Lyudmila Georgievna Zykina (russian: link=no, Людми́ла Гео́ргиевна Зы́кина; 10 June 1929 – 1 July 2009) was a national

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

of Russia. She was born in Moscow and joined the Pyatnitsky Choir in 1947. Her surname is derived from the Russian word for "loud" ("зычный"). Beginning in 1960 she performed solo. She befriended

Ekaterina Furtseva Yekaterina Alexeyevna Furtseva (russian: Екатерина Алексеевна Фурцева; 7 December 1910 – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician and the second woman to be admitted as secretary of the Central Committ ...

, the powerful Minister of Culture of the Soviet Union, and was reputed to be a favourite singer of

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and ...

. It is known she was a particular favourite of both Kim Il-song and his son Kim 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. Olga Voronets was considered Zykina's main rival. Among Zykina's many honors were the Lenin Prize (1970) and

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 ...

(1979) as well as the titles of People's Artist of the USSR (1973) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1987). According to Dmitri Shostakovich, Zykina was "more than a brilliant interpreter, she was a coauthor, co-creator of composers". Her signature songs include ''Techot Volga'' and ''Orenburgskii platok''. The asteroid 4879 Zykina is named after her. Lyudmila Zykina died on 1 July 2009 after suffering a heart attack.

Honours and awards

* Hero of Socialist Labour, with the

and the "Hammer and Sickle" medal (4 September 4, 1987) – for great contribution to the development of Soviet musical art. *

Order of St. Andrew The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного, translit=Orden Svyatogo apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo) is the highest order conferred by both the ...

(12 June 2004) – for outstanding contribution to the development of national culture and music. *

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

: **1st class (10 June 2009) – for outstanding contribution to the development of national musical culture and long-term creative and social activities. **2nd class (10 June 1999) – for outstanding achievements in the field of culture and great contributions to the development of a national songwriting. **3rd class (25 March 1997) – for services to the state and the great personal contribution to the development of national musical art. *

(8 June 1979) *

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

(1967) *

Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «50 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») is a state commemorativ ...

(1995) *

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" (russian: Медаль «В память 850-летия Москвы») is a commemorative medal of the Russian Federation created to denote the 850th anniversary of the city of Mos ...

(1997) *

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin" A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of ...

(1970) *

Medal "Veteran of Labour" The Medal "Veteran of Labour" (russian: медаль «Ветеран труда») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union established on January 18, 1974 by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to honour workers ...

* People's Artist of the USSR *

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...

Honoured Artist of the RSFSR Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Заслуженный артист Российской Федерации, ''Zasluzhenny artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') is an honorary title in the Russian Federation. The title is ...

People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

* Lenin Prize (1970) Stamp of Russia 2011 No 1508 Lyudmila Zykina

References

External links

Official Russian website

Lyudmila Zykina
on Softpanorama (YouTube links) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zykina, Lyudmila 1929 births 2009 deaths Singers from Moscow Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Lenin People's Artists of Russia Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of Uzbekistan Lenin Prize winners Russian folk singers Soviet women singers Gnessin State Musical College alumni 20th-century Russian women singers 20th-century Russian singers Winners of the Golden Gramophone Award People's Artists of the Azerbaijan SSR