Sofia Myhajlivna Jevdokymenko-Rotaru (born August 7, 1947) known as
Sofia Rotaru is a
Ukrainian popPop music in Ukraine is Western influenced pop music in its various forms that has been growing in popularity in Ukraine since the 1960s.- 1970s :...
singer of
MoldavianMoldovans or Moldavians are the native population of the medieval Principality of Moldavia, which nowadays corresponds to 8 north-eastern counties of Romania , the Republic of Moldova, and small parts of Ukraine...
heritage.
Born to a large, impoverished family in
MarshintsyMarshintsy is one of the Romanian speaking villages of the Novoselytskyi Raion of Chernivtsi Oblast in western Ukraine . Sofia Rotaru was born in Marshintsy in 1947....
, Rotaru, called Bukovinsky Solovey (Nightingale from
BukovinaBukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains...
) emerged in 1966 as a pop folk star in the movie
Solovey iz sela Marshintsy (Nightingale from Marshintsy) in the Moldavian and Ukrainian-speaking world after her manager and future husband
Anatoliy JevdokymenkoAnatoliy Yevdokymenko — is a Ukrainian musician, director of Chervona Ruta. People's Artist of Ukraine, husband of Sofia Rotaru ....
made her change her music style from the folk into the pop music style with
Chervona RutaChervona Ruta was a Soviet Ukrainian music group active between 1971 and 1990. Chervona Ruta group was created in 1971 by Anatoliy Evdokimenko with the Chernivtsi Philharmonic specially for the accompaniment of Sofia Rotaru...
.
In 1972, Sofia released the multilingual album
Sofia RotaruSofia Rotaru is the debut album by Soviet singer-songwriter Sofia Rotaru, released in July 1972 by Melodiya. The first long play album was re-released in 1974 for the Soviet and Eastern European market and re-packaged as Sofia Rotaru - 1974...
, re-released three times and covered by numerous singers, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Rotaru had first gained international recognition after participating in 1968 in the International Youth Song Festival in Bulgaria and winning the first prize at the
Golden OrpheusThe Golden Orpheus, is an international and Bulgarian song contest. It has been held annually between 1965 till 1999 in different concert halls located on the Sunny Beach.-External links:* *...
in 1973 and the second prize in the category of Polish songs at the
Sopot International Song FestivalThe Sopot International Song Festival is an international song contest held in Sopot, Poland. It is the biggest Polish music festivals together with the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, and one of the biggest annual song contest in Europe...
in 1974. In the former USSR her career was marked by her stage success and numerous controversies. Sofia Rotaru is known for her sex appeal and recognition by the
Kiev PatriarchateUkrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate is one of the three major Orthodox churches in Ukraine, alongside the Ukrainian Orthodox Church , and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church...
. She has been named a queen of pop music by Russian-language journalists.
Rotaru has been performing for more than 40 years. According to the polls, she is the most popular pop artist in Russia and topped the Moscow airplay with "Ya nazovu planetu imenem tvoim" in 2008. In 2007, she reported the highest income of all celebrities in the Ukraine.
Her repertoire consists of more than 40 albums and 400 songs recorded in many languages. She has received awards, including being the first female pop-singer to be given the
prestigeous title of People's Artist of USSR in 1986, deemed a Meritorious Artist of the Ukrainian SSR,
People's Artist of UkrainePeople's Artist of Ukraine is an honorary title for the decoration of outstanding art performers of the Ukrainian SSR and later Ukraine, whose merits were exceptional in the sphere of development of the performing arts ....
, People's Artist of Moldavian SSR, Laureate of the Young Communist League Prize, Hero of Moldova, and Cavalier of the Republican Order of Moldova. in August 2002 Former
President of UkraineThe President of Ukraine is the head of state of Ukraine, representing the state in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the State, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties of Ukraine....
Leonid KuchmaLeonid Danylovych Kuchma was the second President of independent Ukraine from July 19, 1994, to January 23, 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival then-President Leonid Kravchuk...
and
President of RussiaThe President of the Russian Federation is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Russia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin was the second President of Russia and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus...
gave awards to Sofia Rotaru (for her 55th birthday), bestowing upon her the high rank of the
Hero of UkraineHero of Ukraine is the highest state decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the Government of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma, and currently has two classes of distinction: one for heroism and the other for achievement in labor...
for her "outstanding personal merits in the sphere of art", and the Russian
orderAn order is a decoration, awarded by a government, a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity.Modern orders and decorations can trace its origin back to the medieval Orders of Chivalry...
"For merits before the Nation", respectively. While Sofia Rotaru commonly goes by her last name, her official last name is
Jevdokymenko-Rotaru . Jevdokymenko was the surname of her late husband.
YaltaYalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
is her main residence, although she also lives in
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
,
KievKiev or Kyiv , is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300...
, and
Baden-BadenBaden-Baden is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe.- History :The German word 'Baden' translates as 'to bath/bathe'...
.
Stage name
In the titles of the first musical movies where she starred,
Solovey iz sela MarshintsySolovey iz sela Marshintsy is the first studio filmed movie starring Sofia Rotaru.Rotaru was 19 when she starred in the film as a performer of Ukrainian and Moldavian folk songs. The setting is the premises of the Chernivsti Philharmonic Society...
(Nightingale from Marshintsy Village) and
Chervona Ruta, her name appears as Sofija Rotar'. Singer
Edita P'ekhaEdita Piekha is a popular Russian actress and singer of Polish heritage. She was the third popular female singer, after Klavdiya Shulzhenko and Sofia Rotaru, to be named a People's Artist of the USSR ....
advised Rotaru to spell her last name in the Moldavian way with a "u" at the end. In translation from Moldavian, Rotaru means "wheel maker". Aurica Rotaru, Meritorious Artist of Ukraine has said:
Early life
On August 7, 1947 Sofia Rotaru was born in a family of brigadiers and wine-growers. She was the second child in a family of six children, in
MarshintsyMarshintsy is one of the Romanian speaking villages of the Novoselytskyi Raion of Chernivtsi Oblast in western Ukraine . Sofia Rotaru was born in Marshintsy in 1947....
,
Chernivtsi OblastChernivtsi Oblast , is an oblast in western Ukraine, bordering on Romania and Moldova. It has a large variety of landforms: the Carpathian Mountains and picturesque hills at the foot of the mountains gradually change to a broad partly forested plain situated between the Dniester and Prut rivers....
. A passport office employee accidentally wrote her passport birthdate as August 9 and as a result, Sofia Rotaru celebrates her birthday twice.
Sofia's father Mykhail Fedorovich spent the entire Second World War as a heavy machine gunner and traveled all the way to
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Injured, he returned home only in 1946, and was the first one to enter the Communist Party in the village. Sofia's older sister, Zina (in full form, Zinaida), was born on October 11, 1942. As a child Zina endured severe illness and went blind. Zina possessed perfect pitch and easily memorized new songs so she taught Sofia many folk songs and became a second mother for her sister, as well as a dear teacher. Sofia Rotaru said: "We all learned from her - what a musical memory, what a soul!". Zina spent hours listening to the radio and learned numerous songs, as well as the Russian language, which she later taught to her brothers and sisters. At home, the Rotaru family spoke only Moldavian. Sofia helped her mother and oldest sister Zina with housekeeping, the education of her younger brothers and sisters, and in the mornings by going to the local market to sell home-grown products. "Mother would wake me up early in the morning, but I really wanted to sleep. Then she said: `Who will be the one to help me?'. I was sleeping while on the road. We were at the destination at six in the morning. We had to take our place in advance on the market, display all the products. Only when the sales started, I was getting awake. I was interested. We always had a queue in front of our stand, as our mother was a clean, known and waited seller. She had her permanent customers."
As a child, Sofia Rotaru participated in regional competitions of pentathlon and running.
Rotaru started singing from the first grade in the school choir, as well as in the church choir, however the latter was not accepted by the school officials. Hence, she was threatened with an exclusion from the
PioneerThe Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization (Russian:...
organization. Rotaru was also attracted by the theatre. She practiced in drama classes and sang popular folkloric songs in vocal classes. In the evenings, when the kerosene lamp went out in the house, she used to take the only
bayanThe bayan is a type of chromatic button accordion developed in Russia in the early 20th century and named after the bard, Boyan...
at school and hide in the barn trying to find the proper melodies for her most loved Moldavian songs. Sofia Rotaru has said:
Her first teacher was her father who enjoyed singing as he was young, possessing a perfect musical pitch and a good voice. Sofia Rotaru learned at school to play bayan and
domraThe domra is a long-necked Russian string instrument of the lute family with a round body and three or four metal strings.-History:In 1896, a student of Vassily Vassilievich Andreyev found a broken instrument in a stable in rural Russia...
, participated in amateur art activities,and performed with concerts in nearby villages. She was especially fond of house concerts. The six children of Sofia Rotaru's father, made up a choir. Her father believed in the bright future of his daughter. He always said: "Sofia will become an artist". His belief gave Rotaru strength to overcome the doubts in her vocation.
1962–1964: Career start and Ukrainian pop-folk
Sofia Rotaru's victory at a vocal competition of amateur performers opened the door to a regional review in 1962. In 1963 in Chernivtsi, she earned a first degree diploma at the regional amateur art review. In 1964, she won the all-republic festival of popular talents in Kiev. On this occasion her picture made it on the cover of № 27 of the magazine
Ukraine in 1965. After the graduation from high school, Rotaru decided to become a singer and entered the vocal and conductor department of the Chernivtsi Musical College. In 1964, Sofia Rotaru performed at the
State Kremlin PalaceThe State Kremlin Palace , formerly and unofficially still better known as the Kremlin Palace of Congresses , is a large modern building inside the Moscow Kremlin....
. The first pop song performed by Sofia Rotaru was "Mama" by Alexander Bronevitskiy.
1968–1973: International recognition
In 1968, after graduation form the college, Sofia Rotaru performed as a delegate of the IX World Festival of Youth and Students in
SofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city by population in the European Union, with 1.4 million people living in the Capital Municipality...
,
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
, as a member of an artistic group. She won the First Prize in the competition of singers of folk popular songs. Bulgarian newspapers were full of headlines: "21-year old Sofia has conquered
SofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city by population in the European Union, with 1.4 million people living in the Capital Municipality...
". Her performances of the Ukrainian folk pop song "Na kameni stoyu" (
Standing on the Stone), Moldavian folk pop songs and "Valentina" by Gheorghite made the newspaper headlines. The latter song was dedicated to the first female cosmonaut
Valentina TereshkovaValentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova is the first woman in space, now a retired Soviet cosmonaut. Out of more than four hundred applicants and then out of five finalists, she was selected to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963 and become the first woman to fly in space...
, who was present in the concert hall.
In 1968, Sofia Rotaru married Anatoliy Jevdokymenko, who at that time was a student of Chernivtsi University and a trumpet player in a student pop band.
In 1971, producer Roman Alekseev shot a
musical filmThe musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are usually used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" - as with Carmen Miranda's...
Chervona RutaChervona Ruta is a 1971 Soviet Ukrainian musical film written by Miroslav Skochilyas and directed by Roman Oleksiv, starring Sofia Rotaru and Vasyl Zinkevych alongside popular Soviet Ukrainian ensembles...
for Ukrtelefilm. The plot was about the tender and pure love of a girl from the mountains (played by Rotaru) and her relationship with a man from the industrial city of
DonetskDonetsk , is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river...
. The name of the film means the
rueRue is a genus of strongly scented evergreen subshrubs 20-60 cm tall, in the family Rutaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, Macaronesia and southwest Asia. Different authors accept between 8 and 40 species in the genus...
flower, derived from an ancient
CarpathiaCarpathia can refer to various things:*RMS Carpathia was a steamship, notable for its role in the rescue of survivors from the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912*Carpathian Mountains, part of a mountain range in Europe...
n legend. Rue blossoms only on the
Ivan KupalaKupala Day is celebrated in Poland, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine currently on 7 July in the Gregorian or New Style calendar, which is 24 June in the Julian or Old Style calendar still used by many of the Orthodox Churches...
night, and the girl who succeeds in finding a blooming rue will be happy in love. Songs of the composer
Volodymyr IvasyukVolodymyr Mykhailovych Ivasiuk --also Ivasiuk-- Ukrainian: Володи́мир Миха́йлович Івасю́к; ) was a very popular Soviet Ukrainian songwriter, composer and poet from the Ukrainian SSR...
and other writers were co-performed by Zinkevich, Yaremchuk and other singers. The film enjoyed a significant success. After the film was released in the cinemas, Sofia Rotaru received an offer to work in the Chernivtsi Philharmonic Society and with a backing ensemble called
Chervona RutaChervona Ruta was a Soviet Ukrainian music group active between 1971 and 1990. Chervona Ruta group was created in 1971 by Anatoliy Evdokimenko with the Chernivtsi Philharmonic specially for the accompaniment of Sofia Rotaru...
. Rotaru's husband Jevdokymenko became the artistic director of the ensemble.
As a result of collaboration with Volodymyr Ivasyuk, an cycle of songs was created, based on the
roots revivalA roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound...
material in an orchestration characteristic for the 1960s and the 1970s in
Continental EuropeContinental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas. Notably, in British and Irish English usage, the term means Europe excluding the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel...
. Resulting works brought Rotaru great popularity in the Soviet Union, especially in Ukraine. This was largely due to the fact that the Soviet authorities eagerly promoted her art as an example of international Soviet culture being an ethnic Moldavian singing in Moldavian, Ukrainian and Russian languages. Consequently Rotaru gained regular airplay on the state radio and television and was systematically billed for state-organized concerts.
In 1972, Sofia Rotaru and Chervona Ruta participated in a tour in Poland with the programme
Pesni i tantsy Strany Sovetov (Songs and Dances of the Country of Soviets).
In 1973, she received the First Prize of the international contest of Golden Orpheus in
BurgasBurgas is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210,260. It is also the fourth-largest by population in the country, after Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna...
, Bulgaria, performing the song "Moy gorod" (My city) of Doga, and the Second Prize in the category of a foreign performance of a song in Bulgarian language. In the same year, she received the title of the Meritorious Artist of the Ukrainian SSR. Later, the songs which she performed in the Moldavian language, "Codru" and "Moy gorod", became soundtracks for the film
Vesenniye sozvuchiya – 73 (Spring accords – 73).
1974–1979: New authors and Moldavian lyricism
In 1974, Sofia Rotaru graduated from the Chisianu Art Institute of Gavriil Musicescu and participated in the
Sopot International Song FestivalThe Sopot International Song Festival is an international song contest held in Sopot, Poland. It is the biggest Polish music festivals together with the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, and one of the biggest annual song contest in Europe...
in Poland, performing "Vospominaniye" (
Remembrance) by B. Rychkov, and "Vodogray" by Ivasjuk. She received the second prize in the category of
Polish song for her performance of "Ktoś" (
Someone).
In 1975, she became the soloist of the
CrimeaCrimea or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is the only autonomous republic of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name.The territory of Crimea was conquered and controlled many times throughout its history...
n Philharmonic Society.
In 1976, due to persecutions of her family for celebrating Christmas considered a religious holiday, Sofia moved from Chernivtsi to
YaltaYalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
, transferring from the Chernivtsi Philharmonic Society to the Crimean Philharmonic Society.
After the death of Volodymyr Ivasyuk in 1979, a number of songs by Moldavian composers appeared in her repertoire penned by the Teodorovici brothers. By that time, Sofia Rotaru had ceased collaboration with Moldavian authors, primarily Eugene Doga. The latter had actively created rumors that the voice of Sofia Rotaru was created note by note on a computer.
Rotaru's songs of the period were created in collaboration with the following composers and lyricists: Arno Babadzhanyan wrote "Verni mne muzyku" (
Bring Me the Music Back); Aleksey Mazhukov - "A muzyka zvuchit" (
But the Music Plays) and "Krasnaya strela" (
Red Arrow); Pavel Aedonitskiy - "Dlya teh, kto zhdët" (
For Those Who Wait); Oskar Feltsman -"Only For You"; David Tukhmanov - "Ayst na kryshe" (
Stork on the Roof), "V dome moëm" (
At My Home), and "Val's" (
Waltz); Yuriy Saulskiy - "A Usual Story" and "Osennyaya melodiya" (
Autumn Melody); Aleksandra Pakhmutova - "Temp" (
Tempo);
Raimonds PaulsRaimonds Pauls is a Latvian composer and piano player who is well-known and respected in Latvia and the former Soviet Union....
- "Tanec na barabane" (
Dance on the Drum); Zatsepin - "Sovsem kak na Zemle" (
Almost like on Earth); V. Migulya - "Zhyzn'" (
Life), and others. Sofia Rotaru was the first performer of the songs of Yevgeniy Martynov, such as "Lebedinaya vernost'" (
Swan Fidelity), "Jabloni v tsvetu" (
Blossoming Apples), and "Ballada o materi" (
Ballad About Mother). The controversial song "Rodina" (
Motherland) is the first rap song performed in the Soviet Union. Another patriotic song "Schastye tebe, Zemlya moya" (
Be Happy, My Earth), also caused political controversies; although both songs speak only of love for the land of one's birth, without political propaganda.
1980–1983: Acting career and new connections
In 1980 in the international song festival held in
Tokyo, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people....
, Sofia Rotaru won the first prize at the for her performance of the
YugoslaviaYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century.The first country to be known by this...
n song "Obeshchaniye" (
Promise) and received the
Order of the Badge of HonorThe Order of the Badge of Honour was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.It was instituted on 25 November 1935 and conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in production, scientific research and social, cultural and other forms of social activity, for promotion of economic,...
.
The singer continued to experiment and appeared as a first Soviet female singer wearing trousers on stage. While doing this, she performed a hip-hop style song "Temp" (
Tempo) with music composed by
Aleksandra PakhmutovaAleksandra "Alya" Nikolayevna Pakhmutova has remained one of the best known figures in Soviet and later Russian popular music since she first achieved fame in her homeland in the 1960s....
and lyrics written by Nikolay Dobronravov. The songs "Temp" and "Ozhidaniye" (
Waiting) were specially written for the cultural programme of the
1980 Summer OlympicsThe 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
in
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
. The song was also used as the soundtrack theme for the drama film
Ballada o sporte (
Ode to sports), produced by
Yuri OzerovYuri Ozerov was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He directed 20 films between 1950 and 1995.-Selected filmography:* Liberation * Visions of Eight...
. In the same year, for the performance of "Ozhidaniye", the singer won the All-Union Song of the Year award.
This period is characterised by her leading role in a film released by
Moldova-FilmMoldova-Film is a Moldovan film studio and production company founded in 1952 in the Moldavian SSR.- History:Moldova-Film was founded in 1947 in Chişinău as a branch of the Central Studio for Documentary Film. In 1949 the branch was taken over by the Odessa Film Studio and in 1952 became an...
in 1980 and called
Gde ty, lyubov'? (Where Has Love Gone?). Among other songs in the film, Sofia Rotaru performed the song "Pervy dozhd'" (
First Rain). The movie featured her riding a motorcycle on a narrow sea embankment without a stunt double. According to the autobiographic plot, a village teacher is invited to join an ensemble and she wins the Grand Prix at an international festival with the song "Gde ty, lyubov'?". The music for the song was composed by Raimonds Pauls and lyrics by Ilya Reznik. The rest of the composers of the soundtrack were: Yevgeniy Martynov, Oskar Feltsman,
Arno BabajanianArno Harutyuni Babajanian was a Soviet Armenian composer and pianist, People's Artist of the Armenian SSR and Soviet Union . He was awarded the State Prizes of USSR and Armenian SSR .-Biography:Babajanian was born in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia...
, and
David TukhmanovDavid Fyodorovich Tukhmanov — David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov —...
. Simultaneously, a double album of the soundtrack was released. More than 25 million movie goers viewed the film in 1980. The title song of the film was forbidden on the state radio by Gennadiy Cherkassov the director of the music department, because he did not like how Sofia Rotaru sang. In 1981, at the XIVth All-Union Cinema Festival in
VilniusVilnius Vilnius Vilnius as of 2008. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the...
, the film received the jury's prize for popularisation of the singing art of Soviet composers, in the section of drama films. This movie was the first public exposure for Sofia Rotaru in a drama role. Many critics called it "clambaked", nevertheless the film gained film viewers' respect and some of the film themes became popular.
The next artistic period began with the search for a new style - rock music. The film
Dusha (Soul) with Rotaru's new rock band
Mashina VremeniMashina Vremeni which formed in Moscow in the late 1960s, is recognized as one of the two "patriarchs" of Russian rock music...
was released in 1981, including songs by
Aleksandr ZatsepinAleksander Sergeyevich Zatsepin - is a Russian composer, famous for his soundtracks to many popular movies, including comedies by Leonid Gaidai.- Filmography :films# 1965 — Operation Y and Other Shurik's Adventures...
and
Andrei MakarevichAndrey Vadimovich Makarevich is a Soviet and Russian bard, musician, composer, poet, writer, graphics artist and producer of Belarusian and Jewish origin...
. Due to her illness, Rotaru's doctors recommended that she not participate in the movie production and furthermore the suggested that she cancel all concert performances. This initial refusal caused
Alexander BorodyanskyAlexander Emmanuilovich Borodyansky is a Soviet and Russian screenwriter and film director.-Filmography:* Afonya * Dusha * We Are from Jazz * Deja Vu...
and
Alexander StefanovichAlexander Borisovich Stefanovich is an Soviet and Russian film director, producer and screenwriter.-Filmography:*Vid na zhitelstvo *Dorogoy malchik *Foam *Dusha...
to write an additional autobiographical scenario with a dramatic situation in the singer's life, experiencing a loss of voice and an opening of her soul. This was shown in a dialogue on the pier with an older man and included a reevalutaion of her values. After having seen the new rewritten scenario and new songs, written in a completely new style, Sofia Rotaru agreed to star in the movie and moreover, decided to refuse for a while all concert performances. The movie became a musical drama, touching not only the private life of an artist and human relationships, but also raising the question of the artist's attitude towards her talent and the responsibility of being talented relative to her audience.
Rolan BykovRolan Antonovich Bykov was a Russian actor, film director, script writer, poet, song writer...
was the partner of Sofia Rotaru in the movie and the lyrical hero was played by a
LeningradLeningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:Places:* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
actor
Mikhail BoyarskyMikhail Sergeevich Boyarsky is a Soviet/Russian actor and singer, currently living in the city of Saint Petersburg. He is best known and loved for the role of d'Artagnan in the film d'Artagnan and Three Musketeers and its sequels . He was also a popular singer of the 1980s and completed several...
. Sofia Rotaru has said: "The producer suggested to completely change my image from what the people had got used to see me on stage. I think the movie may become a turning point in my artstic destiny. Anyway, this is an experiment, for which I am heading with joy. And as during any experiment, it is difficult to suppose how it will all end." The film experienced more than 45 million entries in the Soviet distribution. In what director Stefanovich called the first music video in the Soviet Union, Sofia Rotaru and Mashina Vremeni were dressed in golden stretchy fabrics, jumping on a transparent trampoline, shot by a camera below it.
In 1983, Rotaru performed a national concert tour of Canada, organised by the National Concert Agency Inc. The concerts were supported by the issue of an LP, titled
Canadian Tour 1983Canadian Tour 1983 - is a studio LP of Ukrainian pop singer Sofia Rotaru, released in 1983 in Canada and USA. It is one of the singer's earliest releases of the singer abroad. The release of the album followed a concert tour in Canada in 1983...
and released by Cansov Exchange Inc.
1985–1989: Change of style - Europop and hard rock
The mid-1980s evolved into a turning point in the creation of the singer's image. Contrary to the previous
Vas priglashaet Sofia Rotaru (Sofia Rotaru Invites You) (1985), the new film
Monologue of Love (1986) explored the aesthetics of the new art. Only one song "Techët voda" (
Water Flows) by Ihor Poklad carried on her folk theme and presented an image of a farm girl who became a star.
A new collaboration began in 1985 with the song "Lavanda" (
Lavender), written by Vladimir Matetskiy for a duet with the
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
n Jaak Joala. In 1986, she reversed her artistic direction with the relatively unknown Moscow song writer. He managed the transition of Rotaru to a
EuropopEuropop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ’90s. Some Europop stars came from France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands; but most were Swedish in origin...
style ("Bylo no proshlo" (
Once It Was But Now It's Over), "Luna" (
Moon)), including elements of
hard rockHard rock or heavy rock is a sub-genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and psychedelic rock and is considerably harder than conventional rock music...
("Moya vremya" (
My Time), "Tol'ko etogo malo" (
That's Not Enough). During the next 15 years, Matetskiy and his co-author Mikhail Shabrov practically monopolized the right to collaborate with Sofia Rotaru. They produced songs, most of which became part of her concert progammes in 1990–2000, and these songs helped to establish a popular and charismatic personality for Sofia Rotaru with her unique vocal timbre. After the first collaboration many others have followed, including: "Luna, luna" (
Moon, Moon), "Dikiye lebedi" (
Wild Swans), "Heart of Gold", and "Zhyzn' moya, lyubov' moya" (My Life, My Love").
1990–1991: Among different cultures
The transition to a repertoire in Russian language caused a certain amount of animosity in Ukraine. Accustations in betrayal of national culture were also supported by the state producer unions, philharmonic societies, and concert companies who were losing control over the financial side of the concert and tour activity of Sofia Rotaru as a result of economic reforms. In order to avoid large scale provocations, Sofia Rotaru refused to participate in the Chervona Ruta festival, taking place in Chernivtsi in 1989. The diminuation of proportion of Ukrainian songs was caused by the absence of high-quality lyrics in Ukrainian. Rare exceptions included the songs of Mozgovoy, ("Kray" (Country
), "Minaye den'" (Day Passes
), Bliznyuk ("Ekho vernosti" (Echo of Fidelity
), Rybchinskiy ("Bal razluchennykh serdets" (Ball of Separate Hearts
), and Kvinta ("Chekay" (Wait
), "Odna kalyna" (Lone
Guelder-RoseViburnum opulus is a species of Viburnum, native to Europe and Asia. Some botanists also treat the closely related North American species Viburnum trilobum as a variety of it , or a subspecies, Viburnum opulus subsp...
), "Tuman" (Fog). In 1991, during a conert in Lviv, some people from the audience put up a poster in Ukrainian, translating into: "Sofia, a heavy penalty is waiting for you". Due to the incident, Rotaru did not perform in Ukraine until the end of the 1990s, after a personal request by the
President of UkraineThe President of Ukraine is the head of state of Ukraine, representing the state in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the State, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties of Ukraine....
Leonid KuchmaLeonid Danylovych Kuchma was the second President of independent Ukraine from July 19, 1994, to January 23, 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival then-President Leonid Kravchuk...
.
At the same time, Rotaru prepared a new concert program, presented to the public in 1991. One half of it consisted of remixes of classics of Ukrainian pop song, including: "Chervona Ruta", "Cheremshina" (Bird Cherry), "Maple Fire", "Kray", "Gray Bird", and "Yellow Leaf". Rotaru has not faced Ukrainian nationalist accusastions since then.
1991–2004: New times
After the collapse of the USSR and commercialisation of the post-Soviet music, Sofia Rotaru has kept her top positions on the market and has a stable public, including Russian speaking diaspora in Europe, USA, Australia and Israel.
In 2000 Sofia Rotaru was named the Best Ukrainian Pop Singer of XXth Century. In 2001 Sofia Rotaru performed in a new solo concert program Zhyzn' moya – moya lyubov (My Life Is My Love). The programme blended new songs with the hits of the previous years in a new manner. In 2002 Sofia Rotaru was awarded the title "Hero of Ukraine".
After the death of her husband Anatoliy Jevdokymenko, who had produced her programs, and the loss of her parents, Rotaru stopped touring for a period and joined a nunnery. Following several months of mourning, Rotaru resumed her concert and recording activity and topped the Russian, Ukrainian and Moldavian charts again.
A new period started in 2003 with performances in the
Koncertny Zal "Rossiya" of Moscow, dedicated to the opening of the her statue in the alley in front of the hall. The main authors working with Rotaru became composers Ruslan Kvinta ("Odna kalyna"), Oleg Makarevič ("Bely tanets" (
White Dance)) and Konstantin Meladze ("Ya zhe yego lyubila" (
Didn't I Love Him)), "Odin na svete" (
One in the World)), as well as the lyricist Vitalij Kurovskij.
In 2004, after a four year break, Sofia Rotaru gave two solo concerts: in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
and the Taj-Mahal casino, Atlantic City.
During this time, Rotaru released the following albums:
Yedinomu (For the Only One; 2003; with new songs and arrangements in Ukrainian and Moldavian languages), dedicated to the memory of her deceased husband,
Nebo – eto ya (Heaven – It's Me; 2004), and
Ya zhe yego lyubila (Didn't I Love Him; 2005).
2007–today: 60th anniversary
In 2007, Sofia Rotaru celebrated her 60th anniversary. Hundreds of fans, as well as artists and politicians came to Yalta to congratulate the singer. President of Ukraine awarded Sofia Rotaru with the II Degree Order for Merits. Official reception and birthday party took place at the
Livadia PalaceLivadia Palace was a summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in Livadiya, Crimea in southern Ukraine. The Yalta Conference was held there in 1945, when the palace housed the apartments of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and other members of the American delegation...
of Yalta, in the presence of President of Russia, President of Ukraine and President of Moldova. The event was covered live by Ukrainian and Russian state TV channels. Celebrations for her anniversary continued in September in
SochiSochi is a Russian resort city, situated in Krasnodar Krai just north of the southern Russian border. It sprawls along the shores of the Black Sea and against the background of the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. At , Greater Sochi claims to be the longest city in Europe. As of the...
, where one of the days at the song festival of young performers called "Five Stars" was dedicated to Sofia Rotaru. In October 2007, anniversary concerts took place in
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
, at the State
Grand Kremlin PalaceThe Grand Kremlin Palace , also translated Great Kremlin Palace, was built from 1837 to 1849 in Moscow, Russia on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th century on Borovitsky Hill...
, featuring Russian singers performing Rotaru's songs:
Joseph KobzonIosif Davydovich Kobzon is an iconic Soviet crooner, who has been acclaimed as "the official voice of the Soviet Union".- Biography and Stage Career :...
, Filipp Kirkorov,
Alla PugachevaAlla Borisovna Pugacheva , or Pugachova is a Soviet and Russian musical performer. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day...
, Lev Leshchenko, Nadezhda Babkina,
Larisa DolinaLarisa Dolina is a prominent Russian pop singer, jazz singer and an actress...
, Anzhelika Varum,
Kristina OrbakaiteKristina Orbakaitе a Russian actress and pop star was born on 25 May, 1971 in Moscow, Soviet Union, to parents Mykolas Orbakas, a Lithuanian circus performer, and Alla Pugacheva, the "Queen of the Russian Stage"....
, Masha Rasputina,
Nikolay BaskovNikolay Victorovich Baskov is a popular Russian tenor singer. He's known for performing both classical operatic arias and pop music songs....
. Featured Ukrainian singers included:
Verka SerduchkaAndriy Mykhailovych Danylko , better known as his drag character Verka Serduchka , is a Ukrainian comedian and pop and dance singer...
,
Taisia PovaliyTaisia Povaliy is an Ukrainian singer and actress popular in Ukraine and other counties of CIS....
,
Valery MeladzeValeriy Shotayevich Meladze is a Russian singer of Georgian descent. Meladze and Nu Virgos girl group were bestowed the title of the Best Duo of the Year at 2004 Russian Music Awards. On June 2, 2006 Meladze won the 4th MUZ-TV Music Award as the Best Performer of the Year...
, Potap & Nastya Kamenskikh, and
TNMKTNMK or Tanok na Maydani Kongo is the most successful Ukrainian hip-hop group . They are notable for clever, yet often tongue-in-cheek lyrics; mixing hip-hop with rock, funk and jazz music and playing real instruments on their albums and live shows, rather than using mere samples and drum...
.
The years 2006 and 2007 were busy for Rotaru. They saw three albums released:
Tuman (Fog) in Eastern Europe and two albums exclusively for the German market
Serdtse ty moë (You Are My Heart) and
Kakaya na serdtse pogoda (What's the Weather Like in the Heart). The year also included participation in numerous TV shows and concert programmes and a documentary made for the Ukrainian TV. After the filming, she took a one month break in January which made place for rumours about her illness and a car or airplane crash. A Russian Anniversary Tour lasted from March until June 2007. Another TV musical show was filmed with Sofia Rotaru and premiered on 8 March.
Artistry
Several first expressions upon Rotaru's performance have been recorded from professional critics.
Dmytro HnatyukDmytro Hnatyuk is a famous Ukrainian baritone opera singer, and later parliament member.- Biography :Dmytro Hnatyuk was born on March 28, 1925 in the village of Mamayivtsi, Chernivtsi Oblast , Ukraine...
, a People's Artist of USSR, after the Republican festival of popular talents in
KievKiev or Kyiv , is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300...
, 1964: "This is your future celebrity. Remember my words."
Lyudmila ZykinaLyudmila Georgievna Zykina was a national folk singer of Russia.She was born in Moscow and joined the Pyatnitsky Choir in 1947. Coincidentally, her surname is derived from the Russian word for "loud" . Beginning in 1960 she performed solo...
, the president of the jury of the IX World Festival of Youth and Students in Sofia, 1968: "This is a singer with great future..."
Rotaru's performances have been noted for sharing sincere emotions with her audiences. She considers her childhood environment an inspiration for her music. Attention has been drawn to the intonations and strength of her
altoAlto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high", that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence, for...
voice. She performs in a variety of styles, including
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
, rap and
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
, such as the song "Magazin Tsvety" (
Flower Shop). In her concert programmes, Sofia Rotaru leaves an important place for modern remakes of folk songs, e.g. a rap version of "Chervona Ruta" released in 2006 with
TNMKTNMK or Tanok na Maydani Kongo is the most successful Ukrainian hip-hop group . They are notable for clever, yet often tongue-in-cheek lyrics; mixing hip-hop with rock, funk and jazz music and playing real instruments on their albums and live shows, rather than using mere samples and drum...
.
Legacy
Rotaru was nominated the
People's Artist of the USSRPeople's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
in 1986. Sofia Rotaru has sung more than 400 songs in Russian, Ukrainian, Moldavian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Polish, Italian, English and German languages. She has performed in concerts in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
,
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
Politics
Sofia Rotaru does not support any particular political ideology. Nevertheless, her multicultural identity served both for and against her. Soviet authorities, persecuting her family for celebrating
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
, represented her at the same time as the top singer of the USSR. The German press wrote about her as "The Conductor of the USSR". Some of her albums were recorded in Germany. After the recording of "L'immensità" (
Immensity) in Italian and of "
Wer Liebe sucht"Stand by Your Man" is a song co-written by Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill and originally recorded by Tammy Wynette, released as a single in September 1968 in the USA...
" (
Who's Looking for Love) ("Deine Zärtlichkeit" (
Your Tenderness), "Es muss nicht sein" (
It Mustn't Be), and "Nachts, wenn die Nebel ziehen" (
At Night When the Fog Spreads) the German label Ariola proposed to release a bigger studio album with these and other songs in French and English, and to perform a concert tour in Western Europe. Due to these offers, the concert administration of the USSR prohibited her to leave the USSR. This interdiction was also put in effect before a planned tour in Canada.
During the
Orange RevolutionThe Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
in Ukraine, Sofia Rotaru was dispatching food packages together with her family to people who came to the
Maidan NezalezhnostiMaidan Nezalezhnosti is the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the main city squares, it is located on the Khreschatyk Street...
, regardless of their political affiliation.
In 2006 Sofia Rotaru took active part in
parliamentary elections in UkraineThe Ukrainian parliamentary election took place on March 26, 2006. Election campaigning officially began on July 7, 2005. Between November 26 and December 31, 2005 party lists of candidates were formed....
, balloting for the deputy chair as a second number in the list of
Volodymyr LytvynVolodymyr Mykhailovych Lytvyn is a Ukrainian politician and the current Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Having previously served in that position from 2002 until 2006, he was re-elected in December 2008 after his party agreed to join the former coalition of Yulia...
's political formation Lytvyn Bloc, however the bloc could not gather the necessary amount of votes to enter the Parliament, which became one of the major surprises of the elections. She held an all Ukrainian charitable campaign tour the same year. Among main reasons for supporting namely the political unit of Lytvyn, Sofia Rotaru named personal trust and steadiness of Lytvyn, as well as her own interest in lobbying the law on patronage of art in Ukraine.
Nationality
Singing in different languages became the source of fierce arguments regarding which culture Sofia Rotaru belonged - Moldavian, Ukrainian, Russian or Romanian. She was also considered as a "fellow" in Russia, and in Armenia the question was debated whether to award her with the Meritorious Artist of Armenian SSR. The singer, who always lived in the Ukraine, considered herself to be a Ukrainian citizen, while not denying her Moldavian roots. On her web page, she identifies herself as Ukrainian.
Personality
Sofia Rotaru never negotiates at the grocery market: "It's a hell of a work, don't even dare," she once said to her husband.
Personal life
Besides Sofia, Aurica, her younger sister, has also performed professionally, combining a solo career with performances as back-up vocal, as well as duets with her brother and sister Lidia and Eugenia. However, for Aurica, the duet performing in the style of Italo-Pop of 80's did not reach noticeable success and in 1992 she ended her singing career.
Sofia's Husband - Anatoliy Kyrylovich Jevdokymenko was a People's Artist of Ukraine (1941–2002). He was a son of a conductor from
ChernivtsiChernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast in western Ukraine. The city is situated on the upper course of the River Prut, a tributary of the Danube, in the northern part of historic region of Bukovina, which currently is divided between Romania and Ukraine. As of the 2001...
. He first saw Rotaru on the cover of the magazine
Ukraine № 27 in 1965 and immediately fell in love with her. At the time, Jevdokymenko was a serving his military duty in
Nizhny TagilNizhny Tagil is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Population: 390,498 ; 439,521 . The city is situated some east of the virtual border between Europe and Asia.-History:...
, Ural region. After the service, he looked Rotaru up. Jevdokymenko had graduated from a musical high school, played the
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
, and planned to create his own band. As a student at the University of Chernivtsi and a trumpeter in the student pop orchestra he helped Sofia discover the pop orchestra. Before meeting him, Sofia Rotaru had used mainly
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
s and the cimbalom for her musical background.
Filmography
Sofia Rotaru was cast in seven
musical filmThe musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are usually used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" - as with Carmen Miranda's...
s, her debut being in 1966 in
Solovey iz sela Marshintsy (Nightingale from Marshintsy Village). She played the main characters in the films
Chervona Ruta (1971),
Gde ty, lyubov'? (1980) and
Dusha (1981).
Phenomenon
The oldest official
fan clubA fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fanclubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fanclubs that are run by someone associated with the person or...
of Sofia Rotaru is "Fortuna". ROTARUNEWS, an information portal with
statisticalStatistics is a branch of mathematics concerned with collecting and interpreting data. According to other definitions, it is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data. Statisticians improve the quality of data with the...
information on Rotaru's career, was created in 2003. Rotaru fan clubs exist in many cities across Russia and Europe.
Among her notable fans is
Alimzhan TokhtakhounovAlimzhan Tursunovich Tokhtakhunov is a businessman, suspected criminal, and former sportsman of Uzbek origin. He is accused in relations with organized crime and bribing of figure skating judges in the 2002 Winter Olympics...
, a Russian businessman who has, in turn, received public support from Rotaru.
Sofia Rotaru has officially recognized her double act Dionis Kelm, who performs on tours using Rotaru's physical appearance, manner of singing and costumes.
In 2009 the international press has reported alleged tax problems of Sofia Rotaru in Russia. The official representative of Russian state prosecutor has made a statement where an organised crime group has presented itself as producers of Sofia Rotaru and that no tax investigations were under way regarding Sofia Rotaru.
Awards
Sofia Rotaru is a Meritorious Citizen of
CrimeaCrimea or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is the only autonomous republic of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name.The territory of Crimea was conquered and controlled many times throughout its history...
and
YaltaYalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
. She has received numerous awards, including: Meritorious Artist of the Ukrainian SSR,
People's Artist of UkrainePeople's Artist of Ukraine is an honorary title for the decoration of outstanding art performers of the Ukrainian SSR and later Ukraine, whose merits were exceptional in the sphere of development of the performing arts ....
, People's Artist of Moldavian SSR, People's Artist of USSR, Laureate of the YCL Prize, Hero of Moldova, and Cavalier of the Republican Order of Moldova. In August 2002,
President of UkraineThe President of Ukraine is the head of state of Ukraine, representing the state in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the State, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties of Ukraine....
Leonid KuchmaLeonid Danylovych Kuchma was the second President of independent Ukraine from July 19, 1994, to January 23, 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival then-President Leonid Kravchuk...
and
President of RussiaThe President of the Russian Federation is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Russia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin was the second President of Russia and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus...
awarded Sofia Rotaru on her 55th birthday, bestowing upon her the high rank of the
Hero of UkraineHero of Ukraine is the highest state decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the Government of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma, and currently has two classes of distinction: one for heroism and the other for achievement in labor...
for her "outstanding personal merits in the sphere of art", and the Russian
orderAn order is a decoration, awarded by a government, a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity.Modern orders and decorations can trace its origin back to the medieval Orders of Chivalry...
"For merits before the Nation",
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External links
Official site