Vladimir Vysotsky

Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky was born 25 January 1938 and died 25 July 1980, spending all forty-two years inside the USSR. He wrote songs in street slang laced with social and political commentary, performed them in a singing style no one else had, and became a stage and screen actor of real standing. The official Soviet cultural establishment wanted nothing to do with his work. The public made him a phenomenon anyway, circulating his recordings like contraband, packing his performances, memorizing every line. He shaped a generation of Russian musicians and actors, and the influence outlasted…