The Moscow Tverskoy Court declined Olga Gradskaya’s bid to claim a share of the late musician Alexander Gradsky’s estate. The decision left the inheritance to be split among his widow and two younger children, while Gradskaya, the third wife, was excluded from direct succession by law.
The court’s ruling was reported by RIA Novosti, noting that Gradsky’s claim was rejected. The litigation had begun in 2022, targeting not only the widow Marina Kotashenko but also Gradsky’s two children with Gradskaya, Maria and Daniil. By law, Gradsky’s ex-wife did not qualify as a direct heir, so the division favored Kotashenko and Gradsky’s adult offspring from his prior marriage to Gradskaya. The dispute centered on several properties acquired during the marriage, including a country estate, the apartment in central Moscow, and the house near the main residence, with Gradskaya seeking a share of assets she had helped acquire during the marriage.
Gradskaya’s side contended that a half share of the property acquired during the marriage should be removed from the inheritance, and that ownership of the rest of the assets should be recognized as joint property for both spouses. The court proceedings, conducted behind closed doors, focused on whether non-residential properties, land, and various buildings should be treated as shared marital property. The decision confirmed that the couple’s midlife assets would be allocated to Kotashenko and Gradsky’s other children, rather than Gradskaya.
The case timeline shows the parties engaging in a lengthy legal process after Gradsky’s death on November 28, 2021, at the age of 73. Official reports indicate the cause of death as a cerebral infarction, and immediately after his passing, the inheritance division began. Within roughly six weeks, Kotashenko faced a separate legal challenge as the family’s affairs moved through the courts.
Front-end disputes and a major payment
In January 2022, Kotashenko reported that she was attacked in the Naro-Fominsk region at the 255th kilometer of the Central Ring Road. She was compelled to surrender around 100 million rubles after assailants staged a car accident and forced their way into her vehicle, demanding the money stored at the home. The incident occurred in the early hours, yet police were not alerted until late that evening, which raised questions about the event among investigators and observers. The case later led to the imprisonment of Umedjon Zhabborov, a Tajik citizen, who received eight years and two months in prison and was ordered to repay about 99.2 million rubles to the victim. He told the court that he did not know the whereabouts of his accomplices. (citation: court records and news coverage)
August 2023 saw a second break-in at Kotashenko’s residence near Naro-Fominsk, with furniture, electronics, and a portrait of Gradsky’s mother reported missing. Friends of Gradsky described the missing family heirloom as a poignant loss that would be hard to replace, noting the portrait’s significance beyond monetary value. (citation: eyewitness accounts and court documents)
The growing tension around the estate prompted Daniil Gradsky, Alexander Gradsky’s son, to contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Tverskoy district. He suggested that a portion of money from an apartment on Kozitsky Lane had been taken after his father’s illness in late 2021, and he expressed a desire for law enforcement to get involved. The widow has repeatedly stated that she did not hear about or participate in any such transfer. (citation: police reports and public statements)
Family dynamics and a sister’s position
Last autumn, Gradsky’s cousin Natalya Gradskaya asserted that a portion of the estate had been unjustly transferred to another relative and that the issue should be resolved through the courts. Natalya has lived in Nice for more than two decades and, after Gradsky’s death, took part in a television program where she claimed that documents indicated Boris Gradsky left his entire inheritance to another relative rather than to Natalya’s daughters. She emphasized that her own claims center on her apartment and the family home in Rastorguevo, seeking restoration of what she believes was rightfully theirs. In January 2023, Natalya returned to Russia to pursue the matter through legal channels, though subsequent attempts to sue did not materialize into a new case at that time. (citation: statements and public broadcasts)
The broader dispute reveals a complicated network of relationships around Gradsky’s legacy, with differing interpretations of what each party rightfully owns and what constitutes marital or familial property. The family and their attorneys have indicated a willingness to pursue settlement avenues, while the courts continue to adjudicate issues related to the distribution of land, houses, and personal items tied to the artist’s career and life. (citation: court proceedings and press reports)