Igor Fokin (June 14, 1960 – September 21, 1996) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

puppeteer and street performer. He learned his craft in his hometown of

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. He moved from the former

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Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, in the

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, in 1993. He was able to bring his wife and son over in 1994, and was also granted a

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which allowed him to continue to live and perform in the United States. He performed puppet shows on summer evenings on street corners in Cambridge. He used wooden

marionettes A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...

set to traditional Russian music. The marionettes were carved and painted by him, and he also sewed the marionettes' clothing. In 1996, he performed shows as part of the festivities at the Summer Olympics in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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. He died early in the morning from heart failure on September 21, 1996, at the age of 36, just a few hours after returning home from a show in Harvard Square. Soon after word of his death spread, several fund raisers were held for his family by area street performers and members of the local community. On September 22, 2001, five years and one day after his death, a sculpture by

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sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Konstantin Simun, modeled after one of his marionettes, was erected in his memory on the street corner in

Brattle Square Brattle is one of the settlements making up the dispersed village of Woodchurch in Kent, England. It is at the southern apex of the triangle of roads which are the main village. Derivations The surname Brattle is of geographical, place name orig ...

where he performed.

References

External links

Tribute Site

* ttp://igorfokinfamily.com/ Official Fokin family website* - film about Igor Fokin 1960 births 1996 deaths Entertainers from Saint Petersburg Russian buskers Russian puppeteers Harvard Square 20th-century Russian male musicians Russian emigrants to the United States {{entertainer-stub