Natali (real name Natalya Rudina, née Minyaeva; born 1974) is a Russian pop singer, a native of Dzerzhinsk. She achieved wide fame in 1997 with the hit "Veter s morya dul" ("The Wind Blew from the Sea"); later her discography added another equally famous song, "O Bozhe, kakoy muzhchina!" ("Oh God, What a Man!"). The start of her creative career is tied to Dzerzhinsk, where the singer was born, grew up, and first appeared on stage.

Childhood and youth in Dzerzhinsk

Natalya Minyaeva was born in 1974 into the family of workers at the Orgsteklo chemical plant: her father, Anatoly Nikolaevich, rose from boiler-room worker to deputy chief power engineer, and her mother, Lyudmila Pavlovna, worked as a laboratory assistant in one of the plant's shops.[6] Four years later twins were born into the family — a brother, Anton, and a sister, Olesya — after which the plant provided the family with a three-room apartment in a five-story panel building.[6]

In 1990, when Natalya was about 17, a film crew from Lenfilm came to Dzerzhinsk to shoot a documentary for the city's 60th anniversary. The school principal sent Natalya to audition; she read Tatyana's letter from "Eugene Onegin" and became the main subject of the documentary "My City," in which a schoolgirl tells about the sights of Dzerzhinsk.[6]

That same year, 1990, her brother brought Natalya into the school vocal-instrumental ensemble "Shokoladny Bar" ("Chocolate Bar"), where he himself played drums. At a city rock festival — her first adult performance — she was noticed by 21-year-old Alexander Rudin. Teaming up with a music teacher, he suggested that the girl record several songs at a local recording studio.[6] In the summer of that year Natalya recorded her first songs, and by the time she finished school, together with the youth band "Pop-galaktika," she had released two albums: "Superboy" and "Zvyozdny dozhd" ("Star Rain").[6]

Creative career

In 1997, when the singer was 23, the song "Veter s morya dul" came out and brought her nationwide fame.[6] Later another hit appeared in her repertoire — "O Bozhe, kakoy muzhchina!"[4] Her husband and producer Alexander Rudin took an active part in the singer's creative fate from the very beginning: it was he who took the initiative to record the first songs for the future star.[2]

Personal life

Natalya married Alexander Rudin back in Dzerzhinsk; the couple were married for about 32 years and raised three sons — Arseniy (born late 2001), Anatoly (born 2010), and Yevgeniy.[3][6] In July 2023, Alexander Rudin died from the after-effects of COVID-19 contracted in 2021; his body was found on the canopy of a building in Moscow.[4][5] At the singer's decision, Rudin was buried in Dzerzhinsk.[2]

Less than a month after her husband's death, on Nizhny Novgorod City Day, Natali took the stage — fulfilling her husband's wish that she not give up performing.[5] In November 2023, the singer said that she continues to perform, sees a psychologist weekly, and considers talking with people one of the main ways of coping with grief.[1]

Sources

  1. V gorode N — Dzerzhinsk singer Natali talks about her feelings after her husband's death
  2. novochag.ru — Singer Natali takes the stage again despite her husband's death
  3. prelest.com — Where do the hips go? Singer Natali puzzled by the situation with her figure
  4. woman.ru — Singer Natali dares to wear a naked dress for the first time in 5 years: "How can anyone look like that at 51?!"
  5. boda.su — Singer Natali fulfilled her husband's last request
  6. 74.ru — Biography of singer Natali: career, personal life, children, and her husband's death — June 12, 2025