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

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

and

street performer Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

. He learned his craft in his hometown of

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. In 1993, he moved from the former

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, in the

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

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

marionettes A marionette ( ; ) 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 to an audience by ...

set to traditional Russian music. He carved and painted the marionettes himself and also sewed their clothing. In 1996, he performed shows as part of the festivities at the

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. Igor Fokin died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

on September 21, 1996, at the age of 36, just a few hours after returning home from a show in

Harvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue (Boston), Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, C ...

. Soon after word of his death spread, several fundraisers 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

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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 Konstantin Simun (6 April 1934 – 4 September 2019) was a Russian sculptor living and working in Boston, United States. He was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1934. He is most well known for his large-scale monuments, including "Broken Rin ...

, modeled after one of his marionettes, was erected in his memory on the street corner in Brattle Square 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