Denis Maydanov | |
|---|---|
| Денис Майдaнов | |
 Maydanov in 2017 | |
| Member of theState Duma forMoscow Oblast | |
| Assumed office 12 October 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Oksana Pushkina |
| Constituency | Odintsovo (No. 122) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1976-02-17)17 February 1976 (age 49) |
| Political party | United Russia |
| Spouse | Natalya Kolesnikova |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Moscow State Art and Cultural University |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Awards | |
| Website | Musical act Political office |
Denis Vasilyevich Maydanov (Russian:Денис Васильевич Майдaнов, born 17 February 1976) is a Russian singer, songwriter, actor, and politician. An accomplished artist known throughout Russia, Maydanov also serves in the RussianState Duma as a representative of theOdintsovo constituency ofOdintsovsky District,Moscow Oblast since 2021. He is a member ofUnited Russia. Maydanov's accolades as an artist include the title ofMerited Artist of the Russian Federation, as well as theGolden Gramophone,song of the year, andchanson of the year.[1][2] In his political career, Maydanov has vocally supported thepolicies ofVladimir Putin, and supported theinvasion of Ukraine.[3] In 2022 he was sanctioned by theEuropean Union.[4]
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Denis Maydanov was born on February 17, 1976, in the city ofBalakovo,Saratov Region, to a family of petrochemical workers. His father was born in theMogilev Region ofBelarus, but moved toBalakovo in theSaratov oblast of southwest Russia to work as an engineer in the state petrochemical industry.[5] Maydanov's mother, Evgenia Petrovna,[6] was born in the suburbs ofLuhansk, in theDonbas region ofUkraine;[5] when she moved to Balakavo at the age of 20[7] she worked as an inspector in Saratovgasstroy, later as head of the personnel department in Zhilstroy.[8] When Denis was eight, his parents divorced, leaving Denis to be raised by his single mother. At an early age he was forced to work to provide for the two of them: when he was 13 years old he worked as a janitor, security guard in a kindergarten, and washed cars.[9][6]
By the time of his parents divorce at the age of eight, Maydanov had already begun composing poetry: he wrote his first poems to his mother forInternational Women's Day.[6] At 13, he learned to play guitar from a neighbor. At that point, he stopped playing thebayan, which he had studied at music school, and began to write his own songs. Alongside the guitar lessons, Maydanov taught himself the piano,[6] and began to get involved in the poetic and theatrical circles of the Balakovo House of Culture, taking part in thevocal-instrumental ensemble.[8] In 1992, at the age of 16, he earned third place at a city competition of variety art with a performance of his own song.[10] As a result, Maydanov secured a spot among the young performers of the studio "MUZ-A" at the city's House of Creativity, and learned to become a songwriter for soloists. Since then he has maintained his affiliation with the House of Creativity, as head of theVIA,methodologist, and head of the "Club of High School Students".[8] In school Denis was successful,[8] but after his ninth year he was forced to drop out and enter a chemical technical college in order to provide for himself and his mother.[9][8]
While studying at the technical school, the future artist decided to enter theMoscow State Art and Cultural University (MGUKI); he studied at theevening school in parallel with the technical school with the intention to receive a certificate a year earlier before the official deadline. In 1995, when he succeeded, Denis entered the correspondence department of MGUKI in the specialty "Manager-director of show programs"; At admission he had significant competition – 72 people for 6 seats.[8] In MGUKI he studied directing and acting.[11] In parallel to his studies Maydanov worked; first at a car-wash, then his mother managed to arrange him a job as a repairman-fitter at the Syzran oil refinery. Despite the good salary, Denis left the factory after a year of work, realizing that this is not his profession.[8] Also during this period he directed the VIA and theater studio in the Balakovo House of Creativity;[8] There was a recording studio which Denis used to record his first songs and for subsequently selling them to local Volga musicians.[8][9] He graduated from MGUKI in 1999, afterward becoming director of the musical theater and the head of the music department of the House of Creativity.[12][13]
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In 2001, Maydanov moved from Balakovo toMoscow, working as a composer-songwriter for other Russian performers. In his first two years living in Moscow, Maydanov had little stable earnings or housing, moving more than 15 times, and couch surfing with friends from college, sometimes sleeping atrailway andmetro stations.[8][6] His first significant earnings (US$150) came from producerYuri Aizenshpis for writing the lyrics to the song "Behind the Fog" for singerSasha Gradiva. The song became a hit, winning the "Song of the Year 2002" festival, and bringing Maydanov his first musical award.[6] Gradually Maydanov received recognition, and many Russian artists began singing his songs, in particular,Nikolai Baskov,Filipp Kirkorov,Turetsky Choir Art Group,Alexander Buinov,Mikhail Shufutinsky,Aleksandr Marshal,Lolita Milyavskaya,Jasmin,Joseph Kobzon,Tatiana Bulanova. He also wrote songs and soundtracks for a number of Russian films and serials.[11]
In 2008 Maydanov switched from songwriting to recording and performing his own songs. After being commissioned by the president ofAvtoRadio Alexander Varin to write "This radio is Avtoradio", Varin invited Maydanov to put the song "Eternal Love" on the air, insisting that Maydanov should start his own performing career.[14] Within six months of debut, the track made the rotation of major Russian radio stations, and the song would go on to earn Maydanov the Golden Gramophone. "Eternal Love" was Maydanov's first hit, and remains among his most famous songs.[15][16] In June 2009, he released his first album "I'll Know That You Love Me ... Eternal Love", and soon after appeared on stage as a solo artist for the first time at theMoscow International House of Music.[6] Over the next decade he would go on to release albums "World for rent" (2011), "Flying over us" (2013), "Flag of my state" (2015), "Half a lifetime on the road: Unreleased" (2015), and "What will the wind leave" (2017).
In October 2013, Maydanov joined a group of Russian performers who participated – at the invitation of Defense MinisterSergey Shoygu – in the new performance of theNational anthem of Russia. Along with Maydanov,Valeriya,Oleg Gazmanov,Larisa Dolina,Aleksandr Marshal,Jasmin,Alsou,Dina Garipova,Vitas and other artists took part in the recording[17]
In 2017, he was given the honorificMerited Artist of the Russian Federation.
On April 12, 2021, in honor of the 60th anniversary ofYuri Gagarin's flight to space, audioservice Sberzvuk andRoscosmos included tracks from Maydanov among a playlist of music sent to orbitingInternational Space Station cosmonautsSergei Kud-Sverchkov andOleg Novitsky, accompanied by a personal note from Maydanov and each of the other artists.[18]
May 1, 2022, Maydanov and other acts such as folk-rockerPelageya performed at a Putin-backed concert.
Many of Maydanov's songs featureRussian nationalist andirredentist themes, with several songs about theVDV,OMON, andSpetsnaz, and corresponding music videos which feature soldiers and equipment of the units performing tactical demonstrations.[19] He has performed on many occasions for Russian troops and national pride events, including at theKremlin.[20] When asked whether the values he espouses in his music would carry over to his political career, Maydanov toldGazeta.Ru:
"many of my songs are of a patriotic and social nature, which is an important cultural contribution to the country's ideological agenda."[21]
In January and June 2016, Maydanov held concerts for Russian servicemen atKhmeimim Air Base in Syria.[22] In 2019 he performed on Lenin Square inSimferopol, at a concert in the Crimean city to commemorate the fifth anniversary of theAnnexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.[23] In the 2021 music video for the songSpetsnaz, Maydanov sings that "Spetsnaz operates from Moscow to New York", while surrounded byFSB officers and Russian soldiers.[24] His December 2022 releaseSarmatushka celebrates theRS-28 Sarmat missile with the lyrics, "Its will is stronger than the Ural Mountains/It’ll scatter our enemies to dust in an instant/It’s ready to carry out the sentence/The U.S.’s air defense is no hindrance to it.”[25]
Maydanov was politically active prior to beginning his own political career, having been a member of theAll-Russia Popular Front, a winner of theRussian FSB Prize [ru] andPrize of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in the field of culture and art [ru], and a reported confidante of President Vladimir Putin. He is also Deputy Chairman of the Public Council within theMinistry of Culture, and a member of the Cultural Council of theRosgvardia Russian Army ensemble.
In March 2021, Maydanov announced his decision to run for theState Duma in the 122ndOdintsovo single-mandate district of theMoscow Oblast, as a member of the incumbentUnited Russia party.[26] After prevailing in the internal party primaries in May, he was officially registered as the party's candidate on July 29.[27] In the elections held September 17–19, 2021, he received a majority of votes - 40.39% (102,124 votes), ahead ofCommunist Party candidate Sergei Tenyaev (19.06%).[28]
On September 22, 2021, Maydanov attended the inauguration ofAleksey Dyumin, following his re-election for a second term asgovernor of Tula Oblast.[29]
Upon taking office Maydanov was assigned to the State Duma Committee on Culture as First Deputy Chairman of the committee.[30]
In 2021, Maydanov proposed legislation to enshrineFather's Day as a holiday across the Russian Federation. Later in the year President Vladimir Putin took up the idea, announcing it would be celebrated on the third Sunday in October.[31] The legislation served to create ade jure day of celebration, though since the early days of theSoviet Union the traditional celebration ofDefender of the Fatherland Day on February 23 had been treated as ade facto Father's Day, often referred to as "Man's Day." Separately, 28 of theRussian Republics had already adopted Father's Day as a regional holiday prior to the national legislation.[31]
In 2022 he voted in favor of recognizing thePeople's Republic of Donetsk andPeople's Republic of Luhansk as sovereign states, in violation of theMinsk Agreements.[32]
Maydanov vocally supports the policies of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, describing him as a "strong man and leader."[33] He reportedly became a close confidant of Putin during the Russian leader's2018 presidential campaign.[34] In an interview in February 2018, he reiterated his support for Putin, describing him as a man who tore Russia out of thedevastation of the 1990s and restored order, and saying he would put Putin "on par" withPeter the Great.[35]
In 2012, when Putinran for a third presidential term, Maydanov participated in two political rallies in support. Three times, in 2013, 2015 and 2017, he spoke to the guests of the international professionalcombat sambo tournament "Plotform S-70", with Putin – a staple among the tournaments guests – in attendance.[36]
Just before the 2013 federal elections, Maydanov took part in a concert rally in support of Moscow mayoral candidateSergey Sobyanin at theSochi Olympic Park.[37]
Prior to holding political office Maydanov supportedRussian irridentist views on Ukraine, calling the 2014annexation of Crimea the "trajectory of historical justice".[38] He took part in a number of public events in support of Russian policy in Crimea, including a public concert and rally in Moscow in March 2014, and a subsequent appearance inSevastopol in July. In 2015, Maydanov held a public concert inDonetsk, repeating the event in 2016.[33]
In 2017 Maydanov was barred from entering Ukraine by the Ukrainian government.[39] Despite this, in 2019 he performed on Lenin Square inSimferopol, at a concert in the Crimean city to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the annexation.[23] In 2016, Maydanov served a member of the Eurovision jury from Russia, alongsideAnastasia Stotskaya andOscar Kuchera.[40] He condemned the refusal of the Ukrainian authorities to allow Russian representativeYulia Samoilova to enter theEurovision Song Contest held in Kyiv the following year.[40]
In an editorial forRIA FAN the day before Russia beganthe invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Maydanov claimed that "everyone understands that this isprimordially Russian land... ..everything up to theDnieper". In it he also claimed the United States was "provoking Russia" in order to sell weapons to the Ukrainian government, which he predicted would soon collapse.[32]
In a second editorial with theInternet Research Agency released in the hours after the invasion, Maydanov closely echoed the Russian leader's late night televised declaration of war. He claimed the relationship Russia had with Ukraine in 2022 was analogous to when Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, asserting that Russia was playing the role of the Soviets in the analogy. He echoed Putin's claim that the invasion was apeacekeeping operation for the "demilitarization" and "denazification" of the Jewish-led Ukrainian government, and spoke effusively of Putin's speech announcing the invasion and the speech two days prior recognizing Donetsk and Luhansk as "a kind of charter, a political bible for the future leaders of our state." Despite precipitating unprecedented sanctions and economic ruin, Maydanov called Putin's actions "the standard of how a president should think, how he should take care of his country."[3] In the week following the invasion Maydanov told local outlet Odin.ru that the invasion was necessary to end the "genocide of the people who opposed the[euro]maidan."[41]
When asked about domestic opposition to the war he claimed there was no room for peace activism, saying "to be both a pacifist and a patriot is now simply impossible!"[42] He also toldRussia-24 he supports efforts to block access toFacebook,Instagram, andTwitter, and increase controls onVKontakte andOdnoklassniki "for the duration of the special operation" in order to "control misinformation."
In late February 2022, Maydanovwas sanctioned by the European Union, part of a comprehensive travel ban and foreign asset seizure package implemented against members of the State Duma who voted torecognize the Ukrainian regions ofDonetsk andLuhansk as independent republics in violation of theMinsk agreements, and authorize Russian military intervention.[4][43]
On March 26, 2022, Maydanov and Roman Razum, leader of the ensemble of the 2nd Army Corps of theLuhansk People's Republic released a collaboration called "Victory is ours" in support of the Russian attack on Ukraine.[44] In April and May 2022, Maydanov participated in a series of concerts organized in order to support the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[45]
Maydanov is married to Natalya Maydanova (née Kolesnikova). Born inTashkent,Uzbek SSR in 1981,[46] she has acted in his music videos on occasion, and serves as his creative director. The two met when Natalya went to support her friend in an audition forFabrika Zvyozd ("Star Factory"), an influential televised talent competition which Maydanov was attending.[47] Together they have two children, Vlada, born in 2008, and Borislav, born in 2013.[20][48] In 2022, Maydanov began performing with 13 year old Vlada, whom he says wants to "continue the musical dynasty", predicting she would begin an independent career at age 15.[49]
