Lina Prokfiev

Vocation

Spanish singer who was the wife of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. She was imprisoned in a gulag for eight years, 1948-1956, after her husband was accused of formalism by the Soviet authorities. Her parents were professional singers and she was raised in New York, studying sewing, dancing and singing. On December 10, 1918 she attended a concert by Sergei Prokofiev, and in the summer of 1920, still unmarried, they went to Paris. Lina went to Italy for the next two years, performing as a vocalist. They spent the summer together in 1922 in Ettal, Bavaria, Germany, and married there on October 8, 1923. Their son, Sviatoslav, was born on February 27, 1924. In 1936 they moved to Moscow, and in the fall of 1941, as German troops approached, the Foreign Minister and other intellectuals were evacuated to the Caucasus. Lina decided to stay in Moscow with her two sons. She worked as a translator for Sovinformburó news agency and from a distance, she received financial support from her husband, who had secured his relationship with another woman. On 10 February 1948, the Politburo condemned formalist music, including that of Prokofiev. Ten days later, Lina was accused of espionage and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. In 1957 she was officially acknowledged as innocent, given a certificate of marriage to Prokofiev and a Soviet widow's pension. In 1974 she left the USSR and settled in London, where she created a foundation to preserve the legacy of her husband. She died there on 6 January 1989. (Source: Wikipedia (Spanish) [1])