OGONEK KATYA (POZHARSKAYA KRISTINA) - (05/17/1977 - 10/24/2007) - performer in the style of Russian chanson, I was born in the city of Dzhugba, Krasnodar Territory. Father is a musician, mother is a housewife. A little later, the family moved to Kislovodsk, where Katya graduated from ballet and choreographic school.

She graduated from nine years of high school, and at the age of 16 Katya moved to Moscow. Pozharskaya was born in the Krasnodar region, in the urban village of Dzhubga. In addition to secondary school, the future singer studied at music and ballet schools. At the age of 16, she began performing pop hits in school ensembles, at dances, and in pop groups.

Her father was friends with the famous songwriter Alexander Shaganov, who came to visit him, and one day Christina’s dad persuaded his friend to write a song for his daughter. Then an album was recorded, where the singer sang songs in a smoke-free child’s voice. The album turned out to be of no use to anyone, but Christina’s work experience came in handy when she moved to Moscow.

For some time she worked in Mikhail Tanich’s group “Lesopoval”. However, relations with the team, despite the support of Tanich himself, did not work out.

In Moscow I met A. Kalyanov and A. Shaganov, with the latter I worked for some time in the group “10 A”. In 1996, Vyacheslav Klimenkov created a new project in the chanson genre and the choice fell on Katya, and then the pseudonym “Ogonyok” was created. In 1998, the album "White Taiga" was released, the project was a resounding success, it got to the point that the album was re-released and a separate album of remixes for these songs was made. Katya Ogonyok tried to sing in M. Tanich’s group “Lesopoval”, but very quickly left the group. After that, she collaborated with V. Chernyakov and M. Sheleg; albums with these authors, such as albums with songs by V. Klimenkov, were no longer successful.

The producers did not immediately select her repertoire, but after assessing her hoarse timbre, they realized that pop music was not for her. After her release, the singer worked for Alexander Kalyanov and Alexander Morozov. After some time, she acquired the pseudonym Masha Sha, which later changed to the name Katya Ogonyok, and the album “Rubber Vanyusha,” which became a response to Mikhail Sheleg’s album “Rubber Zina.” Later she began to collaborate with Viktor Chernyakov. Among the most famous compositions of Katya Ogonyok are the songs “And You Are Far Away” and “The Path from the Beginning.”

In a number of early interviews, the singer claimed that she allegedly served a sentence in prison: “To be honest, I wouldn’t like to talk about this in detail. It’s hard to remember. I was convicted under Article 211, part two (then they changed it to part three). In principle, there is nothing terrible in this article, there was just an unpleasant story related to the car. In general, an unexpected situation. I spent a little over two years in distant places. I was given an amnesty - not even for good behavior. but for good singing."

This version spread across many media outlets. Subsequently, the singer stopped mentioning the “prison experience,” and producer V. Chernyakov finally refuted this legend after the singer’s death.

She was married, but at the time of her death she was officially divorced. However, until the end of her life she was in a civil marriage with former boxer Levan Koyava. In 2001, the singer gave birth to a daughter, Valeria, whose guardians were Katya’s father and mother.

Katya Ogonyok died on the morning of October 24, 2007 from pulmonary edema and acute heart failure, probably caused by cirrhosis of the liver. She was buried at the Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye cemetery in Moscow.

In October 2010, the artist’s relatives finally managed to raise funds and erect a monument at the singer’s grave.

The star of Russian chanson, popular singer Katya Ogonyok died on October 24, 2007 at the age of 30 due to pulmonary edema caused by heart failure. Her real name was Kristina Penkhasova. She started singing at a very young age, but popularity came much later due to a change in image and genre of performance.

It so happens that fans of the genre associate Russian chanson with brutal male voices and tough lyrics. A woman performing chanson is rather an exception. Among the few singers who are truly loved by a specific audience is Katya Ogonyok.

Despite her great popularity, the woman herself has said more than once that she does not consider herself a singer - only a performer, but she had a certain approach to each song, and her soft, soulful style of singing made fans come to concerts time after time. The artist’s life was tragically cut short at the age of 30: the cause of Katya Ogonyok’s death was named heart failure.

The singer had a rich biography and great popularity, but her lifestyle contributed to speculation surrounding her sudden death. Some believe that the singer had a criminal record, which is why she was so popular with crime bosses, one of whom even gave her a gold medallion.

Date of death

The queen of Russian chanson died on October 24, 2007 in one of the Moscow hospitals. The singer was taken to the clinic five days before her death, three of which she was in extremely serious condition. According to her husband, Ogonyok felt unwell after arriving from her next tour, so he insisted on hospitalization. Shortly before her death, the singer came to her senses and was even able to talk to her loved ones. Doctors gave only optimistic forecasts, so the woman’s death was a real blow for her family.

Why did she die anyway?

Doctors announced the cause of death of the star: she died from pulmonary edema caused by heart failure. In addition, the singer’s liver was almost completely destroyed and she had kidney disease. It was because of information about liver cirrhosis that many rumors appeared about Katya Ogonyok’s alcoholism. The prerequisites were the testimony of numerous colleagues of the woman, who claimed that she performed a lot, and after the concerts she drank at banquets.

Katya Ogonyok herself refused to admit the use of strong alcoholic beverages - in an interview she said that she preferred Georgian wines. Katya’s parents also deny their daughter’s alcoholism: they believe that the death was caused by a very busy work schedule.

Also, the mother repeatedly accused her daughter’s husband, Levon Koyava, of dishonesty, and also pointed out that Levon did not work and lived on Ogonyok’s earnings. After the death of a star of such magnitude, several episodes were aired dedicated to the memory of the artist. One of them showed footage taken in a rented apartment where the couple lived: the apartment looked untidy and was in need of renovation for a long time.

After the tragic death of the woman, there was practically no savings left. This may seem strange, since the singer often gave concerts, went on tours and received fairly high fees. The star's parents claim that Koyava was only interested in money: when Katya was in intensive care, he asked the doctor to get her back on her feet as soon as possible - after all, there was a new tour on the horizon. In response to the accusations, the man only responded that he understands the pain of a family that has lost a daughter - it is the bitterness of the loss that makes them look for someone to blame.

The singer’s producer Vladimir Chernyakov told the press that in fact Ogonyok was admitted to the hospital due to an attack of epilepsy, which she had suffered since childhood.

Funeral and installation of a monument

Katya Ogonyok was buried at the Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye cemetery on October 27. Ksenia Strizh, Garik Krichevsky, Leonid Teleshev, Sergei Nagovitsyn and many fans of the celebrity’s work came to say goodbye to the singer. The coffin was carried out of the hall to applause.

The financial situation of the deceased’s family was so depressing that the monument could only be erected three years after the death of the star. The singer's father shared with the press that he hoped to earn money in his own restaurant. When the establishment went bankrupt due to the crisis, he organized a memorable concert in Krasnogorsk. The funds raised were used to purchase the monument, and the rest of the fee was deposited into the account of Katya’s daughter, who remained in the care of her grandparents.

Biography of Katya Ogonyok

In fact, Katya Ogonyok is the stage name of Kristina Penkhasova, with whom she became so accustomed that she even changed the name in her passport.

Childhood

Christina was born on the Black Sea coast in the village of Dzhubga, Krasnodar Territory. From childhood, the girl grew up in an atmosphere of love for music: her father Evgeny Semenovich was a musician who worked with many musical groups, including the Gems ensemble, and her mother Tamara Ivanovna danced in Virsky’s studio. The father’s important task was to instill good taste in the girl: he played her records by pianist Oscar Peterson and Eric Clapton, and the child sang memorable tunes in an original manner. One of the most beloved performers of the future celebrity was Nani Bregvadze.

When the girl grew up, her parents decided to move to Kislovodsk. There, Christina graduated from the 9th grade of a comprehensive school, where she did not perform well. Then the character of the future artist began to take shape: she could disrupt her classes and skipped a lot. Parents who dreamed of a girl becoming an artist turned a blind eye to many things.

In addition to studying in high school, Ogonyok studied music and danced in a choreographic studio. Evgeniy Semenovich admitted in his interviews that despite his daughter’s obvious talent, he deliberately did not give her a proper musical education: he was afraid that the teachers would negatively influence her singing style. It was the father who chose for his daughter the genre with which Katya Ogonyok connected her fate - chanson.

Subsequently, information was circulated in the press that Katya Ogonyok did not like to perform “thieves’ songs,” but the singer herself repeatedly mentioned in interviews that this genre is the only one in which she would like to work.

The beginning of a singer's career

However, Katya Ogonyok’s path began not with chanson, but with the priest. The girl’s father was friends with Alexander Shaganov, a famous author of poems for the compositions of the Lyube group and many others. Evgeny Semenovich asked a friend to write a song for his daughter. So for the first time, the then young Christina appeared on stage: she was only 16 years old.

Soon the first album was recorded as part of the group “10 A”, in which the singer performed under the pseudonym Kristina Pozharskaya, which brought neither income nor popularity. However, some recorded songs attracted attention to the performer, for example, producer Vyacheslav Klimenkov drew attention to the girl after listening to the song “Walk”. At the beginning of her career, the artist was supported financially by her father - it was he who sponsored the recording of songs. By that time, the girl had already moved to Moscow.

For the first time, Christina tried her hand at chanson while working as backing vocals for the famous group “Lesopoval”. For personal reasons, the collaboration did not work out, although Tanich himself spoke well of the girl.

In an interview, the singer admitted that it was difficult for her to work with established artists because of small fees and pathos. The joint work made Christina understand that typically masculine music suits her strong-willed character well - the singer made no further attempts to change her performance style.

In 1995, Christina became the winner of a competition organized by Soyuz Production. The company was looking for performers for a new project. After the victory, the singer’s career took off: she began recording songs in a duet with Mikhail Sheleg under the pseudonym Masha-sha. The lyrics were very provocative and contained jokes and hints of erotic content. It is not known how the singer herself assessed the result of the duet, but in the same year, when the discs “Masha-sha - Rubber Vanyusha” and “Misha + Masha = Sha!!!” were released, she changed her repertoire and took a new pseudonym Katya Ogonyok.

Popularity

Ogonyok achieved its greatest popularity in tandem with producer Vyacheslav Klimenkov. Klimenkov came up with a whole legend that was supposed to help Katya get onto the stage. According to the fictitious biography, Ogonyok had a criminal past - she was serving a sentence under Article 211 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which charged causing death due to violation of traffic rules. The created image allowed Katya to become famous in certain circles, including among prisoners. It was they who were the artist’s regular listeners at first.

The albums “White Taiga” and “White Taiga 2” sharply strayed from the usual genre, but this is what made Katya Ogonyok’s work stand out, and her hoarse voice, confidentially telling about the hardships of prison life, was loved by many, including those far from prison romance. The singer recorded most of the songs in the first take.

At the beginning of 2000, Ogonyok began working with Vladimir Chernyakov. Under his leadership, 8 albums were released. The singer’s latest work, an album called “In My Heart,” became posthumous: it was released in 2008.

Ogonyok constantly went on tours - her concerts were always sold out. Once the singer was even invited to America, but the trip never happened - Katya was not given a visa. According to rumors, the consulate employee did not believe that Ogonyok was a singer, she behaved so simply in everyday life.

Over almost a ten-year career, Katya Ogonyok gave the world 12 albums. According to the father, the woman often provided financial assistance to orphanages and also supported her parents.

Husband and daughter

Katya Ogonyok was officially married once. Nothing is known about the marriage, except that after the wedding Katya took her husband’s surname - Bogdanova, it lasted only 3 years. The singer was not married to Levan Koyav, although in 2001 she gave him a daughter, Valeria. After Ogonyok’s death, the girl was taken in by her grandparents. Levan, according to Katya’s parents, is almost not involved in her upbringing.

In 2017, the daughter of the queen of chanson Valeria took the pseudonym Lera Ogonyok and, with the support of Vyacheslav Klimenkov, released her first song dedicated to her mother. Listeners warmly greeted the aspiring singer, noting how similar she is in appearance and timbre to her famous mother. Klimenkov said that Lera presents the material well and has a chance to achieve success on stage. Irina Krug helps the aspiring performer in her career.

Documentary film dedicated to the memory of Katya Ogonyok:

Katya Ogonyok is a Russian singer who performed compositions in the chanson genre. Author of such hits as “Katya”, “I’m Jealous”, “Northern Night” and many others. Although Russian chanson is not traditionally a genre for women, Katya managed to win the trust of its connoisseurs.

The lyrics of her songs were devoid of vanity and triviality, her soulful manner of performance could hook and warm even the most frozen soul, and her stage image was completely devoid of “stardom” and pathos.

Childhood and adolescence

The singer's real name is Kristina Evgenievna Penkhasova, she was born in a small village on the Black Sea coast into a creative family. Her dad, Evgeny Semenovich, is a musician and composer, performed in the VIA “Gems”. Mom, Tamara Ivanovna, is a professional dancer, artist of the Virsky ensemble.


When the girl was six years old, the family moved to Kislovodsk. There, her parents sent Katya to a music school and a choreographic studio, as they dreamed of seeing her as an artist in the future.


The father made every effort to get his daughter accustomed to good music, bought her a tape recorder and personally selected recordings of famous world performers and composers. From an early age, the girl was well versed in jazz and loved and knew classical music.

As a teenager, Christina actively participated in amateur performances, performed at discos, and sang in local pop groups. But she could not boast of good academic performance and exemplary behavior: she could break raw eggs on the school battery to disrupt the lesson, or burn the class magazine.

Music career

At the age of 16, Kristina moved to Moscow and, thanks to her father’s connections (he was familiar with the songwriter Alexander Shaganov, who wrote Kristina’s debut song), she appeared on television, singing a duet with the then super-popular pop singer Zhenya Belousov.


After this performance, composer Alexander Morozov became interested in the girl and offered her cooperation. A year later, their joint album was released, which turned out to be quite successful. At the same time, she performed as part of the group “10A” and for some time collaborated with the team “Lesopoval” and was in good standing with its leader Mikhail Tanich.

Katya Ogonyok - “Katya”

But gradually Christina began to move away from pop music towards chanson, which was closer and more understandable to the hooligan with a rebellious disposition and a characteristic hoarseness in her voice. Since 1995, she began collaborating with Mikhail Sheleg, changed her name to the creative pseudonym Masha Sha (Mikhail called himself Misha Sha) and released two albums: “Misha + Masha = Sha!” and “Masha-sha - rubber Vanyusha.”


But she was made famous by producer Vyacheslav Klimenkov, who invited the singer to his project “White Taiga”. In 1998, he came up with a legend about the girl’s prison past, gave her a new name Katya Ogonyok and developed a musical concept for her further work. Katya’s fictitious biography was as follows: she was allegedly convicted under Article 211 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hijacking an aircraft, train or water transport) and served 2.5 years behind bars, after which she was released on parole due to her interest in prison amateur activities.

Katya Ogonyok - “I’m jealous of you”

Katya got used to her new image so organically that she instantly won the love and trust of the public interested in chanson and prison themes. After the release of two joint albums (“White Taiga” in two parts) about separation and sadness, sung without “feminine” platitudes and trifles, incredibly soulfully and sincerely, Katya woke up famous.


Her performances aroused great delight, and the audience was ready to stand in the aisles at concerts just to get a glimpse of the singer performing songs that were so close and understandable to them in a soulful, hoarse voice.

Katya Ogonyok in the program “Old Record”

Two years later, Katya decided that she was ready to set off on her own, broke the contract with Klimenkov and began working with Vladimir Chernyakov. She threw herself into touring, traveled halfway around the world, and released several more albums.

Katya Ogonyok and Vladimir Chernyakov - “Far, Far Away”

Personal life of Katya Ogonyok

At the age of 19, Katya officially married her childhood friend, whom she had left the army. Three years later, the couple separated, and in 2001, the singer gave birth to baby Lera from boxer Levan Koyava, with whom she lived in a civil marriage.


In the last years of her life, she abused alcohol with her husband, which may have been the reason for her sudden departure.


Death of Katya Ogonyok

Despite her wild popularity, Katya led a rather secluded lifestyle, lived in a rented apartment and did not like to flaunt her personal life. Her sudden death shocked fans and came as a complete surprise to them. The singer died in 2007 from cirrhosis of the liver, which caused pulmonary edema and cardiac arrest.


Katya Ogonyok is buried in Moscow, at the Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye cemetery. In 2010, a monument was erected on her grave using money raised through a charity concert.

Lera Ogonyok - “Wind-breeze”

Katya's daughter performs under the pseudonym Lera Ogonyok. She dedicated the song “Breeze” to the memory of her mother.

The famous Russian singer Katya Ogonyok, whose causes of death amazed many, became famous for her performance of Russian chanson.

Ekaterina was born in 1977 in the resort village of Dzhubga, in the Krasnodar Territory. She grew up in a family of creative people. Her mother was a professional dancer, worked in the National Honored Academic Dance Ensemble of Ukraine named after Pavel Virsky. Her father studied music and worked with many famous ensembles, including the famous “Gems”.

At the age of 6, Katya and her family moved to Kislovodsk, where she entered a comprehensive school, as well as a choreographic and music school. Her father's friend was the famous poet Alexander Shaganov, who wrote a song for Katya and assisted in recording a demo version of the song at a local recording studio. This was Katya's first experience.

At the age of 16, the girl went to Moscow, where she became a member of the pop group “10-a”, created by producer Alexander Kalyanov and poet Shaganov. In it she performed under the pseudonym Kristina Pozharskaya. For some time, the artist performed in Tanich’s famous group “Lesopoval”, where she was a soloist and backing vocalist.

In 1995, a casting was held at the Soyuz studio for a new musical project in the style of Russian chanson. Katya took part in it and became the winner. The studio recorded several of her albums under the pseudonym Masha Sha. The lyrics from these albums had an erotic theme, they were written by Mikhail Sheleg. Then the artist decided to radically change her repertoire and pseudonym to Katya Ogonyok.

In 1997, she began collaborating with composer Klimenkov, who helped her record an album called “White Taiga.” He came out a year later. A year later, Ogonyok’s second album, “White Taiga-2,” was released. All these albums were recorded in the style of Russian chanson, which Katya adhered to until the end of her days. She sang about love, separation, lonely people and prison life. At that time, Katya was one of the few women singing “prison chanson”, which became her undoubted “trick”.

In 2000, Katya released two new albums and several collections of her best songs. Since 2001, Ogonyok has released new albums every year. Her last album was released in 2006. Ogonyok managed to gain fame not only in Russia and the territory of the former USSR, but also in other countries, including the USA, Germany and Israel. In 2007, Katya wrote new songs, but did not have time to release a new album. However, it was released in 2008 as a posthumous monument to the artist.

Ogonyok was married once. She got married at the age of 19 to her childhood friend, whom she had left the army. However, they were together for only 2 years, after which they divorced. After this, Katya had several civil marriages. Her last chosen one was boxer Levon Koyava, to whom Katya gave birth to a daughter named Valeria in 2001. The girl later wrote a song in memory of her mother. In addition to music, Ogonyok was involved in martial arts and women's boxing.

Katya passed away in October 2007. The official cause of death of the artist was acute heart failure and pulmonary edema. Doctors determined that it all started with cirrhosis of the liver. At the same time, the singer was hospitalized with an epileptic attack. Ogonyok was buried in Moscow. In 2010, a charity concert was organized in memory of Katya, the funds from which went to install a monument at her grave.

In 2013, another memorial concert was organized, the proceeds from which were sent to Katya Ogonyok’s family. In May 2016, a concert was held in memory of Ogonyok in honor of her birthday. It was organized by singer Lyudmila Sharonova. On it, the daughter of the late artist Valeria sang a composition in memory of her mother called “Wish.”

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Katya Ogonyok (according to her passport, Kristina Penkhasova) was born on May 17, 1977 in the Krasnodar Territory (the village of Dzhubga). Her mother worked as a dancer, and her father was a musician. Katya's nationality according to her passport is a citizen of the USSR, although some claim that she has Jewish hereditary roots. The biography of the future singer Katya Ogonyok was initially quite interesting. The girl graduated from primary high school in her hometown and continued her studies in Kislovodsk.

Her father comes up with the idea to persuade his composer friend to write a song for his daughter. After her performance, the girl is offered to perform several more songs, which eventually formed the first album of the young singer. After the release of this album, fame did not come to Katya, and she decides to go to Moscow. Upon arrival in the capital, the girl completely plunges into her new life and begins to sing songs in the style of pop music.

At the beginning of March 1995, a competition was held in Moscow with great pomp and scale, in which participants performed songs in the style of chanson. Kristina Penkhasova takes part in this competition and takes first place. This performance is also significant because from now on the singer appears on stage under the pseudonym Katya Ogonyok or Masha Sha.

During 1995-1998, Katya Ogonyok traveled a lot with concerts and recorded several albums. Her songs are permeated with tough humor and open defiance. But since 1998, Ogonyok’s repertoire has changed somewhat and become more in line with classical chanson. Many of her songs are dedicated to love and separation, true fidelity and betrayal. Throughout the 90s, her songs were quite popular and Katya Ogonyok’s concerts were always in great demand.

Many explain the secret of the artist’s popularity by the fact that she managed to bring romance and love notes into the harsh reality of Russian chanson. Katya Ogonyok's songs contain real life meaning, and not made-up stories. That is why her songs were so popular especially among men of various ages. Katya performed her songs herself, but in some cases she sang with the famous chanson performer Vyacheslav Klimenkov. Some of Katya's songs are still used by some radio broadcasts as background music.

In 1999, Ogonyok released a licensed disc of his songs. In the same year, the new album “Call from the Zone” will collect an unprecedented number of copies and become a hit for a whole generation of chanson lovers. In 2000, a remix of these hit songs was released and sold throughout the country in large quantities. Since that time, Katya Ogonyok has been working with producer Chernyak, with the help of whom she manages to create and record as many as 8 new albums. In the same year, the singer in one interview talks about the fact that she has a real criminal record and even served a prison sentence under Article 211. She claimed that she served two and a half years in prison and was released under an amnesty. This interview was distributed across all channels, and was perceived by many fans of Katya Ogonyok’s talent as a sensation.

According to producer Chernyakov, at this time Katya earned little and led a rather modest lifestyle. She rented an apartment in Moscow and still managed to support her parents. According to the singer’s close friends, in her behavior and lifestyle, Katya was a simple Russian woman, and not some kind of superstar. She did not hide her addiction to alcohol from those around her.

When asked about her musical idols, she always eagerly said that since childhood she had loved the songs of Lydia Ruslanova and Ella Jerola, whom she considered outstanding and strong pop personalities.
Katya Ogonyok died at the end of October 2007 from acute heart failure and severe edema of both lungs. In addition, Katya had serious problems with her liver and had frequent attacks of epilepsy. The singer’s grave is located in Moscow at the Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye cemetery.

Katya Ogonyok's husband

For the first and last time in her life, Katya married her childhood friend at the age of 19. Almost nothing is known about Katya Ogonyok’s husband. This marriage did not last long and ended in divorce.
After this bitter experience, the singer never officially married again and lived the rest of her life with boxer Levan Koyavai. In 2001, she gave birth to a daughter, Lera, from Levan. Her personal life was inaccessible to reporters. But Katya’s closest friends, Ogonyok, claim that their relationship was tender and sincere and ended only after Katya’s sudden death in 2007.

Daughter of Katya Ogonyok

Daughter Lera Ogonyok suffered the death of her mother hard and still cannot fully cope with this loss. Due to Katya Ogonyok’s constant tours, Lera’s upbringing was handled by her grandparents. As a child, Lera was seriously involved in ballroom dancing and even won various competitions several times. Many are surprised by the very similar appearance of Katya’s mother and her already grown-up daughter Lera. The daughter’s character is also similar to her mother. Lera decided to continue her mother’s work and, with the support of a producer, recorded a song and dedicated it to her mother.