Alla Borisovna Pugacheva (Russian: А́лла Бори́совна Пугачёва, Russian pronunciation:['alːɐbɐ'rʲisəvnɐpʊgɐˈt͡ɕɵvɐ]; sometimes Pugachova; born 15 April 1949) is a Soviet and Russian singer-songwriter. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day, even though she has retired from performing. For her "clear mezzo-soprano and a full display of sincere emotions",[1] she enjoys an iconic status across the former Soviet Union as the most successful Soviet performer[2][3] in terms of record sales and popularity.[a]
Pugacheva was born to Boris Mikhailovich Pugachyov and Zinaida Arkhipovna (née Odegova) Pugachyova in Moscow, on 15 April 1949.[7] In 1956, she enrolled in music school No.31, and attended the Ippolitov-Ivanov music college. She went on to study at school No.496, finishing her studies there in 1964. She then studied in the choral-conducting department of the college. Pugacheva recorded her first track "Robot" in 1965, for a morning programme on Radio Yunost.[8]
Careeredit
Pugacheva finished college in 1966 and subsequently toured with the group Yunost' (Youth) in western Siberia. The following year she began working as a piano accompanist at the State Circus Musical college. She provided the leading vocals to a number of bands, including Novy Elektron (New Electron), part of the Lipetsk State Philharmonic Society, in 1966, Moskvichi (Muscovites) in 1971, Oleg Lundstrem's band in 1972–73, and Vesyolye Rebyata (Merry Folks) in 1974–75. She recorded songs throughout that period for numerous movies.[9]
In 1974, she came in 3rd place in the All-Union competition of musicians. In 1975, she received the Grand Prix of the Golden Orpheus international singing contest in Bulgaria, performing the song "Harlequin" by Emil Dimitrov. The Amiga label released her winning song as a single in East Germany. Subsequently, in Bulgaria, the Balkanton label released the live recording of "Harlequin" from the festival as a single. A year later, Pugacheva returned to the Golden Orpheus to perform a concert outside the competition. The Balkanton released the live tracks as Pugacheva's first album Zolotoy Orfey 76. In that same year, Pugacheva recorded a number of songs for the musical drama-comedy The Irony of Fate as the singing voice of Nadja, the female protagonist.
"Zhenshchina, kotoraya poët"
Sample from "Zhenshchina, kotoraya poët" (The Woman Who Sings), title track of Pugacheva's most popular musical film
Problems playing this file? See media help.
The Woman Who Sings, 1977edit
Pugacheva went on to work on the musical filmThe Woman who Sings in cooperation with the band Ritm (Rhythm) in 1977. She played the leading lady, a famous pop singer who sacrifices her personal life for her career. The soundtrack, which was co-written by Pugacheva and composed of pop songs, culminated with the dramatic title ballad "Zhenshchina, kotoraya poyot". The Soviet audience, regarding the film as autobiographical,[10] brought the soundtrack to reach record audience of the year in 1979, as it was bought by 55 million people.[11] The soundtrack was first released in 1977 as part of the double album Zerkalo dushi (Mirror of the Soul), which was a collection of her songs from 1975 to 1977. The Victor label released a collection album Alla Pugacheva in the same year in Japan. In 1978, performing the song "Vsyo mogut koroli" ("Kings Can Do Anything"), Pugacheva received the Amber Nightingale prize at the Sopot International Song Festival which at the time meant automatically winning the Grand Prix of the Intervision Song Contest.[12] In 1980, the Kansan label of Finland released her above-listed works as the compilation album Huipulla (At the Top). Tonbandausnahmenkompanie Bayer GmbH did the same in West Germany, releasing Alla Pugachova.
Her work in 1980–2000edit
During the 1980s, Pugacheva was a frequent visitor to Stockholm. She started out with multiple guest appearances on the popular Swedish radio show Galaxen (April 1980 year) conducted by Jacob Dahlin, and later frequently appeared on his TV show Jacobs Stege (Jacob's Ladder). Dahlin and Pugacheva used to perform duets, such as "Superman" where Dahlin sings as the title character. In Stockholm, Pugacheva recorded an album in English, released by the World Record Music label in Sweden as Watch Out and by the Melodiya label in the Soviet Union as Alla Pugacheva in Stockholm.[citation needed]
Pugacheva had sold a quarter of a billion records by 2000, in 2023 one of her songs were used for Atomic Heart for the intro.[14]
Private lifeedit
In 1969, she married Lithuanian circus performer Mykolas Orbakas [lt], and on 25 May 1971 she gave birth to a daughter, Kristina Orbakaitė, who is also a popular singer.[15] Pugacheva divorced Orbakas after four years of marriage in 1973. She married film director Alexander Stefanovich (1945–2021) in 1976 and starred in several of his movies. The union was dissolved in 1980.
In 1985, Pugacheva married producer Yevgeniy Boldin, with whom she had numerous professional collaborations. She had a working and romantic relationship with a young musician and singer, Vladimir Kuzmin during this period. In 1993, she divorced Yevgeniy Boldin stating that their professional lives interfered too much with their personal life.
In 1994, she married a pop singer, Philipp Kirkorov. Their divorce was announced in November 2005.
On 23 December 2011, Pugacheva married satirist Maxim Galkin, who is 27 years younger.[16] The couple has twins delivered by a surrogate mother.
Political and social activitiesedit
From 1963 to 1977, starting when she was fourteen, Pugacheva was a member of the Komsomol.[17]
In June 1996, Pugacheva actively participated in the pre-election tour of Boris Yeltsin's presidential campaign "Vote or lose."[19] Later, she did not hide that she had taken much money for her performances at concerts as part of this election campaign.[20] On 14 June 1996, two days before the vote, an interview with Leonid Parfyonov was aired in the Hero of the Day program on the NTV channel, in which Pugacheva called on all Russians to vote for Yeltsin.[21][22]
In December 2005, Pugacheva became a member of the Civic Chamber under the President of the Russian Federation, where she worked on social development issues until 2008.[24]
Since September 2011, Pugacheva has openly supported politician Mikhail Prokhorov. She declared her readiness to join his party, then joined his Public Council; together with Andrey Makarevich, she sang the song "Samy vysoky" (The Tallest) about him, and also took part in various press conferences of Prokhorov and congresses of the public council of the Civic Platform party.[25] On 14 September, she took part in the party congress.[26][27] However, after the removal of its leader, the day after the congress at a meeting of supporters of Mikhail Prokhorov, she left the party, blaming Vladislav Surkov for what happened.[28]
In 2012, Pugacheva supported the punk group Pussy Riot.[29]
Pugacheva took second place in the ranking of "100 Most Influential Women of Russia" (Ogoniok, 2012)[35] and 4th in the ranking of "The Smartest Women of Russia" (Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 2012).[36]
In March 2022, Pugacheva and Galkin, whose mother is Jewish,[38] left Russia for Israel following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[39] In August 2022, Pugacheva returned to Russia hoping to clean up "the mess in people heads".[40] In September 2022, after her husband had been declared a "foreign agent", she spoke out publicly condemning the war and useless deaths of Russian men who are forced to die for no reason. She also asked Ministry of Justice to declare her a foreign agent, too.[41][42]
Прошу зачислить меня в ряды иноагентов моей любимой страны, ибо я солидарна со своим мужем, честным, порядочным и искренним человеком, настоящим и неподкупным патриотом России, желающим Родине процветания, мирной жизни, свободы слова и прекращения гибели наших ребят за иллюзорные цели, делающие нашу страну изгоем и утяжеляющие жизнь наших граждан.
I ask to enlist me in the list of foreign agents of my beloved country, because I'm solidary with my husband, an honest, decent and sincere person, a true and incorruptible patriot of Russia which wishes the Motherland prosperity, peaceful life, freedom of speech and an end of the deaths of our men for the illusory goals that make our country an outcast and make life difficult for our citizens.
—Alla Pugacheva on War in Ukraine, September 18, 2022[43][44]
Russian authorities began investigating Pugacheva for "discrediting" the Russian military under Russian 2022 war censorship laws.[45] In October 2022, Pugacheva revealed that she had left Russia again for Israel.[46][47][48] In November 2023, Pugacheva returned to Russia for a few days before leaving again for Latvia.[49]
The British pop group Pet Shop Boys supported Pugacheva. The band members said they admired her courage and honesty.[50] German rock musician Udo Lindenberg[51] and Ukrainian singer Svetlana Loboda[52] also expressed words of support for Pugacheva.
Honours and awardsedit
Pugacheva's most notable title is "People's Artist of the USSR", the highest honor that could be bestowed to a musical artist in the state, awarded to her in 1991. While the lesser titles of "Accomplished Artist of the Russian SFSR", and "People's Artist of the Russian SFSR" had been already awarded to her in 1980 and 1985 respectively, the government was hesitant to award her its highest honor, reportedly largely because of statements and actions on her part that were inconsistent with the Party's agenda.[53] Pugacheva is listed in the Russian Encyclopedia (2005).[54]
^Encyclopædia Britannica repeats a claim on its features website that Pugacheva has sold around 250 million records. Other internet sources claim figures from 75 million to 250 million records, though there is no official source for this information.
Referencesedit
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^Alison Smale (28 February 2000). "A Superstar Evokes a Superpower; In Diva's Voice, Adoring Fans Hear Echoes of Soviet Days". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
^Jon Pareles (25 September 1988). "Review/Music; Alla Pugacheva's Moody, Ardent Soviet Pop". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
^"BBC 100 Women 2022: Who is on the list this year?". BBC. 6 December 2022. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
^Gordiyko, Valeriya (6 December 2022). "Пугачева вошла в список 100 самых влиятельных женщин по версии Би-би-си. В нем также представлены Елена Зеленская, Билли Айлиш и Сельма Блэр" [Pugacheva was included in the list of 100 most influential women according to the BBC. It also features Elena Zelenskaya, Billie Eilish and Selma Blair]. RBC Group of Companies (in Russian). Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
^Alla Pugacheva Archived 16 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. IMDb. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
^"US rocks to a Soviet beat. Superstar vocalist Alla Pugacheva tours the States". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
^Collection of her songs from movies Archived 11 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine, russiandvd.com. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
^«Женщина, которая поет»: кто такой Борис Горбонос? ["The Woman Who Sings": Who Is Boris Gorbonos?]. volgograd-trv.ru (in Russian). 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on 5 December 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
^Лидеры проката [Top bill]. Kinokultura.com (in Russian). Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
^Międzynarodowy Festiwal Piosenki Polskiej- Sopot Festival Archived 2 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine, pesnyagoda.by.ru. Retrieved 17 May 2015.(in Russian)
^Всем шоу шоу [All show show]. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
^Smorodinskaya (28 October 2013). Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Russian. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-78786-7.
^Goscilo, Helena; Strukov, Vlad (4 October 2010). Celebrity and Glamour in Contemporary Russia: Shocking Chic. Routledge. ISBN 9781136924347. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
^"Алла Пугачева и Максим Галкин поженились (ФОТО)" [Alla Pugacheva and Maxim Galkin got married (PHOTO)]. Mail.ru. 26 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
^ abcd"Сторонница Ельцина и перемен, с недавних пор — противница Путина. Рассказываем, как развивались отношения Аллы Пугачёвой с властью" [A supporter of Yeltsin and change, and more recently an opponent of Putin. We tell you how Alla Pugacheva's relationship with the authorities developed]. Zerkalo (in Russian). 20 September 2022. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
^Bezhenar, Tatiana (24 August 2016). "25 лет назад Пугачёва устроила на одесском пляже демонстрацию протеста" [25 years ago, Pugacheva staged a protest demonstration on the Odessa beach] (in Russian). KP in Ukraine. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023.
^Razzakov, Fyodor (5 September 2017). Алла Пугачёва. 50 мужчин Примадонны [Alla Pugacheva. 50 male prima donnas] (in Russian). Litres. ISBN 978-5-457-61382-9. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020.
^"Глава 05 «Голосуй или проиграешь!»" [Chapter 05 “Vote or lose!”] (in Russian). Argumenty i Fakty. 24 December 2014. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
^"Алла Пугачёва призывает голосовать за Ельцина" [Alla Pugacheva calls for voting for Yeltsin] (in Russian). Расцвет российских СМИ (The rise of Russian media). 14 June 1996. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
^Алла Пугачёва в передаче «Герой дня» (НТВ, 14 June 1996) on YouTube
^"Алле Пугачёвой исполняется 65 лет" [Alla Pugacheva turns 65]. NEWS.am Style (in Russian). 15 April 2014. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
^Гамов, Александр (October 2007). "Алла Пугачёва ещё поработает в Общественной палате" [Alla Pugacheva will still work in the Public Chamber]. Kp.ru - (in Russian). Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
^"Пугачёва стала доверенным лицом Прохорова" [Pugacheva became Prokhorov's confidant] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
^"Алла Пугачёва вступила в члены Правого дела" [Alla Pugacheva joined the Right Cause] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
^"Примадонна российской эстрады Алла Пугачёва выступила на съезде Правого дела в поддержку Михаила Прохорова" [Russian pop diva Alla Pugacheva spoke at the Right Cause Congress in support of Mikhail Prokhorov] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
^"Пугачёва про Суркова: кто там сошёл с ума" [Pugachev about Surkov: who went crazy there] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
^Raibman, Natalya (16 April 2012). "Пугачёва выступила против тюрьмы для Pussy Riot" [Pugacheva spoke out against prison for Pussy Riot]. Ведомости (in Russian). Vedomosti. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023.
^Gasparyan, Artur (22 April 2005). "Рождество Пугачево". Moskovskij Komsomolets (in Russian). Retrieved 26 April 2023.
^"Гей-сообщество России считает Аллу Пугачеву своей иконой". Pskovskaya lenta novostej (in Russian). 15 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
^"Алла Пугачева и Мадонна – гей-иконы современности". TV Rain (in Russian). 18 April 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
^Langenburg, Artyom (15 April 2014). "Хочу как Алла: от бизнесвумен до гей-иконы". Sobaka.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
^Konakov, Boris (8 October 2020). "Осквернение святынь. Что не так с гей-иконами в России?". AIDS.Center (in Russian). Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
^"100 влиятельных россиянок" [100 influential Russian women] (in Russian) (3). Ogoniok. 23 January 2012. ISSN 0131-0097. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^"Рейтинг самых умных и красивых женщин России" [Rating of the smartest and most beautiful women in Russia] (in Russian). Russian Public Opinion Research Center. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
^Pugachev and other leaders are asked to stop harassment by Makarevich Crimea Archived 11 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (28 March 2014)
^"Russian power couple Alla Pugacheva and Maxim Galkin flee to Israel". Times of Israel. 26 March 2022.
^"Russian Megastars Alla Pugacheva, Maxim Galkin Flee to Israel". Haaretz. 24 March 2022. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
^"Вернувшаяся в Россию Пугачева пообещала "наводить порядок"" [Returning to Russia, Pugacheva promised to “put things in order”]. RIA Novosti (in Russian). 27 August 2022. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
^"Russian pop star's war criticism stirs vigorous debate". AP NEWS. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
^Troianovski, Anton (18 September 2022). "Russian Pop Music Icon Comes Out Against the War in Ukraine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
^"«Миллион алых роз против сил зла»: как в России отреагировали на антивоенный пост Пугачёвой" (in Russian). BBC News Russian. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
^"Восстание Пугачёвой приведёт к падению режима" (in Russian). Meduza. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
^"Russian pop legend Alla Pugacheva under investigation for 'discrediting' Russian army". Meduza. 20 September 2022.
^"Russian pop star who criticised Ukraine war says she is in Israel". the Guardian. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
^Boutsko, A. (4 May 2022). "Who are the Russians leaving their country?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
^Tarasova, Darya (19 September 2022). "Russian pop legend speaks out against war in Ukraine". CNN. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
^"Алла Пугачева уехала из России. Максим Галкин опубликовал их совместное фото, сделанное в Латвии". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 11 November 2023.
^"Участники британской группы Pet Shop Boys высказались в поддержку Аллы Пугачёвой" [Members of the British group Pet Shop Boys spoke out in support of Alla Pugacheva] (in Russian). 20 September 2022. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
^"Немецкий рокер Удо Линденберг отреагировал на просьбу Аллы Пугачевой признать ее иноагентом" [German rocker Udo Lindenberg responded to Alla Pugacheva’s request to recognize her as a foreign agent] (in Russian). 20 September 2022. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
^"Украинская певица Лобода отреагировала на обращение Пугачёвой" [Ukrainian singer Loboda responded to Pugacheva’s appeal] (in Russian). 19 September 2022. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
^Alla Pugacheva biography Archived 16 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine, artistdirect.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
^Profile Archived 8 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, intermedia.ru. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
^"BBC 100 Women 2022: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
^Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Eurovision - Alla Pugacheva / Алла Пугачёва 1997". YouTube.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alla Pugacheva.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Alla Pugacheva.
Russian Music on the net: Info on Alla Pugacheva with lyrics translated to English