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

Kiselev was born in Leningrad into the family of a military officer and a medical institute's vice-rector. He lost his father at the age of six and his mother at eight. "I was always a versatile person, I engaged in sports, 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 – this is 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," playing the keyboard accordion and drums.

In the early 70s, Kiselev played in the group "Sovremennik," and then created his own collective "Apriel." After serving in the army, he headed "Zemlyane." His dream was to create a band playing 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, decapitated three or four city groups, choosing leaders from them, inviting them – the best musicians began to create my product with me," the producer said.

"Zemlyane" quickly became popular and earned 500 rubles per concert. However, the group soon faced problems: a staged article about a performance "on stage with an American flag" led to a work ban. 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 came in the 80s, when Sergey Skachkov was the lead singer. Kiselev stepped away from stage activities, focusing on administrative work. "We had 70-80 concerts a month, plus tours abroad, plus recordings, plus television, plus records," the media manager explained. In 1988, Kiselev parted ways with the group and organized a production center, where he worked with the collectives "Sankt-Peterburg," "Russkie," and "Passazhiry."

Two years later, Sergey Skachkov attempted 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 unprofessionally. During a concert in 2006, he approached me and hissed maliciously, 'I'll fire you! You'll be begging! We stopped communicating. Vladimir then gathered 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," Skachkov reasoned.

Vladimir Kiselev saw the situation differently, claiming that he was the one who stood at the origins of the group. After the trials, 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 former colleagues flared up again. "All those whom I once took from the streets and made into musicians, at some stages suddenly considered themselves entitled, not only illegally, to count themselves among the 'Zemlyane brotherhood,' but also to call themselves soloists, leaders, creators. Does Mr. Skachkov ever, looking in the mirror, recall that the first records were made by Igor Dembovsky and Yura Ilchenko, where he wasn't even on the horizon? 'Zemlyane' was created by me, Igor Romanov, and Borya Aksenov, who certainly never allowed themselves such a thing. Igor later created the group 'Soyuz,' achieved success, recorded solo records – honor and glory!" Kiselev explained.

Vladimir Kiselev married for the first time in the 70s, and they had two daughters – Zoya and Svetlana. The couple gradually drifted apart. In 1992, when the producer organized the "White Nights" festival in St. Petersburg, the 39-year-old Kiselev met the 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 learned about the 21-year age difference, and about the fact that he was married," Elena confided. "It was a disaster. But we couldn't stop. So much bound us by then. 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 peacefully and maintain warm relationships with his daughters, and with Elena, they created a harmonious and strong family.

The couple grew together: Vladimir Kiselev headed the "Russkaya Media Group" 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.