Mikhail Vladimirovich Vorobyov (russian: link=no, Михаил Владимирович Воробьёв; April 7, 1962 – July 1, 2002), known professionally as Mikhail Krug (aka Michael the Circle) (russian: link=no, Михаил Круг), was a Russian singer. Krug was one of the most popular singers of the style of music known as ''

blatnaya pesnya ''Blatnaya pesnya'' ( rus, блатная песня, p=blɐtˈnajə ˈpʲesʲnʲə, "criminals' song") or ''blatnyak'' ( rus, links=no, блатняк, p=blɐtʲˈnʲak) is a genre of Russian song characterized by depictions of criminal subcultu ...

'' or

Russian chanson Russian chanson ( rus, русский шансон, r=russkiy shanson}; from French "chanson") is a neologism for a musical genre covering a range of Russian songs, including Russian romance, city romance songs, Bard (Soviet Union), author song ...

, a genre of music that has been popular in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

since the beginning of the twentieth century.

Biography

Mikhail Vorobyov was born in the Proletarsky district, also known as Morozovskiy Gorodok, in the city of Kalinin, which would later be known as Tver. He was born to Vladimir Mikhailovich Vorobyov and Zoya Petrovna Vorobyova. He was inspired by the music of

Vladimir Vysotsky Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky ( rus, links=no, Владимир Семёнович Высоцкий, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr sʲɪˈmʲɵnəvʲɪtɕ vɨˈsotskʲɪj; 25 January 1938 – 25 July 1980), was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor ...

since his childhood. His stage name is derived from the word

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 ...

word "Krug", which means circle. After completing service in the army, Krug entered a song contest in 1987, in which he would take first place with the song "About Afghanistan". Afterwards, he decided to seriously pursue songwriting as a career. Krug then recorded his first three albums, ''Tverskiye Streets'' (1989), ''Katya'' (1990), and an untitled third album. These albums were not released officially, but were distributed through

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

, to which Krug would give his blessing. Most of the songs on these three albums would be rerecorded for his later albums. His first official album, ''Zhigan-Limon'' (1994), featured one of his biggest hits, "Kolshchik". Krug often associated with criminals, who inspired his music. Many of Krug's songs invoke the secret code of Russian prisons and the symbolism of prisoner tattoos. Krug used a 1924

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

dictionary of underworld slang to help write his songs. He also wrote love songs and songs about

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...

. During his lifetime, Krug was a supporter of the

ultranationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...

Liberal Democratic Party of Russia ) , abbreviation = LDPR (English)ЛДПР (Russian) , native_name = , newspaper = ''For the Russian People'' , youth_wing = , seats1_title = Seats in the Federation Council , seats1 = , seats2_title ...

. He was noted for his opposition to

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

, and

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. In the late evening of June 30, 2002, Mikhail Krug was fatally assassinated in his house in Tver by several unknown intruders. He died in the hospital a few hours later. A 2012

DNA test Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

revealed that Krug's killer was Dmitry Veselov, who was also murdered in March 2003 in

References

External links

Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krug, Mikhail Russian chanson 1962 births 2002 deaths 2002 murders in Russia People from Tver Russian singer-songwriters Deaths by firearm in Russia Russian murder victims Russian male singer-songwriters 20th-century Russian singers Pseudonymous artists Liberal Democratic Party of Russia politicians 20th-century Russian male singers