Artist. Mikhail Shemyakin was born in Moscow in 1943.  Russian artist.  He was very good friends with Vladimir Vysotsky throughout his last years. In 1971 he was expelled from the Soviet Union and moved to Paris.   Vysotsky often visited Shemyakin there, and Shemyakin transformed his art studio into a recording studio, where Vysotsky made some of his best and most beautiful recordings.  Vysotsky had dedicated many of his songs to his friend "Misha", including "A Song About Russia".

In 1981 Shemyakin moved to New York, USA, where he lives and works today.