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t.A.T.u. The True Story
Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina met in the children band Neposedy. According to people who saw them, the girls were “too friendly” with each other. They were very good friends. Yulia was “expulsed” from the band, because children age 14 and over had to leave the band. But she also behaved badly, which was the second reason for her leaving.
In 2000, there was an audition to form a girls duet. Both girls went separately and took part in the audition, not knowing that the other was there as well. Ivan Shapovalov, the group’s future producer, heard Yulia first, then searched for a second girl. He considered choosing a girl named Katya, but he didn’t like her quite enough. That’s when he met Lena and heard her sing. Then the girls were introduced to each other, and they were quite surprised to see one another, embracing and kissing each other joyfully. That’s when their producer told them about his idea of giving the group its lesbian thematic, with the girls kissing on stage, etc. The image of the group was to be completely centered around the lesbian thematic. Neither girl had a problem with the idea. They told their parents about the project, told them how much they both wanted to become famous, and how the whole idea was only a marketing strategy. Later on, both girls signed a contract.
The first time they kissed was during the filming of their first videoclip, “Ya soshla s uma”. Yulia thought that it would be just a simple kiss which would not lead to anything further, but when the moment came and the girls did kiss, something completely unexpected happened. Lena felt something for her friend Yulia and told her that her lips were soft, like no other lips she had felt before. That was in 2000.
Yulia, who had felt something special the first time she had seen Lena in Neposedy, laughed at the notion, but little by little, she fell in love with Lena and told her of her true feelings. They began to see each other as a couple, in 2000. They were very much in love. You could see that by just looking at them.
The opinions of their parents… In 2001, the girls’ parents discovered that they were in love with each other. Lena’s parents were totally opposed to this and called her everyday, telling her she had to put an end to this. Lena’s parents are very devout Orthodoxes ( very religious), which is the main religion in Russia and in Eastern Europe; and this religion does not accept gay people, which is why Lena’s parents are homophobic. Lena finally told Yulia that they could not go on this way, and the truth was very painful to both Yulia and Lena, but they had no other choice. Yulia and Lena “broke up”, but even though they were no longer a couple, they could not help loving each other.
(Radio interview) “‘Not Gonna Get Us’… And what part of the story of your life was that?” Lena: “That part was when we had some problems with our parents, with our relationship, because our parents were like, ‘Oh, my God, no! My daughter is a lesbian! I can’t believe this, it’s too bad! Be careful, you shouldn’t do it like this!’ But it was a really very difficult time… When your parents won’t listen…” “Are you in love with Yulia?” Lena: “Uh, private question.”
[Yulia and Lena claim to be lovers] (Sound)
Yulia and Lena tell the media that they are lovers, and also go out with boys, although they are not in love with them and do not have any love feelings towards them. Before long, rumours that the girls are not really lesbians and that they both have boyfriends start flying. The girls are telling the truth when they address the media, but because of those rumours, most of the people they talk to don’t really believe that they truly love each other. Lena tells the media: “We don’t love boys . Our parents insist in the presence of boyfriends in our lives. This is tottally false! If you believe that Yulia and I are in love, then don’t believe that. The truth is, neither of us have a boyfriend.”
Yulia and Lena: “Our image is just like the way we are.”
Announcer: “The girls insist their controversial lyrics are totally honest.”
Lena: “Every song is about our love.”
Are they lesbians, bisexuals, or heterosexuals? Both girls are bisexual, although Yulia says she prefers girls because they are more faithful and more attractive, while Lena says she prefers boys.
Lena: “Everybody thinks that we are lesbians, but we just love each other.”
Yulia: “I like both men and women.”
Lena: “Yeah, me too.”
In other interviews [from 2003], they said about their relationship:
“I don’t know how to describe our relationship, I can’t explain it. All I can say is that we are friends, we are sisters, we are lovers.” – Lena Katina
“I don’t think that this kind of love hurts people—we love each other too much—although this is something that the public believes. But is it was a form to do publicity, then we both agreed to it.”
“People sometimes think that this is all an act, but we really love each other, and our songs are only reflections of what is in our souls / spirits.”
On Yulia’s 18 birthday, Lena decorated her room with red roses and gave her a cake with two embracing dolls.
In an interview, Ivan was asked : “what kind of relationship do you have with Yulia and Lena?” He said: “I am their sexual partner.” When asked : “with both at the same time?” His answer was: “Yes.”
Lena refused many times to have sex with Ivan, which is why he scarcely paid money to her. In the documentary “Ta-Ta, Tatu?”, she [Lena] even admitted that she had almost no money and had had to ask Yulia for some.
(Clip from “Ta-Ta, Tatu?”, with English subtitles.)
-Lena: Funny. I’ve run out of dough.
I went to a supermarket yesterday and bought two luncket desserts. There’s no food at home. The soup has gone off. I tried to drink it but I couldn’t.
I had junket for breakfast and again for lunch.
-Girl : Today?
-Lena: Yes.
Because there’s no food. There’s no money.
Tokyo, JAPAN, december 2003
Yulia: I haven’t got any strenght,Pash. Look at me.
They’re telling me to get up and get ready for the concert. I can’t.
I haven’t had anything to eat.
When you’re I'll… you feel this way. What can I do? I have a concert to do.
I don’t see any other option. They will fine us.
Do I really need this?
-[Other scene]
-Lena: I haven’t got any money.
-Girl: Come on. It’s not a problem.
-Lena: I’d like some soup.
[Another scene , Lena’s faint in Japan, december 2003]
-Person 1: Give me some ammonia spirit!
-Yulia: Just sprinkle some water on her.
-Person 2: Is there a doctor here?
-Yulia: She doesn’t need anything, the water’s bringing her round.
-Yulia: Nastya [Lena’s friend] how much has she eaten today?
-Nastya: She ate early this morning.
-Yulia: See, again, she hasn’t eaten anything.
-Person: Just wait!
-Yulia: Are you better?
Do you feel better?
-Person 2: Take that jar away!
-Yulia: I’ll give her some tea.
-Person: yura, Put some sugar in it!
-Person: We’ll carry her.
-Nastya: Lena, come on!
-Person: You look better
-Yulia: Len, Here’s some sugary tea for you. It’s not hot, drink it.
-Lena: Wait a second! I’ll spill it.
-Yulia: I’ll hold it for you.
Honey, sugary tea is good for you.
-Person 3: Drink up.
-Yulia: Are you cold?
-Lena: Yes.
-Yulia: I poured so much water on you!
-Lena: My hair is all wet!
-Person 3: Let’s go to the hotel. There are too many people here.
-Yulia: Has anybody got a bobble for her hair?
-Lena: I have one, it’s over there.
-Yulia: Sergey!
She’ll have to put a hodd on, her hair is wet, she might catch a cold.
Does that hurt?
-Lena: No
-Yulia: Put the hood on.
A boy named Pasha (a friend of Ivan Shapovalov) enters Yulia’s life because of Lena’s parents. He is her bodyguard. Pasha is married, and also has a two-year-old daughter (in 2003). Ivan is the one who told the press that Pasha was Yulia’s boyfriend.
In the documentary “Anatomy of t.A.T.u.”, which premiered on December 12, 2003, Yulia admitted that she had an abortion. The abortion took place in 2002, and the father was Ivan Shapovalov, although Yulia was drunk when it happened .
According to Ivan, all artists have sex with their producers, and if Yulia want to receive her part (of the money), she had to have sex with him.
Yulia refused to tell the media who was the father of the baby. All she would say was : “My private life? Lena has me, and I have her. That is my private life.”
(Clip from “Anatomy of t.A.T.u.”) [The following translation was taken from the document which can be found at: Yulia: “I told mommy because... like, I couldn’t hide it... because I realized that I had to go to the hospital for a day... I had to stay there after the whole procedure... it was very hard, of course… The doctors said that everything is different for different people, some start in two weeks into the time… I started eating like a wolf, I stated eating everything, nuts and everything, all together, I wanted to eat... I had a dizziness and I thought to myself: “Something is strange here” ... I got some stripes. Then I thought that I need to run to the doctor’s as soon as possible. It’s was horrible...I understand that I have a career, my work, if God gave me this chance to be famous and sing, why not?... Imagine that there would be a little child there, very small... Of course I cried a lot at that time...”
In February of 2003, Yulia got herself two tattoos: one on her upper back, and one on her lower back. Theire respective meanings, in Arabic, are “Deep Love” or ”Deeply In Love”.
At the end of June 2003, the girls went to Japan. Travelling with them were Lena’s mother and sister, as well as Pasha, who never leaved Yulia’s side.
It becomes obvious that Pasha is standing between Yulia and Lena (when they don’t have to save appearances for the sake of Lena’s mother).
Yulia was not present at Lena’s birthday party in October 2003 Lena celebrated her birthday with some fans and friends at her house, with her family. Under the circumstances, it is understandable that Yulia did not go.
In December of 2003, Yulia became pregnant of Ivan Shapovalov’s child (for the second time). Yulia was very drunk, as was Ivan, and he took advantage the situation. Yulia found out that she was pregnant again and wanted an abortion, but the doctors told her that she couldn’t, the reason being that she had already had a previous abortion, and if she had another one, she might never be able to have children again because her body was so weak. Under her mother’s advice, Yulia decided to have the baby. Lena was the first person she called after she found out that she was pregnant. Lena told her that she was against abortion and that Yulia should have the baby.
There was nothing that Yulia wouldn’t do for fame, including having sex with Ivan in order to remain a part of t.A.T.u., because if she didn’t have sex with him, he would have kicked her out of the group. According to Ivan, he made the following comment to a girl who was in the casting for t.A.T.u.: “All producers have sex with their artists. If you want to be part of this group, you’re going to have to do it.”
(Clip from “Anatomy of t.A.T.u.”) [The following translation was taken from the document which can be found at:Yulia: “I think that I can do anything… absolutely… there is no idea with which I wouldn't agree to.”
In “Anatomy of t.A.T.u.” Yulia explains that at the beggining of t.A.T.u. she had a dream about Lena.
(Clip from “Anatomy of t.A.T.u.”) [The following translation was taken from the document which can be found at: Yulia: “Well today I was going to Taradino, and I have this dream: we just arrived at the airport in Moscow with Katina, yes? And Katina… I am driving home, everything is fine… it’s summer, it’s warm… then I see Katina behind the wheel of a limo, the ones that they drive in America, and she says: “You know, there is something urgent, I have to tell you something, I forgot to tell you that...It's really important.. let’s drive to the park.” We drive to the park. And she says: ‘I dunno, maybe I am a fool, maybe I’m not, but the thing is, my image grew into love. I really love you!” I look at her and say: “Lena, what are you on about?” and she says: “Yes, I'm seriously in love with you.” She drives me to my apartment; I come out of the car in tears. I didn’t expect this from Lena.”
“Anatomy of t.A.T.u.” first aired on December 12, 2003. Through this documentary, the girls’ parents wanted to make it clear to the world that the relationship between their daughters was only been a publicity stunt. They wanted the “truth” to be told about this relationship. (But as the girls revealed after the premiere: “This is an act. The truth about our relationship can be found in Screaming For More (the DVD), in our songs, in our videos, etc.). They did not tell the truth in “Anatomy of t.A.T.u.” because of their parents; or if they did tell the truth, it was only the one which their parents wanted to hear. Only once was there a comment on how Yulia had really fallen in love with a girl, as Lena’s parents already knew this since they had found out that they were a couple .
(Clip from “Anatomy of t.A.T.u.”) [The following translation was taken from the document which can be found at: Yulia: “You see, when the project started... yes?... from one point of view, an image ...of two girls madly in love with each other...yes... Maybe from this point of view... this for me was very unusual/weird... because i had never thought of girls in that way... yes... Although it did not come as a shock and I was ok about it, I just couldn’t perceive it. However, at one point, I did perceive/understand it... I really loved a girl! At one point I realized that I had [love] feelings for a girl.. yes?... And I thought: "Damn, In project t.A.T.u. ... whereas I had never thought of [loving a girl] before, I realized that it is possible for me to love a girl"... We didn't have any sex but there have been feelings, as when we kissed we had [love] feelings.”
Influenced by her parents, Lena said that she was homophobic (her parents are), that what they were doing was a big sin, and that she went to church to confess her sins to a priest.
(Clip from “Anatomy of t.A.T.u.”) [The following translation was taken from the document which can be found at: Lena: “I go to church constantly… I have a pope there, and I tell him everything… about the project… he tries to help me, blesses me… he is a very good person, he understands… [clears throat] I started to tell him about what the project is built on… and so on… and he said that you are sailing on scandals... I said: ‘Well, if we look at the overall picture, then yes!’. I know that a moment will come when you’ll have to pay for everything you’ve done in this life time… I want to, kind of, you know, pay off my sins… what I do now is really a huge sin… I still don’t understand how she fought it... it took a long time. How to kiss… mom was running like crazy… but I understood to myself that it was a commercial moment… that it was… However, if we are to be serious about this… that at this age of 14, 15… we talked with my mom about this… this friendship between two girls… It's about everyone!.. everyone who has a friend, best friend… you don’t understand what you feel - whether it is friendship or love. It's a very "in-between" kind of feeling, There is a thin line between these two feelings, and on this line…”
Yulia also explains how she often does not feel like she wants to go on living, how she wants to die, and how she’s afraid of being alone.
(Clip from “Anatomy of t.A.T.u.”) [The following translation was taken from the document which can be found at: Yulia: “… sometimes it gets so hard that I don’t want to live any more… sometimes I want to get behind the wheel and drive at 200 km/h into a poll, That what I think sometimes and sometimes I want to die… I just come up to my mother and tell her that I don’t want to live any more… it’s hard… maybe it’s some kind of psychological illness… when you are doing something not right, and you don’t realize that at the beginning… you do it, and then realize how stupid you were to do it… I don’t want to go to church, I am saying something bad, I know, I don’t want to pray, although I have a little cross on my neck… just want to throw it out of my head, forget it… as though it never happened… yet sometimes, it’s very tough… There is a notable moment… I was hanging out with a group of people who were drug addicts. Some injected it and some sniffed.. and we had a bet… that if I have one injection that I won’t need it again… and I succeeded… I tried it, but I am not using it, right?... *raising voice* because I realized that I absolutely don’t need it in life…”
Pasha Sidorov acted as Yulia’s boyfriend for the press , and Yulia announced that he is the father of her child, thus hiding the fact that Ivan is the real father, to preserve their image. Ivan is paying Pasha to do this, because it covers the truth, which is, that he, Ivan, is the real father of the baby.
Lena Kiper, a woman working with Ivan Shapovalov, made some comments with regards to the situation. She said that Yulia was not pregnant with Pasha Sidorov’s child, but with Ivan Shapovalov’s. “In reality, Pasha Sidorov worked at an office in Shapovalov’s company. He was a security guard there. He combined his work as a security guard with that of a press-attaché. This was part of his submission from when it was believed that the girls had to be- lesbians. And last year (2003), appeared in the media that he was really Yulia’s boyfriend. This is all a lie! As I know that he is married and that he also has a daughter. His relationship with Volkova, it seems to me, is pure fiction. Was all of this done to hide who is the real father of the baby?” Obviously, if Yulia and Pasha really were a couple, he wouldn’t be married with another woman. He would have married with Yulia and the two of them would have lived together. But this is not what has happened. Pasha’s wife told the press that , about his love , only her (Pasha’s wife) and her daughter.
In 2004, the girls broke off their contract with Ivan Shapovalov, who had made a name for himself solely by selling rumours and scandals. Now the girls have a new manager, Boris Renski, who has indicated that the girls need to get rid of their lesbian image. In an interview which she gave in May 2004, Yulia said: “I’m not going to marry Pasha, but instead, I will marry Lena.” How many people took it as a joke, but she knows that she said it because this is what she really wants, but she knows that this cannot be possible.
Yulia spend her pregnancy in the company of her parents, and especially her mother, who accompanied her everywhere and protected her from the journalists.
Why Yulia and Lena deny their relationship to the media? Now the girls deny having any kind of relationship with each other to the media or to their parents, but especially to their parents; because if they did, they might not be able to be together, or even continue being part of the group. That’s the reason why they are changing their image as well.
Lena’s father likes to tell the media that this was all a marketing scheme. It hurt him too much to know that the girls were really a couple, and he tries to pretend that it never happened. Lena silently agrees to him, knowing too well, that what he says is not entirely true. But Lena does not want to hurt him again, so she hides her real feelings. Lena’s grandmother also had something to do with the current state of the situation.
As for Yulia, if she were to say that she is involved in a relationship with a girl, she might not be allowed near her daughter anymore, which is why she says that she is heterosexual.
The girls are still together in the group, and they are working on a new album. They have signed a contract for the recording of four more albums. Lena denied that a new girl would sustitute Yulia.
Yulia’s daughter was born on September 23, 2004, and was named Viktoria Volkova. If Pasha had really been Yulia’s boyfriend, Yulia would have named her daughter Sidorova (after Pasha’s family name), which is not the case.
Lena bought an apartment in central Moscow, and Yulia has a new house.
Lena has told the media that she had a boyfriend named Andrey. She said that he had proposed to her, but that she was not ready to get married just yet; that she wanted to live with him before getting married and even then, she might not be ready for it, since she feels she still needs to mature a bit. Is that an excuse?, considering that on other occasions, she had said that she wanted to live with Yulia and even wanted to marry her? Obviously, this would be impossible in the society in which she lives, but it is an excuse.
Yulia and Lena hide the identity of Viktoria’s real father from the media because they do not want people to know that Ivan, their manager, had sex with the two of them whenever he wanted. On the other hand, it could be that if Yulia or Lena speak badly of Ivan, he will say that he is the father and this, they do not want.
For the time being, what they show to the public is that they have a “good” relationship.
Meanwhile, Yulia’s and Lena’s parents know who Viktoria’s real father is.
Lena said that Vika has her mother’s beauty, and Yulia said that the girl also is from Lena (we all know what she is referring to .
From the look of things, the two boys, Pasha and Andrey (but especially Pasha) are only decoys for the media. In January, 2005, they went to a wedding with their "boyfriends" and it seemed as though this was, indeed, for the press. In the photos where they are posing with people, they are not with their “boyfriends”; and in another photo, the girls are dancing together with their arms wrapped around each other.
In April, 2005, Yulia announced that she had “broken up” (not that there really was a relationship to break up, but rather the image that was presented to the media) with her “boyfriend” Pasha. “I don’t have a husband. I am single now. We have split, but I feel perfectly fine.”
As for Lena, she said: “I have no plan to marry for now. I’m not ready yet.” Lena has also written in her online diary that she has ended her relationship with Andrey.
In an interview given in October, 2004, the girls were asked whether they would continue to kiss on stage. They answered that they wouldn’t, that they will do it on private.
This was the true story of Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina, the one which the media does not know…
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