May 07, 2021

Happy Birthday to Russia's Quirkiest Pop Icon


Happy Birthday to Russia's Quirkiest Pop Icon
The man, the myth, the legend: Philipp Kirkorov. Wikimedia Commons user Okras

Russian pop celebrity Philipp Kirkorov celebrated his 54th birthday last week, and it was a television spectacle.

Right after the news on Friday, April 30, Kirkorov's many-houred concert was broadcast on Rossiya Channel 1. The concert was actually filmed four years earlier, on his 50th birthday, but it was so beloved that it reappeared in 2021.

Despite not conforming to traditional gender roles, Kirkorov has been and remains a major Russian star. At the concert, operatic pop singer Nikolai Baskov sang Kirkorov's song "Diva" while the birthday boy tried to decide which of the two was the greater diva.

Kirkorov was born in Bulgaria to an Armenian father and Russian mother. He was married to famous singer Alla Pugacheva from 1994 to 2005.

His two young children joined Kirkorov on stage to perform one song. Both were born in the United States via surrogates. His daughter, whom he named Alla in honor of his ex-wife, was born in 2011, and his son in 2012.

The concert reviewed all of the years of Kirkorov's performing career, with pictures of his changing look and with other stars performing his songs in his honor. These stars included Grigory Leps, Dima Bilan, Sergey Lazarev, Ani Lorak, Svetlana Loboda, Timati, Polina Gagarina, Aleksandr Revva (who may be better known by his stage name Artur Pirozhkov), Valery Meladze, Kristina Orbakaite, and Valery Leontev.

Kirkorov claims that he has friends from all social classes, not only spending his time with other celebrities. He does have a warm personality and a talent for bringing people together and reminding us of the important things in life, like family and friends.

You Might Also Like

Not-Russia Does Great Figure Skating
  • April 25, 2021

Not-Russia Does Great Figure Skating

The non-doping "Russia" won three out of four events at the recent world figure skating championships and swept the ladies' podium.
Raving in Khimki
  • April 16, 2021

Raving in Khimki

Grab your glowsticks: the Moscow region city of Khimki is lit! And unlit... and then lit again.
Rapping for Russia
  • March 09, 2021

Rapping for Russia

With Russian teenagers in mind, plans are being made for "The First All-Russian Festival of Patriotic Rap." 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955