Alexander Nikolaevich Buinov (russian: Александр Николаевич Буйнов, born 24 March 1950) is a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

singer, songwriter and keyboardist. He is best known for his tenure with

Vesyolye Rebyata Vesyolye Rebyata (russian: Весёлые Ребята, which means "''jolly fellows''") was a Soviet VIA (vocal instrumental ensemble) band formed in 1966, in Moscow. It became one of the most successful and best known VIA bands of all time. It ...

between 1973 and 1989, before starting his solo career. In the English-speaking world, he is known for his song "VDV - s neba privet" (VDV: Greetings from the Sky), which sings the praises of the

Russian Airborne Troops The Russian Airborne Forces (russian: Воздушно-десантные войска России, ВДВ, Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii, VDV) are the airborne forces branch of the Russian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1992 from units of ...

, or VDV ("Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii"; Russian script: Воздушно-десантные войска России, ВДВ; "Air-landing Forces"), a military branch of the

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

. In the period closely following the outset of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, a number of parody videos have surfaced on the Internet with the apparent music of his ''VDV - s neba privet'', but subtitled with English lyrics mocking the invasion. Buinov is a member of the Russian Political Party

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...

. Buinov was included on a 2019 list of blacklisted people banned from performing in Ukraine due to his links to the Putin government. In 2020, during the protests following the Belarusian presidential elections, Buinov recorded a song in support of

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian language, Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian language, Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лука� ...

called “Artists for Peace – Don’t Give Away Your Loved One”, though his representative subsequently stated that Buinov hadn't known that the lyrics of the song supported Lukashenko.

References

External links

Official site
Living people 1950 births Soviet male singers 20th-century Russian singers 21st-century Russian singers Russian singer-songwriters Russian keyboardists Place of birth missing (living people) People's Artists of Russia Honored Artists of the Russian Federation Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Singers from Moscow 20th-century Russian male singers 21st-century Russian male singers Winners of the Golden Gramophone Award {{Russia-keyboardist-stub