Mikhail Isaievich Tanich (Tankhilevich) (Russian: Михаил Исаевич Танич) (September 15, 1923 – April 17, 2008) was a popular Russian song lyrics writer of Jewish descent, a laureate of the Interior Ministry Award (1997), a laureate of the jubilee contest The Song of the Year devoted to the 25th anniversary of that television program, a laureate of nearly all the annual festivals The Song of the Year, and a laureate of the Ovation National Music Award (1997).

Biography

Mikhail Isaevich Tankhilevich was born in Taganrog. He graduated from the Rostov Civil Engineering College (Rostov-on-Don, Russia). He was in the Army during WWII, participated at the Battle of Berlin and was awarded with an Order of Glory of 3rd degree. In 1947, he was arrested on the grounds of false accusations, and spent time in prison until 1953.

After the war Tanich lived in Moscow and worked on the radio and in the press. His first book of collected poems was published in 1959. He then went on to write a total of fifteen books.

In the beginning of the 1960s he wrote a song The Textile Town, written in collaboration with the Soviet composer Yan Frenkel, became a hit. It was sung by a number of popular singers including Raisa Nemetova and Maya Kristallinskaya.

He has also co-authored with many Soviet composers such as Yuri Saulsky, Arkady Ostrovsky, Vadim Gamaliya, Oscar Feltsman, Nikita Bogoslovsky, Vladimir Shainsky. Other composers Tanich has worked with include Igor Nikolayev, Arkady Ukupnik and Vyacheslav Malezhik.

Along with Sergey Korzhukov who died in 1994, Mikhail Tanich cofounded the group Lesopoval.

Family

• Spouse – lyrics writer Lydia Kozlova
• Children – Inga Kozlova, Svetlana Kozlova
• Grandchildren – Lev Kazachenko and Veniamin Kazachenko

Achievements and awards

• Laureate of the Interior Ministry Award (1997)
• Laureate of the Ovation National Music Award (1997)
• Order of the Red Star
• Order or Honour (1998)
• Order of the Patriotic War
• Order of Glory
• People's Artist of Russia
• Honored Professor at the Rostov State Civil Engineering College