The name of Alexandra Pakhmutova is known for everyone in the former Soviet Union. It became a synonym of a very long era in the life of the Soviet people. No matter how this era is considered after the collapse of the USSR, her personal and creative biography cannot be separated from the history of her country.

Alya Pakhmutova was born on November 9, 1929 near Stalingrad (now Volgograd), USSR. She began playing the piano and composing music at three and a half. The Second World War interrupted her studying, and the family of Pakhmutova was evacuated to Kazakstan in 1942. After the Stalingrad Battle, when all the family returned to Beketovka, in autumn 1943 Alya moved to Moscow to enter the Moscow State Conservatory's central musical school, the educational establishment which gave the world such famous musicians as Rostropovich, Kogan, Rozhdestvensky, and many others. After its graduation Alexandra continied her education in the Moscow State Conservatory where she studied in the class of Prof. Vissarion Shebalin, prominent Soviet composer. In 1953 she graduated from the Conservatory, and then in 1956 she finished the post-graduate course on composition.

Being a student of the Conservatory, Alexandra Pakhmutova disclosed her interest to composing music for symphonic orchestra. At that time she wrote Russian Suite and the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra in first edition. During the next decades a number of overtures, the Concerto for the Orchestra, the ballet Irradiation, music for movies, pieces for solo instruments and many other works were composed.

However, the recognition of Alexandra Pakhmutova at one sixth part of the world was not won by her symphonic or instrumental music. The Khrushchev's liberalization (so-called The Thaw) has woken the enthusiasm of people, especially young ones, to be responsible themselves for their country. The end of the 1950s for the Soviet Union was a time of opening new mineral beds and virgin lands, building a number of reservoired power stations in Siberia. It was a time of first nuclear icebreaker, first satellite and first astronaut, the Soviet ones. The nation was proud of these achievements reached in the new climate. The spirit of time certainly could be reflected by symphonic means and was really reflected in symphonic compositions by Pakhmutova. But the need to address a huge number of people required more “democratic” means for expression. As a result, Pakhmutova became “a master of a short song” and quickly started to enjoy wide popularity in the USSR. The first song which made Pakhmutova really famous was The Song of the Perturbed Youth written in 1958 for the movie On That Side about the Civil War in Russia in 1918-1920.

The Soviet system, strictly requiring from the composers to follow the Communist doctrine, at the same time provided a number of advantages for them. The most important feature was that the Soviet composers were not directly involved in commercial relations with musicians and studios (all their expenses was directly covered by the governmental agencies). As a result, the composers in the USSR could use all means of expression out of dependence on their cost. At the same time the Soviet mass media were absolutely free of commerce. Alexandra Pakhmutova used in her songs all richness of orchestra: most of them were written just in orchestra score and only then were reduced for piano and voice. Her experience in symphonic field made these songs very expressive and, at the same time, laconic. At the same time, the melodies of most songs were simple enough to be sung by everyone even at hikes and weddings. The performers of Pakhmutova's songs ranges from famous Russian opera and variety singers to children choirs and sometimes drama actors. In the 1970s, when under the influence of The Beatles a number of youth ensembles were created in the USSR, some of them started to sing these songs in their own arrangements.

The total number of songs written by Alexandra Pakhmutova is more than four hundred. The lyrics for most of them were written by her husband, Nikolay Dobronravov. These songs reflect the inner life of person in the USSR in its best manifestations, at moments of public exultation and deeply private sadness, happiness, deed, duty and grief… Alexandra Pakhmutova took “the material” for her songs in her trips along the USSR. The austronauts, sportsmen, builders of power stations, children leaders, submariners and sailors, pilots and a lot of people representing less popular professions became her friends and, then, characters of her songs. Unfortunately, the significant cultural isolation of the Soviet nation, its life based on values of collectivism and internal all-sufficiency, resulted in the fact that Soviet songs in general and songs of Pakhmutova in particular (as well as most characters of her songs) are not known outside the former USSR at all (except countries of the former socialist bloc and some countries nearby like Finland and Japan).

To the beginning of the 1970s Pakhmutova is not simply a composer but one of the national symbols. It seems at that time there was no official governmental concert or public celebration as well as very informal private party without her songs, lyrical and deeply patriotic in their nature.

That era, the era of Brezhnev, brought the new changes in the everyday life of the Soviets. The living standard was significantly increased, and a lot of families received a possibility to live in a separate flat and to buy a car. At that time the freedom of movement inside the USSR was extended to all the Soviets, and much more people started to travel abroad. Cassette recorders got wide spread occurrence so the state could not control anymore what was recorded and copied by people. Thus, economic growth extended the limits of individual freedom and the challenge to the USSR was to find a new balance between individual and collective values. However, the system was already too inflexible to adapt to new conditions. Moreover, the Soviet state led by Brezhnev became more and more authoritarian, and public intervention into people's private life was significantly increased.

This deep controverse, as well as rapid growth of corruption and a gap between words and actions in public sphere, was felt by a lot of Soviets and became a base for their dissatisfaction. As a result, in the 1970s a lot of people began to tear away everything originated from the state. Alexandra Pakhmutova with her commitment to the life of the country was associated with Brezhnev's authoritarian system and became alien for such people. In the same years the rock music started to become popular among young people, however, contrary to authors and singers recognized officially, rock musucians experienced difficulties in organizing concerts and publicizing their compositions, sometimes even being persecuted, which made the split between “official” and “unofficial” subcultures sharper.