Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky (real name Robert Stanislavovich Petkevich) was born in the Altai, in the village of Kosiha on June 20, 1932 in the family of a soldier. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, when the boy's parents went to the front, Robert was in an orphanage. In 1945, Robert’s mother remarried and Robert took the name of his stepfather – Christmas. His parents took him to Königsberg, his place of service. After the war, the whole family moved to Leningrad, and in 1948 they
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Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky (real name Robert Stanislavovich Petkevich) was born in the Altai, in the village of Kosiha on June 20, 1932 in the family of a soldier. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, when the boy's parents went to the front, Robert was in an orphanage. In 1945, Robert’s mother remarried and Robert took the name of his stepfather – Christmas. His parents took him to Königsberg, his place of service. After the war, the whole family moved to Leningrad, and in 1948 they moved to Petrozavodsk.
After graduation, he entered Petrozavodsk University. Robert wrote his first poems as a student. His first publication appeared in 1950 in the journal At the Frontier. Soon Robert left the university and continued his studies at the Gorky Literary Institute, which he successfully graduated in 1956. His first collections of poems “Flags and Springs” and “Trial” were published in the days of student youth. At the same time he published his first poem “My Love”.
In 1956, during his internship in Altai, Robert became friends with Alexander Flyarkovsky, a student of the conservatory. Together they wrote the song “Your Window”. It was the beginning of a creative journey. Robert Rozhdestvensky is the author of more than 200 well-known songs. His songs were performed by Yuri Antonov, Evgeny Martynov, Vakhtang Kikabidze, Valery Leontiev, Joseph Kobzon, Lev Leshchenko, Nadezhda Chepraga, Sofia Rotaru, Sergey Zakharov, Muslim Magomayev, Andrei Mironov, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Valentina Tolkunova, Lyudmila Senchin, Edita Pieha, Lyudmila Zykina, Maya Kristalinskaya, Tynis Magi, etc.
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One of the most famous books by Robert Rozhdestvensky is “Drifting Avenue”, “Uninhabited Islands”, “Echo of Love”, “Radius of Action”, “Dedication”, “Identity Card”, “For Twenty Years”, “The Earth Does Not End”, “Son of Faith”. In the 80s, a number of his poetry collections were published: “Seven Poems”, “Choice”, “Friends”, “Age”, etc. Robert Rozhdestvensky took part in the shooting of feature and animated films.
Robert Rozhdestvensky is a laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize (1972) and the USSR State Prize (1979). He was the first winner of the prize “Golden crown” of the Struzh evenings of poetry in 1966.
Robert Rozhdestvensky died of a heart attack on August 19, 1994 in Moscow at the age of 62. After his death, his collection The Last Poems of Robert Christmas was published. In 1997, the minor planet 5360 was named after him.