Anita Tsoy

**Anita "Anna" Sergeyevna Tsoy** (; born 7 February 1971, Moscow) is a Russian singer-songwriter of Korean descent.

## Parents and Early Life
Her grandfather, seeking free education, emigrated from Korea to the Russian Far East. He, his wife and his children were later caught up in the 1937 deportation of the *Koryo-saram* to Central Asia. Anita's mother was born in 1944 in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union. She successfully graduated from the Moscow State University and became a chemistry doctor.

She did everything she could to make her daughter educated in all kinds of arts http://anitatsoy.ru. Anita's favourite one became music. She began violin lessons at a young age; she later studied piano, flute, and guitar. She wasn't a loved one at school. Many classmates, being children of influential parents, often abused her. Most teachers were not as friendly to her as they were to the other classmates.

When she became an adult, a tragedy happened: her mother was branded a "class enemy" in the 1970s in response to her record of speaking out in support of Nobel Peace Prize-winning dissident Andrei Sakharov. For her dissent she was briefly committed to a mental institution. She became a permanent invalid. After leaving school Anita attended the teacher training college, then law school at Moscow State University, where she met her husband Sergey P. Tsoy.

## Career
After graduation, rather than becoming a teacher or lawyer, she began saving up money in order to launch a singing career, while her husband began working as a press secretary for Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov in 1994. Her first album *Polyot* (Полёт; *Flight*) was released in 1997; she kept it a secret from her husband until after she had already signed the contract with her production company.

In 1998 her second album, named "Черный лебедь" ("The Black Swan") was released and in 1999 a concert show "Черный лебедь или храм любви" ("The Black Swan or a Love Palace") was held in the concert hall "Rossiya". This show was accepted as "Best Show of the Year" and Anita won an "Ovation" She went to the United States in 2003 to record an English-language album, where she worked with cinematic composer Lee Holdridge; while there, she was offered a five-year contract as a solo vocalist in the Cirque du Soleil, but turned it down in order to return to Russia and be near her family.

Anita recorded 5 albums in total and won more than 10 major awards for both performing and charity during her 13-year career as a solo artist.

## Albums
* "Полет" ("Flight") - 1997
* "Черный лебедь" ("The Black Swan") - 1998
* "I'll remember you" (Recorded in the USA) - 2000
* "1000000 минут" ("1000000 minutes") - 2003
* "На восток" ("To The East") - 2007
* "Твоя А" ("Your A") - 2011

This information was received from the singer's official site.

## Live Concerts
*"Полет к новым мирам" ("A Flight to New Worlds") - 1998
*"Черный лебедь или храм любви" ("The Black Swan or a Love Palace") - 1999, 2000 (symphonic version)
*"1000000 минут" ("1000000 Minutes") - 2003
*"ANITA" - 2005
*"На восток" ("To The East") - 2007
*"Помнить, чтобы жизнь продолжалась" ("To Remember so that Life Continues") - 2009 (Charity Concert Tour)
* "THE BEST" - 2010
This information was received from the singer's official site.

## Awards
*"Honoured Worker of Kuzbass for active participation in charity, 2009 
*"Golden Gramophone", 2007 
*"Golden Gramophone", 2006 
*A True Professional of Russia, 2005 
*"Mezenat" for active participation in charity, 2004 
*"Pillar" for the artist's talent, 2004 
*"For Russia's renewal", 2004 
*Meritorious Artist of Russia, 2003 
*"Olympia" for active participation in charity, 2002 
*National Musical Prize "Ovation" - Best Show of the Year, 1999 
*National Musical Prize "Ovation" - A Discovery of the Year, 1998 

## References
## Other websites
*AnitaTsoy.RU 
* AnitaTsoy.RU 
* Blog
* A fan site 
* http://www.aif.ru/onlineconf/472