In a conversation with the composer Raymond Pauls, the writer recalled how the owners of Alla Pugacheva’s apartment kept the environment lively while Mark Zakharov, who lived directly below the singer, tried to sleep.
There was always a creative buzz in that shared space, a stream of fresh ideas taking shape as the night wore on. Skits, jokes, and musical improvisations spilled into the hours, turning the place into a whirlwind of spontaneity. It was enjoyable for those present, but it inevitably landed on Zakharov, who often found the late sessions disruptive to his rest. Pauls observed that Mark probably did not sleep at all during Alla’s meetings, a consequence of the constant artistic hum that filled the floor above his rooms. [Citation: interview with Raymond Pauls reported by aif.ru]
The repeated late nights sometimes sparked scenes of friction in what Pauls described as a drunken shop atmosphere. He suggested that only someone as patient as Zakharov could endure the artist’s ongoing apartment life. The composer also addressed rumors about glasses being broken during one of the festivities. He clarified that the windows had indeed been broken, but the fault lay not with Alla but with the hotel doorman.
It was recalled that Alla broke one of the staff member’s glasses on the hotel floor while she was performing in Leningrad. The story, shared by Pauls, was presented as a factual incident from that period, with emphasis on the hotels and the surrounding chaos that sometimes accompanied large public events. [Citation: interview with Raymond Pauls reported by aif.ru]
Earlier, actress Sagalova had noted that closeness to strangers could be uncomfortable for him, adding another layer to the tapestry of memories about those years. [Citation: interview with Raymond Pauls reported by aif.ru]