Vladimir Kiselev, artistic director of "Zemlyane," has been through many trials in both his career and personal life. Today, July 10, he turns 74.

Kiselev was born in Leningrad into the family of a military man and a deputy rector of a medical institute. At the age of six, he lost his father, and at eight, his mother. "I was always a multifaceted person, I was involved in sports, I played in KVN, I was a champion of literary and historical olympiads at school, I read all the literature that was available. And then my mother passed away – in October, so I only attended regular school for a month. After her death, I was immediately taken to an orphanage. I found myself among children as unfortunate as I was – that's one of the reasons why I didn't become embittered towards the whole world," Kiselev recalled. As a teenager, he was already being published in "Pionerskaya Pravda," and he played the keyboard accordion and drums.

In the early 70s, Kiselev played in the band "Sovremennik," and then created his own collective "Aprel." After serving in the army, he headed "Zemlyane." His dream was to create a band that played heavy rock. "I had to recruit the best musicians in the city and not be afraid to compete with them, as it was a kind of challenge. I gathered the best musicians, beheaded three or four city bands by choosing leaders from them, inviting them – the best musicians started creating my product with me," said the producer.

"Zemlyane" quickly became popular and earned 500 rubles per concert. However, the collective soon faced problems: a commissioned article about a performance "on stage with an American flag" led to a ban on their work. Kiselev found out that it was only about the foreign jeans of one of the musicians, and he managed to lift the ban.

The band's peak popularity was in the 80s, when Sergey Skachkov was the lead singer. Kiselev withdrew from stage activities, focusing on administrative work. "We had 70-80 concerts a month, plus trips abroad, plus recordings, plus television, plus records," explained the media manager. In 1988, Kiselev parted ways with the band and organized a production center, where he worked with the collectives "Sankt-Peterburg," "Russkiye," and "Passazhiry."

Two years later, Sergey Skachkov tried to revive the early "Zemlyane" with guitarist Igor Romanov, but the latter quickly left. Skachkov assembled a new lineup and toured until the 2000s. In 2004, he reunited with Vladimir Kiselev, but in 2007, their views diverged, and a series of lawsuits over the brand began. "He behaved inappropriately. During a concert in 2006, he approached me and hissed maliciously: 'I will fire you! You'll be begging on the streets!' We stopped communicating. Vladimir then hired young guys and started touring under the name 'Zemlyane.' We sued for a long time. I won the first lawsuit, but it's hard to fight the system," reasoned Skachkov.

Vladimir Kiselev saw the situation differently, asserting that he was the one who stood at the origins of the group. After the lawsuits, the copyrights were secured by him, but Sergey Skachkov continued to use the name "Zemlyane" on posters. In 2025, after Skachkov's concert in Krasnodar, the conflict between the former colleagues flared up again. "Everyone whom I once picked up from the streets and turned into musicians, at some stages, suddenly considered themselves entitled, not only to illegally associate themselves with the 'Zemlyane brotherhood' but also to call themselves soloists, leaders, creators. Does Mr. Skachkov ever, even when looking in the mirror, remember that Igor Dembovsky and Yura Ilchenko, who were nowhere near him, recorded the first records? 'Zemlyane' was created by me, Igor Romanov, and Borya Aksenov, who certainly never allowed themselves such things. Igor later created the band 'Soyuz,' achieved success, and recorded solo records – honor and praise!" explained Kiselev.

Vladimir Kiselev married for the first time in the 70s, and had two daughters from that marriage — Zoya and Svetlana. The couple gradually grew apart. In 1992, when the producer organized the "White Nights" festival in St. Petersburg, the 39-year-old Kiselev met 19-year-old Elena Severgina. The student did not know about his position or marital status when he gave her his number. "It was later that I found out about the 21-year age difference and that he was married," Elena confessed. "It was a catastrophe. But we couldn't stop. By that time, much bound us. From the very beginning of our relationship, one of us would start a sentence, and the other could finish it; that's how we felt each other. Everything was serious. Not just a fling..."

Elena tried to break off the relationship several times, but Vladimir Kiselev had the power of persuasion and did not want to give up his feelings. He managed to divorce amicably and maintain warm relations with his daughters, and with Elena, he created a harmonious and strong family.

The couple grew together: Vladimir Kiselev headed the "Russkaya Mediagruppa" holding, and Elena Sever became a festival host and singer. Their sons, Yuri and Vladimir, also tried their hand at music and production work. The family faced criticism and accusations of nepotism, but the media manager is confident that this made his sons stronger and more professional.