Speaking in Moscow, only Stas Namin and Alla Pugacheva could afford the device "Dynacord" on stage, it was in the 80s.

It's hard to believe, but Stas Namin is 70! Once we knew Anastas Mikoyan (this is the real name of the anniversary), as the godfather of Soviet rock. But today he has become a truly iconic character of national culture. Musician, composer, producer, artist and photographer, theater director and traveler - all this is Stas Namin.



Stasu Namin 70 Anastas Mikoyan was born on November 8, 1951 in the family of a military pilot. His grandfather was an associate of Lenin, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU and resigned only under Brezhnev. A cousin (Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan) created a family of MiG fighters, guarding the sky of our country.

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The grandson of the all-powerful People's Commissar could become a politician or a diplomat. He became an unwelcome musician. How could this happen? Stas’ mother, who graduated from the conservatory in piano, wanted her son to become a pianist. But the boy’s heart was won by rock music, and at the age of 18 he had already created one of the first domestic rock bands “Flowers”.

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In order not to be associated with politics and not to compromise relatives, the aspiring musician took the pseudonym Namin on behalf of his mother – Nami. Stas’ group even managed to release a flexible record on Melodies. However, soon the band was blacklisted as performing music alien to Soviet citizens.

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Incomprehensibly, even the innocuous name “Flowers” was banned (as propaganda for hippie ideas). Despite this, ordinary people with pleasure listened and sang their favorite songs - "My Star", "Old piano", "Bogatyr Power", "We wish you happiness."

With the beginning of “perestroika” Namin’s group became the first rock band from the USSR to perform on tour in the United States. There Stas wasted no time and managed to establish contacts with many world stars.

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In 1989, these acquaintances helped organize the first rock festival in the USSR, which Yuri Dud in his film called “Russian Woodstock”. So thanks to the grandson of a member of the Politburo, Soviet fans for the first time were able to get to a live concert of Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Motley Crue, Skid Row and Scorpions.



GettyImages Some believe the event was more important than the Olympics in historical significance. The Olympics are held every four years. But such a landing of rock stars of the first magnitude in the history of the USSR was not yet.



The GettyImages Festival was attended by about 200,000 people, and the TV broadcast gathered more than a billion viewers in front of the screens. The largest broadcasters broadcast in 59 countries without banknotes. Thanks to this, Western viewers saw that on the other side of the Iron Curtain live ordinary people who heartily have fun under popular rock and roll hits.

In 1990, the group of Stas Namin stopped touring. Meanwhile, her permanent leader continued his creative search. The Stas Namin Center opened by him received a ticket to the life of the group Gorky Park, Moral Code, Spleen.

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Brigade C leader Garik Sukachev recalls that it was only in SNC that he first felt like a professional musician. Stas has at our disposal a high-quality apparatus and a free studio. Rehearse as much as you want. Our touring center was also engaged. The first big money we received thanks to Namin, but before that we simply did not know how much we really cost.”

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Posted by YAROSLAV VORONKOV (@jaroslav_voronkov_music)



In 1997, together with Yuri Senkevich, Thor Heyerdahl, Leonid Yakubovich and Andrei Makarevich, the hero of our article made a trip around the world, about which he made a film for National Geographic. And in 2017, with the participation of Namin, the documentary “Free to Rock” was released. In it, musicians and prominent politicians talk about how rock music helped keep the peace and break the Iron Curtain.

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Today, Stas Namin’s holding includes the magazine Stas, musical theater, art gallery, modeling agency, design studio and many other projects. In addition, he teaches at GITIS, is engaged in painting and photography, makes films and continues to write music.

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Speaking of music. On his 70th birthday, Stas Namin presented the new album of the group “Flowers” called “Fly”. Taking this opportunity, we congratulate him on his anniversary, wish him good health and further creative success!

The article and the preview used photos.