The "Soviet Sinatra" Bows Out
Legendary Russian crooner Iosif Kobzon died at the age of 80 on August 30, 2018. Hugely popular during the Soviet era, he was a strong supporter of President Vladimir Putin and was a lawmaker from 1997 until his death.
![Iosif Kobzon at one of his last performances, on Red Square in Moscow, May 24, 2017.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0c83266e-1e9f-4897-b030-f37deb7ed8a3_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Iosif Kobzon at one of his last performances, on Red Square in Moscow, May 24, 2017.
![A performance in the "Orbita" shop in Moscow, 1978. Kobzon's first album was released in 1962, and by the Brezhnev era he was a household name.](https://gdb.rferl.org/774e9bf1-ea49-4c7e-bbe3-e3674eaadeda_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A performance in the "Orbita" shop in Moscow, 1978. Kobzon's first album was released in 1962, and by the Brezhnev era he was a household name.
![Kobzon with Soviet cosmonaut German Titov (right), during shooting of a New Year TV show in Moscow on October 18, 1983.](https://gdb.rferl.org/76272352-187c-4ec8-8095-07e5fe2ec1b2_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Kobzon with Soviet cosmonaut German Titov (right), during shooting of a New Year TV show in Moscow on October 18, 1983.
![Kobzon gives autographs to Chernobyl disaster cleanup workers in 1986.](https://gdb.rferl.org/ebab0077-b68b-431f-8cc4-cbc2e6c96f31_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Kobzon gives autographs to Chernobyl disaster cleanup workers in 1986.
![Kobzon performs wartime songs at a memorial day in Moscow, June 22, 1996.](https://gdb.rferl.org/6455e027-94f7-439e-a3e0-c581306a1767_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Kobzon performs wartime songs at a memorial day in Moscow, June 22, 1996.
![Azerbaijani Culture Minister Polad Bulbuloglu (center) presents Kobzon with a handmade carpet for his 60th birthday, September 11, 1997.](https://gdb.rferl.org/73207bf1-f2c0-4f54-b452-d701e546c12e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Azerbaijani Culture Minister Polad Bulbuloglu (center) presents Kobzon with a handmade carpet for his 60th birthday, September 11, 1997.
![Kobzon (left) accompanies a woman and three children, hostages released by Chechen gunmen during the Dubrovka Theater siege in Moscow, October 24, 2002.](https://gdb.rferl.org/874133f3-6989-416b-b8e9-5b52b77ac5f1_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Kobzon (left) accompanies a woman and three children, hostages released by Chechen gunmen during the Dubrovka Theater siege in Moscow, October 24, 2002.
![A statue of Kobzon is installed in Donetsk, Ukraine, August 30, 2003.](https://gdb.rferl.org/77ce5a0a-6d5d-4e9f-8660-64feb03f4b90_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A statue of Kobzon is installed in Donetsk, Ukraine, August 30, 2003.
![Russian President Vladimir Putin presents a medal to Kobzon during an award ceremony in the Kremlin on August 29, 2012.](https://gdb.rferl.org/5c2ae040-8299-4ad2-b030-6d9c55655d07_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin presents a medal to Kobzon during an award ceremony in the Kremlin on August 29, 2012.
![Performing at a Victory Day concert in Chisinau, Moldova, May 9, 2013.](https://gdb.rferl.org/5ba1e137-5031-45ab-8575-0fcb5b4f0b7a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Performing at a Victory Day concert in Chisinau, Moldova, May 9, 2013.
![Kobzon and Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a Russia-backed separatist leader, sing a Soviet song together during a concert in Donetsk, Ukraine, April 2014.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0724eb91-1443-4eb5-8fa2-d30e126f998f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Kobzon and Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a Russia-backed separatist leader, sing a Soviet song together during a concert in Donetsk, Ukraine, April 2014.
![Kobzon shows off a "passport" he was issued by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, an entity created by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.](https://gdb.rferl.org/c380fa41-0f98-4983-bd15-5e945bd61c72_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Kobzon shows off a "passport" he was issued by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, an entity created by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
![Kobzon performing a song against Western sanctions on Russia, January 1, 2015.](https://gdb.rferl.org/521260c7-7623-46a0-80c9-9fb3d0d46d00_w1024_q10_s.png)
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Kobzon performing a song against Western sanctions on Russia, January 1, 2015.
![Putin presents Kobzon with the "Hero of Labor" medal during a ceremony at the Kremlin, April 30, 2016.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0787e640-954d-4261-bf1c-ee32e132199a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Putin presents Kobzon with the "Hero of Labor" medal during a ceremony at the Kremlin, April 30, 2016.
![Kobzon at yet another Kremlin award ceremony, pictured with his wife Nelli, June 27, 2018. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/7fc5677e-05d0-4369-b332-31965696b421_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Kobzon at yet another Kremlin award ceremony, pictured with his wife Nelli, June 27, 2018.