Vira Viktorivna Halushka (Ukrainian: Віра Вікторівна Галушка; Russian: Вера Викторовна Галушка, romanizedVera Viktorovna Galushka; born 3 February 1982), better known by her stage name Vera Brezhneva (Russian: Вера Брежнева), is a Ukrainian singer, television presenter and actress.[1]

Vera Brezhneva
Віра Брежнєва
Born
Vira Viktorivna Halushka

(1982-02-03) 3 February 1982 (age 42)
Other namesVera
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actor
  • television host
Years active2003-present
Spouses
  • Vitaliy Voychenko
    (m. 2000; div. 2002)
  • Mikhail Kiperman
    (m. 2006; div. 2012)
  • (m. 2015; div. 2023)
Musical career
GenresPop
Instrumentsinging
Labels
  • Velvet
  • Moon
  • Monolit
  • Misteriya Zvuka
  • Pervoye Muzykalnoye
Formerly ofNu Virgos
Websitebrezhneva.com

During her career she achieved international success in Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries.[2][3] Winner of ZD Awards.[4] In 2016 she received the International Music Prize “Big Apple Music Awards” in the category “Best Eastern European Artist”, as well as a special award for charitable activities “Person” in New York.[5] She performed several times at the Laima Rendezvous music festival in Jurmala, Latvia.[6][7]

She is a UN Goodwill Ambassador.[8]

Early life

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Vera Brezhneva was born on 3 February 1982 in Dniprodzerzhynsk, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union.[1] Her father, Viktor, worked in a chemical factory. Her mother, Tamara, a medical school graduate, worked in the same factory as Brezhneva's father.[9][10] She has three sisters;[1] one older sister named Halyna, and younger twins Nastya and Vika. She bought a flat for her parents in Boryspil, a town close to Kyiv. The father of Brezhneva's daughter, Sonia, is Vitaliy Voychenko, to whom Brezhneva was married for a few years.[11] She earned a degree by correspondence from the faculty of economics of the Dnipropetrovsk Institute of Railway Engineering.[1]

Career

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2002–2007: Nu Virgos (also known as "VIA Gra")

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In 2002, Brezhneva was invited to a casting organised to find a girl to replace Alena Vinnitskaya in the group Nu Virgos, in which she succeeded. In January 2003, Nu Virgos started performing in the new lineup; Nadiya, Anna and Vera, that, due to its massive popularity, gained the name of "the golden line up".

In July 2007, Brezhneva decided to take a break from the band. In December 2007, an official announcement was made stating that she was leaving Nu Virgos.[12] She was then replaced in the group by Tatiana Kotova.

2008–2012: TV presenting and return to music

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Brezhneva was the presenter of the Russian version of the Power of 10 game-show called Магия 10-ти (lit. Magic of 10), which ran on Channel One Russia for two seasons from 7 January 2008 to 31 August 2008.[13]

In May 2008, Brezhneva premiered her first single called "Ya ne igrayu" (Я не играю; I Don't Play). The song was written by her former producer Konstantin Meladze. The second single "Nirvana" was released on 27 October 2008. The third single "Ljubov v bolshom gorode" (Любовь в большом городе; Love in the Big City) was released in 2009. She then appeared in the music video for the song "Leto vsegda" (Лето всегда; Summer always) by the group Diskoteka Avariya, with actresses Anastasia Zadorozhnaya & Svetlana Khodchenkova. The fourth single was released in April; "Ljubov spasyot mir" (Любовь спасёт мир; Love will Save the World) and reached No. 1 in Russian Airplay Weekly. The next single "Pronto", a duet with Potap was released in September. Her sixth single "Lepestkami slyoz" (Лепестками слез; Petal Tears) was a duet with Dan Balan. In early 2011, Brezhneva premiered her new single "Realnaya zhizn" (Реальная жизнь; Real Life), and the single "Sexy Bambina" at the end of that year. In early 2012, the single "Ishu tebya" (Ищу тебя; Searching for You) was released.

2022 and recent years: Career in Russia and break with Russia

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Brezhneva continued her careers in Russia after the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014.[14] After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine she expressed her support for Ukraine and left Russia.[14] Brezhneva also divorced Konstantin Meladze, to whom she had been married since 2015.[14] She moved to Riga, Latvia; Brezhneva returned to Ukraine a couple of times during the war.[15] Brezhneva also started to release her first songs in the Ukrainian language; in October 2022 and in September 2023.[16]

Brezhneva continues to raise her two daughters— Sonya, from her first marriage to Vitaliy Voychenko, and Sara, from her second marriage to Mykhailo Kiperman.[14]

Films

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Brezhneva has appeared in numerous Russian-language films. She played Katya in the film Love in the Big City (Любовь в большом городе) in 2009, and its two sequels in 2010 and 2013. In 2016, she starred in 8 Best Dates. She also had a major part playing as herself in Yolki (Ёлки) and Yolki 2, and also appeared in Jungle (Джунгли). Most of her film work has been in romantic comedies.

Television

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She appeared in the second season of Russian ice show contest Ice Age.

Discography

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Singles

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Year Single English translation Chart Positions
Ukraine Russia
2008 "Я не играю" I don't play 6
"Нирвана" Nirvana 80
2009 "Любовь в большом городе" Love in the big city 19
2010 "Любовь спасёт мир" Love will save the world 1 1
"Пронто" (with Potap) Pronto 31
"Лепестками слез" (with Dan Balan) By the petals of tears 1 1
2011 "Реальная жизнь" Real life 1 1
2012 "Sexy Bambina" 1
"Бессонница" Insomnia 6 20
"Ищу тебя" I am looking for you 7
"Любовь на расстоянии" (feat. DJ Smash) Love from a distance 48 14
2013 "Хороший день" Nice day 2 11
"Дом" Home
2014 "Доброе утро" Good morning 1 12
"Luna"(feat. Aleksandr Revva) Luna 142
"Девочка моя" My girl
2015 "Мамочка" Mommy 15
"Этажи"(feat. T-killah) Floors
2016 "Номер 1" Number 1 16
"Feel" Feel 854
2017 "Близкие люди" Close people

Albums

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Studio albums

  • Lyubov spasyot mir (2010)
  • VERVERA (2015)
  • V. (2020)

Awards

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Vera Brezhneva received the title "Woman of the Year" from Glamour Russia in 2010.[17] In 2007, 2012, 2015, and 2016 she was named the sexiest woman in Russia by the men's magazine Maxim.[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "brezhneva.com Биография". Archived from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Вера Брежнева - Женщина года". TOPClub (in Russian). 21 November 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  3. ^ "В Риге выступит украинская певица Вера Брежнева". Grani.LV (in Russian). 23 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  4. ^ ""Афиша": вручение премии "Звуковая дорожка"". m24.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  5. ^ "состоялась музыкальная премия Big Apple Music Awards". mboxtv.ru. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  6. ^ Laima Rendezvous Jūrmala (19 December 2018). Вера Брежнева - Реальная жизнь |Laima Rendez Vous'2018 22.jul. Retrieved 4 August 2024 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Laima Rendezvous Jūrmala (25 January 2024). VERA BREZHNEVA - ДОБРОЕ УТРО | LAIMA RENDEZVOUS JŪRMALA 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2024 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "Вера Брежнева призвала проверится на СПИД". podrobnosti. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  9. ^ Вера Брежнева / Vera Brezhneva (биография и фотоподборка) | Блог X3M-Slider(а)
  10. ^ Виталий Войченко: Пресс-Портрет. Archived 2012-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Когда продюсер «ВИА Гры» Дмитрий Костюк узнал, что принятая в группу вера галушка из… — Газета «ФАКТЫ и комментарии»
  12. ^ "Вера Брежнева навсегда покидает "Виа Гру"". Randevucity.net. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  13. ^ "Первый канал. Зарубежное и тематическое вещание / Эфир / Магия десяти". 1tvrus.com. 14 January 2008. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  14. ^ a b c d "42-річна Брежнєва здивувала фанів сміливими фото: співачка позувала напівоголеною на коні". RBC Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 8 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
    ""Злочин не має терміну": Скрипка назвав провину Лободи та Брежнєвої". UNIAN (in Ukrainian). 24 September 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Вайкуле розповіла, де зараз живе Брежнєва". Gordonua.com (in Ukrainian). 10 June 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
    "Соловій у ромпері та Квіткова в двоколірних джинсах засвітилися на Куражі, де Брежнєва прикрасила себе "тату"". Tablo ID (in Ukrainian). 4 September 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Брежнєва у яскравих міні потанцювала на Київському морі в кліпі про вдячність. ВІДЕО". Tablo ID (in Ukrainian). 29 September 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
    "У майках та джинсах: Брежнєва під новим ім'ям заспівала з Tayanna про вишиванку". Tablo ID (in Ukrainian). 19 October 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Вера Брежнева — главная «Женщина года Glamour»-2010". Tatler. 19 November 2010.
  18. ^ Shumov, Vasily (1 October 2013). "The evolution of Russian female pop singers". Russia & India Report. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  19. ^ "Russia's sexiest woman announced". NEWS.am STYLE. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
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Preceded by Most beautiful by VIVA!
2010
With: Yevgeny Komarovsky
Succeeded by