Lyudmila Zykina | |
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Людмила Зыкина | |
 Zykina in 2004 | |
| Born | Lyudmila Georgievna Zykina (1929-06-10)10 June 1929 |
| Died | 1 July 2009(2009-07-01) (aged 80) Moscow,Russia |
| Resting place | Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1947–2009 |
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Lyudmila Georgievna Zykina (Russian:Людми́ла Гео́ргиевна Зы́кина; 10 June 1929 – 1 July 2009) was a nationalfolk singer of Russia.
She was born in Moscow and joined thePyatnitsky Choir in 1947. Her surname is derived from the Russian word for "loud" ("зычный"). Beginning in 1960 she performed solo. She befriendedEkaterina Furtseva, the powerfulMinister of Culture of the Soviet Union, and was reputed to be a favourite singer ofLeonid Brezhnev. It is known she was a particular favourite of bothKim Il-sung and his sonKim Jong-il, performing in Pyongyang six times at the invitation of the Kims. It was also reported that Kim Jong-il was so fond of Zykina that he invited her to Pyongyang in 2008 in hopes that her performance would help him recover from illness.[1]Olga Voronets was considered Zykina's main rival.[2]
Among Zykina's many honors were theLenin Prize (1970) andOrder of Lenin (1979) as well as the titles ofPeople's Artist of the USSR (1973) andHero of Socialist Labour (1987). According toDmitri Shostakovich, Zykina was "more than a brilliant interpreter, she was a coauthor, co-creator of composers".
Her signature songs includeTechot Volga andOrenburgskii platok. Theasteroid4879 Zykina is named after her. Lyudmila Zykina died on 1 July 2009 after suffering a heart attack.[3][4][5][6]
