MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. Friends and relatives will pay last respects to late Russian and Soviet composer Vladimir Shainsky on Monday before he will be buried later in the day at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in western Moscow.
Broadly known in the world of animation film as the author of the soundtrack for the top-rated Soviet cartoon miniseries about Cheburashka and Gena the Crocodile, Vladimir Shainsky died at the age of 92 in San Diego, California on December 25, 2017.
"Due to the lengthy holidays, relatives of the composer in the United States were unable to promptly obtain documents verifying his death," the press service of the Russian Ministry of Culture said.
"Moreover, relevant documents were also required to obtain permission for taking the body from the United States and it also required time," the press service cited Russian Deputy Culture Minister Alexander Zhuravsky as saying.
Shainsky excelled in writing songs and music for children, marked by unpretentious but catchy tunes that very often invite a child to sing. He scored especial success in composing songs for movies, and the animation films about Cheburashka and Gena the Crocodile, which now have naturalized versions in the languages as different as Hebrew and Japanese, offer a bright instance of it.
The popularity of the composer’s oeuvre did not confine to music for children. Some of his songs for grownup audiences, like ‘A Soldier’s Walking through the Town’, surprisingly spilt over Russia’s borders.
Shainsky lived in the United States’ San Diego since 2007.