Valery Borisovich Gaina (, , ,, also spelled Валериу Гэинэ in Moldovan Cyrillic, born 25 July 1956) is a Soviet-born American guitarist, songwriter, composer and singer of Moldovan (Romanian) origin. He is regarded as one of the best Soviet guitarists.

Career

Valery Gaina was born on 25 July 1956 in

Căzănești Căzănești is a town in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania. It is situated on the left bank of the river Ialomița (river), Ialomița, west of the county seat, Slobozia. The town is crossed by the Roads in Romania, national road (part of Eur ...

, Telenești District, Moldavian SSR, in the family of Boris Alexandru Gaina and Catherine Tudor-Gaina. He graduated from middle school in Telenesti, and then from the music school in

Soroca Soroca is a city and municipality in northern Moldova, situated on the Dniester River about north of Chișinău. It is the administrative center of the Soroca District. History It is known for its well-preserved stronghold, established by t ...

. He sang in the bands Cordial (from

Tiraspol Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of cul ...

), Magistrali (from

Blagoveshchensk Blagoveshchensk ( rus, Благовещенск, p=bləɡɐˈvʲeɕːɪnsk, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Amur Oblast, Russia. It is located at the confluence of the Amur River, Amur and the ...

), Molodye golosa (from

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

). He gained recognition in 1981, when he presented performances of great audience in the biggest halls in Russia, within the hard-rock band

Cruise Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Cruise, any travel on a cruise ship * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

, where he also asserted himself as a composer. In the years 1985–1989, some Union and Republican charts classified him as the best rock guitarist in the former U.S.S.R. He approached the genres of hard rock, thrash metal and heavy metal. In 1988 he moved to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany, where he produced two records with the trio Cruise. In 1991, he emigrated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he continued to produce music. After 15 years, he returned to Russia on tour in 2004. His last performance in Russia took place in 2016. Valery Gaina2016

Gaina openly opposed the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

.https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EMVmLqPHw/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaina, Valery 1956 births Living people American heavy metal guitarists Soviet emigrants to the United States American people of Moldovan descent Russian emigrants to the United States Soviet emigrants to Germany Moldovan emigrants to Germany Russian activists against the Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian emigrants to Germany Russian heavy metal musicians Russian male guitarists Soviet guitarists American people of Romanian descent Russian people of Moldovan descent American hard rock musicians People from Telenești District Moldovan rock musicians Moldovan guitarists American male singer-songwriters Soviet male singer-songwriters Soviet singer-songwriters Russian male singer-songwriters Russian singer-songwriters Romanian people of Moldovan descent