Lev Valerianovich Leshchenko (russian: link=no, Лев Валерьянович Лещенко; born 1 February 1942), is a Russian singer, who is best known for his rendition of "
Den Pobedy
"Den' Pobedy" (russian: День Победы, en, Victory Day) ranks among the most popular in the large corpus of Russian songs devoted to the Second World War. The song refers to the Victory Day (9 May) celebration and differs from most of th ...
" and the
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
closing ceremony theme song "
Do svidanja, Moskva".
Biography
Lev Leshchenko was born on 1 February 1942 in Moscow,
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. His father, Valerian Andreyevich Leshchenko (1904–2004), was a Red Army officer who was at war outside of Moscow. His grandfather was from the village of Nizy in the Kharkov province, which at that time was part of the Russian Empire. In 1900, he moved to the Kursk province, where he got a job as an accountant at a factory. Grandfather Leshchenko was a musical person: he sang in the church choir, played many instruments. Lev Valeryanovich's father moved to Moscow in 1931. Having gone through the Finnish War, and then the Great Patriotic War, he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was awarded many orders. He was awarded medals for his participation in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. His mother, Klavdiya Petrovna Leshchenko (née Fedoseyeva; 1915–1943), died shortly after Lev was born, so he was raised by his stepmother Marina Mikhailovna. His grandparents, along with his stepmother Irina Pavlovna Leshchenko, whom his father married in 1948, brought Leshchenko up in
Sokolniki, Moscow. During his childhood, he was introduced to classical music and theatre, and began performing songs by
Leonid Utyosov
Leonid Osipovich Utyosov or Utiosov (russian: link=no, Леонид Осипович Утёсов, uk, link=no, Леонід Йосипович Утьосов); real name Lazar (Leyzer) Iosifovich Vaysbeyn or Weissbein ()) (, Odesa – 9 March ...
.
[Аргументы и факты — Семья газет для всей семьи!](_blank)
Between 1960 and 1959, Leshchenko worked as a stagehand at the
State Academic Bolshoi Theatre, and before being conscripted into the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
in 1961, he worked as an adjuster at a
precision measuring instrument
factory
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
. Leschenko served in the mechanical vehicle division of the Soviet Army, positioned in the
German Democratic Republic
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
. On 27 January 1962, Leshchenko (then a private) became a soloist within the
Soviet Red Army Ensemble, and received an offer to remain in the army. Leshchenko accepted every role offered to him by the ensemble, from singing in a quarter, conducting concerts and even reading verses, where it is said his entertainment career began. At the same time, he was preparing for the theatrical examinations of the
Russian Academy of Theatre Arts
The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent drama school, theatrical arts school in Russia. Locat ...
(abbreviated as GITIS), the most respected theatrical school of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, which he passed and was successfully admitted to in September 1964.
Leshchenko began touring with concert bands, visiting some of the more isolated parts of the country. In 1969, Leshchenko was admitted as a member of the Moscow Operetta Theatre. He took up many minor musical roles, but was aware of his musical gift and was constantly looking for soloist acts. On 13 February 1970, having won a contest held by the state radio station, Leshchenko became a solo vocalist for the Soviet
state radio station.
In 1975, Leshchenko performed "
Den Pobedy
"Den' Pobedy" (russian: День Победы, en, Victory Day) ranks among the most popular in the large corpus of Russian songs devoted to the Second World War. The song refers to the Victory Day (9 May) celebration and differs from most of th ...
", an immensely popular Soviet song dedicated to
Victory Day
Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...
, which was initially disliked by the authorities due to its unconventional music style. His rendition has become by far the most well known.
[Лев Лещенко / Lev Leschenko](_blank)
/ref>
In 1999 Leshchenko was given a star on the Star Square in Moscow.
In March 2014 he signed a letter in support of the position of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
on the Russian annexation of Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
. For this he was banned from entering Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Crimea has been under dispute by Russia and Ukraine since March 2014.
Popular Songs
* ''"Solovyinaya roshcha" ("Соловьиная роща")'' – "Nightingale Grove"
* ''"Proshay" ("Прощай")'' – "Good Bye"
* ''"Prityazhen'ye Zemli" ("Притяжение Земли")'' – "Gravity of the Earth"
* ''"Den Pobedy" (День победы)'' – "The Day of the Victory"
* ''"Ni Minuty Pokoja" (Ни минуты покоя)'' – "Not a Minute's Peace"
* ''"Rodnaya zemlya" ("Родная Земля")'' – "Native Land"
* ''"Roditelskiy dom" ("Родительский дом")'' – "The Parental Home"
* ''"Ne plach' devchonka" ("Не плачь, девчонка")'' – "Don't Cry, Girl"
* ''"Ty moya Moskva" ("Ты моя Москва") - You are my Moscow''
Personal life
From 1966 to 1976, he was married to Alla Abdalova. The marriage lasted 10 years, and ended in divorce, initiated by Abdalova. Since 1978, he has been married to Irina Bagudina (born May 15, 1954).
Honours and awards
;Orders
* Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
1st class (24 October 2017)Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 24.10.2017 № 512 «О награждении государственными наградами Российской Федерации»
// Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации
*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
2nd class (30 January 2012)
*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
3rd class (1 February 2007)
*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», ''Orden "Za zaslugi pered Otechestvom"'') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by P ...
4th class (31 January 2002)
*
Order of Friendship of Peoples
The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...
(14 November 1980)
*
Order of the Badge of Honour
The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.
It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...
(17 August 1989)
*
Order of Friendship
The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds a ...
(Kazakhstan)
;Titles
*
People's Artist of the RSFSR
People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...
(1983)
*
Honoured Artist of the RSFSR
Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Заслуженный артист Российской Федерации, ''Zasluzhenny artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') is an honorary title in the Russian Federation. The title is ...
(1977)
*Honoured Artist of the
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
(2015)
* People's Artist of the
South Ossetia
South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...
(2010)
* People's Artist of the
North Ossetia-Alania
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
(2015)
* Honorary Citizen of
Kursk Oblast
Kursk Oblast ( rus, Курская область, r=Kurskaya oblast, p=ˈkurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...
(2012)
;Awards
*
Lenin Komsomol Prize
Lenin Komsomol Prize () was a Soviet annual award for the best works in science, engineering, literature or art carried out by young authors of age not exceeding 33 years. Komsomol was the abbreviated name of The Communist Union of Youth (Russia ...
(1978)
*Belarus president award
Through Art - to Peace and Understanding (2012)
References
External links
Official websiteSoftpanorama c linksLev Leshchenkoat iTunes
*
Сайт поклонников творчества Льва Лещенко
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leshchenko, Lev
1942 births
Living people
Musicians from Moscow
Soviet male singers
20th-century Russian singers
21st-century Russian singers
Russian people of Ukrainian descent
Full Cavaliers of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples
People's Artists of the RSFSR
Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize
Russian Academy of Theatre Arts alumni
Russian record producers
20th-century Russian male singers
21st-century Russian male singers
Russian National Music Award winners
Winners of the Golden Gramophone Award