Lyudmila Zykina, Russian singer
MOSCOW - Russian folk singer Lyudmila Zykina, a favorite performer of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, died in Moscow yesterday. She was 80.
Ms. Zykina, whose surname is derived from zychny, a Russian word that describes a stentorian or sonorous voice, began her singing career in 1947. She sang first with the Pyatnitsky Choir and then as a solo artist from 1960. She had performed for all Soviet and Russian heads of state since Josef Stalin.
Her repertoire included about 2,000 songs, and she sold over 6 million records, according to Vesti-24 state television. She died of a heart attack, Vesti reported.
In her songs, Ms. Zykina conveyed the “depth of the Russian character, its strength, beauty’’ and the generosity of the Russian soul, the Moscow-based news service reported, citing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. 