Bulat Okudjava (born Boulat Shalvovick Okoudjava) was one of Russia's greatest 20th century songwriters. A regular performer on Russian radio and television, during the '50s, Okudjava's most enduring songs were featured in such films as The Star of the Alluring Happiness, Belorussian Train Station, and The White Sun of the Desert. The son of a Georgian father and an Armenian mother, Okudjava struggled with political oppression as a teenager. In 1937, his father was shot by the Russian military and his mother was exiled. Initially drawn to poetry, Okudjava's earliest work was written after he had graduated from Tbilisi (Georgia) State University, with a degree in philosophy, and had begun teaching Russian and literature in Kaluzhsk schools. Although his first poems reflected on non-offensive subjects, Okudjava increasingly dealt with political, social, and emotional issues as he began accompanying his words with acoustic guitar melodies. In 1994, Okudjava received the prestigious Russian Baater literary prize. ~ Craig Harris