Владимир Высоцкий (Vladimir Vysotsky)

Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky was a Soviet Russian singer, songwriter, poet, and actor, born in Moscow on January 25, 1938. He was active from the late 1950s until his death in Moscow on July 25, 1980, at the age of 42. Working primarily in the genre known as авторская песня (author's song or bard poetry), Vysotsky accompanied himself on guitar and wrote and performed his own material, covering themes including war, prison life, street culture, the Soviet everyday, and political absurdity. He was also a prominent stage and film actor, most notably associated with the Taganka Theatre in Moscow.

During his lifetime, Vysotsky's recordings were not officially released through state channels in any substantial way, and his songs circulated widely on self-recorded magnetic tape copies known as magnitizdat. This underground distribution made him one of the most heard voices in the Soviet Union despite operating largely outside official cultural structures. He was posthumously awarded the title Honored Artist of the RSFSR in 1986. Official vinyl releases appeared primarily after his death, issued through Melodiya, the Soviet state label.

Collectors seek out Vysotsky's records for several reasons. Pre-official and early Melodiya pressings are considered the most desirable, and the broader context of magnitizdat recordings — reel-to-reel and cassette copies circulated outside state control — holds documentary and historical significance for collectors focused on Soviet underground culture. His catalog remains one of the most extensively documented in the Soviet Russian singer-songwriter tradition.