Leonid Bortkevich was a Belarusian singer and leading vocalist of the folk-rock ensemble Pesnyary. He performed with the group from 1970 to 1980 and from 1999 to 2003, later directing ensembles under the Pesnyary name. His resonant interpretations of Belarusian songs made him one of the best-known voices of Soviet and Belarusian popular music.
Background
Leonid Bortkevich was born on May 25, 1949, in Minsk, then the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. He lost his father before birth and was raised by his mother. His early musical ability led him to a children's choir at the Minsk Palace of Pioneers and later to the choir ensemble Yunost associated with the conservatory.
He studied trumpet at a music school and also trained at an architectural college. During his architectural studies, he sang in a local choir and later worked in architectural design. His diploma project served as the basis for the design of the Oktyabr cinema in Minsk, and he worked at BelNIIGiproselstroy before entering full-time professional music.
Education
Bortkevich studied trumpet at a music school and later attended an architectural college, where he combined technical training with vocal performance in a local choir. His architectural education preceded his transition to professional popular music and informed an early design project for a major Minsk cinema.
In 1980 he entered GITIS, the Moscow institution devoted to theatre and performing-arts education, to study directing. He left Pesnyary that year so that he could pursue the program, although his later career remained centered on singing and ensemble leadership.
Bortkevich began his working life in architecture and design before becoming a professional vocalist. He worked at BelNIIGiproselstroy, and his architectural diploma project was used in the design of the Oktyabr cinema in Minsk. While studying, he also performed as a choir soloist and became associated with the vocal-instrumental ensemble Zolotye Yabloki.
In 1970 Vladimir Mulyavin invited Bortkevich to join Pesnyary, the Belarusian vocal-instrumental ensemble known for combining Belarusian folk material with arranged popular music. Bortkevich became one of its principal vocalists and performed such widely recognized songs as Belarus, Birch Sap, Aleksandrina, Veronika, and Alesya. His first period with the group lasted until 1980, when he left to study directing at GITIS.
After leaving Pesnyary, Bortkevich performed as a solo singer and worked with the Kyiv ensemble Malvy. From 1983 he was also a soloist with Belarusian television and radio. In 1989 he moved to the United States with Olga Korbut and their son Richard; during the American period he worked in photography and poster production, eventually becoming a manager, and did not perform publicly as a singer.
Bortkevich returned to Belarus around 1999–2000 and rejoined Pesnyary in 1999 at Mulyavin's invitation. He remained with the ensemble until Mulyavin's death in 2003. After disagreements over the group's leadership, Bortkevich formed and directed an ensemble performing under the name Pesnyary under the direction of Leonid Bortkevich. That project continued in changing forms after 2003, and in 2009 he joined Anatoly Kasheparov and Oleg Molchan in another Pesnyary ensemble under his direction. He continued performing and leading the group until shortly before his death in Minsk on April 13, 2021.
Achievements
Bortkevich became one of the principal vocalists of Pesnyary, performing a repertoire that helped establish the ensemble as a prominent interpreter of Belarusian folk-based popular music.
He sustained the Pesnyary performing tradition through ensembles directed under his name after Vladimir Mulyavin's death in 2003, including a later collaboration with Anatoly Kasheparov and Oleg Molchan.
He was named Honored Artist of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1979.
Works
book
Pesnyari and Olga
(An autobiographical book published by Vagrius in Moscow i...)
2003
Religion
Bortkevich identified himself as a Catholic and said that he had been baptized at the Church of Saints Simon and Helena, commonly known as the Red Church, in Minsk. He described his faith as a personal relationship with God and said that he attended services there, although he did not present himself as strictly observant.
His religious identity developed within the Catholic tradition of Belarus, where Catholic communities have long existed alongside Orthodox and other Christian traditions. His public comments connected Catholic belief with family continuity, baptism, worship, and the naming of his children according to Catholic tradition.
Views
Bortkevich expressed a personal spiritual outlook centered on the belief that God was present within the individual rather than only in formal observance. His comments linked faith with family memory, baptism, and personal conscience.
Personality
In interviews, Bortkevich described himself as energetic and inclined to make things rather than remain idle. He spoke of learning practical skills by watching his uncle and of applying those skills to photography, painting, jewelry, and other forms of handiwork.
Physical Characteristics:
Bortkevich was described in press coverage as tall, with curly blond hair.
Quotes from others about the person
Colleagues and cultural institutions repeatedly described Bortkevich's voice as a distinctive identifying feature of Pesnyary. Concert programs presenting his ensemble emphasized his recognizable timbre, diction, and interpretations of the group's best-known songs.
Interests
Painting, photography, jewelry, practical handiwork, and other crafts.
Music & Bands
Bortkevich said that he enjoyed classical music and regarded the Beatles as an enduringly important group.
Connections
Bortkevich was married three times. His first wife was Olga Shumakova, with whom he had a son, Alexei. His second wife was Olga Korbut, the Belarusian gymnast and four-time Olympic champion; they had a son, Richard, and their marriage lasted twenty-two years. His third wife was Tatyana Rodyanko, with whom he had a son, Christian, born in 2005.
He also had another son named Alexei. Bortkevich's family life was closely connected with his public career, particularly during his marriage to Korbut and their years in the United States.
Wife:
Olga Shumakova
Bortkevich's first wife and the mother of his son Alexei.
Wife:
Olga Korbut
Belarusian gymnast and four-time Olympic champion; Bortkevich's second wife and the mother of his son Richard.
Wife:
Tatyana Rodyanko
Bortkevich's third wife and the mother of his son Christian.
Son:
Alexei Bortkevich
Son of Bortkevich and Olga Shumakova.
Son:
Richard Bortkevich
Son of Bortkevich and Olga Korbut.
Son:
Christian Bortkevich
Son of Bortkevich and Tatyana Rodyanko, born in 2005.
References
Leonid Bortkevich biography
Biographical reference covering Bortkevich's birth, education, career with Pesnyary, work in the United States, later ensemble leadership, book, family, religious identity, death, and burial.
Где трава?
Review and discussion of Bortkevich's autobiographical book Pesnyary and Olga, including its account of his life with Pesnyary and Olga Korbut.
