Erik Bulatov is one of the most famous contemporary Russian artists. He is one of the founders of social art.
The boy was born on September 5, 1933 in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). His father, a communist, died during World War II in Pskov.
In 1958 Bulatov graduated from the Moscow State Art Institute named after Surikov. Since 1959 he had worked in children’s publishing house Detgiz.
You know, in 1957, Erik began to exhibit his paintings in Moscow and in 1973 his pictures appeared abroad.
Since 1992 Erik lives and works mainly in Paris.
In the 1960s Bulatov formed the Sretensky Boulevard Group. It was an association of like-minded artists where they could discuss and show their work. Today it is known as the Moscow School of contemporary Russian art.
In an extremely accessible way the artist illustrated the absurdity of reality, oversaturated with the symbolism of Soviet propaganda.
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Igor Kio was a famous Russian illusionist, a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. By the way, he won numerous awards including People’s Artist of the Russian Federation. To tell the truth, Igor remains the only illusionist to be awarded an Oscar (Belgium) for best artist.
The boy was born on March 13, 1944 into a family of circus performers. His father was another noted Russian magician Emil Kio. In his childhood he was engaged in football, but at the insistence of his parents he continued the circus dynasty.
At the age of 5 Igor began appearing in front of audiences. And at the age of 15, he was working as a magician. His debut as an independent artist happened in 1959 in the arena of the Moscow Circus, when he replaced the sick father. Subsequently, until his father’s death, he acted with him as an assistant.
Kio often performed on television, including an annual New Year’s Day program in the 1980s, which brought together pop music, theater and film stars.
In 1982, 1983 and 1984, together with Russian star Alla Pugacheva, Igor was a host of a circus show Attraction.
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All Miss Russia Winners (1929-1939)
The story of the beauty contest Miss Russia began in Paris in the 20s of the last century. From 1926 to 1928, the winner received the title of Queen of the Russian Colony in Paris and since 1929, the competition had become known as Miss Russia. The participants were chosen only among Russians, who emigrated to France after the 1917 October Revolution and the subsequent Civil War. The Russian-language magazine Illustrated Russia became the main organizer of the pageant.
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Ivan Kulibin was a talented Russian self-taught mechanic and inventor. He was nicknamed Nizhny Novgorod Archimedes.
The boy was born on April 21, 1735 in Nizhny Novgorod. Even in childhood, little Vanya was interested in how mechanical things worked. In search of the answers, he deconstructed everything he could find.
In his youth he learned to be a locksmith and watchmaker. Talented boy could repair not only clocks but also a factory machine. His realizations as well as his prolific imagination inspired the work of many.
Ivan became really famous in 1764 when he went to St. Petersburg to present Catherine II with egg-shaped clock. There was a secret there, complex automatic mechanism: every hour the door was opened and miniature people started to dance to the music. The Empress was delighted and assigned Kulibin to be in charge of the mechanical workshop in the Academy of Sciences of Saint Petersburg. He supervised the production of machine tools, astronomical, physical and navigation instruments and tools.
By 1772 Kulibin had created several projects of a 298-meter bridge across the Neva River. He built and tested a large model of such a bridge, showing the possibility of modeling bridge structures for the first time in the practice of bridge construction.
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Lidiya Skoblikova is a Soviet speed skater, the only six-time Olympic champion in the history of speed skating, the absolute champion of the 1964 Olympic Games in Innsbruck, coach. By the way, she was a two-time absolute world champion (1963, 1964). You know, Lidiya was world records holder at distances of 1000 m (1963-1968), 1500 m (1960-1962) and 3000 m (1967).
Awesome woman is Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1960), Candidate of Historical Sciences (1982), Professor. She performed for the Chelyabinsk Burevestnik, and at the end of her career – for the Moscow Locomotive. Skoblikova became the coach of the sports and entertainment TV show Big Race.
Pretty girl was born on March 8, 1939 in Zlatoust, Ural region, Soviet Union. Lidiya grew up in a large working-class family (father, mother, three sisters, and the eldest brother). Active girl was engaged in skiing, volleyball, athletics, gymnastics.
At the age of 14, Lidiya won the track and field championships in Chelyabinsk region (800 m). A year later, she decided to try her hand at speed skating. In 1956 she became the champion of her native city and in the same year Lidiya entered the Chelyabinsk Pedagogical Institute.
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Maria Kalinina was born on September 14, 1971 in Moscow, USSR (now Russia).
She is an International Celebrity, the winner of the first Beauty Pageant in Russia.
You know, Maria uses the technique of Kundalini Yoga to help being successful in personal life, career and in life fulfillment in general. Her classes are filled with humor and deep understanding of the human psyche. By the way, she travels extensively teaching Kundalini yoga in the U.S. and overseas.

In 1988 Maria won the first in the Soviet Union beauty contest – Moscow Beauty. It was a sensation. Those days the beauty contest in the USSR was compared with Gagarin’s flight. The same day Maria became world famous.
After the victory she got a job at the modeling agency Burdamoden and worked in European countries.
In 1990 she moved to the USA, where she graduated from an acting school. In America Maria was invited to the Pride Reception at the White House, where she met President Bush.
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Creativity without waste is impossible — Alexander Liberman

Alexander Liberman was a prominent representative of the American intelligentsia, Russian emigre, who changed the pop culture of the twentieth century. You know, he was the king and god of the publishing house Conde Nast. By the way, Alexander was an editor, a publisher, a painter, a photographer, and a sculptor.
The boy was born on September 4, 1912. Nine years later his family fled from Moscow.
Young Liberman was educated in Russia, England, and France. He studied mathematics and philosophy at Sorbonne in Paris and architecture at the School of Fine Arts in London.
In Paris Alexander fell in love with Tatiana Yacovleff du Plessix, who was six years older. Their love affair began when the Viscount du Plessis was alive. In 1940 Viscount was killed by Nazis.
Alexander, Tatiana and her daughter Francine fled first to the south of France, and then to New York, the city where Lieberman was destined to become a ruthless and ironic shark of bohemian world.
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