Vladimir Semeonovich Vysotsky (1938-1980) was a Soviet singer-songwriter, as well as a theatre and movie actor. With his song lyrics, often humorous, often melancholic, and his harsh, passionate voice Vysotsky gained wide popularity despite his criticism of the Soviet government, which considered him a dissident. By the mid-1970s, Vysotsky had been suffering from alcoholism for quite some time. This was also the height of his popularity, when, as described in Marina Vlady’s book about her husband, walking down the street on a summer night, one could hear Vystotsky’s recognizable voice coming literally from every open window. Unable to completely ignore his musical phenomenon, the state record label Melodiya did release a few of his songs on vinyl in the late 1970s, which, however, constituted only a small portion of his creative work, which millions already owned on tape and knew by heart. In 1980 Vysotsky died, according to the official version, from a heart attack. Thousands of people came to the Taganskaya square to say farewell to the artist, although there were no public note about his death.
More info in | Russian official site,| Russian, English and quotations |
