Denis Maydanov

Denis Vasilyevich Maydanov (Денис Васильевич Майдaнов, born 17 February 1976) is a Russian singer, songwriter, actor, and politician.

An accomplished artist known throughout Russia, Maydanov also serves in the Russian State Duma as a representative of the Odintsovo constituency of Odintsovsky District, Moscow Oblast since 2021.

He is a member of United Russia.

Maydanov's accolades as an artist include the title of Merited Artist of the Russian Federation, as well as the Golden Gramophone, song of the year, and chanson of the year.

In his political career, Maydanov has vocally supported the policies of Vladimir Putin, and supported the invasion of Ukraine.

In 2022 he was sanctioned by the European Union.

Denis Maydanov was born on February 17, 1976, in the city of Balakovo, Saratov Region, to a family of petrochemical workers.

His father was born in the Mogilev Region of Belarus, but moved to Balakovo in the Saratov oblast of southwest Russia to work as an engineer in the state petrochemical industry.

Maydanov's mother, Evgenia Petrovna, was born in the suburbs of Luhansk, in the Donbas region of Ukraine; when she moved to Balakavo at the age of 20 she worked as an inspector in Saratovgasstroy, later as head of the personnel department in Zhilstroy.

When Denis was eight, his parents divorced, leaving Denis to be raised by his single mother.

At an early age he was forced to work to provide for the two of them: when he was 13 years old he worked as a janitor, security guard in a kindergarten, and washed cars.

By the time of his parents divorce at the age of eight, Maydanov had already begun composing poetry: he wrote his first poems to his mother for International Women's Day.

At 13, he learned to play guitar from a neighbor.

At that point, he stopped playing the bayan, which he had studied at music school, and began to write his own songs.

Alongside the guitar lessons, Maydanov taught himself the piano, and began to get involved in the poetic and theatrical circles of the Balakovo House of Culture, taking part in the vocal-instrumental ensemble.

In 1992, at the age of 16, he earned third place at a city competition of variety art with a performance of his own song.

As a result, Maydanov secured a spot among the young performers of the studio "MUZ-A" at the city's House of Creativity, and learned to become a songwriter for soloists.

Since then he has maintained his affiliation with the House of Creativity, as head of the VIA, methodologist, and head of the "Club of High School Students".

In school Denis was successful, but after his ninth year he was forced to drop out and enter a chemical technical college in order to provide for himself and his mother.

While studying at the technical school, the future artist decided to enter the Moscow State Art and Cultural University (MGUKI); he studied at the evening school in parallel with the technical school with the intention to receive a certificate a year earlier before the official deadline.

In 1995, when he succeeded, Denis entered the correspondence department of MGUKI in the specialty "Manager-director of show programs"; At admission he had significant competition – 72 people for 6 seats.

In MGUKI he studied directing and acting.

In parallel to his studies Maydanov worked; first at a car-wash, then his mother managed to arrange him a job as a repairman-fitter at the Syzran oil refinery.

Despite the good salary, Denis left the factory after a year of work, realizing that this is not his profession.

Also during this period he directed the VIA and theater studio in the Balakovo House of Creativity; There was a recording studio which Denis used to record his first songs and for subsequently selling them to local Volga musicians.

He graduated from MGUKI in 1999, afterward becoming director of the musical theater and the head of the music department of the House of Creativity.

In 2001, Maydanov moved from Balakovo to Moscow, working as a composer-songwriter for other Russian performers.

In his first two years living in Moscow, Maydanov had little stable earnings or housing, moving more than 15 times, and couch surfing with friends from college, sometimes sleeping at railway and metro stations.

His first significant earnings (US$150) came from producer Yuri Aizenshpis for writing the lyrics to the song "Behind the Fog" for singer Sasha Gradiva.

The song became a hit, winning the "Song of the Year 2002" festival, and bringing Maydanov his first musical award.

Gradually Maydanov received recognition, and many Russian artists began singing his songs, in particular, Nikolai Baskov, Filipp Kirkorov, Turetsky Choir Art Group, Alexander Buinov, Mikhail Shufutinsky, Aleksandr Marshal, Lolita Milyavskaya, Jasmin, Joseph Kobzon, Tatiana Bulanova.

He also wrote songs and soundtracks for a number of Russian films and serials.

In 2008 Maydanov switched from songwriting to recording and performing his own songs.

After being commissioned by the president of AvtoRadio Alexander Varin to write "This radio is Avtoradio", Varin invited Maydanov to put the song "Eternal Love" on the air, insisting that Maydanov should start his own performing career.

Within six months of debut, the track made the rotation of major Russian radio stations, and the song would go on to earn Maydanov the Golden Gramophone.

"Eternal Love" was Maydanov's first hit, and remains among his most famous songs.

In June 2009, he released his first album "I'll Know That You Love Me ... Eternal Love", and soon after appeared on stage as a solo artist for the first time at the Moscow International House of Music.

Over the next decade he would go on to release albums "World for rent" (2011), "Flying over us" (2013), "Flag of my state" (2015), "Half a lifetime on the road: Unreleased" (2015), and "What will the wind leave" (2017).

In October 2013, Maydanov joined a group of Russian performers who participated – at the invitation of Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu – in the new performance of the National anthem of Russia.

Along with Maydanov, Valeriya, Oleg Gazmanov, Larisa Dolina, Aleksandr Marshal, Jasmin, Alsou, Dina Garipova, Vitas and other artists took part in the recording