Svetlana Masterkova: “I want to be behind a man, and not drag him”

— Svetlana, your appearance as a member of the hundred jury in the show “Come on, all together!” It came as a big surprise to many.

— I took part in three seasons of the show “Come on, all together!” The channel is now airing its fifth, anniversary season, and I plan to remain in the project in the future, because all of this, of course, is attractive to me.

— Have you ever thought about a vocal career?

“I put an end to this story a long time ago. Even Sergei Lazarev, the main one in a hundred shows “Come on, all together!”, said: “It is important to find yourself so that you can be recognized.” And there are not many such vocalists. But I think that if you do this professionally, you need to do it with a professional team and spend a lot of time. And I understand that now I will be more inconvenienced by unkind assessments about my vocals, perhaps they will say: where is she going, what is she doing? I believe that if fate has given you a destiny and, thank God, it has been fulfilled in my case, then you don’t have to go where you shouldn’t. Today I am 55 years old, I am involved in athletics. I am a happy man. And now I have made a decision for myself: I don’t want to start anything else without having enough time and talent for it. I am involved in real estate, it brings me passive income, and I feel great and clearly understand that I will enjoy my personal life.

— Last year your daughter Nastya got married. How is the renewed family life going?

– Wonderful. I am now on the second floor of my house, I have prepared breakfast for them. And they are just waking up. Now they sent me an SMS with emoticons of gratitude. A year ago, the guys got married, they have their own life strategy, they don’t expect help or support from anyone, they independently move in their own direction. My son-in-law is a policeman, he loves this profession very much, and recently received a promotion. I used to be a businessman, but at some point I decided that such a disgrace that happens to people should not continue. He decided to help people who are being deceived by telephone and Internet scammers. Well, I guess so, I don’t know for sure, this is a closed story. In general, I am calm for this family.

— Why does a young family live with you?

– I asked them to stay with me, although with Zhenya (son-in-law. – Editor’s note) there is an opportunity to rent an apartment, and my daughter doesn’t mind. But since I live in two cities, I need someone to stay in Moscow. The house needs to be looked after; without its owners it will not be able to exist normally, because in the winter outside the city, for example, the lights are turned off. The guys fulfill my wish, but at the same time they save on renting housing. They live very modestly, both work. Everyone is happy, and most importantly, my gestalt is closed: my daughter got married. Moreover, she did not get married out of any necessity. They lived engaged for a year, and then decided to get married. And, of course, I’m really looking forward to becoming a grandmother. But I’ll make a reservation right away: no one will call me grandmother. (Laughs.)

— What format do you think you should choose when communicating with your grandchildren?

– I will be like a European grandmother. My grandchildren will call me Svetlana, Svetulek, grandma, but not grandma.

— Your daughter showed promise in sports, but in the end did not become a professional athlete. Why did it happen?

— She played tennis for 15 years. She is a master of sports, there were offers to take her to America, to the academy, when she was 14 years old. Then she won the Russian championship among adults. But, like all athletes, she had her share of injuries: her back hurt badly, and it still hurts – echoes of professional sports. My daughter studied with coach Svetlana Kuznetsova for a whole year in Spain, we lived there. But we had to leave because we made a choice in favor of health.

– What is her job now?

— She is a psychologist, she also has additional education in the field of sports, she speaks good English and reads a lot. Things work out differently in their family. She and her husband have equal rights, they are friends, they have a good time together. True, now she has paused her career advancement in order to deal with issues of childbearing. She is now enjoying herself, getting enough sleep, and enjoying life. As a mother-in-law, I don’t interfere in the children’s lives. We live under the same roof when I come to Moscow, and everything suits me. We are waiting for the guys to announce their babies.

— A couple of years ago you said that you were in a new relationship, but I know that you broke up with this man. What happened?

“It so happened that when a person has conquered you and you already like him, some kind of metamorphosis suddenly begins to happen to him. He becomes relaxed, himself, because the goal is achieved, all the best qualities are shown. And he turns into a complete stranger when you are already inspired and take some steps for his sake, go with him to another city to support him in his new role. It was also because of him that I moved to the Krasnodar region. This is all, of course, a disaster for a woman. We are all adults, and when a man and a woman meet, they should be themselves first. So as not to be the lollipop that you ate and there was a stick left there. In a new relationship, I try to show myself as I am: with my character, pros and cons. So that a person immediately understands whether it is acceptable or not. But men don’t always do this. In general, I was mistaken – I again chose the wrong man because I was a loner in life.

— This is all the other side of sports life…

— Yes, imagine: a girl has been running since she was 10 years old, she lives alone, her mother works in another city. I lived with my grandmother, who had several adult daughters of marriageable age, and she only took care of them. Where does she care about her granddaughter? Well-fed – and that’s the main thing. Athletics left me with my grandmother and made me an absolutely lonely child. At school I was an ugly duckling and an outcast: many were offended that I went to training camps, but they gave me good grades. When I grew up and was seriously involved in athletics, I became a rival for everyone – how many intrigues I went through and how many tears I shed into the shoulder of my coach Svetlana Styrkina. From my grandmother to the Olympic Games, this is the result of the fact that I was always alone. Having gone through this whole hard life, who do you think I chose as my partner? – cheerful, sociable, cool guys who easily carry you with them through life: gatherings, dancing, and so on…

– Is that bad?

– It’s one thing when you start a relationship with a funny guy in your youth, and another thing in adulthood. And this is already somehow strange. However, I again clung to a cheerful, sociable guy who plays the guitar and sings. But behind all this there is another kind of fun. If a person by the age of forty does not have a life concept and basis, he no longer rejoices out of joy, but out of sorrow, in order to drown out the sad situation when there is no self-sufficiency, when you did not get what you were striving for. I followed the man who was not singing and dancing for joy. And I fell into this bondage of his difficult relationship with himself, with the environment, and so on. I cannot carry the weight of a burden that is not my own. I am an adult and have the right to live my own life. And where love leaves, this burden is even harder to bear. When you love a person and see the return from him, you go through these obstacles. But it was enough for me for two years: to understand him, empathize with him and carry him on myself. But I still want to be behind the man, and not drag him. My shoulders are very weak, I weakened them when I stopped playing big sports. Sometimes they say to me: “Well, you’re a strong woman!” Well, I was a strong woman at a distance, don’t forget about it. I am strong where character needs to be included. I don’t impose myself on people who don’t need me and who don’t feel comfortable with me.

— It’s no secret that every woman enjoys the attention of men. Admit it, do they give you gifts?

– Yes, I have a category of men who are both friends and not friends at the same time. These are not lovers, but, most likely, admirers. Mostly they give me gifts, and do not demand anything in return. For example, in 2013, during the World Athletics Championships, a fan gave me a Porsche Boxster. The car was quite expensive; at that time it cost about four million. But since I haven’t driven it much—I had two of my own—it’s still brand new and pretty. I don’t use it often. It’s not that I’m used to gifts and I’m the darling of fate, but I’m used to men who respect and appreciate me, looking at me from afar. And surely such a self-sufficient man gets a kick out of helping a girl who has done a lot for the country.

— Who helps you cope with household chores? You have a house in the Krasnodar region, and a large one in Moscow…

– I have an assistant. It is very difficult to clean four floors by yourself. But sometimes I wipe the dust myself – such a meditation. But what I discovered for myself was a garden. It turns out that flower beds and flowers don’t grow well until you put your heart and your hand into it. Do you know what a thrill it is to remove weeds?! I bought special scissors that are used to trim bushes, and a trimmer that cuts small grass around the flowerbed. I use it because a regular lawnmower doesn’t reach all the corners. I talk to the plants and trim dry leaves as if I were giving them a manicure. (Smiles.)

Of course, you need to spend money, this is a serious investment. But I will never give up my house, I don’t want to move to an apartment. During the pandemic, my home has been my castle. I have a bathhouse, a jacuzzi, a cinema room, and a gym there. When I come to Moscow, I leave home only for training and to visit my mother. Although I live 6 kilometers from the Moscow Ring Road. I enjoy the silence and the sounds of cars that I hear from New Riga.

— Maybe you’re thinking about buying a home somewhere else?

— I also want to buy an apartment in Kislovodsk and, when it’s very hot in Sochi, go to Kislovodsk. I spent my whole life in Sochi and Kislovodsk because we trained there. There I remember my first training camp at the age of 13. In general, I want to live where I want to live.