Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky

Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky – a Soviet poet, author of popular song lyrics, and a translator. Rozhdestvensky's childhood took place in the village of Kosikha in the Altai Krai. His parents' divorce and the outbreak of the war separated him from his father and mother — both went to the front, and Robert remained in the care of his grandmother. His father was killed at the front. In 1945 his mother took Robert back. His mother's second husband, officer Ivan Rozhdestvensky, replaced the boy's father, and Robert took his stepfather's surname.

 

He graduated from the A. M. Gorky Literature Institute. Rozhdestvensky's first poems were published in 1950. In 1955 his first poetry collection, 'Flags of Spring', was released. Rozhdestvensky became a prominent representative of the poets of the 1960s, who had a significant influence on Soviet poetry. Robert Ivanovich successfully collaborated with composers, creating lyrics for songs that became genuine hits, such as 'Echo of Love' and 'Call Me'. His poems were performed on radio and television. 

In the poet's personal life there was only one woman — Alla Kireeva, with whom he spent a long life. They had two daughters — Ksenia and Ekaterina, who pursued careers in journalism. Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky died on August 19, 1994, of a heart attack and was buried at the Peredelkino Cemetery.