His paternal grandfather came from Polish szlachta and owned railroads in Western Ukraine, while his wife Elena Cavalieri was an Italian; she was said to be the sister of the famous opera singer Lina Cavalieri who was very popular in the Russian Empire and regularly visited Kyiv with concerts.

His first major breakthrough happened in 1969 with the musical film Dangerous Tour loosely based on the memoirs of Alexandra Kollontai.

The screenplay was written with Vladimir Vysotsky in mind, who eventually played the main part, wrote all the songs and did some uncredited contribution to the final draft.

[7] His 3-part made-for-TV adventure musical D'Artagnan and Three Musketeers was an ultimate success, with many songs and catchphrases becoming part of the popular culture.

In 1988 he made another Dumas adaptation – The Prisoner of Château d'If based on The Count of Monte Cristo novel.

In 1997 he joined Yuri Kuklachev at the National Cats Theater in Moscow as a stage director and scriptwriter.

[3] His last film in the Musketeer series directed in 2007 and screened in 2009 was met with harsh critique and became a box office bomb.