hehe, i've found the translation

t.a.t.u duo- is a grandiose russian and world-wide success of russian school-girls who sings about
love to each other. what made now the world-wide famous and young women, to continue to work
on the t.a.t.u project? why didn't they broke up, and confessed, that their love-story was just a
beautiful and well-selling legend? who are they? are they successful mediocrities, maintaining
image of young nymphets? or talented, honest artists, who speaks about things that really bother
people? all the truth about t.a.t.u in the film "closer to stars. russian files".

in year 1999, two moscow school-girls yulia volkova and lena katina, wasn't even guessing that
the participation in t.a.tu will turn their lives up side down. a year later, yulia and lena not just
stepped in the 21st century, they found there selves in their epoch, in the epoch of their mad
popularity.

yulia volkova:
for us, money- is resources for living. to eat, to buy a car, clothes. i'm not afraid that if i won't have
money, my life will be full of disappointments.

lena katina:
- we don't have colossal demands.

yulia volkova:
-i don't afraid of it, i know that i have my baby, have my mom and dad, i have my friends, who will
always be with me.

lena katina:
- and that's the most important thing.

yulia volkova:
- yes, now i have car, when i won't have money, i won't own a car. so what? i will go by bus, by
tram, like any normal person.

in 2001, t.a.t.u signed a contract with one of the biggest records-labels- universal music, and few
days later their debut album "200 km/h in the wrong lane" was released. during 2 months it was
soled in legal edition of more that 500 thousands copies. eventually, the first t.a.t.u album became
multi-platinum, only the legal sales reached 4 millions.

alexander voitinskiy (ex-producer of t.a.t.u):

- vania understood that the viewers aren't interested in vocal decorations. but is the performer
sings loud or quietly- everybody understand that. that's why he made them shout, he demand a
very assertive performance. and all this made the image that was created.

yulia volkova:
- do you know how many time we sang "ya soshla s uma" and "nas ne dogoniat" all around the
world? and each time it sounded different. every time it was new people, new fans, admires, new
cities, countries. that's what i live for; it interesting for me and it’s not nagging me at all.

lena katina:
- sure, it's cool!

alexander voitinskiy (ex-producer of t.a.t.u):

- that's was the main thing in it: "we kiss, and they don't let us". what a terrible world, not letting to
a two girls have sex. the development of this project went on by the force of the american label.
it's not allowed there. and t.a.t.u is an imported project.

artur gasparian (musical critic):

- my first impression of the group t.a.t.u, and i think i’m not the only one, it was many people's
impression from the video "ya soshla s uma", it was an ambivalent impression. one hand- it's
shock, one the other it was some kind of easiness "yes, now we have also some foolish-lesbians
around". but actually, no one took it seriously.

yulia volkova:
- "journalists and many other people took it as platitude: "they sleep in one bed, they kissing...»
there were many jests from them. but we never talked about it, we were 15.

irina sakovnia-semenova (psychologist):

- one of the first who worked with them was ivan shapovalov. and his profession is a psychologist.
and there's no one who knows the human nature better than psychologists. that's why he
manipulated with the girls' inwardness, they could fall to hands of a man who could peck out their
brains, and throw the bodies. but that didn't happen. it was a true reality-show, in front of our
eyes; they turned from girls to young women. that was very interesting for the girls who followed
them.

artur gasparian (musical critic):

- if it wasn't this luck, this random hit to the truck that happened, against all the expectations of
the producers of that time, if not the universal music, everything were ended there. but then,
unexpectedly, this international splash occurred, and it allowed t.a.t.u to appear on the covers of
musical, and not only musical magazines, to be objects of gossip columns.

irina sakovnia-semenova (psychologist):

- about the girls themselves, they turn to be talented enough for not just to act what was wanted,
but to live it. it took a lot of work of the soul. that's why they shut from the press now.

alexander voitinskiy (ex-producer of t.a.t.u):

- as i was told by sergey galoyan, i didn't attempt the shootings; he told that when the shootings
were over, vania understood that the girls have to kiss. and the pecked each others lips.

irina sakovnia-semenova (psychologist):

- a pair- especially to girl-friends - it's a very serious and painful form, because you have to
rehearse yourself in a role of a partner. the longing for a partner, with who you can play a role-
game of "you and me", imagining to be a leader, or leaded - this is psychological explanation for
the phenomenon of t.a.t.u.

yulia volkova:
- it's cool, when you got suck opinion. to hear only good things- that's not interesting. more
interesting to hear people's comments, their protest. i think that everything have advantages, and
we have dome enough already.

lena katina:
- this time wasn't wasted.

yulia volkova:
- i think it's not right, to do everything on the top of you popularity, you have to keep something for
the future. we did a lot during the epoch of shapovalov.

now, t.a.t.u going threw another splash of popularity. the presentation of their new album “liudi-
invalidy”, that took place in the end of 2005, made a lot of noise. t.a.t.u dived to the past
surrounding: video cameras, flashes of the photographs, delegates of the media continue to ask
about the unstrung myths. but now, the creative side of the life of t.a.t.u is not less interesting.
where will be the concert tour? when the new concerts will take place? in which countries the
album planned to be released? a year and a half of silence didn’t affect their popularity. the fans
still storm the concerts and beset their houses.
but let’s go back to 2001, 21st mai the video clip for “nas ne dogoniat” simply blows up the
russian broadcasting. the shooting of the video took 3 days, and there were not only cars in it, but
also helicopters. during 2001, the album was sold in more 2 millions copies. in august 2001, lena
and yulia start to record of the english version of their debut album, for the promo-tour in europe.
now t.a.t.u has a lot of tours all around the world, recordings in the usa, great britain and other
countries, participation in ema ceremony. after all that, sing in english is as natural as sing in
russian for them. in 2003 lena and yulia was invited to bbc news to participate in news flash. the
president of child defense court accused them in amoral affect on the english school-kids, and
especially school-girls. for lena and yulia, a negative attitude from pedagogues and teachers is
not new.

tatiana pavlova goncharova (yulia’s form master):

- as a student, she didn’t stood out in nothing, she was average, didn’t show any interest for
studying. she had certain subjects, in which she had to do something, in some points she did.

yulia volkova:
- i always was interested in russian language and music. that was the subjects, which i always
learned. i always got only 4 and 5 on russian. compositions, narrations, dictation, i always learned
the rules. the art of theatre, the history of music- it was always interesting for me. all the rest…
the geography, i knew it, i liked to draw maps. physics, chemistry and mats- that wasn’t for me. i
even told my parents
that i won’t try to get only 4 and 5. i always had 3, and that’s was fine with me. i didn’t even want
to think about it, because those subjects weren’t interesting for me.

tatiana pavlova goncharova (yulia’s form master):

- in our creative school, yulia didn’t stand out in anything, as a creative person.

boris grachevskiy (director of yeralash studios):- she was so charming, so easy going and exact,
so i said: “what are you thinking about, take her, she’s a good girl”. the first episode, it was great
success.

yulia volkova:
-yeralash, i think that was a school for first shootings. you try yourself as an actor, an actress. in
one i was 11, i had short karee.

lena katina:
- and after you were 14 and your breast was spanned with bandage.

yulia volkova:
- not 14, 13, and i died my hair to red, and cut by myself the fringe at home.

boris grachevskiy (director of yeralash studios):

- suddenly she showed up with a terrible color on her head. we ask her; “what happened?”, and
she says, "well, we shoot a video, you'll find out soon..." it was a year and a half since the first
episode and we had tie her breast with bandage to bring back the old image.

lena katina and yulia volkova was born in moscow, both of them entered musical schools in the
age of 7, specializing on the piano. in the age of 11 yulia moved to a school with deep studying of
acting and choreography. but she didn't proceed to 9-th grade.

yulia volkova:
- i came to this school in 6-th grade. i still tried to be a decent girl, so i can gain the respect of the
teachers. but in 7-th, 8-th and 9-th, that was nothing but whoopee. pushkinskaya street,
mcdonalds is near by, hanging outs on full gas, the center of the city, shops and all.
tatiana pavlova goncharova (yulia’s form master):
- when she was coming to the classed, there was no interest at all. she was passing the time and
leaving.

yulia volkova:
- i think its right that no one forces you to study. if you want- study, you don't- good bye. i think it's
the right policy.

tatiana pavlova goncharova (yulia’s form master):

- i demanded from her exactness and respectable behavior.

yulia volkova:
- i came to school like to a discotheque. the teachers were taking me to the bathroom to wash out
the cosmetics. i was coming to school with huge amount of powder, shades on my eyes; i had
black liner on my lips. i had huge brassieres, open shirts. they were calling my mom, and she was
saying: "what's the problem, my daughter leaving for school with no cosmetics...", and i did, i was
doing it in the elevator, on my way to school.

alexander voitinskiy (ex-producer of t.a.t.u):- lena planned to be occupied in economics, to enter

the university; singing was just entertainment for her.

lena katina:
- i had a bit different view in school. my behavior was better. i really grateful to my teachers, they
did a lot to my life. i also wasn't a talented child. the teachers were reading theorems, and i was
writing poems.

yulia volkova:
- i remember that we were with lena once in class. on literature. we sat on the last desk, i sat,
putting make-up, and lena tried to say something smart to some person.

in the age of 10 lena became a soloist in the famous child-ensemble "avenue", and in the age of
13 was joined to the ensemble "neposedy", where yulia volkova was already performing. the girls
departed from the ensemble because the kids sing there only until the age of 14.

elena pendjayan (the instructor of ensemble "neposedy"):

- i remember perfectly, how yulia come, there was a casting, there were a lot of kids, and it was
competitive selection. a girl came, with short hair-cut, small, skinny, with big eyes. she came out
to the stage, and started.... she sang "oh, not evening, not evening". it was surprising, that such a
small girl have a voice like that.

lena katina:
- it's a school of life.

yulia volkova:
- i think that it's a school. when vika will turn 3-4 years old, i will take her to "neposedy". first- it's a
development in relaxedness. communicating with people. i think that it's a big advantage.
neposedy- it's a real school.

the children-ensemble "neposedy" (fidgets) stands behind its name. there no time to sit calmly,
regular lessons in choreography, vocal, acting, and also rehearsals and constant trainings. this
kind of trainings helped lena katina and yulia volkova to pass the casting for the duo, that in short
time got the name tatu. it was easy for the girls to work together; the experience in "neposedy"
helped them.

sergey lazarev:
- it was surprising for us that lena and yulia made a duo. i won't say that they always were best
friends.
elena pendjayan (the instructor of ensemble "neposedy"):
- lena came later after yulia. she has amazing quality of a voice. they're both very musical girls,
they both graduated music-school. they're girls, who can sing and understands, what's music is.

yulia volkova:
- this is a support.

lena katina:
- that's how you learn to cooperate in a collective.

elena pendjayan (the instructor of ensemble "neposedy"):

- of course, like in any family, there were quarrels. i can't say they were best friends, but they still
were friends.

sergey lazarev:
- we're not colleagues, we're not even friends. we more than that. we're family, relatives; we can
share all our problems...

yulia volkova:
- me and lena we finished music-school, learning piano, we were together in "neposedy". we had
our goal: to be singers, to perform.

elena pendjayan (the instructor of ensemble "neposedy"):

- i still see the kids in them. the smallest details from their time in "neposedy" still can be seen
now.

sergey lazarev:
- yulia became one of the leaders straight away. she was still blonde than. but with a character.
lenka stayed is she was. she didn't change at all.

elena pendjayan (the instructor of ensemble "neposedy"):

- there are no pretensions to them. they just did well their project. perhaps i have a few questions
to the parents, who could think at that moment, but then who knows, would t.a.t.u exist at all?

the childhood ended for yulia and lena unexpectedly. later it was only work. it seems like gaining
popularity is easy and pleasant, but it's only looks like. no there's no truancy and undone
homework. but the life of adults that they dreamed of wasn't sweet as it looked from the school-
desk.

yulia volkova:
the elemental subjects of t.a.t.u- it the honesty that connects us. this is our life. the new album is
psychological, deeper. it related to what we think. the authors of the songs are helping us to
express it.

after their triumphal victory on the whole musical amplitude in the eastern and western europe,
america, mexico and even malaysia, after passing the fire and the water of the promo-tours, work
on the recordings, rehearsals, appearances in front of thousands people, t.a.t.u could not to
survive the “brazen tubes”. luckily, that didn’t happen.

lena katina:
- it was hard for me. at first, it was great. and than it passes some border, and it’s not like
nagging… me and yulia, we love our fans, they coming to our houses. but sometimes they don’t
understand that we’re people too.

yulia volkova:
- sometimes you just want to relax, to talk soulfully to someone. there are many kinds of clubs,
companies...

lena katina:
- or just to be with the parents at home.

yulia volkova:
- i have birthday on february 20-th. i planned to throw a big party. but what i want, actually, is to sit
on the plane, took off somewhere, and just rest. i don't need the attention, or these boozes...
or just in close company, mom, dad, lenka, and close friends.
of course, it's better that boys and girls singing, than sit in backyards and drink, use drugs. or just
sit home stupidly, and beg the parents to give them money. it's better if they'll do it on their own, to
experience on their own humpback, what is like to go to tours and earn money.
in our country, no one let the other to set himself free. and there, abroad, everybody is happy for
each other, they care about each other. in our place, everybody cares only about his own butt.
this kind of attitude shows that our artists have a lot of complexes. it's pathos, and it's annoys us.

yulia and lena stayed maximalists in everything that concern their opinions about the colleagues
and the surrounding world. that's why the name of their new album and video "disabled people",
like the previous works of the duo, are at least not trivial, as much on the verge of the show-
business.

irina sakovnia-semenova (psychologist):

- i think that they liberated the world, the parents, and mostly the teenagers themselves, from
suicide. yulia gave born to a baby-girl- that affected the demographic mark of our country.

yulia volkova:
- i didn't change globally. of course, now i stop to think before i do something. i know that i have a
daughter who needs me safe and well. i love her, and everything i do, i do for her.
i think that we're responsible, for releasing an album named "disabled people". many people can
really get offended, and that's what happened. a lot of people just didn't understand the video.
they think that we have something against physically wounded people. we have our own politics
in our album.

sergey lazarev:
- it's a huge responsibility that they took on their shoulders. they understand that, but not bothered
too much.

yulia volkova:
- we flew to europe. we had our doubts. it's very difficult to step on that level. not any person is
capable for this. they don't need pretty faces over there, what valuable there- is the talent. but we
moved ahead. we managed to do it because who we are.
now i fully dedicate myself only to t.a.t.u. i could go study, but it takes time, which i don't have.
and to get a diploma for money- i don't need that. as long as the ambition to go on is exist, we
have to do it.

naturally, everything that we wanted to tell about t.a.t.u, is not what you wanted to hear about lena
katina and yulia volkova. the story of t.a.t.u is continuing, their creation is not a finished book,
that's what their colleagues and admires clame. the second album of t.a.t.u is recorded, a new
video came out on the screens. there's no doubt, that you'll have the opportunity to meet t.a.t.u
again on a documentary "closer to stars. russian files". the most important is that the made up
story about two girls, who gone mad from love to each other became close and dear to millions of
people in the world. this legend is a reminding, that such emotions, as love, has no limits.

artur gasparian (musical critic):

- the prediction about the second album was very negative, from everyone. no one believed that
they could back after such long silence, which happened because of an insane producer. but they
were born again.

mitia (hi-fi)
- i like their audacity, their youth. they don't look back.

alena sviridova (a singer):

- because before everything was made up, i couldn't even listen to this. now there is music. and
i'm happy about the success.

lena katina:
- this time wasn't wasted.

yulia volkova:
- i think it's not right, to do everything on the top of you popularity, you have to keep something for
the future. we did a lot during the epoch of shapovalov.

thanks ev for the translation

source: official forum