Erudite Andrey Zhdanov. The hardest thing is to keep a victory a secret

Zhdanov died shortly before his birthday. On February 12 he would have turned 47 years old.

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The nature of the injuries on the body of the deceased allows us to assume, among other things, criminal circumstances of the journalist’s death, the Togliatti news portal “City Day” reports. The exact cause of the erudite's death is being established. An operational investigation team is working at the scene of the incident.

It is known that Andrei Zhdanov took the death of his wife very hard. He lost her a year and a half ago - on August 28, 2015. Anna Zhdanova committed suicide. A suicide note was found in the woman's pocket, in which she wrote that she did not want to live, asked her loved ones to forgive her and not blame anyone for what happened.

It should be noted that a graduate of the Gorky Literary Institute, Andrei Zhdanov, is widely known for his participation in the television quiz show “Own Game”. Since February 1999, when he first appeared on television, the polymath has taken part in 74 television programs.

He managed to win 49 episodes of the show. In 2011, the polymath won the main prize - a car. The last time he took part in an intellectual television show was in September 2016.

Tolyatti polymath Andrei Zhdanov does not consider intellectual television shows a serious source of income

At the end of May, the editor of the corporate newspaper KuibyshevAzot OJSC Andrei Zhdanov, in front of millions of Russian television viewers, accomplished what seemed impossible. A participant in the popular TV quiz show “Own Game” with 13 years of experience, he won ten games in a row and became the owner of a foreign car, which he received as a super prize. Eyewitnesses, who had been closely following the battles of intellectuals for several weeks in a row, called the achievement of the Togliatti citizen a sensation. Andrei Zhdanov himself agrees with the opinion of his “fans”. Moreover, due to the peculiarities of the television “cuisine”, victory, as it turned out, was not at all easy for him.

“If people consider my performance in “My Game” to be sensational, then that’s the way it is, we must trust the people,” the national television star told the “PS” correspondent. - In fact, of course, it turned out to be something extraordinary. Especially considering the extreme conditions in which this gaming session was filmed. In just four days, from March 17 to 20, we had to record 24 programs at once. That is, six issues a day at once. Of course, people saw that with each game I became more and more exhausted. Someone probably said that Zhdanov lost badly, for example, in the ninth game. But just imagine that on Friday we filmed the series from games four to nine. The breaks were minimal, the filming conditions were very harsh. Of course, there is a difference in how I played the fourth game and how I was in the ninth. TV viewers see the gameplay in stages: Saturday and Sunday, Saturday and Sunday. We worked from 10 am to 10 pm. And on the same key Friday, which was the penultimate ninth game for me, I ate only 50 grams of chocolate and drank 2 liters of water. Physically, playing in such conditions is very difficult. Even presenter Pyotr Kuleshov lost his voice by the end of the next shooting day and was forced to sit on mint candies.

Needless to say, the conditions in which Andrei Zhdanov had to go to victory cannot be called simple. Moreover, the erudite, by his own admission, went to the shooting so “untrained”, “disassembled” both physically and intellectually, which he has not felt for the entire 13 years during which he has been playing “His Game”. The long break also had its effect. Let us explain that the entire television season of the intellectual show passed without the “old guard” - such famous players as Andrei Zhdanov or the no less legendary Anatoly Wasserman. They were simply not invited to TV, because the authors of the program were looking for new interesting faces, new sharp and tenacious minds. So our fellow countryman ended up at the gaming table only a year and a half after the last filming. By the way, that session, which took place at the end of 2009, was extremely unsuccessful for Zhdanov. Therefore, the victory this spring came as a complete surprise, primarily for the hero himself.

According to the erudite himself, the most difficult thing was to keep the news of the victory in the game secret until the corresponding television broadcast took place. It fell on May 21, and therefore at the “Museum Picnic”, which took place a day later, Zhdanov was not given access: everyone wanted to come up, shake hands, and congratulate him on his sensational triumph. Some of the inner circle, of course, knew about the erudite’s victory already at the end of March. But still, until recently, this information was diligently kept under the heading “secret” - after all, one has to take into account the rules of television shows.

In a series of games, Andrei Zhdanov's opponents were both men and women. With the latter, as the erudite himself admits, it was much more difficult to play. The main reason is on the surface.

“The host of “Own Game” Pyotr Kuleshov is a wonderful person and a real man,” explains Zhdanov. “And like a real man and gentleman, he always plays along with women, accepts answers from them that he would never accept from a man, even if he were a grandmaster or a beginner.” And this loyalty and openness is an absolutely correct position. There is another important point that complicates the game with the fair sex. It is well known that by nature women are much more reactive, they have fine motor skills better than us, and this also has its advantage in beating opponents on the button. And if a woman, in addition to everything else, has a kind of masculine element of competition, then she becomes a truly serious opponent, whom it is very difficult to beat.

Speaking about women in the game, Zhdanov noted that they sometimes answer questions “on intuition” best. At the same time, he himself bypassed his rivals more than once, starting his answer with the phrase “I would venture to guess,” which managed to become the calling card of the Tolyatti intellectual for television viewers. Moreover, getting “to the point,” Zhdanov did not hide his emotions and openly demonstrated to everyone his own delight at the fact that the guess had “burnt out.”

In a conversation with a “PS” correspondent, the winner of “His Own Game” paid special attention to newcomers who are just trying their hand at intellectual duels. According to Zhdanov himself, he was initially very lucky to have young ambitious players, for whom an experienced opponent from Togliatti was and remains a kind of litmus test, a kind of indicator, focusing on which, the youth grows, develops, and moves forward.

“I fell in love with My Game many years ago and remember well how, together with my wife Annushka, we not only watched program after program, but also recorded them on an audio recorder,” recalls Zhdanov. — I don’t change my gaming television preferences even now. At the same time, I get great pleasure from the game “What? Where? When? ", which is held in our city by the Togliatti League of Connoisseurs. Three times he took part in the Mayor's Cup of the same name. Although I feel that this is still not mine. It's hard to play in a team. I answered incorrectly, but the team believed me and agreed with my answer. In such cases, I get complex because I let the team down. So the guys would have discussed it, together they would have found the right solution, but I threw out the version, crushed them with my authority and turned out to be wrong. Unfortunately, it’s not often that teams try to follow the principle and argue with me. But I ventured a guess - and I was wrong. In “My Game”, in such a situation I would have lost my own thousand points, but here the team was short of bonus points. It turns out I let the team down. That’s why I like to be responsible only for myself. I am not a leader, not an organizer. I am a layman, a private person. I don’t want to command anyone, and I don’t know how.

It is interesting that Zhdanov’s television preferences are not limited to “His Game”. According to the erudite, he also considers himself one of the “couch” football players, tennis players and biathletes, loves to follow snooker tournaments and cannot imagine his life without sumo. By the way, Zhdanov considers Japanese wrestling not just a type of martial arts. Sumo, in the understanding of our today's hero, is a real cultural phenomenon, an entire religion with its own rules, customs and laws.

It remains to add that the intellectual athlete is no stranger to real physical activity.

“I still have something to do with sports,” says Zhdanov. — I do exercises in the morning and like to splash in the water. I love swimming. I like to dive and jump from heights into the water. I don’t understand how anyone can be afraid to jump from five meters? What's wrong? Although I admit that I am very afraid of heights. Let's say, going out onto the 14th floor balcony is unrealistic for me. But when there is water below, the fear goes somewhere.

Quote

How can a game be considered a source of permanent income? Funny! After all, you can’t do without a share of fortune here. So “My Game” is an outlet for me, it’s an opportunity to throw out emotions, get rid of the negativity that accumulates in everyday life. Moreover, we do not live in the West, where there is a whole industry in which professional scholars are brewed, where they earn serious money, considering the game their main job.

Andrey Zhdanov:
- God bless Wikipedia! It is she who helps today to prepare for the game, train, and gain new knowledge. It’s just a pity that the culture of communicating with books is being lost. Because it’s one thing to turn to a real dictionary, to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, for example. First find the right volume, then the right page, read what is written there, take notes. And it’s a completely different matter to type the desired word, event, concept into an Internet search engine and read the information from the screen. The second method, alas, is increasingly replacing the first. Therefore, I remember with nostalgia how some ten years ago I was lying on the floor, rummaging through books...

Text: Yulia Romanenko
Photo: Ksenia Novaikina

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06/21/2019 TltGorod.Ru From June 25 to 28, the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia and the Resource Center in the field of national relations, within the framework of the All-Russian program “Ethnic”, is conducting a series of expert webinars.
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After the body of Andrei Zhdanov was discovered, it turned out that he died on February 5. But when the erudite disappeared, none of his friends rushed to look for him. Neither colleagues, nor acquaintances, nor neighbors remembered him. The man's body was discovered by his mother when she came to visit her son.

An intellectual, an erudite, a holiday person - this is how his fellow countrymen speak of him. But no one was able to have a heart-to-heart talk with Zhdanov during his difficult times...

“Nothing foreshadowed misfortune. He did not complain about his health, did not lose heart, read and worked endlessly, friends of the deceased recalled. - I didn’t intend to die. He did not allow thoughts about his imminent death. Although I didn’t make any plans for the future. It was like living with the flow. I didn’t share my personal information with anyone. And we didn’t bother asking questions. For what?"

Those close to the expert suggest that Andrei Zhdanov was ruined by longing for his deceased wife Anna. The man was never able to come to terms with the death of his wife, who committed suicide a year and a half ago. Zhdanov was never able to unravel the motive for her action. For more than a year he puzzled over this riddle, which turned out to be beyond his powers.

A year and a half before the death of Andrei Zhdanov.

Tolyatti news from August 28, 2015: “A 44-year-old teacher at Tatishchev University, Anna Zhdanova, the wife of the famous polymath from the “Own Game” program, committed suicide. The body of a woman was found near a high-rise building in the Central District. Before this morning, the woman saw her husband off to work, fed the cats and went to college... Her body was discovered by random passers-by.”

A note was found in the deceased's pocket. Anna asked for forgiveness from her loved ones. That's all. Dot. No revelations. She took the motive for her action with her to the grave.

At his wife’s funeral, Andrei was not himself. Outwardly, he did not control his actions - his loved ones were afraid for him.

A year and a half later, Zhdanov passed away. The “Own Game” expert was found dead in his own apartment. Employees of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Samara Region immediately denied suicide and criminal death.

Zhdanov’s relatives and friends did not wonder for long what could have happened. Most made clear conclusions: the man died of grief. And they added: “The feeling of guilt consumed him.” And this heavy load nailed him to the ground.

Help "MK":“The term “broken heart” is no longer an invention of poets. According to the latest data from British scientists, a person’s heart can burst from love and grief. Unbearable mental pain can cause premature death from heart failure, which researchers call broken heart syndrome. This syndrome can masquerade as a regular heart attack or coronary heart disease.

It has been scientifically proven that frustration, tears, strong emotions, stress, apathy and any other emotional states can create a number of serious problems for the physical state. You can give yourself a high heart rate, get upset to the point of a heart attack, worry until you die - so much that your heart can’t handle it.”

Anna and Andrei Zhdanov were called the most unusual married couple in Tolyatti.

“The main things in life are wife, games and cats”

Andrei Zhdanov was one of the most popular participants in “Own Game”. He has 74 games and 49 victories. The audience adored him, his rivals applauded him, and fortune favored him.

The darling of fate, the lucky one, caught luck by the tail. “Brains like that don’t come easy. Apparently, at birth, God kissed Andryukha on the forehead,” the experts whispered among themselves.

Zhdanov was truly lucky in life. He was lucky with his favorite job, with his wife, and for many years he occupied a leading position in “His Game.” Since 1999, Andrei Zhdanov has been a regular participant in the television program.

Anna and Andrey were called the most unusual married couple in Tolyatti. Anna is a graduate of the philological department of the Samara State Pedagogical Institute. She was one of the brightest students of the course. In photographs from those years, Anna is wearing a leather miniskirt, black fishnet tights, shoes with huge heels, and “combat” makeup. Next to him is Andrei Zhdanov, a graduate of the Literary Institute, a typical “nerd.”

They got married more than 20 years ago. Anna then began teaching foreign literature at Tatishchev University. Andrey got a job as the editor of the corporate publication “Prazyv”, published by OJSC Kuibyshevazot.

Andrey worked as an editor for a factory newspaper for more than 25 years. Of course, he could achieve much greater heights with such a brain. But he preferred calm, Zhdanov’s colleagues recall. - Andrey before and after the death of his wife are two different people. In the last year he has noticeably slowed down. He played with intellectuals no longer with such fire and enthusiasm, and outwardly he looked unimportant. In a couple of months I lost twenty kilograms.

We were worried about him. And he just waved his hand and continued to smile forcefully: “I’ll last a couple of years.” A few days before his death, he unexpectedly took a vacation. Maybe he felt that death was approaching. Perhaps he didn’t want to bother anyone at work with his complaints...

Nobody missed Zhdanov. His body was discovered a couple of days after his death. During this time no one called him. Only his mother came to visit Andrei.

He was not particularly sociable at work, he was mostly silent, speaking only to the point,” continues the colleague of the deceased. - He never invited anyone to visit him. I did not celebrate colleagues’ birthdays or holidays with the team. I was in a hurry to get home all the time. He justified himself: “The children are waiting for me.” He called his cats children.

At home he was left alone with his thoughts.

According to friends, Andrei developed anorexia due to nervousness. The man knew very well about his illness. Today, acquaintances of the erudite suggest that Zhdanov could even calculate the date of his own death to the nearest day.

One of Andrei’s acquaintances posted his latest correspondence with Zhdanov online.

“How are you doing, Andrey?

Slowly. I'm sad. Working. I'm preparing an issue of our corporate newspaper. I feed the children. Everything as usual.

Are you just an editor now or are you involved in public relations?

Just editing, thank God! Because I hate tights and PR work that stresses me out a lot. I feel much more comfortable among factory workers of all ranks and professions - people close to me. And I’m not looking for a better life.”

In one interview, Zhdanov once said that for him the most important things in life are his wife, games and cats.

This is how he spoke about his wife in an interview with a Tolyatti newspaper: “My wife, Annushka. Without her, I would never have been in the “Own Game” program. There was an interesting moment not long ago. The question was asked: who published chess poems and sketches in the Russian emigrant magazine “Rul”? I was afraid to answer it, not being sure. And when the host of the program, Petya Kuleshov, answered “Vladimir Nabokov” for us, I said: “Damn, Annushka will kill me.” The “trick” is that my wife defended her PhD thesis on Nabokov, and I proofread this work three times like a real proofreader.”

“My main supporter, my wife Annushka, is my strictest coach. She often knows the answers to questions that I cannot answer. If I played against her, I would lose ten out of eleven games.”

“Anna Zhdanova gave the impression of a person who was dead tired.”

“It was impossible not to fall in love with Anna”

Andrey communicated quite willingly in the virtual space even with strangers. He accepted as “friends” everyone who “knocked” on his door,” shares Zhdanov’s acquaintance Artem Fomichev. - If I didn’t have time to answer people’s letters, I always apologized. We communicated with him exclusively about games. Last year he participated in “His Game” for the last time. He won one game and lost the second. I put an end to this.

Mostly Andrei Zhdanov's friends were in one way or another connected with intellectual games. At one time, Anna was also a fan of such entertainment.

We met Andrey about ten years ago, when games in the “Own Game” format were first held in Togliatti,” says Igor Ushanov. - Zhdanov sprinkled quotes, various historical anecdotes and simply interesting facts, sometimes so little known that they confused his interlocutors. He played brightly, emotionally, gave out theories, reasoned, and was very worried if he could not remember some fact in the allotted 60 seconds. Once he even managed to fall from the chair he was sitting on, giving the correct answer at the last moment. He willingly communicated with people, signed autographs, took pictures with everyone who asked, and there were always a lot of people willing.

-Have you discussed with Zhdanov the cause of his wife’s death?

He didn't bring up the topic. After Anna’s death, Andrei began to go to the club of experts much less often; he no longer played with the same passion as in the company of Anna, adds another acquaintance of Zhdanov. - One day I gave Andrey a ride home after a game, and he started talking a little. He told about the cats that were like children to him and Anya and which he now takes care of alone. He said that he and his wife did not consciously give birth to children, based on some of their own special philosophy of life, which they did not impose on anyone or defend. They just liked to live that way. And he never spoke about Anna in the past tense.

Today, many of Anna’s acquaintances say that the woman has always been interested in the topic of death. More than once she asked questions: “What is it like in the afterlife? Where is it better and calmer?

On Anna’s page on the social network you can find a strange comment posted under a photo of a cat: “When Andrey and I got married (19 years ago), there were no sphinxes yet. Now we are patiently waiting for her death to have a new child (that’s what Anna called the cats. - I.B.). And she, as you can see, feels great, is not going anywhere and is upsetting her parents’ plans.”

After some time, the Zhdanovs’ cat died. Anna reported this: “Today an old cat named Stephen Hopkins died. There is no need to express condolences: she died quietly, peacefully, like an old man, without screams or problems. The girls (other cats) came up, licked, and said goodbye. We’ll save money all spring, we’ll take a new girl in the summer - I’ll go on vacation and sit with her, accustom her to the house and her sisters.”

On Anna Zhdanova's page, her students, to whom she taught foreign literature, left condolences.

"Thanks for all. For a bright and extraordinary look, for not being like everyone else. Another. The best." “Unique, beloved Anna Vladimirovna. You have greatly influenced the perception of the world. The world has become poorer,” “How much life there was in it, how many mysteries. “Perhaps she was the most amazing, extraordinary woman who, with just one phrase, could kindle boundless curiosity and passion.”

And only one girl left a comment that explains a lot: “Anna Vladimirovna thought about death for five years. It was not affect. I remember after the class we all gathered in the corridor. It was noisy. And she quietly spoke about her thoughts of suicide. Then she often talked about it. Sometimes she did this not directly, but as if asking who understood what from the works of Flaubert, Poe, Nabokov, Kafka, Exupery? Sometimes she asked more directly, but no one seemed to notice. I didn't take her words seriously."

Anna Vladimirovna was out of this world. She always spoke quietly. But in her classes no one talked, slept or listened to music. Her lectures inspired creativity.

She asked to read books, keep reading diaries, and be attentive to the characters, their names, characters, and stories. She taught me to see everything in general and at the same time pay attention to details. At the seminars, she asked me to give as detailed answers as possible and assigned creative work. Here, for example, is her assignment for Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. “Draw hell,” she asked us. And then notes of some inexplicable pain flashed through her lips during a standard academic analysis of the text. Needless to say, Anna Vladimirovna talked a lot about death.

She asked that a special place in her course of lectures be given to the study of Vladimir Nabokov. And again, she repeated more than once that she regretted his death, because she would no longer be able to see and talk to him. She wondered out loud: what would this conversation be about? Would it have happened at all?

One day, a strange dialogue took place between students and Anna Vladimirovna while discussing the story “Signs and Symbols” by Nabokov. We assumed that the character committed suicide. And Zhdanova seemed not to seriously admit it: what if she did too? I answered this jokingly: they say, it will be unaesthetic and indecent, and in general, “have pity on your relatives and janitors.”

- So the theme of death was often seen in her lectures?

She, like outfits, tried on options for how she could die. To me she seemed like a person who was dead tired. Perhaps my husband’s illness, a decrease in salary at work, and the approaching autumn had an impact.

- Was her husband, Andrei Zhdanov, already seriously ill?

Not that seriously, his stomach ulcer worsened. I saw Andrey only a couple of times in my life. He spoke in quotes, as if offering his game. Anna also offered word riddles at lectures and seminars, but not everyone could understand and, probably, no one could answer this couple in their language. The Zhdanovs called the students “children.” Quite literary “oaks” - “cubs”. But they spoke with such an intonation that it was not offensive, but even funny. They were so different on the outside, but very similar on the inside. “Stick to your kind” is another motive that constantly sounded from the lips of this couple.

- Did the students see the love between these people?

It seemed to me that Andrei loved Anna more than she loved him. At her wake he was very thin and again suggested a play on words, but no one could answer it. Some people around him thought that he had lost his mind - he was singing songs and getting ready to go to the game.

Another student of the late Zhdanova expressed his opinion about Anna.

Anna Vladimirovna was a charismatic intellectual with cute cockroaches in her head. She was eccentric, sophisticated, a style icon, a wealth of knowledge about both literature and metaphysics. Everything about her was witchcraft, depending on her momentary mood. It was impossible not to fall in love with her.

I, like many people not from this world, looked at her with my mouth open. She presented the subject in a non-trivial way and spoke boldly about the writers, with a lot of details. I was an average student, but I caught her every word, every gesture. A sort of Renata Litvinova, locally bottled.

She affectionately called Andrei Zhdanov “my monster” and said: “Real men have disappeared, only my Zhdanov remains.” Andrei literally idolized her and served her. She was his muse.

I remember once one of the participants in “My Game” asked a question on the program: “What does Wasserman have in his pockets?” Andrei replied: “I don’t know what’s in Anatoly Wasserman’s pockets, but I know exactly what he doesn’t have there - photographs of his wife. No and never will be." Zhdanov always carried a photograph of Anna with him.

Anna and I also communicated outside the classroom, met at events, and had personal meetings. She lived intuitively. And Zhdanov? He was her support in the physical, material world. But not in the spiritual. I have no doubt that Andrei died from melancholy or from a feeling of guilt that he could not protect and switch the woman he loved to his life program. They say that recently he has eaten almost nothing, but only told his mother: “I’m already flying up to my wife.” Of course, he would never have met a second one like him.

“Andrey stopped eating and sleeping”

Andrei Zhdanov still has his parents and brother Alexei in Togliatti, who agreed to talk about the deceased.

My brother was an interesting and pleasant person to talk to. He had been sick for a long time. Even before Anna’s death, he was diagnosed with an ulcer, problems with his kidneys and liver began, but these were all everyday, worldly illnesses. The really serious problems began after Anna left. He practically stopped eating, sleeping, looked emaciated, haggard, lost. He tried to devote himself entirely to work - it was his outlet, which required considerable physical and emotional costs, which was difficult in his condition.

- Why do you think Anna passed away?

What prompted Anna to take this step is still a mystery to us. He and Andrey were always together: they went to intellectual games, traveled around the world with the money he won in “His Game.” I can’t find any apparent reason for her action. We were all shocked when this happened. After her departure, Andrei not only withdrew into himself, but was not very willing to make contact even with people close to him.

- Andrey blamed himself for his wife’s death?

Andrei, without a doubt, blamed himself for her death; after all, he was the person closest to her. I don’t know if she planned her departure in advance or if it all happened spontaneously. Anna was a person not of this world, but in a good way. But the fact that she could decide to take such a step still boggles the mind.

- Anna’s acquaintances said that she might be tired of life...

Anna and Andrey shared little with us. From the outside it seemed that they lived well, everything suited them: they had common interests, the same views on life. If God puts people into families like a puzzle and you need to find your soul mate, then they were perfect for each other. Could Andrei’s illness have crippled her? Anna was a unique person and, if she felt that something in her life could change radically, that her foundations and her familiar life could collapse, she probably could have decided to take such a step.

- Why didn’t Andrei and Anna want children?

Anna didn't want children, as far as I know. Andrey did not insist. They were self-sufficient, they had enough of each other...

- Maybe there were financial problems in the family?

They lived normally, did not live in luxury, but did not live in poverty either. Yes, their salaries were not great: Anna taught at the institute, and you know how much our teachers earn. Andrey was the editor of the factory newspaper. They had enough to feed themselves, three cats, dress normally and even travel around the world. They went on trips mainly with the money that Andrei managed to win in “My Game.” Not millions, of course, but the game brought in some income.

I know that his biggest win was a car. Andrey then won the whole season. He was given a prize in money. The car was valued, if my memory serves me right, at 460 thousand rubles, minus 33% tax, so do the math. They used this money to travel to Japan. Sometimes, when there was little money, Anna traveled alone. In general, they led the normal life of a Russian family with an income slightly below average.

- Why didn’t your brother find a better paying job?

Andrei was unambitious and was content with what he had. I have never heard from him that he missed something in this life, that he did not achieve something.

- Shortly before his death, Andrei took leave. For what?

To rest, to heal. He worked his ass off, because work was all he had left. Did he feel his end was near? Only God knows about this. We always offered to help him. He refused, saying that he could handle it himself. I don’t know if it’s appropriate to connect his vacation and his death, but I’m inclined to think that it’s just a coincidence.

- How did you find out about your brother’s death?

We learned about his death on Tuesday when his mother could not reach him by phone. She called her work and was told that he had taken a vacation on Friday. I called the clinic where he was supposed to undergo treatment in a day hospital; there she was told that he had not appeared. I contacted his friend, whom he always asked to feed his cats if he was away somewhere. She also said that Andrei did not call, did not ask, and knew nothing about his plans. Then mom went to him. She rang the doorbell, knocked, and tried to open it with her keys. I had to call a locksmith from the housing office to open the door.

- How did Andrei live after the death of his wife?

In the last year and a half he did not live, but existed. I couldn’t eat, drink, or sleep, I was constantly moping, and I lost terribly weight. But the worst thing is that he closed himself off. My wife and I invited him to visit us many times, he promised everything, but never came. I also haven’t visited my mom and dad for probably a year, if not more. His mother constantly told him: let me come to you myself, help you in any way I can, support you. He answered only one thing: no need.

- Did he often think about his wife?

Andrei thought about her constantly, day and night. Sometimes, when I was telling something, I immediately remembered: “Anya loved this very much,” “Anya really wanted this,” and began to cry.

- Was he trying to distract himself somehow?

But I don’t even know what exactly he’s been doing in the last year and a half. Once I went to Karlovy Vary to a sanatorium from work, and visited Moscow at the invitation of my friends from “My Game”. I don't know anything else.

- Did he also abandon his game?

He last played “My Game” about a year ago, after Anna left. I didn’t win any special laurels, but at least I got to see my colleagues in the game. Participants in intellectual games are special people; they have a completely special world there. I have never heard from Andrei about envy, about any intrigues or intrigues on their part. It seems to me that they are above all this and absolutely sincerely rejoice at each other’s successes and worry about each other’s problems.

Andrei’s friends from the game took the loss of Anna seriously, especially since many knew her personally. During difficult periods, they vied with each other to invite Andrei wherever they could: some just for a visit, “full board” - people were ready to provide him with accommodation, excursions, food; he was invited to Israel for treatment - there were players from this country in “Own Game”...

Andrey lived by the principle “there is no limit to perfection”, constantly tried to progress, learn something new, achieve new results, victories over himself. He never considered himself smarter than ordinary people, never boasted of his knowledge or successes, and behaved on an equal footing with absolutely everyone.

- You didn’t think that his death was voluntary?

When they buried Anna, they left a place nearby for him. That's how it is. Maybe he said in the cemetery: they say, soon I will lie down here too, but no more. The loss of a loved one slightly dulls the fear of losing one’s own life, but to think about suicide... Andrei saw perfectly well how everyone experienced the death of his wife, and he could not subject his own family, his loved ones, to this. I think that his death is still the consequences of his illness, and not a voluntary departure from life.

Zhdanov was buried next to his wife. At the wake, one of the connoisseur’s relatives said: “Andryusha is tired of living. He achieved everything, and then lost everything. What's next? I probably didn’t see the point in holding on to such a life.”

Journalist and polymath Andrei Zhdanov, known for his participation in the “Own Game” program, was found dead in Tolyatti. A year and a half ago, his wife Anna Zhdanova committed suicide.

In Togliatti, a famous player of the TV show “Own Game” - journalist and polymath Andrei Zhdanov - was found dead in his apartment.

Local media reported this.

On the morning of February 7, relatives found Zhdanov dead in his apartment. As local media note, the nature of the injuries on Zhdanov’s body may indicate the criminal circumstances of his death.

According to his colleagues, a week ago Andrei took a leave of absence from the editorial office. Zhdanov was an unsociable person, so his absence for several days did not alarm anyone at first. Most likely, his death, the circumstances of which remains to be determined, occurred last Sunday, February 5th.

Andrey Zhdanov worked all his life as editor of the corporate publication “Prazyv”, published by OJSC “Kuibyshevazot”. Friends often made fun of him, calling the newspaper in which he worked “Poziv.” For many, this attachment to the same place of work was incomprehensible. Because at one fine moment the whole world opened up before Andrei Zhdanov - in the literal sense of the word.

Already an erudite, Andrei has become a regular participant in the television program “Own Game” since 1999. Over the years, he scored 49 wins in 74 games!

According to the official website “Own Game”, Andrey, for almost two decades of participation in the program, became the winner of the XII cycle of the “Golden Dozen” (2000), a member of the team of grandmasters in the Challenge Cup 2, the champion of the second half of 2005, the winner of the 2006 Superfinal, and the owner of the main prize (car) in 2011 - 10 victories in a row, finalist of the 1st team tournament (2012) as part of the Volga region team.

Andrei Zhdanov was one of the most successful participants in the “Own Game” program broadcast on NTV. In 2011, he was able to win the main prize, a car.

He admitted that if it were not for the transfer, the meaning of life would have been lost. And also decent earnings, which was the prize fund. Thanks to this, he and his wife traveled all over the world.

It is known that the journalist had a hard time with the death of his wife, who taught at Tatishchev University in Tolyatti - in the summer of 2015, she committed suicide.

In her suicide note, she stated that she did not want to live and asked not to blame anyone for what happened.

Andrei Zhdanov himself spoke about his wife: “Anya (at that time she still had the surname Kukleva) together we entered the philology department at the Togliatti branch of the Samara State Pedagogical Institute in 1988. She was demonstratively bright, and this was very noticeable: hair with a huge bouffant in the fashion of those years, “combat” makeup, large, very large jewelry, black fishnet tights, a tiny leather skirt, high-heeled shoes.”

Andrey Zhdanov with his wife Anna

Andrei Zhdanov, who in his youth looked like either a hippie or a “nerd”, and not at all like the “storyteller” whose image was remembered by millions of television viewers in recent years, was struck on the spot by the discrepancy between the external and internal appearance of Annushka: with a flashy appearance she was quite a mysterious and strange girl. Andrei was then studying at the Literary Institute, and took Anya to Moscow. Their marriage surprised everyone. “Surprised” in a positive sense: no one said that they were not a couple or anything like that. These were young creative personalities. The decision to marry was probably natural.

Anya Zhdanova followed the pedagogical path: after graduating from the pedagogical institute, and then graduate school, she began teaching at Tatishchev University. Even people who are not students of this educational institution remember her open lectures on foreign literature.

Not now, but someday the time will come to talk about this most unusual married couple in our city. Not even like that: there was no other such couple in our city. Anya (at that time her last name was Kukleva) and I entered the philology department at the Togliatti branch of the Samara State Pedagogical Institute in 1988. She was demonstratively bright, and it was very noticeable: hair with a huge backcomb in the fashion of those years, “combat” makeup, large, very large jewelry, black fishnet tights, a tiny leather skirt, high-heeled shoes. Andrei Zhdanov, who in his youth looked like either a hippie or a “nerd”, and not at all like the “storyteller” whose image was remembered by millions of television viewers in recent years, was struck on the spot by the discrepancy between the external and internal appearance of Annushka: with a flashy appearance she was quite a mysterious and strange girl. Andrei was then studying at the Literary Institute, and took Anya to Moscow. Their marriage surprised everyone. “Surprised” in a positive sense: no one said that they were not a couple or anything like that. These were young creative personalities. The decision to marry was probably natural. Anya Zhdanova followed the pedagogical path: after graduating from the pedagogical institute, and then graduate school, she began teaching at Tatishchev University. Even people who are not students of this educational institution remember her open lectures on foreign literature.

And Andrei worked all his life as the editor of the corporate publication “Call”, published by OJSC Kuibyshevazot. Friends often made fun of him, calling the newspaper in which he worked “Poziv.” For many, this attachment to the same place of work was incomprehensible. Because at one fine moment the whole world opened up before Andrei Zhdanov - in the literal sense of the word. Already an erudite, Andrei has become a regular participant in the television program “Own Game” since 1999. Over the years, he scored 49 wins in 74 games! According to the official website “Own Game”, Andrey, for almost two decades of participation in the program, became the winner of the XII cycle of the “Golden Dozen” (2000), a member of the team of grandmasters in the Challenge Cup 2, the champion of the second half of 2005, the winner of the 2006 Superfinal, and the owner of the main prize (car) in 2011 - 10 victories in a row, finalist of the 1st team tournament (2012) as part of the Volga region team. He admitted that if it were not for the transfer, the meaning of life would have been lost. And also decent earnings, which was the prize fund. Thanks to this, together with Anya, they traveled all over the world. But the trip to Japan had the greatest impression on them. Anna Zhdanova voluntarily passed away on August 28, 2015. Apparently, this was not an emotional outburst, but a deliberate decision. In her posthumous note, she asked not to blame anyone, saying that she simply did not want to live. In the days of farewell, Andrei was in a terrible state, his loved ones feared that he would commit suicide, since outwardly he did not control his actions. Anna was the meaning of his whole life for him. God forbid you experience that feeling when the whole world suddenly collapses before your eyes. This morning, February 7, the body of Andrei Zhdanov was discovered by loved ones in his apartment without signs of violent death. According to his colleagues, a week ago Andrei took a leave of absence from the editorial office. Zhdanov was an unsociable person, so his absence for several days did not alarm anyone at first. Most likely, his death, the circumstances of which remains to be determined, occurred last Sunday, February 5th. In such cases, when spouses leave our world, they say something like: “They have now met in heaven.” None of us can know how it will really be. The life of these two people was truly amazing and full of secrets that are not commonly discussed. These were special people, not of this world. Someday they will write a book about them. After reading it, you will be ashamed of how gray and empty your life was. Vyacheslav Smirnov, photo by the author and from open sources, especially for