Nikolay Vyacheslavovich Rastorguyev (russian: Николай Вячеславович Расторгуев; born February 21, 1957,

Lytkarino Lytkarino (russian: Лытка́рино) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Moskva River southeast of Moscow (from MKAD). Population: History Lytkarino was founded in the first half of the 15th century as a vill ...

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

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 ...

) is the lead singer of the Russian group

Lyube Lyube ( rus, Любэ́, p=lʲʉˈbɛ) is a Russian rock band from Lyubertsy, a city in Moscow Oblast. Lyube's music is a mixture of several genres, with influences from both Russian folk music, rock, Russian chanson, and Soviet military songs ...

. In 1978, Nikolay was the soloist for the band (VIA in Russian) "Шестеро молодых," but his first note came during his 1980-1985 stint in the band "Лейся, песня (in English, Lyeysya, Pyesnya)." There he befriended

Valery Kipelov Valery Alexandrovich Kipelov (Russian: Валерий Александрович Кипелов; born July 12, 1958) is a Russian musician and composer who was the vocalist and a founding member of heavy metal band Aria. Since 2002, Kipelov lea ...

, who was later to form

Aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

. After Leysya Pesnya split, Rastorguyev spent a year in the band Rondo before joining newly formed Lyube. Since then, Nikolay remains the band's only permanent member. He has also starred in a couple of movies and released a solo

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

album. In 1997, Rastorguyev was given the

honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...

. On the occasion of his 50th birthday in 2007, Russian President

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 ...

awarded Nikolay with the state order "For Merit to the Fatherland," Fourth class. Rastorguyev became a member of the

Russian Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

in 2010 as a representative of the ruling 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 ...

. In March 2014, Rastorguyev signed a letter supporting russian occupation of Ukrainian Crimea. For "statements contradicted the interests of our national security" he was then 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 ...

. In April and May 2022, Rastorguyev participated in a series of concerts organized in order to support 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 ...

References

External links

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Club Torpedo - VIP List of Singers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rastorguyev, Nikolay 1957 births Living people Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Russia People from Ramensky District Russian musicians Russian male actors People's Artists of Russia Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) United Russia politicians 21st-century Russian politicians Russian rock singers Fifth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation)