RUSSIAN FOLK SINGER ZYKINA DIES

RUSSIAN FOLK SINGER ZYKINA DIES

Celebrated Russian folk singer LYUDMILA ZYKINA has died of cardiac arrest after suffering a heart attack. She was 80.
Zykina, often called the 'Russian Edith Piaf', died on Wednesday (01Jul09) in Moscow.
Hundreds of people stood in lines to pay their last respects to the singer during a memorial ceremony at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall on Friday (03Jul09).
It was Zykina's operatic style that assisted her in becoming the symbol for Russian folk singing, after her career took off when she won a pan-Russian singing competition in 1947. Her biggest records have included Russian hits Volga and I Am Flying Over Russia.
Her numerous honours included the Lenin Prize in 1970 and the Order of Lenin in 1979 - the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union. She was also named the People's Artist of the USSR in 1973.
Zykina will be laid to rest at the Novodevichye cemetery in Moscow on Saturday (04Jul09).