Nadezhda Georgievna Babkina (born 1950) - Soviet and Russian folk and pop singer, actress, TV presenter, folk song researcher, teacher, political and public figure. Creator and director of the vocal ensemble "Russian Song". People's Artist of the RSFSR and a member of the Russian political force "United Russia".
Babkina is a professor, doctor of art history at the International Academy of Sciences (San Marino). Honorary Academician of the International Academy of Information, Information Processes and Technologies.
There are many interesting facts in Babkina's biography, which we will discuss in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Nadezhda Babkina.
Biography of Babkina
Nadezhda Babkina was born on March 19, 1950 in the city of Akhtubinsk (Astrakhan region). She grew up and was brought up in the family of the hereditary Cossack Georgy Ivanovich and his wife Tamara Alexandrovna, who taught in the lower grades.
Childhood and youth
The head of the family held high positions in various enterprises. He knew how to play various instruments, and also had excellent vocal skills.
Obviously, love for music was passed from father to daughter, who from an early age began to sing folk songs. In this regard, during her school years, Nadezhda actively participated in amateur performances. In high school, she took 1st place at the All-Russian competition of youth in the genre of Russian folk songs.
Having received a certificate, Babkina decided to connect her life with the stage. As a result, she successfully passed the exams at the local music school, which she successfully graduated in 1971. However, her parents did not share her daughter's hobbies, still persuading her to get a "serious" profession.
And yet, Nadezhda decided to enter the famous Gnessin Institute, choosing the conductor-choral faculty. After 5 years of study at "Gnesenka" she graduated from the university in 2 specialties: "conducting a folk choir" and "solo folk singing".
Music
Back in her student years, Babkina founded the ensemble "Russian Song", with which she performed in various provincial cities and at enterprises. Initially, not many people attended the concerts, but over time the situation has changed for the better.
The first success for Nadezhda and her ensemble came after a performance in Sochi in 1976. By that time, the musicians' repertoire included over 100 folk compositions.
It should be noted that the participants of the "Russian Song" performed folk hits in a peculiar manner, using a modern arrangement. Nadezhda Babkina, along with her wards, was awarded a gold medal at a festival in the capital of Slovakia.
Soon, the artists again took 1st place at the All-Russian folk song competition. It is worth noting that Babkina paid great attention to each concert program. She strove to make it the most vivid and interesting for the modern viewer.
Every year the repertoire of "Russian Song" has increased. Nadezhda collected folk compositions from all over Russia. For this reason, wherever she performed, she was able to present programs designed for a particular region.
The most popular were such songs as "Moscow golden-headed", "As my mother wanted me", "Girl Nadia", "Lady-madam" and others. In 1991, she tried herself as a solo singer at the Slavyanskiy Bazar music festival.
After that, Babkina repeatedly performed various solo songs on stage. Later she worked as a presenter on Russian Radio, where she communicated with reputable ethnographers and experts in folklore. In 1992 she was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.
In the new millennium, Nadezhda Babkina began to appear on TV not only as a singer, but also as a TV presenter. In 2010, she was offered the position of co-host of the rating television show "Fashionable Sentence".
In addition, the woman repeatedly became a guest of various television programs, on which she shared interesting facts from her biography. As of today, the ensemble she once created has turned into the Moscow State Musical Theater of Folklore Russian Song, in which Babkina is its artistic director and director.
Social activity
Nadezhda Georgievna is a member of the United Russia faction. She visits different regions of the Russian Federation, discussing various problems and ways of solving them with local cultural figures.
Since 2012, Babkina has been one of Vladimir Putin's confidants, fully sharing his political course in the country's development. A couple of years later, she ran for the Moscow City Duma. As a result, she was a member of the Duma during her biography from 2014 to 2019.
While holding a large political post, Nadezhda Babkina was accused of corruption by the international organization "Transparency International". The organization found a violation in the fact that it simultaneously combined the positions of a deputy and a member of the cultural commission.
Thus, this state of affairs could have been used by Babkina for personal gain. That is, she allegedly managed to illegally obtain government contracts. According to "Transparency International" in 2018, the theater in such a way as if dishonestly earned 7 million rubles.
Personal life
The first husband of Nadezhda was a professional drummer Vladimir Zasedatelev. The couple registered a relationship in 1974, having lived together for about 17 years. In this union, the couple had a boy, Danila.
According to a number of sources, Vladimir often cheated on his wife, and was also jealous of her for different men. In 2003, another significant event took place in Babkina's personal biography. She fell in love with the young singer Yevgeny Gora (Gorshechkov).
The artists' novel was discussed by the whole country, announcing it through the press, the Internet and TV. This is not surprising, since the singer's chosen one was 30 years younger than her. Many envious people stated that Horus was next to Nadezhda exclusively for selfish purposes, using her position in society.
The lovers never legalized their relationship, considering it unnecessary. Despite her age, Babkina has a very attractive appearance, although not without the help of plastic surgery. In an interview, she has repeatedly stated that it is not operations that help her to maintain her figure, but sports, a positive attitude and a healthy diet.
In collaboration with fashion designer Victoria Vigiani, she presented a line of clothing for women with a non-standard figure. Later she fruitfully collaborated with the designer Svetlana Naumova.
Health status
In April 2020, it became known that Babkina was in a drug-induced coma. Rumors appeared in the press that the singer had COVID-19, but the test was negative. And yet, her health deteriorated so much every day that the artist had to be connected to a ventilator.
As it turned out, Nadezhda Babkina was diagnosed with "extensive bilateral pneumonia." Doctors introduced her to an artificial coma for the reason that to increase the efficiency of ventilation.
Fortunately, the woman managed to improve her health and return to the stage and state affairs again. After recovering, she thanked the doctors for saving lives and spoke about the details of her treatment. In 2020, Babkina, together with Timati, starred in an advertisement for the Pyaterochka and Pepsi stores.
Photo by Nadezhda Babkina