Diana Gurtskaya

Russian pop singer of Georgian origin, public figure, and activist, born on July 2, 1978, in Sukhumi, Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR, USSR. Blind from birth, she was the youngest of four children in a family of a miner and a teacher. From an early age, she showed interest in music, studied at a specialized boarding school for blind children in Tbilisi, and later graduated from the pop department of the Moscow Gnessin Music School in 1999. In 1995, she became a laureate of the "Yalta — Moscow — Transit" music competition, performing the song "Tbiliso" and receiving a special jury prize. In 2000, she released her debut album "Ty zdes" ("You Are Here"), with songs written by Igor Nikolaev and Sergey Chelobanov. Her second album, "Ty znayesh, mama" ("You Know, Mom"), was released in 2002. In 2008, she represented Georgia at the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade with the song "Peace Will Come," becoming the first blind performer from Eastern Europe to participate in the contest. Throughout her career, she collaborated with artists such as José Carreras, Grigory Leps, Iosif Kobzon, and others. Since 2011, she has been a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, serving as the chairperson of the Commission for Accessible Environment and Inclusive Practices. In 2018, she became the artistic director of the Diana Gurtskaya Center for Social Integration. In 2024, she participated in the third season of the musical show "Avatar" on NTV as the character Pharaoh's Cat. For her contributions, she has been honored with the titles of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (2006) and People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2022), and awarded the Order of Friendship (2010) and the Order of Honor (2014).