To participate in the Eurovision-2012 song contest, the folklore group Buranovskie Babushki was chosen as a representative of Russia. Despite the fact that the ensemble from the village of Buranovo, Malopurginsky District of the Udmurt Republic, is more than 40 years old, the grandmothers became famous quite recently.
The history of "Buranovskiye Babushki" began in the 70s of the last century, when a kindergarten teacher Galina Koneva created an ensemble that performed in a village club with Russian folk songs. However, there was not much success, so songs in the Udmurt language were included in the repertoire, which the fellow villagers liked.
Today the group includes 12 people, but due to their age and state of health, only 8 participants go on tour: Granya Ivanovna Baysarova, Alevtina Gennadievna Begisheva, Zoya Sergeevna Dorodova, Galina Nikolaevna Koneva, Natalia Yakovlevna Pugacheva, Valentina Semyonovna Pyatchenko, Ekaterina Semyonovna Shklya as well as artistic director - director of the village club Olga Nikolaevna Tuktareva. The average age of grandmothers is 68 years, with the oldest being 86 years old, and the youngest participant being 43 years old.
"Buranovskie grandmothers" perform in national Udmurt costumes: dresses made of self-woven material, many of which were inherited by the performers, removable bibs, belts, knitted stockings and bast shoes. An obligatory attribute of the outfit is a monisto - a necklace made of silver coins, among which there are specimens of the Catherine era.
The ensemble became widely known after participating in the festival "New Song of the Ancient Land" and the Day of the Mother Language, held in Izhevsk in 2008. "Buranovskie grandmothers" sang the songs of Boris Grebenshchikov "The City of Gold" and Viktor Tsoi "A Star Called the Sun" in the Udmurt language. Some of the spectators filmed the performance on a mobile phone and posted it on the Internet, after which the grandmothers gained popularity. Then the Beatles songs were translated and recorded, including Yesterday and Let It be.
In 2009, "Buranovskie Babushki" performed at the anniversary of Lyudmila Zykina, and then signed a contract with the director of the "House of Lyudmila Zykina" Ksenia Rubtsova, who began to promote them on television to participate in various shows, anniversary and group concerts, and today she is the producer of the group.
In 2010, the ensemble took part in the Russian selection round of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Long, Long Birch Bark and How to Make An Aishon Out of It", where they took 3rd place. In 2012, their song Party for Everybody brought them victory in the national selection for Eurovision 2012.
Almost all grandmothers, with the exception of Olga Tuktareva, are retired. They are engaged in farming, working in the garden, looking after livestock. "Buranovskie grandmothers" honor and preserve the traditions and customs of their people. Their efforts in the village of Buranovo opened a museum of national culture, the exhibits of which were items of clothing and household items, which are up to 200 years old.
In addition, "Buranovskie Babushki" organized the construction of a church in the village on the site of the one destroyed during the Soviet era. It is this that is a powerful incentive for the collective, and all the proceeds from concerts, tours and various TV shows are directed by the members of the ensemble to the restoration of the church.
