Nikolay Vyacheslavovich Rastorguyev (russian: Николай Вячеславович Расторгуев; born February 21, 1957, Lytkarino,

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally " under Moscow"), is a federal subject of R ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

) is the lead singer of the Russian group

Lyube Lyube ( rus, Любэ́, p=lʲʉˈbɛ) is a Russian rock band from Lyubertsy, a city in Moscow Oblast. Lyube's music is a mixture of several genres, with influences from both Russian folk music, rock, Russian chanson, and Soviet songs, Soviet milit ...

. In 1978, Nikolay was the soloist for the band (VIA in Russian) "Шестеро молодых," but his first note came during his 1980-1985 stint in the band "Лейся, песня (in English,

Lyeysya, Pyesnya Leysya, Pesnya (russian: Лейся, песня, literally "Flow, song") was a Soviet Vocal and instrumental ensemble active during the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded in 1975 by Valery Seleznev in the city of Kemerovo. Some of the earliest si ...

)." There he befriended Valery Kipelov, who was later to form

Aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

. After Leysya Pesnya split, Rastorguyev spent a year in the band Rondo before joining newly formed Lyube. Since then, Nikolay remains the band's only permanent member. He has also starred in a couple of movies and released a solo

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...

album. In 1997, Rastorguyev was given the honorary title

People's Artist of Russia People's Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: Народный артист Российской Федерации, ''Narodnyy artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii''), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the Russian Federation, is an h ...

. On the occasion of his 50th birthday in 2007, Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime m ...

awarded Nikolay with the state order "For Merit to the Fatherland," Fourth class. Rastorguyev became a member of the

Russian Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

in 2010 as a representative of the ruling party

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...

. In March 2014, Rastorguyev signed a letter supporting russian occupation of Ukrainian Crimea. For "statements contradicted the interests of our national security" he was then banned from entering

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. In April and May 2022, Rastorguyev participated in a series of concerts organized in order to support the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

References

External links

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Club Torpedo - VIP List of Singers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rastorguyev, Nikolay 1957 births Living people Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Russia People from Ramensky District Russian musicians Russian male actors People's Artists of Russia Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) United Russia politicians 21st-century Russian politicians Russian rock singers Fifth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation)