In a conversation with the actor Sergei Nikonenko, he described a period in which director Nikita Mikhalkov, following the end of his marriage to Anastasia Vertinskaya, repeatedly asked Vertinskaya to spend the night. Nikonenko recalled several instances when the requests escalated, and eventually Mikhalkov lived at his friend’s home for eight months. The conversation highlighted that the host frequently welcomed prominent guests and shared anecdotes about hosting famous names at his residence. He recalled how Vasily Shukshin once slept in a six‑meter closet, and he noted that Mikhalkov sometimes struggled to find a place to stay, even spending nights at train stations. The storyteller also mentioned visits by Leonid Filatov, Gena Matveev, and Tatyana Sidorenko to his apartment. He added a humorous note about cooking for guests, joking that potatoes could be fried without washing the pan because the guests kept it clean in their own way.
Vertinskaya and Mikhalkov wed in 1966, and their son Stepan was born from this marriage. The couple separated three years later, and in 1973 Mikhalkov married director Tatyana Mikhalkova. From that marriage, the couple welcomed daughters Anna, Artem, and Nadezhda. According to Vertinskaya, she admired Mikhalkov but also admitted being intensely focused on his acting career, eventually agreeing to participate as an extra in some projects.
Recent reports indicate that actor Gerard Depardieu had previously addressed allegations of rape, choosing to speak out publicly about the matter. These statements have added to a broader conversation about career, relationships, and the pressures faced by public figures in the film industry.