saw signs of pedophilia propaganda.


Name: Alexander Novikov

Age: 62 years old

Place of Birth: O. Iturup, Sakhalin Region

Height: 193 cm

Weight: 84 kg

Activity: singer

Family status: married

Alexander Novikov - biography

For his first album "Take me, cabman", released in 1984, singer Alexander Novikov received 10 years in the camps. Prizes and applause he got much later.

He was tied up right on the street in broad daylight, like a hardened recidivist. Alexander knew: they put pressure on the psyche. He did not sign the refusal of his songs, which he was offered in the pre-trial detention center, the threats did not break him. Later, the arrested person was shown a document entitled "Expertise of A. Novikov's songs." Well-known cultural figures condemned his work as anti-Soviet and alien to communist ideology. The resume read: "The author needs psychiatric and prison isolation" ...

Alexander Novikov - childhood and youth

Sasha Novikov was born on October 31, 1953 on the godforsaken island of Iturup, on the border with Japan. It was there that the biography of the future singer began. His father, a military pilot, was sent to serve there. Then the family wandered around the garrisons on Sakhalin, in Kyrgyzstan, in Altai. In the end, they settled in Sverdlovsk. Alexander fell in love with this city with all his heart, he still lives there and does not want to move to the capital.


Despite the fact that Sasha studied well, his behavior was always “unsuccessful”. Fights were the favorite entertainment of the Sverdlovsk boys: they sorted things out with their fists with each other, went to "deal" with neighboring areas. Sasha was always in the forefront, he was feared for his unpredictable temper and desperate courage. More than once, his favorite guitar suffered in brawls. Novikov's signature technique was the "Spanish collar" - the guitar was simply put on the opponent's head. After the breakdown of the next instrument, the whole yard chipped in for a new one: everyone loved songs with a guitar.

Sasha's youth was overshadowed by tragedy: his younger sister, an athlete and everyone's favorite, died at the age of 17 in a plane crash along with the entire youth basketball team. The mother never recovered from the blow, and Sasha could not recover for a long time. A rebellion was ripening in his soul against the cruelty and injustice of this world. How can you talk about goodness and happiness if innocent children are dying?..

Alexander Novikov - biography of personal life: ideal wife

Love does not bypass even convinced rebels. Alexander fell in love with his future wife Maria at first sight. “There is no other way,” he says. Novikov then studied at the Sverdlovsk Mining Institute. He walked up the stairs, looked up, saw her, and realized that he was gone. He was always a good guy, but then he suddenly became timid, he did not dare to approach. And the girl, not paying attention to him, passed by. Later he was looking for her, but the beauty disappeared into the water. Alexander was worried: what if she doesn’t study here at all, did she come in by chance? How to find it then?

They met at geodetic practice - he immediately recognized the beautiful stranger, although she was in a scarf that covered half her face. Here Alexander did not miss his chance.


The couple have been together for almost 40 years, but Alexander Vasilievich Novikov still considers his wife an ideal. “There are no such women these days,” he says. “It is necessary to paint icons from it.” He himself is far from perfect, there are a lot of rumors about his victories on the love front. But he, like a real man, never comments on them: the personal life of the public does not concern.

Alexander Novikov - the beginning of a career

Novikov failed to complete his higher education. He was expelled from three universities - for bold statements and a rebellious character. The last time was after a fight with the Komsomol organizer and the head of the group, who scribbled denunciations on everyone. Alexander decided: enough of this study, it's time to work and got a job in the garage as a car mechanic. Later he was a laborer at a construction site, a driver, he even sold honey. In the evenings, he worked part-time in a restaurant, sang trendy hits, and his soul asked for completely different music.

If you want it, then you have to do it. Alexander gathered like-minded people and founded a rock band with the brutal name "Rock Polygon". Recorded an album, began to perform at closed parties.

Rock was banned in the country, so the police hunted the group, they turned off the electricity during concerts, but the guys did not give up ...

It was impossible to get decent equipment, Alexander began to assemble amplifiers, speakers, microphones himself. Musician friends were happy to buy them, and some of those "veterans" are still in working condition.

A couple of years later, the "Rock Polygon" already had a lot of fans. And they did not expect that Novikov would abruptly change direction and begin to sing chanson. In 1984, Alexander released the album "Take me, cabman." It was recorded underground, at night, distributed, of course, illegally, but at the same time at an incredible pace. After only two months, the whole country sang Novikov's songs, often without knowing the author and considering them folk.

Alexander Novikov - six years in the zone

For the authorities, Novikov has long been a bone in the throat; he was taken under special control back in his student days. And after the release of the objectionable album, Alexander began to be shadowed. The phone was openly tapped, the "tail" walked on the heels, his friends and acquaintances were constantly called to the authorities - these were methods of psychological pressure. The album, which was sold in the markets from under the floor, was confiscated, the cassettes were broken and thrown away. Alexander had no doubt that he would be arrested...

To prevent the case of the disgraced singer from becoming political, the charge was changed. Investigators remembered amplifiers and speakers and accused Novikov of illegally selling equipment. During interrogations, they did not hide the true reason for the arrest, and Alexander received a maximum of ten years in the camps.

He served time on an equal footing with everyone else, no concessions and indulgences. Rather, on the contrary: he was imprisoned on the personal instructions of Andropov, and the prison authorities did their best to complicate the already difficult prison life. Novikov felled the forest, sawed huge logs in the cold, floated them down an icy river, built barracks.


The convicts did not perceive him as a celebrity, and he had to prove his worth by no means in words. Once, with his bare hands, he grabbed a knife from the attacker and, defending his life, stabbed the enemy with it. Fortunately, the wound was not fatal. Zek survived, and Alexander gained authority.

Novikov served six years - he was released under an amnesty in a new country, where now it was possible to sing songs from the stage for which he was imprisoned.

Alexander Novikov - in word and deed

“Prison gave me invaluable experience, strength and self-confidence,” Alexander Vasilyevich is sure. He has no fears left, he knows: you can’t get away from fate, and difficult trials are quite tough for him, especially when there is a reliable rear behind him. His wife never reproached him for what happened, and she, with two children in her arms, had a very difficult time. All their property, down to irons and bed linen, was confiscated. Maria understands that her husband simply cannot go with the flow, he will always fight for what he considers right and fair.

Novikov even today says what he thinks, stands up for the weak, does not go into his pocket for a word, and if a word does not help, he can even apply his fist. When asked: “Is it really impossible to agree?”, He answers: “There are people who do not understand words, and there are situations when strength is needed.”

On the stage, he always keeps a little aloof from the main currents of chanson, and even more so from show business. Doing what the soul lies to, the artist has created his own unique style, which he calls "male lyrics". “I write about love, about people, about the eternal ... - says the 62-year-old singer. - Maybe I stand somewhat apart with my songs. But eagles don't fly in flocks, crows fly in flocks."

Alexander Novikov - discography

1984 - Take me, cab driver
1993 - Necklace of Magadan
1995 - Urban Romance
1997 - Notes of a criminal bard
2000 - Beautiful-eyed
2002 - Cranes over the camp
2005 - Show-offs of Cupid
2010 - Pineapples in champagne
2012 - Break up with her
2013 - Yo-album

His discography currently includes 17 albums. … Read all

Alexander Vasilievich Novikov (October 31, 1953) - poet and composer, performer of songs in the genre of urban romance.

During his creative activity, A. Novikov created more than two hundred songs, several dozen of which are already classics of the genre today (“Remember, girl? ...”, “Coachman”, “Chansonette”, “Street Beauty”, “Ancient City”, etc. )

His discography currently includes 17 albums. Novikov is a laureate of the national award "Ovation" in the nomination "Urban Romance".

Born on October 31, 1953 on Iturup Island (Kuril Islands), in the village of Burevestnik. The poet's father is a military pilot, his mother is a housewife. In 1969 Novikov moved to Sverdlovsk.

In 1985, according to the verdict of the Sverdlovsk court, Novikov received 10 years in strict regime camps for his album “Take me, cabman” (officially - “for the manufacture and sale of electrical musical equipment”).

In 1990, by the Decree of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, he was released, and later the Supreme Court of Russia overturned the sentence "for lack of corpus delicti". Recognizing thereby that the 6 years spent by the poet in prison were the result of a fabricated case.

Alexander Novikov created a completely unusual genre that does not fall under any classification - urban romance.

According to a survey conducted by the Independent Association of Newsmakers of Russia in 1998 and covering more than 85 thousand respondents, Alexander Novikov, along with Yesenin, Galich, Vysotsky, is one of the most prominent poets of the 20th century.

Alexander Vasilievich Novikov. Born October 31, 1953 in Iturup (Kuril region, Sakhalin region). Soviet and Russian songwriter in the genre of Russian chanson, artistic director of the Yekaterinburg Variety Theater.

During his creative activity, Alexander Novikov wrote more than three hundred songs, including “Remember, girl? ..”, “Cab”, “Chansonette”, “Street Beauty”, “Ancient City”, “School Romance”, etc.

Novikov's discography currently includes 20 numbered albums, 10 albums-recordings from concerts, 8 video discs. Since 2002, the book "The Bell Tower" (a collection of poems and songs) has been published.

Alexander Novikov is a laureate of the national award "Ovation" in the nomination "Urban Romance" (1995), a repeated winner of the "Chanson of the Year" award.

Alexander Novikov was born on October 31, 1953 on the Iturup Island of the Kuril Archipelago, in the village of Burevestnik.

Father is a military pilot, mother is a housewife.

At the age of 6 he moved with his parents to Kyrgyzstan, to the city of Frunze (now Bishkek).

In 1969, Novikov moved to the city of Sverdlovsk, where he graduated from high school in 1970 and continues to live and work to this day.

As a child, Alexander loved sports. He was engaged first in boxing, then sambo. "As a child, I fought very often, I never let myself be offended, I broke my arms and legs about some. According to the philosophy of martial arts, which I also practiced, the spirit of a warrior is most important in a man. So I tried to take a worthy position", he said.

In high school, Alexander, in addition to sports, captured two other activities: music and cards. He first became interested under the influence of the work of Vladimir Vysotsky - in 1967, Alexander first watched the film "Vertical" with his participation. He was taught to cards by a "sidekick" in a yard company. Soon, Alexander masterfully mastered both music and cards.

Novikov's tough temper very often forced him to go against the opinion of the majority, to challenge established norms and principles. For example, he entered various universities three times and was expelled from there three times. According to him, for "beat Komsomol members. I didn't like them terribly".

While studying at the third university, he met his future wife, Masha. In 1975 they got married. In the same year, they had their first child - son Igor. Seven years later - daughter Natasha.

Novikov's passion since the 70s is cars. In the mid-70s, he got a job as an auto mechanic, where he restored cars damaged in accidents in one of the auto repair shops in Sverdlovsk. Novikov got his first “penny” precisely in those years - a certain reckless driver crashed to death on it, Alexander literally restored his car by screw and took it for himself.

In the late 1970s, Novikov got a job as a musician and singer in one of the Sverdlovsk restaurants. I worked there for about four years. During this time, he managed to save a decent amount and opened his own studio-workshop, where he not only recorded rock songs (his ensemble was called "Polygon"), but also made studio equipment for state Palaces of Culture and cinemas.

In 1980, he created the Rock Polygon group, where he performed as a soloist, guitarist and songwriter. The songs were performed in the styles of rock and roll, reggae and new wave with elements of punk rock and psychedelic rock. The group recorded two albums of the same name - in 1983 (with the official publication on CD, the year is erroneously indicated as 1981) and 1984.

In 1981, he founded the Novik Records recording studio, where not only Novikov's albums were recorded, but also many Sverdlovsk musicians - the Chaif, Agatha Christie and others groups.

The lion's share of the repertoire of the Polygon group was made up of rock compositions.

Alexander Novikov in his youth (1984)

However, at the beginning of 1984, Novikov wanted to sing a few of his own songs, written in the genre of urban romance, popularly referred to as "thieves". Among these songs were three that were soon destined to become hits: "Take me, cabman", "I came from the Jewish quarter" and "Remember, girl?".

The musicians of the "Rock Polygon" took part in the album, including Alexey Khomenko and Vladimir Elizarov.

A certain elderly gentleman took up the promotion of this album - a big specialist in this matter. True, after listening to the recording, he honestly confessed to Novikov: "I can roll it out all over the country in two months, but you, young man, will be imprisoned."

This warning did not stop Novikov and On May 3, 1984, the magnetic album "Take Me, Coachman" was released.

The success of the album was stunning: in a week it was listened to throughout the Union, including the most remote corners of the country. He did not remain unnoticed by the authorities.

About how the arrest took place, Novikov told: “They arrested me right on the street, stuffed me into a car and took me to the local police department. They put a document in front of me called “Expertise on the songs of Alexander Novikov.” The document contained the texts of my songs from the Cabby, and each one had an impressive review. And then a general review of everything. In this final one, it was written that the author of the above songs needs, they say, if not in psychiatric, then in prison for sure. This document was signed by composer Yevgeny Rodygin, author of the song In short, I was accused of all the sins: humiliation of national minorities, propaganda of immoralism, vulgarity, violence, prostitution, alcoholism, drug addiction - there was a huge set ... "

In 1985, by the verdict of the Sverdlovsk court, Novikov was convicted under Art. 93-1 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, receiving 10 years in prison. This happened in connection with his activities in the manufacture and sale of electromusical equipment, where he was accused of selling counterfeit.

Novikov recalls: “I was still waiting in prison for a decision on my appeal for almost a year. First in Sverdlovsk, then in Kamyshlov, this is 250 km from Sverdlovsk, in such a quiet provincial prison, which is probably already three hundred years old. And they transported me there like a particularly dangerous recidivist ".

“When we arrived in Kamyshlov, I saw that there was a huge crowd of guards on the platform. Really, I think, for my soul? And for sure, for mine. to the ground, dragged at a run into the "funnel". And before that, they blocked the entire station - they drove the passengers inside and placed guards near the doors. And so, it means that the whole station watched how the Kamyshlov prison "received" me. And the funny thing was when we went to this "funnel", the driver put the recording of "The Coachman". After all, everyone and everywhere listened to me then. And the cops listened, and the investigators who interrogated. One of them directly told me: they say, I personally like your album, but what can I do "The prison in Kamyshlov has the letter "o", the windows of the cells overlook the courtyard. So that the cameras do not talk to each other, there are loudspeakers in the courtyard - they turn on the music, if anything. So, very often it was music from my album. And when I was on trial they drove, again in the "funnel" they played "Take me, cabman" ... "- said the artist.

After serving a year in Kamyshlov, Novikov was then transferred to one of the camps in the north of the country. The leadership of the camp met the singer with all the "honours" appropriate to his rank. A large-scale raid was carried out in the zone - all guitars and tape recorders were confiscated from the prisoners, as well as from the escorts. It was strictly forbidden to bring these things into the camp. Novikov, on the other hand, was forbidden to move through the zone towards the club.

“Various provocations were staged against me. There are enough bastards in the camp who want to be released early, join these prevention councils,“ bandages ”, or, in the camp,“ goats. ”They set these“ goats ”on me. But I He didn’t tolerate insults, he broke the chest of one, twisted the jaw of another. Well, he constantly ended up in a punishment cell ... "- recalled Novikov.

In 1990, by decree of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, Novikov was released. Later, the Supreme Court of Russia overturned the verdict for lack of corpus delicti.

Alexander Novikov - Take me, cab driver

In his youth, he wore a tattoo on his arm in the form of the letters “N. WITH." (Novikov Sasha).

The song “On Eastern Street” (album “City Romance”, 1995) A. Novikov wrote in 1984, when he was in solitary confinement for 30 days.

In Yekaterinburg, Alexander Novikov lived in an apartment on Vostochnaya Street, house number 62.

Novikov himself considers his best song to be “Remember, girl? ..”.

Alexander Novikov - Remember the girl?..

In August 1991, he spoke out against the State Emergency Committee.

In 1993, Novikov suddenly acted as a producer - he began to promote the young singer Natalya Sturm.

"We met Natasha by chance. At the Moscow Variety Theatre. I looked in there for a minute. On some business. I see a beautiful girl at the mirror. I came up and asked:" Girl, do you sing or dance? ", strike up a conversation. She was offended: "What dances? I am a singer. Natasha Storm. And who are you?" - "Alexander Novikov." She looked carefully: "But I thought Novikov was a little bald Jew and lives in America." I was even taken aback by such an idea about my person "- said Novikov.

There was a legend (told by Novikov himself) that he won the singer in cards from some mafia structures. But it was a PR tale in order to arouse the interest of the public. “It was a joke. If Alexander had said that he had met me in the Lenin Library, no one would have believed this. And the cards are a beautiful legend. They fit the image of a tough guy who spent time in the camps,” Natalya Shturm later admitted.

In 1994, together with director Kirill Kotelnikov, he made a documentary film about the Boney M. group. and its creator Frank Farian "Oh, that Farian!" ("Oh, this Farian!"). Filming took place in Luxembourg and Germany, the film includes Farian's unique interviews and materials from his personal archive. However, the film was never shown on Russian television.

On June 16, 2003, Alexander Novikov was awarded the highest church award - the Order of the Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow for his merits in the construction of the Church-on-the-Blood in Yekaterinburg. Since 2004, President of the 400th Anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty Foundation in the Urals.

On June 24, 2010 he was appointed artistic director of the Yekaterinburg Variety Theatre. Having become the artistic director of the theater, Novikov first of all banned the play "The Blue Puppy", in which he saw signs of propaganda of pedophilia.

"These vuvuzelas of homosexuality, looking at the world through a walleye, which they always have for some reason in a bulging state ... So, through these walleyes, any healthy event and a normal act seem to them an attack on their mythical homosexual rights that grow directly from Sodom and Gomorrah"- says Alexander Novikov.

After this incident, the expression "homosexual vuvuzelas" gained a lot of popularity on the Internet.

On October 28, 2010, a new album by Alexander Novikov was released on the verses of poets of the Silver Age, in the recording of which Maxim Pokrovsky took part. “The record "Pineapples in Champagne" is a gallery of bizarre and unique jewels of the poetry of the "Silver Age". I made a musical setting for each of them. Five years of fine jewelry work,” Novikov briefly described the result of his work on the creation of this album.

Novikov is a participant in the annual National Prize Chanson of the Year in the Kremlin.

In 2011, before the elections to the State Duma, Alexander Novikov handed over in Yekaterinburg for distribution to the well-known blogger and anti-corruption fighter Alexei Navalny, a parody clip “GOLO ... SUY”.

In 2014-2015, he was a member of the jury of the TV show "Three Chords", and repeatedly performed on its stage.

In December 2016, Novikov was charged under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (large-scale fraud). On December 23, he was sent by the court for two months under house arrest. According to investigators, Novikov and former Deputy Minister of Economy of the Sverdlovsk Region Mikhail Shilimanov collected about 150 million rubles from shareholders in the construction of the Queens Bay cottage settlement in Yekaterinburg, and then transferred this money to their accounts. The construction of the village was stopped, the law enforcement officers estimated the amount of damage at 35 million 627 thousand rubles. In January 2017, being under house arrest, he left Russia for the UAE on vacation.

The growth of Alexander Novikov: 193 centimeters.

Personal life of Alexander Novikov:

Married. The wife's name is Maria. We met before Novikov went to prison. Mary was waiting for him. They got married while still in college.

Two children were born in the marriage - son Igor (professional in photography) and daughter Natalia (designer and art critic). Children gave the singer grandchildren.

Discography of Alexander Novikov:

1983 - Rock Polygon (Alexander Novikov and the Rock Polygon group)
1983 - Take me, driver (the sound of the songs in the 1983 album is slower than in the 1984 album)
1984 - Rock Polygon II (Alexander Novikov and the Rock Polygon group)
1984 - Take me, cab driver (original title "East Street")
1990 - I am in Yekaterinburg (Alexander Novikov and the Engels Grandchildren group)
1991 - Take me, cab driver (Alexander Novikov and the Khipish group)
1993 - Necklace of Magadan
1995 - Chansonette
1995 - Urban Romance
1996 - Embracing a beauty
1996 - In a provincial restaurant
1997 - Sergei Yesenin (the first album of songs based on poems by Sergei Yesenin)
1997 - Notes of a criminal bard
1999 - Burlak
2000 - Wall
2000 - Beautiful-eyed
2002 - Cranes over the camp
2003 - Real
2005 - Show-offs of Cupid
2007 - Luali
2008 - I remember, my love ... (the second album of songs to the verses of Sergei Yesenin)
2010 - Pineapples in champagne (an album of songs based on poems by poets of the Silver Age)
2012 - Break up with her
2013 - Yo-album
2016 - Blatnoy
2016 - Hooligan Songs

Concert albums of Alexander Novikov:

1990 - Second concert after release (magnet album) (not officially released)
1995 - 10 years later
1997 - Concert at the Variety Theater
1998 - Concert at the Variety Theater
1998 - Acoustic concert at the Yekaterinburg Philharmonic
1999 - "Carrier" - 15 years old
2004 - Concert at the Philharmonic of Yekaterinburg
2004 - Anniversary (Concert at the State Central Concert Hall "RUSSIA" October 30, 2003, 2CD)
2005 - Take me, cab driver. 20 years old (Concert at the State Central Concert Hall "RUSSIA" October 31, 2004, 2CD)
2006 - Sergey Yesenin - 110 years old (2CD)
2007 - Street of Love (2CD)
2008 - I have not been to Monaco (Live recording at the State Kremlin Palace)
2011 - Ekaterinbluz (Concert at the Moscow International House of Music)
2014 - Along the memory (Anniversary concert of Alexander Novikov)
2015 - Smile of the Motherland
2016 - "The Carrier" - 30 years

Collections by Alexander Novikov:

1996 - Remember, girl? ..
1996 - Golden Collection
2001 - Golden Collection-2
2008 - “Alexander Novikov. MP3-series" (compilation of all records in MP3 format on 5 discs)
2011 - MK. Alley of chanson
2015 - Golden Silver

Alexander Novikov - "Well, what are you ..."

Bibliography of Alexander Novikov:

2001 - “Take me, cabman ...” (poems and songs)
2002 - "The Bell Tower" (poems and songs)
2011 - "Street Beauty" (collection of lyrical poems)
2012 - "Symphony of the Court" (collection of lyrical poems)
2012 - "Notes of a criminal bard" (autobiographical book)