Boris Leonidovich Sobinov (; 1895 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

– 1956 in

Klin KLIN (1400 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. It is licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, and is owned by NRG Media. The studios are in Broadcast House at 44th Street and East O Street ( U.S. Route 34). KLIN i ...

) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and a son of

Leonid Sobinov Leonid Vitalyevich Sobinov (, 7 June S 26 May1872 – 14 October 1934) was an Imperial Russian operatic tenor. His fame continued unabated into the Soviet Union, Soviet era, and he was made a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1923. Sobinov's vo ...

, Russia's leading lyric tenor during the first quarter of the 20th Century.

Biography

Boris was the first child born to Maria Karzhavina, a dramatic actress, and Leonid Sobinov, a famous opera singer, who had met as schoolmates at the

Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a membe ...

. Though their union dissolved after only a few years, Leonid remained an active and loving presence in the lives of Boris and his younger brother Yuri (1897-1920). Boris received a military education while obtaining musical training. His younger brother Yuri (1897–1920) was a visual artist and painted the pictured oil portrait of Boris at the piano (1910). Both brothers served in the tsarist army, and then in the

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. Yuri was killed near

Melitopol Melitopol is a city and municipality in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River, which flows through the eastern edge of the city into the Molochnyi Lyman estuary. Melitopol is the second-largest city ...

. Boris, along with army baron

Pyotr Wrangel Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel (, ; ; 25 April 1928), also known by his nickname the Black Baron, was a Russian military officer of Baltic German origin in the Imperial Russian Army. During the final phase of the Russian Civil War, he was c ...

, managed to escape to Germany. He later graduated from

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

's High Art School, where he later taught. Throughout his professorial years, he continued to compose his own works. Leonid and Boris reunited as Leonid toured Berlin. In 1931 Boris settled in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, where Leonid spent much of a one-year sabbatical with his son, second wife Nina Mukina and daughter Svetlana. Eventually father and son toured Europe together, giving concerts in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

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Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, the

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, and

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. Preserved programs of these concerts are on display in Russia's

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

museum. In 1945, when the Soviet troops entered into Berlin, Boris Leonidovich greeted victory with enthusiasm. At that time he lived in the American zone of Berlin and was invited to give a concert for Russian troops. But instead he was abducted by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

, brought to the airport, and sent to

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. He was convicted and spent 10 years in the prisons and labour camps of the

GULAG The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

. He was rehabilitated in 1955, but with a " wolf ticket" that means an internal exile without the right to settle closer than 100 km from large urban centers. During the last year of his life, he lived in

at the Tchaikovsky's House-Museum, where Yuri Lvovich Davydov (the nephew of

Pyotr Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

) and his daughters Irina and Xenia gave him refuge. Boris occasionally secretly visited the house of his father in Moscow and his dacha in

Peredelkino Peredelkino (, ) is a dacha complex situated in Odintsovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. History The settlement originated as the estate of Peredeltsy, owned by the Leontievs (maternal relatives of Peter the Great), then by Princes Dolg ...

. Boris Sobinov died in 1956 of cancer.

Quotations

"In 1945 Boris Sobinov was stolen from Berlin American Zone by the NKVD and was condemned to 10 years imprisonment in the USSR. He was liberated in 1955 and died in 1956. The Memorial Museum keeps his comb,

spectacles Glasses, also known as eyeglasses (American English), spectacles (Commonwealth English), or colloquially as specs, are Visual perception, vision eyewear with clear or tinted lens (optics), lenses mounted in a frame that holds them in front ...

and spectacle case. Nina and Svetlana Sobinov donated his musical scores, which were composed in Germany between 1920 and 1930. This music is unknown to the Russian musical scene because his works haven't been performed here yet. The time when this will happen is still approaching. The name of Boris Sobinov is another name of a talented composer whose music should be opened to people. His music was performed in Finland, Poland, France, and Germany where the musical scores and other documents could survive." (''quoted from The Memorial Museum's website'') "Once in the early spring of 1955 on the Klin streets there was noted Boris Leonidovich Sobinov, the son of the great tenor. It was not only the memory of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

that led him to Klin. Boris Sobinov intended to hire an apartment and live some time in Klin after release from the prisons, in the expectation of total rehabilitation. Klin housewives recalled with regret that he didn’t find a suitable apartment. Most likely, the vigilant organs of state security (

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

) did not permit him to settle in Klin. Klin nevertheless is not just

101st kilometre The 101st kilometre (, ''sto pervyy kilometr'') is a colloquial phrase for restrictions on freedom of movement in the Soviet Union. Practice The 101st kilometre became a colloquial phrase for limits on freedom of movement under '' propiska'', ...

."Klin is quite a large town located 85 km to the northwest of Moscow. The people released from prisons were usually not allowed to live closer than 100 km away from Moscow or any other large cities. (''Anatoly Khomyakov'')

Notes

External links

The Mystery of Sobinov by Alla Anosovskaya (in Russian)

The Memorial Museum (in Russian, English and German)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobinov, Boris Russian male composers Soviet composers Soviet male composers 1895 births 1956 deaths Soviet rehabilitations 20th-century Russian male musicians 20th-century Russian composers