As Yuri Gagarin conquered Gina Lollobrigida

Frame with Yuri Gagarin and Gina Lollobrigida, published in "Pravda" and bypassed once the whole world, made 21-year-old trainee only to establish an agency APN Boris Kaufman. Boris Matveev - known photographer, who ten years ago left the bustling city of Moscow - on this picture to remember and nice, and somewhat insulting. "As if I have nothing else and it was not," - says Boris Kaufman from the doorway of his cozy house. But who can forget the circumstances in which was made a historical frame?



- On that day I got to hand boss Galina Plesko and got the job: "Come quickly to the Ministry of Culture, there Gagarin meeting with movie stars." Rushed. The room was packed to overflowing, from the doors to the presidium of a long table, squeeze where were Gagarin and Lollobrigida, it was absolutely impossible. But to fail this task - meant poherit two years probation. And I snotty boy committed an act, which then never would not dare. Crawled under the table and made his way to the Presidency. Several times someone's feet moved away, a couple of feet kicked me, and when I "popped" on the other end, it turned out that rested at the feet of the Minister of Culture of the USSR.



Furtseva saw me, taken aback: "What are you doing, boy?" But the situation became. In the end, I worked on this one vantage point. Yuri Gagarin heard a few clicks, no longer turn my head and began to unfold a little bit in my direction, and when the event is over, said, "I have something you even hit the shot?" "Gotcha!" - I shouted to the laughter Furtsevoy and its officials. After that, I became a "best friend" Furtsevoy: seeing me in the crowd, which is not allowed, she grabbed my hand and said: "Boris, let's go." Accompanied me to all events. A wonderful woman: our eyes weaver became an aristocrat! As she held! How to talk to Gina Lollobrigida!



As discussed at this meeting, Boris Kaufman remembers. This is not surprising: the photographer, as usual, was busy only in order to "catch" the frame you want. On the day he was "caught" look Gina, who looked at Gagarin enchanted.
"As one of my colleagues," it is the most sexy photo Gina Lollobrigida, it is easy on the eyes given Gagarin ", and I was waiting for this look," - says the author. If the Soviet Union existed tabloids, she would have plenty to speculate on this topic, especially since after the meeting Yuri Gina kissed on the cheek. West, by the way, speculated: wrote that the couple met in America, then in Paris, with journalists particularly luxuriant imagination to agree that Lollobrigida allegedly climbed through the window Gagarin rooms.



Many years later, it became clear that the meeting in the Ministry of Culture was held on the initiative of the film star. But nothing of the sort happened. When Gina in 1961 arrived in Moscow, the first thing asked her with whom she would like to meet. "They clearly expected me to call the name of Khrushchev, but to me his persona did not care - she remembers. - I asked Catherine Furtseva introduce me to Gagarin. It is arranged. His smile and mischievous look at least a little, but then fell in love all women in the world. And I was no exception. When we walked in the night Moscow, Yuri gave me his photograph on the back of which he wrote: "I saw a lot of stars in the sky. But like you, no ».
In an interview Lollobrigida admitted that she still keeps this photo and cover him with kisses. Acting coquetry?
The festival in 1961 became perhaps the first real social event in the Soviet Union. Gagarin's flight almost turned the local iron curtain in theater curtain - nice and mysteriously alluring.



In the confusion, no one was particularly praised Kaufman per frame, though the photo was published in a leading newspaper of the country enormous size - in four columns.
"The only compliment was from a colleague - Max Alpert. He met me in the hallway, waved a pen and said, "Good shot took off." Everything! More - no one "- says the photographer.
But three weeks after the snapshot chairman APN Burkov in search of candidates to be sent to the virgin lands remembered Kaufman. When he was told that the guy is not in the state, he was very surprised: "It is not in the state? Take! "Ёrnichestvo - say, was it worth climbing under Furtsevoy, then to" reward "virgin - Boris Matveevich not accepted:
"What are you, in those days, such a mission was honorable, especially the first in my life».