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Anita "Anna" Sergeyevna Tsoi (Russian: Анита "Анна" Сергеевна Цой; born 7 February 1971, Moscow) is a Russian singer of Korean descent.[1] Her grandparents emigrated from Korea to the Russian Far East, and were later caught up in the 1937 deportation of the Koryo-saram to Central Asia.[2] Like her sisters, she began violin lessons at a young age; she later studied piano, flute, and guitar.[3] Her mother was branded a "class enemy" in the 1970s in response to her record of speaking out in support of Nobel Peace Prize-winning dissident Andrei Sakharov, for which she was briefly committed to a mental institution. She attended the teacher training college, then law school at Moscow State University, where she met her husband Sergey Petrovich Tsoi. After graduation, rather than becoming a teacher or lawyer, she began saving up money in order to launch a singing career, while her husband began working as a press secretary for Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov in 1994. Her first album Polyot (Полёт; Flight) was released in 1997; she kept it a secret from her husband until after she had already signed the contract with her production company.[1][4] She went to the United States in 2003 to record an English-language album, where she worked with cinematic composer Lee Holdridge; while there, she was offered a five-year contract as a solo vocalist in the Cirque du Soleil, but turned it down in order to return to Russia and be near her family.[3] She was appointed as "tourism ambassador" between Russia and South Korea by South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun during his official visit to Russia in 2004.[5] In April 2007, Sergey made statements in his capacity as Luzhkov's press secretary about the banning of a planned Moscow gay pride parade condemning "aggressive" behaviour by Russian LGBT activists, which sparked a media controversy; Anita, in response, commented that she might attend the planned parade despite the ban, and stated that she enjoys singing in gay nightclubs.[6] Aside from singing, she also works with international charity Save the Children.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Morozov, Andrey. "Анита Цой: «Под мой гимн люди танцуют»", Nov'ie Izvestiya, 2005-05-27. Retrieved on 2006-06-21. (Russian)
- ^ "아니타 최 - 어머니에게 바치는 노래 (Anita Tsoi: A Song For My Mother)", KBS News, Korean Broadcasting System, 1999-07-04. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. (Korean)
- ^ a b c Анита Цой (Anita Tsoi) (Russian). MTV Russia. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
- ^ Цой Сергей Петрович (Tsoy Sergey Petrovich) (Russian). Arirang.RU. Retrieved on 2006-01-23.
- ^ "아니타 최, 러 관광 홍보 대사 위촉 (Anita Tsoi appointed Russian tourism and publicity ambassador)", KBS News, Korean Broadcasting System, 2004-09-23. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. (Korean)
- ^ Wockner, Rex. "Moscow Spokesman Charges: "Aggressive" Gays "Play With Fire"", San Francisco Bay Times, 2007-04-12. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
[edit] External links
Moscow, Russia
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