Oleg Mikhailovich was born in Gusev in Kaliningrad Oblast. He graduated from the Kaliningrad Higher Sea Engineering School, but he chose to follow a musical career. After graduating from music school, specialising in guitar, he began his creative activity.
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In 1989, Gazmanov created the group Эскадрон (Eskadron: Squadron), which is his backup band. Most of Oleg Mikhailovich’s songs are patriotic; many of his songs are dedicated to the soldiers who defend the Motherland. Some of his hits were Есаул (Yesaul), Господа офицеры (Gospoda Ofitsery: Gentlemen Officers), and Эскадрон (Eskadron: Squadron).
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Gazmanov is a Candidate Master of Sport in gymnastics.
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Oleg Mikhailovich stays in tip-top physical shape, which allows him to carry on during long concerts, where he’s often in constant movement.
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At one time, Oleg Mikhailovich’s son Rodion took part in his father’s concerts, he had a legion of female fans, but he chose to follow a more serious profession, so, Rodion Olegovich graduated from the Finance Academy.
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His song Москва (Moscow) became the unofficial anthem of the capital, and, recently, Gazmanov was chosen to create an anthem for Sochi.
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Oleg Mikhailovich performing at a concert dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the arts centre at the State Kremlin Palace.
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Oleg Mikhailovich and his wife Marina, with their daughter Marianna.
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Gazmanov understands that he has to keep moving forward, no matter what. That’s what we wish for him, too!
Novokuznetsk (Kemerovo Oblast. Siberian Federal District) RF
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Perm (Perm Krai. Volga Federal District) RF
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Ukrainian stamp honouring Ivan Kupala Day, 1998
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Rakov (Valozhyn Raion. Minsk Oblast) BYELORUSSIA
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Sumy (Sumy Oblast) THE UKRAINE
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Tomsk (Tomsk Oblast. Siberian Federal District) RF
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Gomel Oblast BYELORUSSIA
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The tradition of Kupala predates Christianity; it coincides with the Feast of St John the Baptist on 24 June/7 July. Due to the popularity of the pagan celebration, with time, it was simply accepted as a native Christian tradition, intertwined with local folklore. This mid-summer holiday is still enthusiastically celebrated by younger people in Eastern Europe (especially Russia, the Ukraine, Byelorussia, Slovakia, and Eastern Poland). The night preceding the holiday (Tvorila Night) is considered a time for “good humoured” pranks… which sometimes draws the attention of the coppers. On Ivan Kupala Day itself, people engage in water fights and perform practical jokes, mostly those involving pouring water over someone. Many of the customary holiday activities on this day date back to the old Slavic pre-Christian pagan religion, they’re connected with the role of water in fertility and ritual purification. Youths would jump over bonfires, and girls would float wreaths of flowers lit with candles on the water and they’d attempt to gain an insight into their fortune from how the flowers float on the river. Men tried to capture the wreaths, in hopes of capturing the interest of the woman who floated the wreath. If a wreath floats a long distance, it promises happiness and long life.
An ancient folk belief says that the only time of year when the ferns bloom is on the eve of Ivan Kupala. Prosperity, luck, discernment, and power were the lot of those with the good fortune to find a fern flower. Therefore, on this night, villagers would roam through the forests in search of magical herbs, especially the elusive fern flower Chervona Ruta. Traditionally, unmarried women, signified by their garlands in their hair, are the first to enter the forests. They’re followed by young men. Therefore, the quest for herbs and the fern flower may lead to the blooming of relationships between pairs of men and women within the forest. On this holiday, according to popular belief, water can “make friends” with fire, and their union leads to a supranatural power. Fires lit on the riverbanks are symbolic of this combination. The main feature of the midsummer night festivities are fires lit in forest clearings. People danced around them and jumped over them… he who jumps the highest over the fire will be the happiest and the most prosperous fellow in the district . In some places, a midsummer fire chased the cattle home to protect them from the plague. Farmers believed that at the solstice, on the shortest night, you couldn’t sleep, as the evil spirits were particularly active and vigorous. Therefore, the bonfire was thought to have magical power to ward off all evil, especially from witches, who were especially powerful on the night of Ivan Kupala, they could steal milk from the cow’s udders or mow down the wheat and rye in the fields (such was the peasant folk belief, anyway). In addition to the fires, in some places, people lit wheels and resin barrels ablaze, and rolled them down from the hills, which were clear symbols of the solstice.
Voices From Russia, Too 
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