Rena Galibova (

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 ...

: Рена Абрамовна Галибова, Tajik: Раъно Абрамовна Ғолибова) (May 24, 1915 – September 10, 1995) was a Tajik actress and opera singer who was named the People's Artist of

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

. She was born in the city of Kokand in 1915 to a progressive Bukharan

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. Her childhood years were spent in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...

, where her father was a

theatrical producer A theatrical producer is a person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The producer is responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backing, and hire ...

. Having gotten a musical education from her father, Rena Galibova began her theatrical career at 13. Soon she was noticed and by the age of 18 she was invited to work on Tashkent Radio. There she worked with many famous Uzbek and Bukharian artists. In 1934, Rena Galibova married a known Bukharian writer, Gavriel Samandarov, and in 1938 they moved to Stalinabad (now Dushanbe), Tajikistan. There Rena Galibova continued her theatrical career in the Theater of Opera and Ballet, where she took on many leading roles. In 1939, Rena Galibova was awarded the title of Merited Artist of Tajikistan and in 1941 she was given the title of People's Artist of Tajikistan as well as the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

after she performed in front of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

and he was very impressed by her talent. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Rena Galibova was one of many Bukharan Jews artists who performed throughout the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in the war effort. After the war, Rena Galibova continued to perform in many cities and towns of the USSR. In 1957, she was welcomed on the scene of Bolshoi Theater in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. Later in her life, Rena Galibova moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and lived in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where she died at the age of 80 in 1995. Her gravestone, in Mount Carmel Cemetery,

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, reads "Honored Artist of Tajikistan".

References

1915 births 1995 deaths People from Kokand People from Fergana Oblast Bukharan Jews Soviet Jews Soviet women singers 20th-century Tajikistani women singers Soviet emigrants to the United States Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Communist Party of the Soviet Union members {{Asia-actor-stub