Natalya Medvedeva

Natalya Medvedeva (Russian: Наталия Георгиевна Медведева) (July 14, 1958, Leningrad—February 3, 2003, Moscow) was a Russian poet, writer, musician, and member of Tribunal rock band.

Career

At the age of 17, Medvedeva moved to Los Angeles where she found work as a model, posing for Playboy and for the cover of The Cars' self-titled debut album in 1978 as well as their fourth album, Shake It Up.

She was married to Eduard Limonov, a controversial Russian novelist and later leader of the National Bolshevik Party, whom she met in 1982 in Los Angeles. Her LA period is depicted in her novel Hotel California (1989). In 1982, Medvedeva moved to Paris and became a piano bar singer. She wrote poetry, essays for French magazines, and published two novels in 1985 and 1987. In 1989 she participated in a collective poetry project, The Last December 16, 1989, together with poets Oleg Prokofiev and Anton Koslov Mayr. This project was published as a book the same year by William Brui.

In the early 1990s, Medvedeva introduced herself as a Novy Vzglyad representative in France).

In October 1993 Medvedeva initiated an appeal to end the siege of the White House (Russian parliament) organized by Boris Yeltsin. An open letter signed by a number of Russian artists and writers was published by the French press. In late 1993 Medvedeva, following Limonov, moved to Moscow. They divorced in 1994. In the late 1990s Medvedeva had a relationship with Serguei Vysokosov, the lead guitarist from Corrosia Metalla. She recorded two albums in Russia – Trubinal Natalii Medvedevoi (Natalya Medvedeva's Tribunal) and A U Nikh Byla Strast' ("They had a passion").

At the time of her death, Medvedeva was living in Moscow. She died in her sleep of a heart attack on February 3, 2003; she was 44. Her ashes were spread over St. Petersburg, Paris and Los Angeles.

Published works

• Mama,ia zhulika liubliu!: roman. New York: Russica Publishers, 1988, c1987. ISBN 0-89830-114-9
• "Poslednee 16-e Dekabrya 1989 goda", Atelier William Brui, Paris, 1989
• Otelʹ "Kalifornia": roman, rasskazy Moskva: Literaturno-khudozh. zhurnal "Glagol", 1992. ISBN 5-87532-008-7
• Moya borʹba Belgorod: "Vspyshki", 1994. ISBN 5-900303-96-9
• Ia reyu znamenem--: stikhi Sankt-Peterburg: "Iskusstvo-SPB", 1995. ISBN 5-210-01478-9
• Liubovʹ s alkogolem; V strane chudes (Russkaya tetradʹ) Belgorod: "Vspyshki", 1995. ISBN 5-900303-94-2
• A u nikh byla strastʹ-- Moskva: Vagrius, 1999. ISBN 5-264-00059-X
• Zhiznʹ v "No future" Moskva: Zapasnyĭ vykhod/Emergency Exit, 2005. ISBN 5-98726-016-7