Kobzon is not just a people's artist, it is a whole era of our country. Joseph Davydovich carried love for her through his whole life. And even when his health failed and it was hard for him, he still took an active life position and defended it to the end.
Joseph Kobzon was born on September 11, 1937. Wherever his fate led, everywhere he showed his singing talent. He entered the Dnepropetrovsk Mining College - began to sing on stage, went to serve in the army - he was invited to the song and dance ensemble. After Gnesinka, the artist began performing at the Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. There his popularity was born.
Kobzon's repertoire included about three thousand songs. As it is impossible to list them all, it is just as difficult to name all the awards that the artist was awarded. These are various medals, certificates, honorary titles, he received awards from the state, from various departments and even from other countries. Joseph Davydovich is not only noted in his professional activities, he also, for example, is the owner of the Order of Courage and the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" of three degrees.
Patriot of his country
The patriotic theme ran through his work as a red thread. He was a child, when the war began, he could not stay away from this topic. The Great Patriotic War became a terrible page in the history of our country, but they must be remembered and never forgotten. This was the position of Kobzon. Already being an accomplished artist, Joseph Davydovich hurried to where the battles are going, where moral support is needed. He has performed in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Chernobyl several times. But the Russians were especially struck by Kobzon's courageous act, when in 2002 terrorists seized the Theater Center on Dubrovka, where the musical "Nord-Ost" was being staged. They wanted to negotiate only with the president of the country, but it turned out that their trust in the people's and honored artist Kobzon was at the same level. Together with Irina Khakamada, he managed to get a pregnant woman and three children out of the Theater Center.
Why did he end up at the Theater Center, why did he come? Because he was a caring person, he experienced the problems of other people, state problems as his own. That is why, among other things, he went into politics. Joseph Davydovich joined the party in Soviet times, and already in the twenty-first century he was a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. All his childhood was spent in the Donetsk region, and when tragic events began to take place in Ukraine, Kobzon took an unambiguous position - the Russian one. He signed an appeal by Russian cultural figures in support of the President of the Russian Federation. For repeated speeches explaining his position, Kobzon was banned from entering Ukraine, as well as Latvia. Kobzon could not help but support his fellow countrymen, he visited Donetsk and Lugansk with humanitarian aid and concerts.
No matter what
These events have been happening since 2014. Serious health problems for the artist began in 2001. First, the diagnosis was "intervertebral hernia", then in the process of examinations revealed diabetes mellitus, and in June of that year he fell into a coma. But that was just the beginning. Prostate cancer - that was the final verdict. The artist was repeatedly hospitalized, he underwent long-term treatment, he underwent complex operations in German clinics. But each time, as a result of such manipulations, the body weakened more and more, immunity fell, and concomitant diseases appeared. For example, after surgery in 2005, the artist was diagnosed with pneumonia, kidney sepsis, and a thrombus was found in the pulmonary vessels. But in spite of everything, Kobzon continued to perform. Once he underwent a complex two-hour operation, and five days later he was already in Jurmala and sang live.
On July 22, 2018, Joseph Davydovich again became ill. His vitality was not unlimited: as soon as the medical workers managed to stabilize the singer's condition, he fell into a coma, from which he never came out. The great artist died on August 30, 2018. In twelve days he could have turned 81 years old. He was buried at the Vostryakovskoye cemetery in Moscow, with military honors and according to Jewish traditions.
