Надежда Бабкина (Nadezhda Babkina), born on March 19, 1950, in Chyorny Yar, Akhtubinsk, Astrakhan Oblast, Soviet Union, is a folk and pop singer. She showed early talent for singing, winning the All-Russian Youth Competition in Russian folk song while in high school. In 1974, Babkina formed the vocal band "Russkaya pesnya" during her studies at the Gnessin State Musical College in Moscow. The group debuted at the All-Russian Soviet Song Contest in Sochi in 1976. Throughout her career, Babkina released several albums, including Не думала, не знала (2004). She collaborated with composers such as Zhanna Kuznetsova and Vladimir Belyaev. In 1986, she graduated from the Higher Theater Courses at the A. Lunacharsky State Institute of Theater Arts. Babkina founded the Moscow State Folklore Center "Russkaya Pesnya" in 1989.
