12 Notable alumni of St. Petersburg State University for Culture and Arts
Updated: June 01, 2026 EliteDegrees
St. Petersburg State University for Culture and Arts is ranked #8,855 in the world and #278 in Russia by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 12 notable alumni from St. Petersburg State University for Culture and Arts sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with St. Petersburg State University for Culture and Arts won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Zhirayr Agavelyan
1955-. (aged 71)
painter
screenwriter
writer
director
musician
Zhirayr Agavelyan, is an Armenian TV director, artist, actor, writer, TV scenarist, musician, and member of Artists’ Union of Armenia (2015).
2. Sergey Chigrakov
1961-. (aged 65)
singer
poet
guitarist
composer
singer-songwriter
Sergey Nikolayevich "Chizh" Chigrakov is a Russian rock performer and songwriter. Most of his current songs are recorded with his band, Chizh & Co.
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3. Smoky Mo
1982-. (aged 44)
hip hop producer
master of ceremonies
rapper
beatmaker
actor
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Tsykhov, better known under the pseudonym Smoky Mo (Russian: Смо́ки Мо) is a Russian rapper, beatmaker & record producer.
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4. Maksim Pezhemsky
1963-. (aged 63)
actor
screenwriter
film director
Maksim Pezhemsky is a Russian film director and screenwriter. His film Perekhod tovarishcha Chkalova cherez severnyy polyus was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.
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5. Iskra Mihaylova
1957-. (aged 69)
politician
librarian
Iskra Dimitrova Mihaylova-Koparova is a Bulgarian politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Bulgaria who has been a Member of the European Parliament since July 2014. She is a member of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party.
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6. Shimon Iakerson
1956-. (aged 70)
orientalist
Hebraist
historian
philologist
bibliologist
Shimon Iakerson is a Russian scholar specializing in medieval Hebrew manuscripts and incunabula.
7. Valery Leontiev
1949-. (aged 77)
composer
dancer
film actor
television actor
actor
Valery Yakovlevich Leontiev is a Russian singer, songwriter and actor, whose popularity peaked in the 1980s and 1990s. He was titled a People's Artist of Russia in 1996. During his career, he achieved international success in Eastern Europe, has the status of a pop icon along with Alla Pugacheva, and is a winner of ZD Awards.
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8. Ilya Prusikin
1985-. (aged 41)
singer
screenwriter
television producer
actor
record producer
Ilya Vladimirovich Prusikin is a Russian musician, singer, record producer, vlogger, video director and screenwriter. He is best known as the front person and founder of Saint Petersburg punk-pop-rave group Little Big. He is also known under the stage name Ilich (Russian: Ильич), an in-joke referencing Vladimir Lenin's patronymic and Oblomov character.
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9. Roman Trakhtenberg
1968-2009 (aged 41)
presenter
director
cultural studies scholar
theatrical director
showman
Roman Lvovich Trakhtenberg was a Russian radio host and actor.
10. Batyrkhan Shukenov
1962-2015 (aged 53)
singer
saxophonist
lyricist
composer
poet
Batyrkhan Kamaluly Shukenov was a Kazakh and Soviet singer, musician, composer, and poet. Shukenov was co-founder and lead singer of the Kazakh-Russian pop music group A-Studio from 1987 until 2000. After leaving the group in 2000, he began his solo career.
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11. Sonya Tayurskaya
1991-. (aged 35)
singer-songwriter
singer
Sofiya Alekseevna Tayurskaya is a Russian vocalist for the punk-rave group Little Big.
12. Yelena Drapeko
1948-. (aged 78)
actor
politician
Yelena Grigoryevna Drapeko is a Russian theatre and film actress. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television shows since 1972. She is also a member of the State Duma since 2000.
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