Speaker A
You starred in adult films. I wanted to try everything. And I wanted some debauchery too.
Elena Berkova discusses her five marriages, adult film career, childhood trauma, and personal struggles in an in-depth interview with Ksenia Borodina.
Key Takeaways
- Elena Berkova's life has been marked by early independence and rebellion.
- She faced significant personal and professional challenges, including trauma and public scrutiny.
- Her family remains an important support system despite her unconventional life choices.
- Berkova's career spans adult entertainment, reality TV, entrepreneurship, and politics.
- She continues to pursue personal growth through new interests like martial arts.
What the video covers
- Elena Berkova shares her experiences starring in adult films and her desire to explore life fully, including debauchery.
- She recounts joining the reality show Dom-2 and the emotional challenges she faced, including betrayal and public exposure.
- Berkova discusses her family background, close relationship with her parents and sister, and her upbringing in Murmansk and St. Petersburg.
- She reveals marrying at 16, driven by a desire for independence and rebellion against parental restrictions.
- Elena talks about her difficult teenage years, including conflicts with her parents and physical punishment.
- She describes her entrepreneurial spirit, having registered an international communications agency as a teenager.
- The interview covers her multiple marriages, including the tragic loss of her fourth husband and its impact on her health.
- Berkova shares her struggles with stress-induced hair loss and efforts to change her lifestyle.
- She mentions her brief political ambitions, including running for mayor of Sochi.
- The conversation touches on her interest in martial arts and maintaining an undefeated record.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Adult Film Career
- 02:45Family Background and Childhood
- 05:42Teenage Rebellion and First Marriage
- 09:17Entrepreneurship and Early Career
- 15:14Reality TV and Personal Struggles
- 20:36Marriages and Personal Loss
- 26:27Health Challenges and Lifestyle Changes
- 29:24Political Ambitions and Martial Arts
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
A real go-getter. There's someone else here who wants to be filmed. Me. You join the project Dom-2 as a contestant.
Speaker A
In five-inch heels on those pebbles in leather shorts, the first real sparks of feeling came when Roma arrived. He was cruel and indifferent. He knew I was going to be kicked off and didn't tell me. It was like having your pants
Speaker A
pulled down in Red Square while someone holds your arms, and you can't pull them back up.
Speaker A
What do you think was going on in that herd? You're digging deep. Lena, I am so sorry that happened to you.
Speaker A
They took me to the Kashchenko clinic, but you remember that for the rest of your life.
Speaker A
You meet your fourth husband. We were swept off the cliffs. He died, but they managed to save me. Excuse me.
Speaker A
You were without a relationship for 3 years. Absolutely. And a hole in my head. A bald spot just like that. You ran for mayor of the city of Sochi.
Speaker A
Sochi, vote for Berkova or you'll end up badly? Are you getting into martial arts?
Speaker A
Well, I’ve always won, undefeated so far, 8-0. Being this scandalous, for what, it's what I want, I can't fight it.
Speaker A
Lena, hi. I am so glad to see you. It’s been 22 years since we last saw each other. Can you imagine?
Speaker A
Hi, Ksyusha. Hi. I can imagine, it’s really great and nice that you invited me. I'm very glad to see you.
Speaker A
Thank you so much for accepting my invitation, but I really wanted to talk to you. It’s even, you know, an unfinished piece of business for me too, because we didn't even get a chance to say goodbye back then.
Speaker A
Yes, that’s true. Let’s go back even further than 22 years ago. Tell me, what kind of family were you born into, how was your childhood? I'm interested in everything about you. I was born into a wonderful family, we’re still very close, born
Speaker A
in what city... I was born in Murmansk. I actually just got back from a trip to Georgia with my parents. We’re still close, we had a great time walking around and spending time together. I have amazing parents who always surrounded me with care and
Speaker A
love, they let me do, honestly, everything I wanted, to try and make mistakes, for which I am immensely grateful to them, because I was certainly a difficult child for them. I don’t know if I could handle a child
Speaker A
like me. Uh, it was probably quite difficult. But they were always there with understanding and support in any situation, and it probably wasn't easy for them either.
Speaker A
Are you the only child in the family? No, I have a sister. Full sister?
Speaker A
Yes, full sister. Uh-huh. How old is she? Four years older. She is older than me.
Speaker A
We’re all here as one big family. Everyone gathered in Georgia from different countries and cities, meeting up and spending time together for the first time in Are you all close?
Speaker A
Yes. And are you also close with your sister, do you get along well? Yes. She lives in St. Petersburg, I recently flew to see her too.
Speaker A
Well, I remember you saying you were born in Murmansk and then lived in St.
Speaker A
Petersburg, because when you joined the project, you said you were from St. Petersburg. I spent all my youth, maybe even my childhood, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine.
Speaker A
And then we moved to St. Petersburg when I turned 18, I came to study at the academy and to cause some trouble.
Speaker A
Tell me, please, if I recall correctly, your first marriage happened at 16. Yes. Tell me more about it. And how did your parents even allow you to get married at 16?
Speaker A
Well, they didn't allow it, of course. Who would allow a 16-year-old to get married? We got some kind of certificate made. Back then it was just about claiming I was pregnant. We went and filed the application ourselves, and when the day of the wedding came,
Speaker A
it was too late to cancel anything. We went to our parents an hour before and asked if they were coming with us or not. They were shocked, of course, but they got ready and came along.
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What was your first husband's name? Albert. I was 16, he was 17. We were young, party-loving, impulsive, we must have clicked in our adventure. We wanted freedom, independence, and to jump into adult life as fast as possible. Like,
Speaker A
let's get married, why don't we get married. And why do you think you had that drive? You were born, as you say, into a good family, but what kind of person is your mom, describe her.
Speaker A
Mom is probably more on the strict side. I wouldn't say I was allowed to do just anything. They certainly tried to forbid things, to control me somehow, and to talk, to have dialogues, but if my sister—we are very different, even
Speaker A
though we grew up in the same family: first of all, she doesn't need publicity or any of that. And she has completely different interests and values. And secondly, even though she had the same upbringing, she never resisted and never really conflicted
Speaker A
with our parents. But I became very conflicted during puberty, opposing all the restrictions. And that caused—well, apparently, character is something we are born with and temperament too. And for me, everything caused a protest. The more they forbade me from doing something,
Speaker A
the more I tried to push all those boundaries and show that I could do everything on my own.
Speaker A
Tell me, please, did your mom forbid things, did she try to fight it with you? And what did Dad do?
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My dad is very calm, you know. Uh, if you don't provoke him, of course.
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Sometimes I got a good spanking. Well yeah, teenage years in childhood. From Dad or from Mom?
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Mom complained to Dad, and Dad gave it to me. She felt sorry for me, apparently, to hit me herself. Well, I got it good, and it was deserved, of course. I was always messing up, acting out, something or other.
Speaker A
But what was the worst offense for which you got that physical retribution from your dad, so to speak?
Speaker A
Smoking with boys behind the house at 6. At six, yes. You didn't pass out behind that house? No. From smoking at 6 years old? Well, we probably weren't even smoking. We didn't understand what we were doing. But hopefully
Speaker A
it was just some leaves or some grass. No, no. A neighbor boy stole Dad's cigarettes, who, by the way, didn't smoke either, he just collected them.
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And I was the one who egged everyone on. Well, I don't really remember who egged whom on anymore. I got it. I definitely got it. And he got it too.
Speaker A
Well, probably, yes. And then you turn 16. It was your first love, I take it, your first serious relationship. And how did you decide, how did you decide to get married at 16? That's still a very young age. Well,
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my daughter is 16 now, and I can't imagine her coming home tomorrow saying, "Mom, I'm getting married." I have a 16-year-old son too, and I can't imagine that either.
Speaker A
It's incredible. But are kids different now? I think we grew up more independent, whereas now it's scary to let them into independent life. He still plays with toy cars sometimes, even though he’s a grown guy, so his interests are completely different.
Speaker A
He’s not interested in that yet—not relationships, or studies, or theater; there’s nothing like what we had. But I really wanted independence, and I strived for it. And I wouldn't say I decided—I wanted it, I pushed for it, I provoked this situation. So I got
Speaker A
married with absolute delight. Did you want to get married to run away from your parents or what?
Speaker A
Yes, I wanted to live independently as soon as possible, to live alone. They wouldn't let me live on my own. I tried to rent an apartment at 15; I was already earning my own money. And when Mom showed up for an inspection, I
Speaker A
realized that wouldn't work. That that's not independent living. Uh-huh. And just like that, you become independent on general grounds, even legally, because you're issued a passport like an adult, and you can register a company in your name and
Speaker A
handle all business. We rented an apartment. Uh with what money? I was earning it. I had a company, I’d just officially registered it in my name. You were 15, 16 years old and you had a company.
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What company? Yes, an international communications agency. What’s that? It’s like a
Speaker A
contract with the foreign company. And so we rented an office. I started out with just one computer.
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At 16, you were already renting an office. Yes, I had two translators sitting there. Later we got equipment. Well, it all sounds so very...It’s not like that, at 15 I was writing for another agency myself at first, learning the
Speaker A
ropes, then I found this company, registered, started writing from my own computer, then... Who were you writing to at first?
Speaker A
Foreigners. Okay, good. This company included a whole network of sites. And after I learned the whole thing, I bought into it.
Speaker A
And what were the topics of the correspondence? Just topics like dating , right? Back then, the internet wasn't that developed. My childhood memories are of a couch, a crib, things like that. I remember now, I must have been about 13 or 14. And
Speaker A
that’s exactly what those dating sites were called. It was a decent site, completely censored. There was very strict censorship and they banned any indecent stuff. And do you even remember how you found that site or got into those dating things? I
Speaker A
saw an ad, or maybe I was walking down the main street. I went in, asked what it was all about, got interested, they explained it to me, I registered there, wrote for them for a while, and then started my own. Well, with my first
Speaker A
paycheck, with the first money, I bought equipment, with the second, I rented an office, then we hired an employee, then a second one, then more, so it brought in some decent money.
Speaker A
That’s good money. Do you remember the first money you got , how much was it?
Speaker A
Well, probably a thousand dollars at the time. A thousand, that came very quickly. Just like that. Maybe 500 at first, then 1,000. I don’t remember exactly. I mean, it was really good money.
Speaker A
Back then, $ 200 was enough for people to live on for a whole month. Well, I had payroll for employees, offices, equipment, and had to pay for internet and all the utilities.
Speaker A
Safe children's content on the internet is one of the main tasks for any adult.
Speaker A
When a child picks up a phone or tablet , you want to be sure they stay in a kids 'space and don't accidentally encounter content. that they're too young to see. That is exactly why I choose VK Video for kids. It has not
Speaker A
only a large library of safe and entertaining content for kids of different ages, but also many useful educational videos. My kids often ask me, "Why, what for, where from?" And I admit, even I don't always have the knowledge to answer them simply and
Speaker A
clearly. VK Video for kids helps us out a lot, because you can find answers to all the popular kids' questions here.
Speaker A
It's nice to spend time together. I found a great playlist there called " The Whys." We watch it and learn something new. If you also want your child's screen time to be not just entertaining, but educational, check out VK Video for kids via the link in
Speaker A
the description and choose content that suits your child. How long did your marriage last?
Speaker A
A little less than 2 years, naturally. Uh-huh. That’s even a long time, I think, for such a marriage at 16, when you'd known each other a week.
Speaker A
Uh-huh. And when you got divorced, where did you go back to? Well, I got divorced, he naturally, we had our conflicts, uh, I took back the whole agency and that's it. I moved to St. Petersburg to live and study.
Speaker A
Uh-huh. With my sister. What did you major in? Uh, economics. And what year was that?
Speaker A
Let me calculate. I was 18. You were 18? '85, '95, 2003. So it turns out, 2003, and in 2004 you already arrive as a contestant on the project Dom-2.
Speaker A
Uh-huh. Len, tell us a little about yourself too. Maybe I came from St. Petersburg, I'm 19 years old. I was married for 3 years.
Speaker A
I'm a photo model, I have my own firm. I did karate for 7 years, I trained kids.
Speaker A
I went home. I'm a choreographer. At what age did you get married? Go on.
Speaker A
What? 15 years old. Yeah. That's crazy. Well done. And you didn't have just one marriage.
Speaker A
Yeah no, and who was your first husband? I only ever had one husband. So who is he?
Speaker A
What do you mean, who? Give us his name and profession. He was Armenian by profession.
Speaker A
How did you make that decision and where did it come from? Who invited you ?
Speaker A
I participated in the show "Okna," where you were an editor. I just bought a magazine. I really liked that show.
Speaker A
And in general, I was drawn to public television. At that time in Saint Petersburg, I was already on billboards for a shipping company advertisement. I was running around to modeling agencies with my portfolio. I was very interested in all of that. I mean, I
Speaker A
was purposefully trying to get on television, seeking publicity, popularity, and fulfillment in creative projects. Let's call it going to castings. Yes, of course, regularly. I would call them all myself. And because of my height, I naturally understood that no one would
Speaker A
accept me right away. I'd say: "Wait, you haven't seen my portfolio yet, I'll come over, just take a look at me first ." And somehow, I got picked for some advertisement. I was hanging on billboards. And for the "Oкна"(
Speaker A
Windows) show, I just bought a magazine , called the editorial office from the back, and said: "I want to come and film with you." They invited me, I arrived, filmed, I filmed. And then, then that same team later did the
Speaker A
casting for Dom-2, if I'm not mistaken, right? I met all the editors there, exchanged phone numbers, and they wrote to me: "Were you in the first lineup?" Yes, it's impossible not to remember that. I was in twelve-centimeter heels
Speaker A
walking on that gravel, in leather shorts, some leather corset—wearing all the best at once.
Speaker A
Hello, I'm Ksenia Borodina, your foreman. I am sure that we will become friends and build the best house on the Istra, although that is not the main thing. Most of all, I wish for you to find your soulmate and build strong,
Speaker A
warm, and lasting relationships. Welcome, guys. So, you came in together with Solntse, with May, and with Roma? Yes.
Speaker A
Yes. May wasn't there. Actually, May wasn't there at that moment yet. There were the brothers.
Speaker A
And there was, we probably won't remember everyone right now. Vitenikov, Solntse, Styopa. Out of the famous ones you'd remember, Solntse and Styopa. Only Roma wasn't there. Roma came later.
Speaker A
Roma wasn't there either. He came later too. Oh, I see now. I think even Buzova came before Roma.
Speaker A
Nelidov was there, Sasha. Nelidov was definitely there. Sasha Nelidov was definitely there. That I remember. And the Karimov brothers were also in the first lineup.
Speaker A
Yes. Yes. Well, you remembered the brothers. Yes. Good. At that moment, did you realize you were about to film a legendary show?
Speaker A
Who could have possibly realized that? Did you realize the show would be legendary? No, I thought it would last 3 months.
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We all thought so, naturally; they said it would be for 3 months, and everyone prepared for 3 months. Of course, we hoped it would be a cool, broadcasted show, but who could have known it would become so legendary and last for so
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many years. I think there really isn't any show that has lasted this long, so no one could have guessed it would be such a hit.
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Did you go there for popularity? No, I went there to fulfill myself. A strong quality is probably self-confidence and certainty about my future. I mean, I know what I want from life. As for a weak quality, I don't
Speaker A
know how it looks from the outside, but personally, my looks have often hindered me.
Speaker A
I walked in here even before you raised the flag. I looked at her chest first.
Speaker A
Well, where is she supposed to put it? Listen, you can claim to have issues with your looks on one hand, but then wear a top like that, or you could cover up, wear a turtleneck or a jacket so it wouldn't show. If it’s truly a
Speaker A
problem, but it’s a bit far-fetched or played up, then that’s different; if someone has a pretty face, they don't have to wear a sack over it.
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No, I don't think so. I just think you shouldn't say you have a problem with it then. Doesn't like to talk much either. Yes.
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Did you like anyone from the original cast when you first joined? Or was that first crush, the person you wanted to build a relationship with, only Roma?
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The moment he arrived. I didn't like anyone from the original cast. And even if I tried to stretch it , to be friends with someone, it just didn't work out with anyone.
Speaker A
So the first sparks of feelings were indeed when Roma arrived. Uh-huh. Let’s recall in detail the moment you first saw him; did you like him immediately or only after talking? How did it happen? It was probably the only
Speaker A
acceptable option; when I saw him, I thought, "Well, I can work with this based on my personal feelings and his temperament." Just like that. Yes.
Speaker A
Yes. And how did that work? So it wasn't love at first sight, nothing like that, right?
Speaker A
Well, of course not. Uh-huh. What was it about him that hooked you? His sense of humor, that he’s so active, and we connect with people on an instinctual level anyway. If we break it down, we can logically analyze
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if someone suits us or not. But this is on a sensory level, he's pleasant, and that’s enough.
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It seemed to me that Roma fell really hard for you right away. Yes. Uh-huh.
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Well, as we realize later, based on his behavior, that wasn't the case. Although love is different for everyone . Maybe that’s how he sees love. How did you feel about it yourself? I know you were disappointed later, and we'll
Speaker A
definitely talk about that, but in those first moments, your early relationship, your first intimacy, what did you feel? Was it love at first sight, like you just clicked and came together? It was mutual attraction. We started talking, and we were
Speaker A
practically all over each other the next day. Everything just moved and spun so fast.
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Is there a camera? What camera? Come on, get to the camera already. I’m the one who has to take my shoes off. Yes, yes, yes.
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Uh-huh. You can do it by color, actually. Do you want to ask what this is all for ? Honestly, I’m speechless, but I suspect, what’s it for? For love, I suppose, right?
Speaker A
That’s the upside. Come on, you need to, since we won't get in your way. We’ll wait until Roman undresses and Oh, you’re afraid, then we’ll never leave here. Ksyukha, our fate, you know , is just to look at beauty, so to
Speaker A
speak, observing it from the sidelines and never participating in it. Quiet. Let’s run to the camera.
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Let’s run to the camera. Get undressed. You can climb in like that. Well, of course, take your clothes off.
Speaker A
Well, that would actually be interesting too. Hurry up. Yes. The whole country is watching you. You are becoming very popular before our eyes. I don’t remember, could you leave the perimeter back then? No.
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No, I was only there for two months. You were there for 56 days. Did you take part in the project? Yes. You participated in the project for 56 days . During those 56 days, did you leave the perimeter even once, or not?
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We went out, we had a wedding, didn't we? Yes? Uh, and literally once for some shoot with the Sun participants, I remember we went out somewhere. But it was very guarded. And we even spent the night somewhere at Sun’s place.
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What were your feelings, who were you at that moment? Like a star, you know, everyone is watching you. What were you experiencing?
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Right now, I think I would appreciate and savor every moment of the process differently, but in my youth, I was a bit more reckless.
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Uh-huh. Uh, and I didn't really think about it. You live in the process, and we really didn’t see how much they were showing . We didn’t know anything, whether people recognized us or not, or anything. I didn’t really think about
Speaker A
that. You live in the given circumstances and just exist in them, trying to be as organic as possible.
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Tell me, did you develop strong feelings later on? Yes, because the situation of being on the show was so intense; it’s not like being with someone in real life, you know? In two months, you experience such a spectrum of emotions and
Speaker A
connections. So, of course, it seemed like it was for a long time, yes, it even seemed like forever. Did you see him as a person from your future at that time?
Speaker A
Yes, it was my second relationship in life, and in such a setting, too. It seemed to me that it was forever.
Speaker A
Oh, well, this wedding, of course, wasn't real. It was just sort of a PR move. What was that, anyway?
Speaker A
Yes, there was a parallel show, " Fabrika," I think, and they were planning to get married, and since we had a show about love, we hadn't had a wedding yet.
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We had to have a wedding for the first time. Well, it was fun, it was great.
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Well, I mean, for the viewers, we should say it wasn't an official thing. It was an unofficial marriage.
Speaker A
It was not an unofficial marriage. Thank you for that. Let’s welcome our bride and groom.
Speaker A
Come on, come on. Let’s welcome them. Congratulations. Congratulations. Well, and now for our good tradition.
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The bride must throw the bouquet to the girls, facing away. Go ahead. Turn around and throw it here . Come on, Lena, don't miss. Just don't give me some rice. Rice.
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Great. According to an old Russian tradition, you need to step up and break off a piece. From this wonderful loaf, yes, and feed each other.
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It’s purely symbolic. Just like that, because whoever breaks off the bigger piece is the head of the family. The head of the family, obviously, add some salt, so you can annoy each other one last time. And feed each other. Happiness to you and
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love, guys. Guys, give me more, more. Come on in. We are happy. We are happy. We are happy.
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We are happy. Well then, dear newlyweds, let’s sit down. Look at what a festive table we have.
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Come on in. And there won't be any. Are you guessing intuitively? Yes. only from the corner it served.
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You’ve already had it once. That’s it, it’s not enough for you? It's fine. Silence should be maintained.
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Happiness to you, friends, newlyweds, joy and the brightest days. You are now a family, and by law, you both belong to it. You will have joys and troubles.
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You'll have to experience everything in life. But keep your course only toward victory. "Gorko" to you, but may you never know sorrow.
Speaker A
Gorko, gorko, gorko, gorko, what do you think, if you had officially been husband and wife, would he have acted the same way he did with you? Would anything have changed?
Speaker A
I think he wouldn't have taken such a step. So you think everything Roma did at that moment was thought through?
Speaker A
Like this and that, right? I mean, he wasn't already planning for me to be kicked out. For me, a relationship is when you support a person in any situation. And you're a team, but for him, it's not like that. For him,
Speaker A
relationships are only viewed within the context of the show. I can love her , but within the show.
Speaker A
And if she left the show, then that means I can't love her. It's sad, of course, but not really. At least I wasn't kicked off the show.
Speaker A
Len, let's recall that day when information surfaced about you filming adult movies. Tell me how it was, how they approached you, what they said, and what happened next.
Speaker A
They approached me more than once. As far as I understand, the show's organizers didn't know how to handle it . It was the first time something like that happened on television and in public space. Later, there were millions of girls on these online
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platforms. And it didn't become a nonsense anymore. And almost every second person on social media has revealing content, but you were the first and took the whole blow yourself. It was some kind of incredible shock for everyone. And
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for the press, it caused an explosion, that such lewd videos were being filmed at all, and that it was even being filmed here. And she even made it onto television. It was, of course, a scandal.
Speaker A
Let's remember that day now, when the organizers approached you and said, " Len, we know you filmed in such-and-such a movie." They call me in and say, "This is the story." I say, "Oh, I don't know what happened.""It's not even me, nothing
Speaker A
like that happened." Uh-huh. They say, "Come on, it's already out there anyway, we already have it.""Come on." So at first, your explicit nude photos appeared?
Speaker A
They brought me printouts, and I hadn't seen what was released on the internet. Well, those were most likely printouts from the video. I think it was from the video.
Speaker A
I think everything appeared there all at once. It's unlikely they leaked it proportionally. The explicit genre. And they brought it , saying, well, we have to explain this somehow. Please tell me, what are these photos? Where could they have even come
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from? I only have one option. To make it easier for me. Well, we're all human, right, and we all engage in it. I don't think there's anything shameful about it. I never did it for money, of course. Look, it’s
Speaker A
unacceptable to me, but I had a home video with my husband. I don’t see anything wrong with that. I only have one theory, that the photos came from there. Ah he also wants to say that he took very, very cleverly used against me.
Speaker A
Well done. So he just took your photos and put them on the internet. Is that what happened? So you think this is some kind of revenge? Yes, against you, of course.
Speaker A
There’s another catch here. Roma has parents. And what if it reaches the parents? It’s going to reach his parents one way or another, you understand? The question here is how much you can convince Roma and how your relationship is, you understand?
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Were you scared? Yes, I wasn’t ready for that. Although it’s strange, how can you not be ready when going on television?
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And what were you afraid of? That your parents would find out? That acquaintances would find out? That the whole country is going to find out now?
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What were you afraid of at that moment? Yes, I was afraid of everything. I was even afraid of how to live with it. And what kind of video did they bring, Len?
Speaker A
Can you tell us now what that video was ? I, to be honest, don’t remember which ...
Speaker A
So, it turns out you had been filming for a long time by then, from whom and when did the offer actually come?
Speaker A
It was at a casting. I was going to castings in parallel, filming for some official commercials. And it was a casting for a movie, modeling, but they didn’t say what kind of movie. It was a crowd scene. And many other models
Speaker A
passed the auditions too. And indeed, the crowd scene was filmed, but then, after the shoot, A crowd scene of what?
Speaker A
A crowd scene for a movie. At first it looked like it really was, yeah, just an extra role. Uh, Greek gods in white sheets.
Speaker A
And then, like, this scene is filmed, feasting at a table, this scene is filmed. And then they say, "And next we’re going to film an explicit video . And those who want to, stay." I said, "I want to."
Speaker A
So you immediately, without thinking, made the decision that you wanted to stay? Yes. How old were you? I was 18. And why did it become interesting to you? I mean, that’s an unexpected choice. There you are, an eighteen-year-old girl,
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with ambitions to be on TV, in commercials, to be a model, and then they say, "Okay, cut the camera, we’ve shot that scene, and now we’re going to shoot an 18+ movie." And you were like, "Wow." Yes, my impression was exactly: "Wow, I
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wanted to try everything." And I wanted some depravity too. My hormones were raging, and everything was interesting.
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I had never seen anything like it, the idea of being in a movie for me was terrifying, thrilling, exciting, and interesting all at once. And, well, it was something I couldn't even dream of.
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I was really impressed and stirred up by it. I couldn't help but be impressed in a good way. You took it as a super offer. I knew it was a questionable offer, of course, but I wanted it so
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much that I couldn't refuse. And were you thinking about the consequences at that moment? Well, generally speaking, okay, I’m saying yes right now. It’s the adrenaline, it’s a cool experiment. And they’re paying me too. And 100%they’ll pay well. I don’t know, they did promise
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to pay well. Yes, they paid well. How much did they pay? Let me think. Girls were paid 100 dollars a shift, boys 50. I got paid 1,200 for something.
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And you got 1,200. Yes. Good. And why? I was a hard worker. Yes, I was in all the scenes. And someone else here wants to be in it too . Me.
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Ah, well yes, that's good money, but did you realize that while you'd be paid well now and it's great, it's an adrenaline rush, but it might lead to having to deal with it later?
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In theory, I certainly suspected that, but I wanted to push those thoughts as far away as possible. I just couldn't, my inner provocative nature was set on this adventure, I couldn't say no. I really wanted to be a rebel. It wasn't
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even necessarily about wanting to be depraved. Actually, that wasn't the point at all. I just wanted to be rebellious, to do something truly mischievous.
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And to be rebellious, who do you think you were doing it for? I mean, who were you protesting against? That very urge to be a rebel.
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Maybe against my parents, maybe it was just puberty, you know, breaking out. Just like that. Ah, sorry for such an intimate question. You didn't have much of a sex life at the time, I take it, right? Well, I was 18.
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I had a couple of guys after my husband . Just some romances. What I mean is, this whole thing about setting up cameras and having to perform on camera. Ah it was super scary. Scary, very nerve-wracking.
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That’s exactly what provoked me to participate. I felt very ashamed, and I wanted to overcome that shame. And did you want to dive into that shame and see what was there? And what do you think was there, in that shame?
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You're digging deep. Uh-huh. I had a childhood trauma at a very young age, but I didn't remember it my whole life. I only remembered it during my happiest relationship, when I, apparently, finally completely relaxed.
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I was abused at the age of three, maybe four, because I remember it. By whom?
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A relative. I had never remembered it. But then, when I found myself in a happy relationship and fully relaxed, it seems I remembered everything in one moment, and I couldn't understand it. I remember it in such vivid images, how
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could I have ever forgotten that. Well, evidently, the psyche hides such traumatic moments. And it all came out in such a way that I was stunned by how it was even possible to forget. I remember everything so clearly, the
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latch, the smells. Were you able to punish this relative? He died by the time you remembered.
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Yes. Well, and at that moment he must have lost his mind. Apparently, he was old and had lost his mind.
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Was it just once? Mmm, I remember a few times, twice. It’s possible, I remember I was still very little, not understanding what was happening. I clearly remember the situations of what was happening, but, uh, I don't really know the age. Uh,
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well, and I didn't understand at all what was being shown to me or what was being done to me. Therefore, maybe there’s something I haven't remembered. But everything my psyche revealed to me, well, these are clearly very bad things. And I don't remember
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how it ended. Well, what I remembered is enough. It's more than enough to understand that the trauma was real.
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And since I had forgotten it so completely that not even a hint of memory told me about it until a certain point, it means it was such a serious trauma.
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Len, I am very sorry that this happened to you. I think that this should not happen to anyone.
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Never. But I am very sorry that it happened to you specifically. I am sorry too.
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Did you tell your mom about this? Only recently. I’ve been working a lot with specialists lately, and I told my parents and told my sister.
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What was their reaction, your mom's? It was painful for her. Well, that is, there's nothing you can do about it anymore.
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Dad Dad is calmer because he is a reserved person. Mom is very emotional, and Dad is very reserved. And I think, of course, my sister was hurting inside.
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Everyone supported me. And my sister supported me. And I surely gave them some sense of guilt too, since she was around when those moments were happening; she might have been older and could have noticed that something wasn't right.
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Does she remember anything about this or not? No, nobody knew about it. Nobody? Honestly, even I didn't know myself.
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Let's go back to that situation, when they showed you those photos on Dom-2, right. And what options were you offered at that moment? What did the producers tell you?
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They suggested I say it was a private video and that my husband leaked it.
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Uh-huh. So, although the suggestion was strange. They probably didn't watch the whole thing. There wasn't just one person there, nor two, to pin it on the husband. Well , although one could have such private videos with a husband as well. And we
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announced that on air. And the next suggestion, I think, was that they asked me to confess, and I refused to do so. The next stage, specifically at the "Lobnoye Mesto," they brought me out and said it doesn't matter to us
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whether you confess or not. We know it's true, and we are kicking you out.
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Unfortunately, Lena had a certain past, including one related to the business. At first, Lena denied it completely, but then, when the facts emerged, when journalists started calling and so on, Lena began saying it was a home video and so on. My husband and I had
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recordings of our intimate life, well, amateur ones on a camcorder. Now they have all gone to the press and the internet. It is a very unpleasant, low, and vile act on his part, but if he hoped this would hinder our
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relationship with Roma, then we are stronger than that. That's all I wanted to say. But she didn't tell the whole truth, neither to us nor to you. Still, it seems to me, guys, that we are trying to build love here. You cannot
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build love on lies. Just understand, I don't judge Lena for anything. I believe that every person makes their own choice in life. And judge not, lest ye be judged. What struck and offended me was something else. Specifically, the fact that Lena lied to me and lied
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to all of you, deceiving us for a very long time. Unfortunately, we now know for certain that it is true. The situation has gone too far, Lena. And it has gone this far not because of your filming, but because of your lying
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. Lena, we have decided that in the current situation, you will have to leave our TV project. And you need to leave it right now. If you want to say something in the confession booth, you can do it right now.
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I know that you didn't know about this. Yes. But Roma knew. Roma knew, and he didn't tell me.
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Well, he didn't warn you. How do you think, why? What kind of person is he?
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Vile. Vile, cruel, and indifferent. You know, I remember that "Lobnoye Mesto," and it was one of the most difficult ones in the entire history of Dom 2. Well, it's one of the most memorable ones, because it was the
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first where producers had to make decisions, and Ksyusha and I were the ones who always had to voice them. So, we always took the heat for those decisions, because now it’s clear how television works and that hosts are,
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well, essentially talking heads, but back then nobody understood that. And the first people you want to confront when watching the show are the hosts, right? Everyone back then thought that all the decisions on the show were made solely by them.
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Why did you do that? Well, of course, yes. I was in total shock. I’ll just speak for myself and my emotions at that moment. I felt incredibly sorry for you, I can honestly tell you. I mean, I was in a
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state of absolute shock. I didn't know how we would say it, how we would tell you. I felt terrible resentment that you didn't know about it, that you weren't warned, and that we had to tell you only right there at the Lobnoye
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Mesto. And, in general, that we had to say goodbye to you. Well, I also understand the producers 'fear, because those were times when everyone was afraid, everyone feared the consequences; the project hadn't existed for long, only 56 days, we
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didn't know how much influence we'd gain, right, how big we would become. So it was, on the whole, a unique situation at that time, where as a producer, I imagine, they were thinking , "We don't want to lose such a
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character, such a heroine," because it was truly interesting to watch you and your relationship with Roma. You were, well, really one of the brightest couples. And then it turns out we have to separate you and, what's more, say
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goodbye to you. And it wasn't even so much about the show, as the fact that the situation was made public, that I had acted in adult films, and it was out on TV. And that's it, now go and
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live with that however you can. What was I supposed to do with that? Of course, my eighteen-year-old, still unprepared brain kind of exploded.
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What did you expect from Roma? Support, understanding, and to be treated like a close person. And, secondly, coming from a man, it’s normal for me that he defends his person no matter what happens, and then you can discuss how you feel about it
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later, but among loved ones, people always protect each other. Well, at that moment in those circumstances, I considered him a close person, not someone who would wash their hands of it and just bail out completely.
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What did he say? Do you remember? He said that he hadn’t expected it. Something like that. We didn't talk anymore, we only spoke at the round table meeting and that was it.
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You didn’t have any more heart-to-heart talks, and not on any, well, there were no days off back then anyway. When we went out somewhere, he didn’t try to contact you, didn’t call you even once, Len. So your relationship ended
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right at that round table meeting, right? People who had intimacy, who slept in the same bed, who confessed their love to each other. Who were kissing, hugging, and having sex just that morning. So you get kicked out at the
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round table meeting and that’s it. Yes. And moreover, we were intimate in the morning knowing that I would be kicked out. I think he had time to prepare for how he would react. He was most likely given time to think, told
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that I would be kicked out, and that he should decide how to act in these circumstances. And he prepared how to react and pretend, like "oh, how awful, how is this possible, how could you," when they put you in a car and took you
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where? To a hotel, I suppose. Yes, I think we went straight to the train station.
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They sent you straight to the station. While you were driving to the station, were you crying?
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I think I was in such shock that I wasn’t crying. I had this feeling, like everything inside me was burning.
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Uh, but I didn’t cry. What were you feeling at that moment? What emotions were you experiencing?
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Shock, wild shock. That is perhaps the only time I have ever felt that sensation. It was like having your pants pulled down in Red Square while your hands are held so you can't put them back on.
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Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And everyone is watching. And the feeling just doesn't stop. Where did you have your first real breakdown?
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You remember what happened next, don't you? I took a bunch of pills later, I was taken to Kashchenko, an administrator took me to the station and bought a ticket for the first train . And there was some time left before
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the train. The administrator fell asleep, I went to a pharmacy, bought some pills, and took a bunch of sleeping pills. And that was it, what happened to you?
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Well, I started falling asleep, losing consciousness. He was taking me to the train, and I was losing consciousness.
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And it was clear, since the empty packs were found there. So the administrator realized that you had taken pills?
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I think I said it, I got scared of everything myself and said it. It's a bit blurry now, of course, because so many years have passed and it's not clear what I really wanted.
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Either... Either to get attention, or just to do anything at all to make it all stop.
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But he called an ambulance, and the ambulance is required to take you to a mental hospital for forced treatment.
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No one contacted me, no one came to visit me. And besides, they take everything away from you there. You don't have a phone, you can't tell anyone. It was scary. I was only there for 4 days, but it's something you
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remember for a lifetime. I never wanted to try anything like that again. What were you afraid of most, that the broadcast would air and the whole country would find out? I don't know, that Roma didn't follow you, that the
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family would find out. That was the scariest thing, what I was afraid of before I ended up in Kashchenko. Once in Kashchenko, I quickly started to fear Kashchenko itself. I was afraid to cry, to be stressed, to complain about
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life. I understood the situation, that they start giving strong drugs to those who are hysterical, and that's it. And I behaved as reservedly as possible and didn't, yes, I tried to act normally.
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And my parents arrived, and then they were able to discharge me under their signature.
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And I didn't know how long I would have to stay there, or how. And there are some pretty scary characters there.
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What did you tell your parents? Well, to my parents, by the way, after that situation, everything else naturally faded into the background.
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Once a child ends up in a mental ward after an attempt, then, naturally, that is what's most important. Everything else, they actually calmed me down instead. And...
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Did they find out from you or had the broadcast already aired? Yes, it turns out the broadcast came out later. First, they picked me up.
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How many days were you there? I was there for four days. I explained everything, that there was this situation, that a terrible episode would air. And we even met with Mikhailovsky then, the producer, and we talked for about
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half an hour with my dad, the three of us sat together. And then I went to stay with my parents to restore my emotional state. And they gave me tremendous support. For my mom, it was emotional and stressful, but my dad, on
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the contrary, calmed me down, saying, " What is so terrible that you did? What happened, something so bad that you're making a disaster out of it?" Well, you filmed, so what, you didn't kill anyone .
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Naturally, the parents didn't know until the moment it was shown on air. So when you filmed that explicit movie, naturally, you didn't tell them. I just filmed it today, I went to film it late. No, no, I didn't tell that story.
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Uh-huh. What happened next? Your parents take you in. Then I return to St. Petersburg, buy a bunch of newspapers, open the Zhizn newspaper, call the journalists, and say, "Don't you want to interview me?"" Don't you want to?" I start giving
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interviews. Well, I had already gathered my circumstances. I mean, there were two paths: either hide, shut down, run away, yeah, not talk to anyone and try to make everyone forget this story, or popularize it instead, and somehow monetize it.
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Or try to, yes. Turn this situation around. We work with what we have and turn this situation in a positive direction. Which, all in all, I managed to do perfectly. It's really cool that this situation didn't break you, and
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you are truly a very strong person. I am amazed. And after all those interviews, you were even invited to be a host on Muz-TV, as far as I remember.
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Yes, I had my own show on Muz-TV. Undoubtedly. How did you like being a host? It was different, since the guests were different. Even Boris Moiseev was there , but we just couldn't show that episode. Rest in peace. It was so
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obscene, since everything was in that role and in that image, it wasn't easy for me; it wasn't a playground after all, and it was so explicit that some moments embarrassed me.
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Len, how did you learn to defend yourself? Because, after all, 22 years ago, it was a Puritan society, let's call it that; in any case, there weren't such revelations back then. You were suddenly the first legal adult film actress known by everyone. I mean,
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wherever you went, everyone knew that this Elena Berkova from Dom-2 had acted in 18+ movies. How did you learn to defend yourself? Because 100%you heard some jokes directed at you, right? Some teasing here and there, guys who probably didn't feel those boundaries
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and didn't understand that they existed , and were maybe trying to hit on you or something else. Yeah. Hmm, how did you even let people get close to you?
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People are different, and they will always find something to pick on public figures about, regardless of my role.
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Everyone will find something to complain about if they have the goal of complaining. And you just learn to communicate with life experience. And regarding this specific topic, I wouldn't say that there was more interest in me because of it. They
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always giggled. But now, even that has passed. It's nothing unusual nowadays, because every second person has pages like that.
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You've been supported by men throughout your journey, as I understand it, or someone was always nearby, one way or another. Support.
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Wait, why do you say it like that? Well, because I can't say that I've gotten anything good from men. I only had one good marriage. Alright, let's recall all your marriages then. I know about the first one. That first
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childhood marriage, let's call it that, at 16. Then you get on Dom-2. You get kicked off Dom-2, you live your life, and you meet your second husband. His name is...
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Vladimir. Vladimir. He was a mature man. And I, left in such a vulnerable state, defenseless, not knowing how to deal with all the tasks piling up on me, especially psychologically—he was an adult, experienced, and he took me under his
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wing, protected me, so to speak, and surrounded me with care and attention. And... How old was he, Lena? How old were you?
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There was a 28-year age gap, as far as I remember. My God. Very mature.
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And were you comfortable and interested in that relationship? Well, it was exactly what I needed at that moment.
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He surrounded me with that care which I ...So he was 50 at the time?
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Well yeah, I think he was even a couple of years older than my dad.
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A couple of years older than your dad. Yeah, I think so, it seems like it.
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How long did that marriage last? Almost 3 years. What happened? Why did you divorce?
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It turned out it wasn't care, but abuse . And I was cornered in such a way that I couldn't escape, go anywhere, or complain to anyone at all. Physical abuse and all that. I ran away at the very first opportunity, of course, from
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that relationship. It's not about the timing. I had no opportunity to go anywhere, not for a second. No, not that...
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You mean he locked you up, physically kept you at home? Physically. Did that happen right after the marriage?
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Well, first they cut you off from friends, from any social life, then from family, then you’re left alone, and then suddenly, especially at that age, you don’t realize how you ended up locked away and can’t leave anywhere. He hit you,
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for what? You're already staying home, he locked you inside, you don't go anywhere anyway. What could the reasons be?
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You don't need any reasons for that. No matter how perfectly you behave, a person will still find a reason to create a conflict if that is their goal .
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So, he was physically beating you? He was actually beating me. I even have a medical report on the injuries, and I have a statement tucked away just in case, though I eventually dropped it.
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But that was to ensure my safety in the future. From the prize. You managed to get away from him.
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I ran away. I convinced him. I realized at some point that he would either kill me or I had to change something, because it was just impossible. He was definitely stronger than me, and I absolutely couldn't take it anymore. I
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had to pretend. I pretended for a while that I was a good girl, completely obedient, that I adored him, and I convinced him to go somewhere to St.
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Petersburg. I think we had already moved to Moscow by that time. And as soon as he left—he had left security with me—I slipped away from the guards, grabbed my purse, and just ran.
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And how did you run away from the guards? I literally just ran. Physically, I mean, physically. I ran away on foot.
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Yes. I see. And where did you run to? I never went back. Well, you rented an apartment and started an independent life?
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No. Wait, didn't he try to find you? I don't know about that. I immediately filed a police report, documented the injuries, called all my friends, asked everyone for help, and sounded the alarm. I immediately went to Channel One and gave an interview. I
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made everything public right away because, naturally, I was worried about my safety. That was the main reason I couldn't complain earlier. It wasn't that I couldn't find a moment to contact someone or tell them what was happening; it was that nobody could get
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me out of there. I had to help myself. And I understood that. I had to resort to such a trick because I knew it would end badly very soon, and I couldn't bear it anymore. And it was only
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escalating. You never met him again? No. A year later, you meet your next husband, Ivan.
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Yes. That’s your third husband. Please, tell me about him. My third husband, the father of my child. I was recovering from a difficult relationship. He was very cheerful, young, lively, and easygoing. And we had a wonderful romance. He wanted to
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get married right away, but I wasn't really into it. I had already been there, and I didn't really want to get married anymore. But then I got pregnant. A child is, of course, a huge blessing. But it wasn't planned; it was
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a surprise. And since we were already in a relationship, and he really wanted to get married, I finally decided to marry him in my seventh month to give this relationship a chance. Although I knew he was an irresponsible person and
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knew where it would all lead. But it felt important for me to take that step , to show that I did everything I could to give the child a complete family, to give it a chance.
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I understand that Ivan worked as a stripper. And is that why you call him unserious? It’s not about the profession. He worked as a stripper before, but he quit when I got pregnant ; it was some kind of variety show,
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unrelated to stripping. He started working other jobs related to sports. He has a sports education. Uh, I didn’t mean in that sense, I meant in terms of life values. Basically, I realized I couldn't rely on him, that I’d have to carry this child on my
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own too. He isn't a part— You realized that you jumped from that despotic father, let's call him that, a fifty-year-old, to the other extreme, and instead found yourself with another child, Yes, and realizing that, I knew this marriage wouldn't last long. But I
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decided— How long were you together? We lived together until right after I gave birth, then we broke up. And I couldn't get a divorce for several years because he kept demanding money for it. You had a boy and named him
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Zhenya. Yes. And I understand that Zhenya doesn't see his dad. Well— Yes, I’m very grateful to Ivan for my son, but they don’t communicate. Ivan never tried to reach out; he never contacted us even once.
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And you didn't try to find Ivan to tell him about Zhenya, show him photos, and try to bring them together somehow?
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I was in court fighting him for years and couldn't even take the child out of the country. It was all very difficult.
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And I spent a long time dealing with legal issues. Once I had everything settled, I was so fed up and had been through so many court cases that I was just glad he wasn't showing up or resisting. Well, he did resist in the
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sense that he demanded a good amount of money for the divorce, knowing it would complicate the process. Mhm. He has no rights now.
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He has no rights, but he does have obligations, which he also barely fulfills. What kind?
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Like 10,000 rubles. in child support. he pays. Sometimes 74 rubles. arrives, sometimes 20 for a few months. Just some debt payments. He was on the federal wanted list for non-payment of child support, presumably. Maybe some money just started coming in recently. But again,
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this isn't about alimony; it's about the desire to see the child. I didn't need the alimony, it was for the sake of filing a lawsuit to strip parental rights. I don't know if it's true or not, but I came across this news online
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while preparing for this episode, that after you broke up with Ivan, you moved in with Nana group producer Bari Alibasov. Is that true, or is it gossip ? Sorry, I couldn't hold it back. Great . We lived with Bari Alibasov. I can't
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be serious. I... That's not true. Well, no, of course not, we just said that, yeah, that we were living together, but of course we weren't, it was a PR stunt. So you were friends and just agreed on it like that
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right? And why did you need PR involving Bari Alibasov? He asked, we've had a great relationship for a long time. I said: " No problem, let's go, he says, you'll say it on TV." I said: "Sure, let's do
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it." One more scandal, one less, what's the difference. I don't think we even managed to sit together during the show itself. Then his son, Bari Jr., came along, started laughing, we all slipped up, it was very...well, very awkward.
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How could you agree to these kinds of adventures so easily? Tell me, please: on one hand, you already had that experience—the story on Dom-2, those videos, and so on and so forth. And then, this reputation—didn't you want to wash it all away at some point, and
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not have any Bari Alibasovs...or have people think you live with men of questionable reputation? What did you need all of that for? Well, a beautiful girl with incredibly beautiful curves.
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Just to get rid of it all and not get involved in anything else. That came later.
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Not to go looking for more trouble. It was exactly that phrasing that came to me, but later. Back then, I still really wanted adventure and action.
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What... So, it was about getting attention every time, right? Meaning you wanted the press, TV, I don't know, for all the journalists to discuss you. You wanted these extreme, provocative events, to be this scandalous person, and every scandal should have a
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monetization, right? What kind of monetization did you get from that scandalous behavior? Like an extreme sport. I couldn't say no to skydiving: "I don't want to do it again." But when they offered it to me, I thought: "No, this isn't safe." No,
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but I can't refuse. I want it, I want it, I can't fight this internal urge.
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So you are always in search of that adrenaline, of those sensations? Was I? Yes, I was before, yes. Later, of course, I came to realize that I really want peace, no such adventures, especially dangerous ones. No, no, no.
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You're 41 now. 41 years old. Tell me, after that you meet your fourth husband, Vladimir?
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Yes, that was my happy marriage. Stunning. I think we would have never broken up.
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Was it actually a marriage or not? No, we didn't get married, we went to file the application when we had already been together for more than 4 years. And it just wasn't a necessity.
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The question of whether or not we would get married didn't even come up. We lived so wonderfully and things just got better every year. What did he do?
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He was a lawyer by education. And he worked...he was a very curious person and worked in various fields. He was a headhunter, he was Sergey Zverev's director, and he was involved in promotional work with clubs. He did a
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lot of very different things. Yes. We just converged on all our life values. Moreover, I will say that with him I finally understood how one could treat me, how one could love me. I truly learned what love is, what normal
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, healthy relationships are. He also let me be capricious all the time. And he really liked that I was capricious, he liked spoiling me. He took care of all that, while I just got to be beautiful. I could relax, exhale, and
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truly feel cared for and attended to. I knew I was definitely safe. For the first time, I felt safe with him.
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Lena, as I understand it, in 2013 he disappeared under mysterious circumstances. That's not exactly how it was. The circumstances were not mysterious at all. It all happened in front of a huge number of witnesses. And the police registered everything. It's just that
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the TV station released it all with some unimaginable nonsense. Well, it doesn't matter. In reality, we were both caught in a storm, and I was drowning for about three hours. A five-point storm washed us off the cliffs near the sea in Crimea. There
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are such different rock formations there, and it wasn't clear that such waves could even happen.
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Did you go on some kind of trip together? We were vacationing in Crimea, and that day there was a storm.
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Uh-huh. By the way, there were no warnings, we didn't know there was a storm, but we were walking on the cliffs, and a lot of other people were walking there too.
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We were swept into the sea, and from then on, I spent the whole time just trying to swim out, and he perished.
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But they managed to save me. When you're swept away, you're just trying not to inhale water, and it spins you around, just like that. And that goes on for a long time. I’m just a very good swimmer, and he didn't swim well.
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And, well, I also had more than one bone broken there. They were rescuing us somehow, pulling us up, dropping us.
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And they didn't find his body, unfortunately. No. And that made it even harder to process the loss, because at least then it’s clear, but this way you keep believing that, well, that there is hope. What if, what if
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he’s somewhere out there, no matter what state he's in, I would just want him to be alive. I'm sorry, it will probably never stop hurting.
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So, in essence, he was the first person who really understood you, accepted you , loved you, protected you, and treated you like a crystal vase.
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Exactly that. And we both helped each other grow. He was also becoming a better person. We developed together, it was as if we’d found each other, as if you find your true soulmate, someone you couldn’t even imagine having that kind of relationship with.
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You agree on everything, and every year it just gets better. After four years, we were a much stronger union than at the beginning; it seemed like it couldn't get any better, but it turned out it did. I was very happy, and I
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felt it so deeply. I even told all my friends, "I'm so happy right now. I don't think such happiness exists, I'm just that happy." How did you cope with this loss, Lin?
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It was hard. It's unclear if it's even possible to fully get over something like this. At first, I was in deep shock, and it affected my physical health. I didn't know how to breathe, I guess. I had to write reminders to
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myself to brush my teeth, because I didn't understand how, well, you're in such a state, it must be the shock. And it took me a very long time to climb out of it. I dove into work. Uh-huh.
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I started doing so much, not canceling anything, just going, because otherwise you’ll just go crazy and break into a thousand painful pieces.
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You were just saving yourself with work . I had to do something. Do, do, don't think, just run. Because how do you live through this? I tried working with psychologists, but at the time it was just inappropriate.
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How long was it before you were ready for a new relationship? How long did it take until you were able to let someone in and trust again?
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It was a different format of relationships, to prevent things and to believe. I was grabbing at any lifeline to get out emotionally. I understood that, well, it was hard and unbearable.
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And finding at least some emotion or inner resource was very important, in order to save myself with anyone— whether they were the right person or not, we’d figure that out later.
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Right now, we need to survive. A state of survival. And then Andrei appeared in my life. We met at acting auditions; he's an actor, and a romance started. I grabbed onto it like a lifeline. We dated, then broke up, and met again a
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year later. We didn't talk for a year. A year later, we got married. And why did you break up?
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Well, he started picking fights. I didn't understand why he was yelling at me; why can't people just talk? I immediately scoffed and left. So, he started acting aggressively toward you?
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Yes. And for me, after having been physically abused, any aggression is unacceptable. And when we got back together, he promised he had changed.
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He courted me very beautifully. For a long time, we tested that, and then we finally decided to get married.
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Right. We got married, and the aggression started again. And I ended everything immediately. You got divorced, right?
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Did you get married again after that? No. Well, I'm sure you aren't alone. There’s an interesting moment there, too. At some point, I just wanted peace and quiet. I went away to travel. I had overworked myself so much there; I went
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bald, lost my hair from stress. Uh-huh. And I realized I had to change something urgently. I went to travel by the sea and even tried complete abstinence from sexual relationships, which I had never tried in my life.
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This was also an experiment, only now, you see, I'm going in the other direction. We hadn't lived like that before. Let's try it, what's it like?
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And for a while, I had absolutely no romances—for, like, three years, I didn't have any romances or men at all.
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I traveled with Zhenya. So, you went three years without sexual relationships? Absolutely. And Zhenya and I, just me and the child, traveled by the sea, to different cities, choosing a place to live, and having a great time. And I learned
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to live without adrenaline and to find pleasure in creation. And he studied online. And how did you make the decision to pull your child out of school? That you would now travel for three years?
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Well, I already realized I wasn't seeing him in Moscow. He was constantly with nannies. I was constantly sleep-deprived, angry, and I couldn't get anything done. Always in traffic, everything is very urgent, everything is very important. It never ends. And
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this kaleidoscope alone with a child is , well, unrealistic. I don't talk to him. That—that isn't communication. I want to spend quality time with him.
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Life is passing by. I want to start living at some point. And, well, plus my body already told me : "Hey, it's urgent, for example, it's time to do this, there's nowhere left to stall." I started losing my hair.
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How did that happen, Len? So, you wake up in the morning, brush your hair, and what happens?
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And there's a hole in my head. A bald patch like this. A literal bald spot, right? You just take it, you literally pull the hair right off.
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And it's stress-related. Is there a specific diagnosis? Alopecia. It happens to both kids and adults. And what's more, I haven't found any cases of a cure yet. I did so much work, besides visiting all the specialists who don't really help. I
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think it was only because I radically changed my life, my lifestyle, my line of work, my schedule, and everything else—I worked with psychologists, psychiatrists, and hypnologists, with everyone. Only this complex approach helped me get my hair back, because it
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would grow back and fall out again, and I never found any cases of recovery. If it gets to this point, it's usually considered incurable.
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And is this your hair now? Yes, you grew it out. My God. Yes, I even got a haircut. It used to be down to my waist. Everything, you can see it's all mine. Not a wig, nothing. So it grew back, right? I mean
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, is everything okay now, or do you have to constantly take something, some pills, so it doesn't happen again?
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I'm still in the process of recovery, but I'm at the final stage now. Len, you have such a diverse biography, in general. I mean, it's actually full of such unusual events. For example, when I was reading about you, I found
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out that you ran for mayor of Sochi in 2009. Explain to me, please, how did that cross your mind and how did you end up in politics?
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Well, back then it was possible. Uh-huh. They suggested it, and we... Who suggested it?
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Back then? Running for office—I think even Volochkova ran, there were others, such a hyped-up election for mayor of Sochi. And people from the city of Sochi came to me and suggested it.
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Just some random people from Sochi? Who were they? Like, were they some officials from the administration? Some acquaintances of yours?
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Administration? No, they contacted me, we met up, we talked. Do you want to? I said: "Well, let's give it a try." And how, like...You're a person who doesn't understand politics, right? Or you understand politics.
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Naturally, I would understand if I had approached this matter, but I did not approach this matter. I get the impression that you were, well, not well-versed. I understand that you just heard the word "become mayor of Sochi." And it's cool. Hooray! Hooray! Of
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course, it’s not that bad. The substantive question was the conversation when it was substantive about the governorship in the city of Murmansk.
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That was concrete; of course, the presidency and the mayor of the city of Sochi were mostly hype. But there, we discussed it seriously. And, naturally, I understood that this is a complete change of life. That is, I would have
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to live a different life, not my own. And this is serious, of course; it is daily labor, very responsible and very serious. Therefore , I did not decide to do it.
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In 2017, you wanted to nominate yourself as a candidate for President of the Russian Federation; you even recorded an election campaign video.
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Yes. Vote for Berkova or you’ll end up badly? Uh-huh. That was exactly it. Yes. I was sitting right there in bangs and in lingerie.
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Or you’ll end up badly. That’s a wonderful phrase. Did someone come up with it for you, or did you do it yourself?
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I did it myself. How did you come to this? What else could you say from yourself?
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How did this idea come into your head? Well, Sobchak went for it, then Gordon, then Matvis Chekhova, and then everyone started doing it. I thought, "What about me?" Tell me, how does a person who was going to become the President of the
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Russian Federation come to combat sports? Oh, it’s amazing. No, I was shocked when I found out. I understand this is what you live on now . That is, this is your, uh, well, almost your main source of income,
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right? For the last few years, you have been earning money from no-rules fights. Yes.
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How, Len. Moreover, we started with pop-MMA, where all sorts of freakish characters were. And then I went to professional tournaments. And now I am in the world ranking of fighters on Sherdog as a professional fighter. And, as far as I
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remember, if you are talking about freaks, your first fight was with Irishka Chiki-Piki, right?
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And you won immediately. It was all very extreme. They offered it to me; I had already decided to live more quietly, but I thought, "Well, it’s not really a sports story, it seems like not the same kind of trash I
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used to put myself through." Controlled trash. You can go for it. And then it’s very interesting. In my youth, I practiced martial arts; I have a brown belt in karate. Uh, and it’s familiar , again, remembering the old days. In
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short, I couldn’t refuse. Of course, I was really scared. And what’s more, I have a phobia of drunks. I’ve never interacted with people like that. I don’t even know how to talk to them.
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I was very afraid. I’m not scared anymore, though. So, you have a phobia of drunks, but weren't afraid to fight Irishka and Dolzhansky.
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Dolzhansky, by the way, doesn't drink. He gave it all up. We tried to get him drunk. We sent Irishka to handle it. We said we bought it for them on purpose. She said: "Get him drunk so it's easier for us." No,
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he refused. He has a young girl, a really nice one. So, it turns out, you know, in no-rules fighting, not only girls fight girls, but girls fight men too.
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Yes, Dolzhansky, even though he's twice my weight and much taller, but I always won—still undefeated at 8-0.
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Who have you already faced in the tournaments? That would be Irishka and Dolzhansky. Well, you could count Gogen. We were supposed to have a fight. But he acted in bad faith. I beat him up at the conference and he ran away from the
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fight. Dana Borisova. Dana Borisova. Olesya Malibu. That girl from Star, I forgot her name.
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We had that fight on UFC views, Taylor. Yes, yes, yes. Arina Liyu. I had a professional fight.
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And did you win? Yes. And there was a professional fight with a girl from Patsanki. Kristina, also forgot her last name.
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And yet, you keep throwing out challenges. I don’t know, as far as she is concerned, she challenged me too . No, honestly, I didn't see it, nobody even sent it to me. I know you called out Buzova, Volochkova, Dima Guberniev,
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Sobchak, and I called out professionals too. Magoidama. And who among them did you have a conflict with? Who would you really like to fight, not for the hype, but truly? Well I'm not a conflict-oriented person at all. I find it interesting to fight
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both for the hype and for the sport. That’s the truth. Well, calling out Sobchak, Buzova...Do you really—I understand you're recording stories, but do you think any of us would go, or is it just for the hype? Well, if you do go, then I'm all
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for it. Uh-huh. Well, I think you might decide to. Emelianenko responded, by the way.
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Wait, you even challenged him, but I don't think he'll go for it. But for him to fight a girl is strange. No.
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Well, we answered each other in the press, and that's enough. And I'm already thankful for that.
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Don't you want to participate in Titans ? No. I want to, I want to. I think you'll succeed, because I follow your social media, and I see you training every day. You're in great shape, actually.
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Thank you. Tell me, Len, how much—if it’s not a secret, of course—how much does one fight like that bring you?
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Give or take around half a million, plus advertising contracts. That’s just for the fight.
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So in the end, you get over a million. And how often do fights like that happen?
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Periodically. It used to be every three months. Now I might even quit it altogether. I think I’ve already had my fill of it.
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And if you quit, what will you do then? Right now I’m streaming, and we have an incredible new—it’s not even an offer, it’s a new project that was impossible to even dream of. Ksyusha Zueva, such a renowned director.
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She’s been to many international film festivals, and even at Kinotavr here, she offered me to film a scripted series for a platform about my life, where I’ll play myself as an adult; naturally, other actors will play the rest, but
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I’ll even be able to play a role in it myself, besides the fact that it will be a screenplay based on my life.
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Listen, there really is a lot of material there, and I’m sure it’s going to be a thrilling series. I honestly wish you nothing but success with that.
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Thank you, Len. If you could go back now and you had the chance not to go on Dom-2, would you do it?
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Well, I don't regret anything, of course. But I do regret that Vova isn't here. That’s the only thing, perhaps.
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And even then, regretting that, I can't change anything anyway. Regretting is painful. It's better not to regret, but to try to make him happy there and live a great, happy life so that he looks down and smiles. And as for events,
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everything was cool and magical. I lived so brightly and happily. I definitely tried everything, I got involved in what I wanted to, I wasn't afraid of anything. In any twists and turns or adventures, I’ve never lacked courage.
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What interests you next? How do you see yourself in 10 years? What do you think , if we meet in 10 years? I’ll say, " Len, hi, we had such a cool interview back then. Tell me about your life. Who
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are you now?" What do you think you’ll say? I’ve definitely calmed down. I can even say that right now. I’ve learned to enjoy simple things. We’re even thinking about getting a house and some goats. And do you live in a country house?
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Yes, just really out in nature. It’s not the center like the center of Moscow.
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Are you happy in Sochi? Very. Wouldn't you like to move back to Moscow? I come here to work on projects, but I just can't. The sea and palm trees, that’s everything. I can't bring myself to leave there. It's just so
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good to live there. You go outside and you're already happy just because of how bright everything is. It’s green all year round.
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And you still look at the sea and you're happy. So, you...well, well, I don’t swim in deep water anymore. I'm scared.
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Yeah. I wanted to lead up to this gently, that the sea caused you a lot of pain.
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Such a fear has appeared. Uh-huh. So now you don't swim in deep water. Uh after this whole journey, could you sum up the main principles of Elena Berkova's life?
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To not fear anything and to follow your desires. It's better to regret what you've done than what you haven't. And I've never really had regrets.
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Follow every desire. Or is it possible to think things through sometimes before doing them? Follow every desire.
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It's just that desires change. You only live once. You try it today, and why not?
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What are you like right now, then? Right now, very much so. And I'm also planning on having a baby. I was practicing celibacy, and now I'm open to romances; I have many suitors. And there is a stunning, very interesting
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person with whom a relationship is developing. Basically, I am ready for a new relationship now on a calm level, having gone through various stages and extremes, from marriages to celibacy and everything else, so now I think it will be conscious, calm, and happy.
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Good for you. I’m already past that age. 27 years difference, how much is that? Oh, 13.
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14. He’s 14 years younger than you. This isn't another reckless adventure, Len. No, he is much more mature than me.
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I’m crazier, and he balances me out. Thank you. Thank you so much for this frank conversation. It was a real pleasure to meet and talk with you.
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Thank you very much. Thank you, the feeling is mutual. Honestly, it was very pleasant and quite surprising. Can I give you a hug?
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Well thank you, dear. Thank you so much. We’re all hooked up with these mics.
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Yes, yes, yes. And we can’t really embrace properly. Listen, that’s great, super. We're finished. Thanks for being real. Thank you. Well, that was my amazing guest today, Elena Berkova. Don't forget to subscribe, and I'll definitely be waiting for you in
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the comments. Write who from the former participants of Dom-2 you want to see as my guest. Bye.
Topics:Elena BerkovaKsenia Borodinaadult filmsDom-2 reality showchildhood traumaearly marriageentrepreneurshiphair lossSochi mayoral runmartial arts
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