Kolya Vasin
Nikolai Ivanovich "Kolya" Vasin (Russian: Николай Иванович (Коля) Васин, 24 August 1945 – 29 August 2018) was a Russian music historian, writer, one of the main popularizers of the Beatles' creative work inside the USSR and Russia, collector who became prominent in the Soviet Union for collecting Beatles memorabilia.
Kolya Vasin | |
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Kolya Vasin in August 2018 | |
| Born | Nikolai Ivanovich Vasin 24 August 1945 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 29 August 2018 (aged 73) Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Occupation | "Beatles-ologist" |
| Known for | The biggest Beatles fan in the USSR and Russia |
He first came into contact with Beatles music via bootleg records in 1964. In 1970, Vasin entered into correspondence with John Lennon, and was said to be the only Soviet citizen to do so. Vasin amassed a large collection of Beatles memorabilia and turned his apartment into an impromptu museum. He campaigned for greater recognition of the Beatles and rock musicians in Russia, proposing the renaming of Leningrad as "Lennongrad", public holidays and the construction of a 210-foot (64 m) tall "John Lennon Temple of Peace and Love". Vasin is known as the biggest Beatles fan in the USSR and Russia. He died in a fall from the third story of a Saint Petersburg shopping centre.