Viktor Tsoi has long been considered a cult figure in Russian rock. He was born in 1962. And in what year did Tsoi Viktor die ? This sad information is known to all his fans. In August 1990, he was gone. Is it not difficult to calculate at what age Choi died? He was only 28. According to the official version, he fell asleep at the wheel on the highway, faced with the oncoming Ikarus.
Other versions, except for the accident, were not considered at all. But many still believe that in this terrible story, not everything is so transparent ... How did Viktor Tsoi really die? Let's look at some versions of that terrible event.
Last year
By 1990, Viktor Tsoi was already very popular and was considered a real star, the idol of millions. He appeared in public with two bodyguards and behaved like a hero of a blockbuster. In addition, the most successful in conceptual and creative terms, a record called "Blood Type" has already been recorded. After that, according to music critics, Choi could not write anything for at least two years.
But in 1989, Victor and his comrades went on their first trip abroad. He ended up in France. And it was here that the musicians released their next album, “The Last Hero”. A few months later, the Kino group crossed the ocean and ended up in the United States. Then the film “Needle” was released, where the singer played the main role. After that, at one of the film festivals, Choi was recognized as the best Soviet actor.
At the beginning of the summer of 1990, the big Kino tour ended. The last concert was the performance of the group in Luzhniki. It was there, for the first time after the Summer Olympics in 1980, that a fire was lit in the Olympic Cup. The next tour was scheduled for autumn. The musicians were going to go with concerts to the Land of the Rising Sun.
In the same fateful summer, Choi, in order to combine business with pleasure, rented a small house near Jurmala, brought his son there, rested and at the same time composed new songs. Together with guitarist Y. Kasparyan, he practically recorded material for the next record. Subsequently, this disc will be called "Black Album". After Tsoi’s death, the album was sold out in millions of copies. A great merit in this belongs to the group's producer Yuri Aizenshpis.
Last producer
The first acquaintance of Tsoi with Aizenshpis occurred in the second half of 1988. After some time, Yuri became the director of the group, and since 1989 - the producer. Actually, he referred to himself as "the first producer in the Soviet Union." As a rule, Aizenshpis took already formed groups under his wing. After which he arranged tours. He coped with this task perfectly.
It was the same with "Cinema". Aizenshpis managed to organize frequent broadcasts on Soviet television (for example, in the program “Sight”). Thanks to this, the group instantly gained all-Union popularity, and the team leader Tsoi woke up as a superstar.
Aizenshpis also compiled a crazy tour schedule throughout the country. So, he arranged for his team to give four concerts a day. Seventy thousand fans came to the last performance of the group in Luzhniki, which was mentioned above. Note that all the tickets for the concert were sold out in just two days.
Nevertheless, the musicians of Kino were on the verge of physical exhaustion. According to the members of the group, this crazy ches was already of no interest to anyone. However, this tour was very profitable. For example, three months before the death of Tsoi, Aizenshpis handed him the unfortunate dark blue Moskvich-2141.
Killer car
In those days, this car was considered very prestigious and fashionable. Moskvich had a good engine, a fairly spacious interior and, of course, an attractive appearance. But at a speed of 90 km / h, this model did not feel the road at all. In addition, there was a significant problem with the brakes.
For Tsoi, this "Moskvich" was the first and last personal car. It is hard to say if he could have acquired another car in 1990. After all, it was then that foreign cars began to penetrate the automobile market of the Soviet Union. Of course, this was a rather expensive product, and their owners, respectively, so far have been few. Nobody thought then about the safety systems of such cars, because first of all, the very fact of the presence of cars transferred the owner to another rank. But "Moskvich" Tsoi greatly lost to foreign counterparts in terms of quality. Apparently, this imperfection played a role in the death of the performer. How did Choi die? What happened on that fateful day?
Fateful morning
Where did Viktor Tsoi die? Recall that after the summer tour, the singer and his son were in the Baltic states. At about three in the morning on August 15, he went fishing in his car. The forest lake on which he was fishing was located nearby - this is a fifteen minute ride along the familiar road, the Sloka-Tulsa highway.
The performer was completely sober. Be that as it may, over the past two days he absolutely did not drink alcohol. Fortunately, the singer did not take his young son for morning fishing, although he was very fond of fishing with his father. But on the 15th, for some reason, he decided not to go fishing.
How did Viktor Tsoi die? On the way back at 11.30 near the town of Tukums at a speed of 130 km / h, Tsoi’s car flew into the oncoming lane, where it collided with Ikarus. The blow was a crushing force. From the collision, Ikarus fell into the river, its driver, fortunately, was not injured. There were no passengers in the cabin. Tsoi's car was thrown back twenty meters. The engine was found 50 meters from Moskvich. In fact, only one trunk was left from the car. The death of the idol came instantly. How old was Choi? We already mentioned this - the performer was only 28.
When the singer’s body was opened, forensic experts got down to business. So, Tsoi’s brain cells were examined. Judging by the results, at the time of the accident the performer was probably asleep, and from overwork. Actually, because of this, a terrible fatal accident occurred. Note, re-examination has never been conducted.
The funeral
The death of Viktor Tsoi was a real shock to a huge army of fans. The death of the idol was sudden. That is why many categorically refused to believe in the reality of what really happened. Everyone wondered: why did Viktor Tsoi die? How could this happen? Fans wrote on the walls: "Choi is alive!". And several connoisseurs of Cinema, they say, have put their scores on life. Choi died at the age of only 28, and it is really difficult to believe that there is no longer a person full of vitality and energy.
Relatives of the deceased demanded that they bury him exclusively in a closed coffin. From a terrible blow in an accident, the singer's body has changed beyond recognition. The funeral of the leader of "Cinema" took place in the northern capital on August 19. Thousands of fans arrived in the city to say goodbye to the idol. The last refuge for the singer was the Theological Graveyard.
Sole witness
So why did Choi die? After the mourning ceremony, it became known that the investigation, which was carried out hastily, did not consider any versions, except for the accident. Viktor Tsoi, apparently, really fell asleep at the wheel. Indirectly, this proves that the Moskvich did not have a brake track on a sharp turn. In principle, this version is more than convincing: great speed and lack of sleep. But the Ikarus was empty and, accordingly, no one can confirm how fast Tsoi's car was racing.
The only witness to this fatal accident was the driver of the ill-fated bus named Janis Fibiks. By the way, after the accident he again continued to drive passenger vehicles. How did Choi die? What evidence did the Ikarus driver give? On August 15, 1990, of course, he remembers. He told how “Moskvich” suddenly appeared and hit “Ikarus”. There were no other details. Accordingly, traffic police officers relied on the testimony of one witness Fibiks. And this made many doubt the reasons for this deadly incident.
Versions of the death of the singer
So, in 1990 (Viktor Tsoi died 28 years ago), the version of the intentional murder of the singer was actively supported. Among the motives were the distribution of revenue from concert activities, copyrights and, of course, the change of producers of Kino. Others claimed that the premature death of a musician is beneficial to many, since Choi was not at all embarrassed to sing "in a forbidden format." On the other hand, he never quarreled with the capital's show mafia. He more than arranged them.
How did Choi die? Another version is related to the suicide of Victor. In any case, part of his fans were sure that their idol brought their scores to life. Among the reasons are fatigue from a crazy touring schedule, difficult relationships with his beloved wife and, as a result, severe depression. In fact, this all sounds rather strange. Moreover, many remembered how organically the singer entered the guise of a rock hero. Accordingly, it is unlikely that Choi would choose this method of suicide and began to ram a large bus. In the end, the singer’s close friends did not notice that then something was very painful for him.
Thus, we are not talking about suicide or contract killings, and the official version of the accident seems quite plausible. True, many doubted that Viktor Tsoi fell asleep at the wheel. So, the team manager said that the singer was a collected and pedantic person. He was engaged in martial arts and generally led a rather sporty lifestyle. Viktor Tsoi was punctual and was able to concentrate. Therefore, according to him, he could not just fall asleep. Others believe that the cause of the disaster was a short driving experience. He could be distracted by something. Well, of course, I felt tired due to night fishing.
What other versions were considered? How did Choi die? Many argue that the performer a priori could put the cassette in his car radio. Accordingly, he was distracted from the movement at the fateful turn of the track. As for the cassette, he could listen to draft material for the new album. But guitarist Yu. Kasparyan categorically denied this version. The fact is that on August 15, 1990, Tsoi did not have such a cassette. According to Kasparyan, in those days he specially came to Jurmala with the appropriate equipment. Together with Tsoi they arranged new songs. After this, Kasparyan took the cassette and went home to Leningrad. And after a few hours I learned about the tragedy.
Experiment
The widow of singer Marianne also never believed that his beloved spouse could just fall asleep at the wheel. She tried in every possible way to communicate with the driver of the ill-fated Ikarus, but this did not happen. Nevertheless, she was sure that the tragedy with the participation of the deceased husband was a banal car accident. In this case, a violation of the accident was on the part of Victor. Still, it was he who crashed into the oncoming lane.
The musician’s mother also doubted that his son fell asleep at the wheel. According to her, he was a fairly balanced and calm person. Just the music distracted his attention. And thus he did not control the road. If he worked on a new record, then at the wheel he could scroll through all the options. “Musicians shouldn’t drive at all!” she admitted.
And Tsoi’s friends specially arranged an experiment. They arrived in Latvia and repeated the tragic route of a deceased friend. They concluded that the official version is still convincing. According to them, Victor is the indirect culprit of the accident. After an intensive touring schedule, his body was physically and morally exhausted. Therefore, on the day of the tragedy, the singer, returning from night fishing, nevertheless fell asleep at the wheel.
Unexpected witness
Almost twenty years after the death of Tsoi, a letter came to the editorial office of one of the well-known publications. The addressee was a certain Riga citizen Janis. In a letter, he admitted that he was involved in the fateful death of the singer, and also told how Tsoi died. According to him, some "customers" asked him to scare Tsoi. On August 15, 1990, he and his friends arrived on a forest lake, where the singer was fishing at that time. As a result, the verbal bickering turned into a fight. The winner was Choi. Applying martial arts, he packed all the opponents, and he rushed to the car, giving the gas. Perhaps this conflict has become the real cause of the fatal accident on the highway.
Of course, the media wanted to find this Janis. And they almost managed to do it. But strong men arrived at the meeting. They advised them not to meddle in this matter at all. Honestly, this version and the existence of a certain Janis still raise obvious doubts.
But in another edition of the popular publication called a man who introduced himself as Viktor Tsoi. According to him, he is alive, and in 1990 a terrible mistake occurred. Allegedly, he was tired of everything and disappeared, having moved to Japan. There he is engaged in the auto business and continues to write.
Memory
By and large, the premature death of the singer contributed to the great popularity of the Kino team. And the death of the leader itself created a kind of cult of the deceased hero.
- As mentioned above, after the death of V. Tsoi appeared posthumous album "Cinema". The musicians themselves had to finish writing and putting together the record. It was called The Black Album. Subsequent recordings of the group were always quickly sold out.
- A little later, the documentary "Deadly Turn" appeared. The tape has all the versions of a fatal accident. There is also a story that the singer is still alive.
- Where Choi died, a monument to the singer is now erected. The height of the figure is almost 2.5 m. Money for the monument was collected by fans of Tsoi's creativity.
- In 2009, in a hometown of Tsoi - in St. Petersburg, on Nevsky Prospekt - a plaster sculpture of a performer was installed. True, the monument did not last long. The place of sculpture was constantly changing. The situation is still uncertain.
- In late autumn 2010, the country's first permanent monument to the singer was opened in Barnaul.
- The most famous “living” wall, which is dedicated to the memory of Tsoi, is located on the Arbat. In 2006, she was painted over by vandals. Fortunately, the wall was completely restored by fans of the singer.
- Similar walls of Tsoi exist in almost every city. So, the Dnieper also has its own wall of Tsoi. In fact, it is unofficially not only a memorial, but also a meeting place for fans of the musician’s creativity. The capital of Belarus also has a similar memorial. It has existed since the mid 90's. This wall of Tsoi was repeatedly transferred to another place. Now she is in Lyakhovsky Square.