Lidia Klement

Lidia Richardovna Klement (Russian: Ли́дия Ри́чардовна Кле́мент; 8 July 1937, in Leningrad – 16 June 1964, in Leningrad[1]) was a Soviet singer.[2]

She was involved with music and singing since childhood, studying piano at a music school for children and singing in a choir[3]. Later, when studying at the Leningrad Institute of Civil Engineering, Lidia Klement sang in a student jazz ensemble. After graduation, she for two years worked as a design engineer and sang with the Naum Tyomkin Variety Orchestra at the Ordzhonikidze Palace of Culture. Since 1958 for about a year she sang with the ensemble of the Leningrad Comedy Theater. She was noticed and composers started writing songs especially for her.[2]

Lidia Klement gained fame all over the Soviet Union with songs such as Karelia, Rain on Fontanka, Is All This for Me Alone? She performed a lot on radio and television, including on the extremely popular musical variety show Goluboy Ogonyok. In 1964, just several months before her death, she released a record with 9 songs on it (on Melodiya record label). At 26 years of age, at the peak of her career,[2] she was diagnosed with melanoma and soon died.[4][5]