Mike Naumenko

Mike Naumenko was a Soviet rock and blues-rock musician, singer-songwriter, and leader of the Zoopark rock group. He was born in Leningrad, where he attended a school with an intensive English-language program and developed an interest in translating from English to Russian. He started playing guitar and writing songs at the age of 15, influenced by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and other Western rock artists. He dropped out of the Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering and worked as a sound engineer and a watchman. He joined the Aquarium rock band in 1975 as a guitarist and a vocalist, but left in 1979 to form his own group, Zoopark, which became one of the most popular and influential blues rock bands in the Soviet Union. Naumenko was known for his unique style of singing, which combined elements of rock, folk, and jazz, and for his lyrics, which often adapted or translated the works of Western songwriters to the Russian context and culture. He also wrote original songs that reflected his personal views and experiences, such as "Blues of the 17th Floor", "The Last Summer of Childhood", and "The City of Electric Light". He collaborated with many other Soviet rock musicians, such as Boris Grebenshchikov, Viktor Tsoi, Yuri Shevchuk, and Alexander Bashlachev. He died of liver cirrhosis in 1991 at the age of 36, leaving behind his wife, Natalia Vetlitskaya, who was also a singer, and their daughter, Eva. He was buried at the Bogoslovskoye Cemetery in Saint Petersburg. His legacy and influence on Russian rock music are widely recognized and celebrated. He is considered one of the best lyricists and poets of Russian rock, and one of the pioneers of the genre.