| Maria Pakhomenko | |
| Birthname: | Maria Leonidovna Pakhomenko |
| Birth Date: | 25 March 1937 |
| Birth Place: | Leningrad, Soviet Union |
| Death Place: | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Occupation: | Singer |
| Years Active: | 1964–2013 |
Maria Leonidovna Pakhomenko (Russian: link=no|Мари́я Леони́довна Пахо́менко; 25 March 1937 – 8 March 2013) was a Soviet and Russian singer, a holder of the title of People's Artist of Russia since 1999.[1]
The song that brought her fame was Kachaet, kachaet... (Russian: link=no|Качает, качает...) that she recorded for the theater play Idu na Grozu (Russian: link=no|Иду на грозу) in 1963. In the 1960s and until the mid-1970s, Maria Pakhomenko was one of the main stars of the Soviet stage. The songs in her performance sounded in the programs of many radio stations and on television. During her career she toured the USSR and abroad, including Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
Among the songs by leading Soviet composers of which she was the original performer are Love Will Stay (by Valery Gavrilin), Nenaglyadnyy Moy (by Aleksandra Pakhmutova), Men (by Eduard Kolmanovsky), Conversations (by Eduard Khanok), Vals pri Svechakh (by Oscar Feltsman), etc.
In 1968, she sold 2,600,000 discs.[2] In 1971, Pakhomenko became the first of Soviet singers to win the Grand Prix at the Golden Orpheus song contest.[3]
Several music films were shot about her, one of which was acquired by 13 countries.