Vera Brezhneva
Vira Viktorivna Halushka, known mononymously as Vira and previously by the stage name Vera Brezhneva, is a Ukrainian singer, television presenter, and actress.
During her career, she achieved international success in Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries, and is a winner of ZD Awards. In 2016, she received the International Music Prize "Big Apple Music Awards" in the category "Best Eastern European Artist" and special award for charitable activities "Person" in New York City. She has performed several times at the Laima Rendezvous music festival in the Latvian city of Jurmala. Brezhneva is also a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.
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Early life
Vira Viktorivna Halushka was born on 3 February 1982 in Dniprodzerzhynsk, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union. Her father, Viktor, worked in a chemical factory. Her mother, Tamara, a medical school graduate, worked in the same factory as him. She has three sisters, one older sister named Halyna and younger twins named Anastasia and Viktoria. She bought a flat for her parents in Boryspil, a town close to Kyiv. She earned a degree by correspondence from the faculty of economics of the Dnipropetrovsk Institute of Railway Engineering.Career
2002–2007: Nu Virgos (VIA Gra)
In 2002, Halushka was invited to a casting organised to find a girl to replace Alena Vinnitskaya in the group Nu Virgos, in which she succeeded. She was given the stage name Vera Brezhneva by the group's producer in reference to Leonid Brezhnev because she was born in the same city as him. In January 2003, Nu Virgos started performing in the new lineup of Nadia Meiher, Anna Sedokova, and Brezhneva. Due to its massive popularity, it gained the name of "the golden lineup".In July 2007, Brezhneva decided to take a break from the band. In December 2007, an official announcement was made stating that she was leaving Nu Virgos. She was then replaced in the group by Tatiana Kotova.
2008–2022: solo career in Russia
Brezhneva was the presenter of the Russian version of the Power of 10 game-show called Магия 10-ти, which ran on Channel One Russia for two seasons from 7 January 2008 to 31 August 2008.In May 2008, Brezhneva premiered her debut solo single called "Ya ne igrayu". The song was written by her former producer Konstantin Meladze. The second single "Nirvana" was released on 27 October 2008. The third single "Lyubov v bolshom gorode" was released in 2009. She then appeared in the music video for the song "Leto vsegda" by the group Diskoteka Avariya, with actresses Anastasia Zadorozhnaya and Svetlana Khodchenkova. The fourth single was released in April; "Lyubov spasyot mir" and reached No. 1 in Russian Airplay Weekly. The next single "Pronto", a duet with Potap, was released in September. Her sixth single "Lepestkami slyoz" was a duet with Dan Balan. In early 2011, Brezhneva premiered her new single "Realnaya zhizn", and the single "Sexy Bambina" at the end of that year. In early 2012, the single "Ishu tebya" was released.
Brezhneva has appeared in numerous Russian-language films. She played Katya in the film Love in the Big City in 2009, and its two sequels in 2010 and in 2013. In 2016, she starred in 8 Best Dates. She also had a major part playing as herself in Yolki and Yolki 2, and also appeared in Jungle. Most of her film work has been in romantic comedies. She participated in the second season of Russian ice show contest Ice Age.
2022–present: Break from the Russian industry
After the Russo-Ukrainian War broke out in 2014, Brezhneva continued her career in Russia. By 2022, however, owing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she expressed her support for Ukraine and broke away from her Russian career. While residing in the Latvian city of Riga, Brezhneva has returned to Ukraine a number of times since the invasion began. She shifted her career towards releasing music in the Ukrainian language and changed her stage name to Vira. Her first release under that name was the single "Vyshyvanka", a collaboration with Ukrainian singer Tayanna, on 19 October 2022. Her first Ukrainian-language extended play Dyakuyu was released on 6 October 2023 and was preceded by its lead single of the same name on 29 September.Personal life
Brehneva has a daughter born in 2001 from her relationship with Vitaliy Voychenko, deputy mayor of Yalta from 2010 to 2013. She was married to Ukrainian businessman from 2006 to 2012, and they have a daughter born in 2009. She married songwriter and producer Konstantin Meladze, with whom she frequently worked, in 2015. They separated in 2022 and divorced in 2023, allegedly over her disapproval of his continued work in the Russian real estate and music markets after the Russian invasion of Ukraine., she is in a relationship.Discography
Albums
Studio albumsLyubov spasyot mir- ''VERVERA''
EPs
V.- ''Dyakuyu''