Viktor Klimenko

I met him at a small church in Muhos, Finland in March 2008 where he gave a concert. I recorded him singing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcXSI8YN7eY. Without knowing who he was I decided to do some research about the guy and this is what I found.

Viktor Klimenko is an artiste and a Cossack. This best known emigrant in
Finland has made an indelible impression on the Finnish show business
and the Finnish gospel music. The broad repertoire of the never-the-same
artiste include melancholic gypsy songs, passionate Russian romances,
nostalgic electric gospel, best loved Hebrew dances and the gems of
gospel.

His Cossack family originating from southern Russia has made a long trek
from the river valley of Kuban during the bloody years of the Soviet
regime, but the love for the red dust of the Steppes and for the horses'
shining flanks is still alive and strong in Viktor's heart. And still
his songs echo the old stories told by the campfire.

Viktor Klimenko's road to success began in the early 1960's as a pop
singer and an actor. The triumphal march of Viktor the Cossack began at
the end of the same decade. Tremendous popularity accompanied the wild
and romantic Cossack as he rode through Europe in the 1970's. Russian
romances pleased the ear of the audience and impressive shows attracted
the curious crowds.

Viktor Klimenko's rise to fame as an interpreter of Slavic music fell on
the era of cold war. In the world that seemed to consist of only camps
of NATO and Warsaw Pact, he spoke a language which was understood in
both camps: the language of love, the language of music and songs, which
breaks through hostilities.

Adopting gospel music into the repertoire was not just following the
trend in fashion for him. In 1980 Viktor experienced a dramatic change
in his life when he had a spiritual awakening. He knows the Saviour he
sings about. A born again Christian, he faced new challenges and visions
- since then he has travelled around the world as an interpreter of
gospel music and a preacher. As an artiste he became even more
unconstrained and his interpretations acquired a new glow.

Viktor Klimenko has held concerts on all continents. The fall of the
Soviet Union opened the doors even to his closed homeland. He holds the
discriminated and passed by of this world close to his heart: refugees
from all countries, Jews that live scattered all around our broken
world, Russian Jews that have spread into Europe, Israel and the United
States, and gypsies that are the most discriminated and deprived of all
people in many countries.
The matured artiste now lives the best part of his career. His
interpretations have become deeper and there can always be found new
tones in his "white" Russian voice. He can build up a concert out of the
most loved tunes. Unforgettable moments can be spent listening to
Cossack songs, gypsy music, Hebrew melodies, hymns, gospel songs,
electric gospel or the gems of classical music. His performance can be
the highlight of a wedding party, or the greatest consolation for the
mourning at a funeral.

Viktor Klimenko's way to interpret shows great artistic skill.

Viktor Klimenko is a man with an unforgettable voice.


Resources: YouTube, www.viktorklimenko.com.