caption associated_acts death_date death_place birth_name birth_place years_active image_size article_title background birth_date instrument genre image origin name occupation
okudzhava , germany , 1976 performing at palace of the republic , berlin bards 12 june 1997 paris , france bulat shalvovich okudzhava moscow , soviet union 1950s -- 1997 220px bulat okudzhava
 solo_singer may 9 , 1924 vocals , guitar author song bundesarchiv , bulat okudshawa cropped.jpg bild 183-r1202-0019 , berlin , palast der republik soviet union bulat okudzhava musician story writer , poet , editor , novelist , short
bulat okudzhava

bulat shalvovich okudzhava -lrb- ; -rrb- -lrb- may 9 , 1924 -- june 12 , 1997 -rrb- was a soviet poet , writer , musician , novelist , and singer-songwriter of georgian-armenian ancestry .
he was one of the founders of the soviet genre called `` author song '' -lrb- '' авторская песня '' , `` avtorskaya pesnya '' -rrb- , or `` guitar song '' , and the author of about 200 songs , set to his own poetry .
his songs are a mixture of russian poetic and folksong traditions and the french `` chansonnier '' style represented by such contemporaries of okudzhava as georges brassens .
though his songs were never overtly political -lrb- in contrast to those of some of his fellow soviet bards -rrb- , the freshness and independence of okudzhava 's artistic voice presented a subtle challenge to soviet cultural authorities , who were thus hesitant for many years to give official recognition to okudzhava .
