One of Russia's most beloved pop stars, Alla Pugacheva was first heard at age 16 with her song "Robot," produced for a state radio program, and soon her clear mezzo-soprano was all over the country. In 1975 she won the Bulgarian Golden Orpheus Award, which brought her moderate success. Her victory at Poland's 1978 Sopot International Song Festival with the song "Kings Can Do Everything," however, was the turning point in her career, giving her worldwide fame and recognition. From then on, although for many she grew to represent the government-endorsed pop culture that was forced upon the people, her popularity skyrocketed, and Pugacheva released many albums throughout the years. Her contributions to Russian music were recognized when she was bestowed the title of People's Artist of the U.S.S.R., the most prestigious award that could be received by Soviet artists, in 1991, shortly before the country collapsed. After that, Pugacheva continued to perform around the world and put out more albums, including 1998's Da!, 2001's Rechnoy Tramraychik, and 2004's Jivi Spokoino Strana.

Marisa Brown, Rovi

With a career spanning more than a decade, Valerij Meladze became one of the most popular male singers among a Russian adult audience. He is famous for power ballads -- downtempo songs with often romantic lyrics, written by his brother and producer Konstantin Meladze. Valerij (Valerian) Meladze was born on June 23, 1965 in Batumi, Georgia (ex-Soviet Union). He studied piano at the city's music school, along with his brother Konstantin, who played violin and piano. After going to the same university as his brother, Valerij should have graduated as an engineer, but he changed his mind after he saw Konstantin Meladze play keyboards in a university musical band. Half a year later, Meladze joined the university band Aprel ("April") as lead vocalist.

In 1989, both brothers joined art rock band Dialog ("Dialog). They released two albums: Posredine Mira ("In a Center of the World") in 1991 and Osenniy Krik Yastreba ("Hawk's Autumn Scream") in 1993. Both releases are very hard to find now. Meladze debuted as a solo artist in 1993. His song "Ne Trevozh Mne Dushu, Skripka" ("Don't Hurt My Soul, Violin") became a big hit. His first solo album, Sera, was also a major hit, containing songs such as "Sera," "Limbo," and "Posredine Leta" ("In the Middle of Summer"). His song "Noch Nakanune Rozhdestva" ("Christmas Night") was in heavy rotation during the New Year holidays. His next album, Posledniy Romantic (Last Romantic) was released in 1996 to big success. After two sold-out shows in Moscow, a live CD and video cassette, Olympic Live, were also released. Meladze's next albums, Samba Belogo Moty'lka ("White Butterfly Samba"), Vse Tak I Bylo ("That's How It Was") and Nastoyascheye ("Real") produced dozens of radio hits. In 2003, Meladze collaborated with girl band Via Gra ("Nu Virgos"), which was also produced by his brother. The songs released from this collaboration, such as "Okean I Tri Reki" ("The Ocean and Three Rivers") and "Prityazhenya Bolshe Net" ("No More Attraction") received widespread success on both TV and radio, and introduced Meladze to a younger audience. Both, Konstantin and Valerij Meladze worked as producers of Fabrika Zvezd -- 7 (Stars Factory -- 7), the Russian American Idol, in its 2007 TV season. In October 2008 Meladze released his new album, Vopreki ("Despite"). The title song from this album was featured in the soundtrack to Admiral.

Alexey Andreychuk, Rovi

Zemfira is an indie-rock musician notable for her departure from the traditional role of women in Russian music. Though she has been endlessly compared to female rockers, Zhanna Aguzarova, Yanka Dyagileva and Nastia Poleva, she barely resembles any of her Russian predecessors, aligning more closely with foreign artists like Kate Bush or Bjork. Zemfira's lyrics engage deeply with tabooed but ubiquitous social issues such as alienation, depression, (homo)sexuality and AIDS and challenge aesthetically-obsessed studio rock of the 1990's with low-fi guitar melodies and a cracking voice. Zemfira's music marks a not only a return to the early history of Russia rock when music was based in dissent, but a new trajectory all her own.

Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova is an ethnic Tatar born in Ufa, Russia. In 1998 she was working as a radio sound engineer, using the studio at night to record the songs that would become her first singles. Along with group members, Rinat Akhmadiyev, Sergei Sozinov, Sergei Mirolyubov, and Vadim Solovyov, Zemfira performed her first concert at a party held by the radio station that year. A few Moscow producers (including Ilya Lagutenko of the group Mummy Troll) caught wind of the group, and in 1999 their self-titled debut was released. Singles from the album, including the catchySPID (AIDS), enjoyed frequent radio play. The band went on tour, simultaneously recording a second album Prosti Menya Moya Lubov (Forgive Me My Love). Zemfira arrived on the scene with a sensational energy fueled by promotion, and controversy. Some were slow to embrace a woman playing the hallowed chord of rock n' roll, which had long been the established territory of men, but they certainly took notice. Zemfira invited curiosity about her sexual orientation, giving one of her love songs a female subject. Tabloids linked her with her frequent collaborator, actress/director Renata Litvinova. Young listeners reveled in her "freak" image that tested social norms, precisely because their parents would never understand. She was a figurehead for the Russian MTV generation, often referred to by the press as "Kurt Cobain in a dress." The Zemfira phenomenon continued with 2002's 14 Nedel Tishiny (14 Weeks of Silence) and after which, drained by incessant touring the band went on hiatus. 2005's come-back, Vendetta, was met by an open-armed public and reviews which noted the challenging nature of the songs on the new album, many of which she had written so as "not to have them played on the radio." Zemfira called her October 2007 album, Spasibo (Thank You), the positive results of the search implicit in Vendetta. A collection of b-sides to be released on Real Records is planned for 2008.

Sabrina Jaszi, Rovi