September 21, 1973
A 72-year-old woman died of a heart attack in Moscow. Lidia Ruslanova. Queen of Russian folk song.
Born in 1900, in Saratov province, into a peasant family. His father went missing in action during the Russo-Japanese War.
The first real song I heard was the cry when they took my father away. Grandma clung to the cart and wailed. Afterward, I often cried out, "Cry out, grandma, for daddy!"
At age six, she lost her mother and spent another year singing and begging with her grandmother. When she died, she ended up in an orphanage. She sang in the church choir, and everyone in Saratov knew her as "The Orphan."
In 1916, she worked as a nurse on a hospital train. During the Civil War, she performed for Red Army soldiers.
Singing well is very difficult. You'll be exhausted until you understand the soul of a song, until you unravel its mystery.
At 21, she moved to Moscow. She toured throughout the Soviet Union, sang on the radio, and her records sold out in huge numbers. She was the highest-paid artist in the USSR, giving five concerts a day.
During the war, she sang in hospitals and on the front lines, sometimes under German bomber raids.
I see no one is paying attention, they're listening like they're in the Hall of Columns. I think it's not right for me to sit in the trench either.
She was one of the first to perform "Katyusha." Her signature song was "Valenki."
During the war, she gave over 1000 concerts. With her earnings, she bought two Katyusha batteries. In May 1945, she was the first to perform at the Reichstag.
In 1948, together with her husband, a general Kryukov, Arrested in the "trophy case": they were accused of robbery (Ruslanova collected paintings and antiques). During the search, four cars, 132 paintings, 35 antique carpets, antique dinnerware sets, furs, 700,000 rubles, and 208 diamonds were seized.
She received 10 years in a prison camp, and her songs were banned. She sat under Irkutsk, continued to give concerts (applause was forbidden at them, but even the highest officials did not hold back their ovations).
In 1950, she was transferred to Vladimir Central Prison after being denounced. She was released after Stalin's death. Her voice was damaged in solitary confinement, but she gave a concert just a month later: before she began singing, the audience gave a standing ovation for 20 minutes.
She toured until the end of her life.