Ukrainian actress Olesya Zhurakovskaya, appearing on the entertainment project "Naodyntsi z glamurom", spoke candidly about severing ties with her former friend Irina Gorbacheva, a theater and film actress of Ukrainian origin who returned to Russia after the start of the full-scale war and publicly refused to condemn her state's actions. According to Zhurakovskaya, her colleague's stance was a "real blow" to her, after which she completely stopped communicating and lost interest in Gorbacheva's life. The conversation took place as part of a program broadcast by the entertainment project Styler from RBC-Ukraine.
From close circle to complete severance
Zhurakovskaya emphasized that for a long time she considered Gorbacheva a close person and a conscious individual. However, after Gorbacheva gave an interview in January 2024 to Madonna Mur's YouTube channel, stating that she did not want to dissociate herself from the Russian state, relations between the two artists were finally severed. "For me, it was a blow because I thought she was a different person. But I can say that for a long time, probably since that interview when I heard that she does not condemn her country's policy, I no longer know such a person. I don't follow her work or her personal life, I don't know such a person, she has ceased to exist for me," Zhurakovskaya stated in a conversation with host Anna Sevastyanova.
Biography and career: from Mariupol to Russian cinema
Irina Gorbacheva was born on April 10, 1988, in the urban-type settlement of Zhdanivka in the Donetsk region, and spent her childhood in Mariupol. At the age of nine, her family moved to the Moscow region, where the actress grew up and built her career. Gorbacheva gained wide recognition thanks to roles in projects such as the films "Arrhythmia" and "I Am Losing Weight", the TV series "Chiki", and the animated film "The Bremen Town Musicians", where she voiced the Cat. Despite her Ukrainian roots, after the start of the full-scale invasion she returned to Moscow and resumed her work in Russian cinema.
The interview that changed everything
In January 2024, Gorbacheva appeared in Madonna Mur's interview, explaining why she decided to stay in Russia. The actress stated: "I am part of my state, I am part of my country, I am part of any process taking place in my country. I choose to be here, to live here." In the same conversation, she admitted that due to her public stance, she lost about 95% of her friends, who turned away from her for refusing to condemn what is happening. Gorbacheva also mentioned that she helped people she called refugees from the so-called DPR and LPR, as well as from Kyiv and Mariupol, while failing to express any condemnation of the full-scale invasion.
Personal life: marriage to Savlepov and divorce
Gorbacheva's personal life was also closely tied to Ukraine. In July 2021, she married Ukrainian musician Anton Savlepov, a member of the Quest Pistols band. After the wedding, the couple lived in Kyiv, but after the start of the full-scale war, their political views diverged. In 2023, it became known that the couple had divorced. Savlepov later confirmed that they found themselves on opposite sides regarding their views on the war, but emphasized that politics was only one of the factors, and they officially separated for other reasons.
Reaction of the Ukrainian audience
Gorbacheva's public statements caused a wave of indignation in Ukrainian society and led to a break with part of her former circle. The history of the relationship between Zhurakovskaya and Gorbacheva has become a striking example of how the full-scale war has reformatted personal and professional connections in Ukrainian show business, dividing people who considered themselves close before 2022 into those who condemn aggression and those who support it or remain silent.
