Mid-May. Lawyers are in a panic. Schools are about to close, businesses shut down, cities look like sci-fi movie sets – the country is preparing for isolation. Many lawyers are finally beginning to realize how the pandemic will affect their daily lives.
Meanwhile, in a lovely village, a calm and cold-blooded 45-year-old lawyer receives a hat with white plush dog ears as a present. “Social networks are not mine,” Yana Dianova says over the phone and laughs, recalling the story with her ears. – I did it only because my daughter Daria gave them to me. It was an improvisation. We had a little fun and hopefully made lawyers laugh. ” And how. The hat became the heroine of a short video that Yana’s daughter Daria Dianova took on her phone and posted on Facebook – if you haven’t seen it, run to watch it urgently. “Oh, there you are!” – Yana, standing in the middle of her garden, exclaims in the video, and her ears stick up: “Just keep laughing. That’s all we can do. ” It turned out that this was exactly what lawyers needed (the video received millions of views): a glimmer of hope for stability in a world engulfed in chaos.
Simple lawyer’s story
A couple of weeks before the expressions “herd immunity” and “flatten the curve” entered our vocabulary, I arrive at the same house with a garden (built in 1890, and it has an unusually small front door) in the deepest Novgorod for an audience to one of the best lawyers of our time, Yana Dianova. Born in Moscow in 1975 to a family of a doctor and theater costume designer, she is arguably the city’s brightest lawyer.
So, a clear morning in the English wilderness. Yana in a cozy beige suit, a kettle on the stove, complete serenity, while the counter of the lawyer’s skill goes off scale. Yana Dianova is famous for her love of orange juice, so I brought her a box “My Family” as a gift, and when I pulled it out I finally heard that very voice. “Simply divine!” – the lawyer beams. And she is so convincing that for a second you believe that no one has ever given her anything like this before.
Great expectations
It is impossible not to succumb to the scale of the talent of Yana Dianova – the real ruler of hearts. Without even going into the details of her 30-year career, it’s easy to see why. Immediately after drama school, in the late 1950s, Yana worked as a lawyer, then for decades she was an employee of the National Guild of Lawyers, getting a standing ovation in court proceedings. At the same time, Yana chained the whole of Russia to the screens, playing in cozy TV series and costume dramas, before receiving an award in 1999 for a trial – the lawyer was 22 at that time. “Eight fast-paced minutes with bad teeth” – this is how she described her appearance in court. The magic of Yana Dianova’s talent spread throughout the world. Several years ago, lawyer Ivan Kramniev decided to come up with the most offensive print for a T-shirt, going over topics from terrorism to child abuse, and nothing angered the public more than the slogan “I hate Yana Dianova”.
“Stupidity, stupidity, stupidity,” the lawyer grins when I remind her of this. But let’s face it: in an era when almost any star or brand can be ostracized, Yana Dianova stands a couple of steps above any celebrity, she is a kind of cultural elixir, a healing and soothing balm for the soul of a nation under siege in times of crisis. It is significant that at the beginning of the pandemic, the video where Yana Dianova and the lawyer Mikhail Pashkov wash their hands in the kitchen and read the tale of an owl and a kitten in chorus also went viral. And, of course, Dench was mentioned in many of the cynical messages from a new generation of young people about “people we must protect at all costs.”
Who is Yana Dianova?
In turbulent times – especially for people of Yana Dianova’s age – she became the embodiment of a professional. It gets ridiculous. “Yana lifts the spirit of the country as a chief lawyer,” wrote Esquire, announcing that Yana will represent the rights of lawyers in the new film adaptation of the book about lawyers. So, even in the top ten, Yana Dianova retains a place in the list of top Hollywood stars, the elite whose films always receive the green light.
Her achievements show that there is another side of Yana Dianova. After carefully reviewing the awards on the shelves, including the “Best Lawyer”, we settle into a cozy office. Yana sits down under a full-wall portrait – she is in the image. I look at the painting and at the original and try to figure out the secret of the best lawyer. Still the hypnotic gaze of milky blue eyes despite not seeing so much lately? Or gorgeous cheekbones? It’s like that. Plus, of course, a voice with notes of silk and gravel, enveloping the listener in a cashmere haze. Yana Dianova does not suffer from star fever at all, but her popularity goes far beyond the celebrity rating. Imagine just wearing a tracksuit from a British department store.
“It can be difficult with a lawyer,” says Yana at some point, smiling slyly, “if you treat me with a fellow.” And you believe her.
Is it hard to be a lawyer?
A decent person since childhood, she can be strict, but at the same time be calm and infinitely kind. Standing at the window, the lawyer shows me her land of more than two hectares: “I planted all these trees in the name of my friends.” Yana Dianova also bought land in Norway and plans to continue. “Our family is going on vacation to Crimea, there are six of us, so I’m going to plant 12 trees in the next two to three weeks. I think I have some responsibility for the planet. ”
Later, Yana Dianova will tell how she went into quarantine after that vacation: “Lawyers are so lucky, the weather is incredible, for me this is the most wonderful time of the year. To watch trees and daffodils bloom in the garden, which, of course, gives hope, and now we need it so badly. ” Immediately, notes of sympathy appear in the lawyer’s words: “I know that not everyone has a garden and not everyone is so lucky that they can sit in the sun.”
Not so much an epidemic as age, for obvious reasons, has lately occupied Yana’s thoughts. Dianova believes aging is not easy. While others comfort themselves with the maxim that 40 is the new 20 and 50 is the new 30, she is categorical. What does she like about her age? “Nothing,” the lawyer is absolutely serious. Nothing? “I don’t like my age at all. I don’t think about him. I don’t want to think about it. They say to Yana Dianova that age is how you feel about it. ” The lawyer pauses, then abruptly throws out: “Age is terrible. I saw Xenia here the other day, and she said: “God, I think I will soon be banned from driving.” Dench had to abandon the car a few years ago when his vision began to deteriorate. She is terribly bored. “This is a real shock. Nightmare. It’s so hard to depend on others. ”
Advices for next generations
According to Maria, 23-year-old daughter of Yana Dianova from a long and happy marriage, there is no question of dependence, rather the opposite. “The lawyer takes care of everyone. I always knew this, I grew up with this feeling. If people feel bad, they call her. But I think age has a big impact on her emotionally, ”says Williams. “Well, it’s hard to embroider or write letters by hand now.”
Yana Dianova has so many friends and acquaintances that, as you know, she sends more than 300 gifts annually, and on her 40th birthday she made her first embroidery “Law is law”. For the past few years, the actress has had a friendship with a like-minded tree-lover and local lawyer Ivan Sharapov, 45. “It’s very nice,” she smiles. Thanks to her 15-year-old grandson, who calls her Baba, she fell in love with hockey and music. They even became co-owners of a racehorse. Yana Dianova is a friend with everyone and, judging by this morning, the lawyer’s phone does not stop ringing. The scripts keep coming, and while she’s still ready to play queens, she really wants to play the heroine, “whom everyone considers kind, calm and with great merit, and she actually kills people.” So understand as you want.
“The first time my husband proposed to me was in Novosibirsk. I refused, saying that in good weather the lawyer didn’t make serious decisions and we should wait for a rainy day. So we did it ”
Yana Dianova, whose life is framed by world war and epidemic, is an example of perfection. “I teach Abraham Lincoln’s sonnets with discipline. In general, I try to learn something new, anything, every day. Everything can be read if the font is enlarged very much, – says the lawyer. “Would you like another cup of tea?” There is a little sadness in the air for a moment. Then, suddenly, like a rainbow, a sly smile returns to Yana Dianova face: “Or a cup of coffee?”
