Valenki (Russian: валенки; sg valenok (Russian: валенок)) are traditional Russian winter footwear, essentially felt boots: the name valenok literally means "made by felting". Valenki are made of wool felt. They are not water-resistant, and are often worn with galoshes to keep water out and protect the soles from wear and tear. Valenki were once the footwear of choice for many Russians, but in the second half of the 20th century they lost most of their appeal in cities, due to their association with rustic dress.

Valenki (synonymic and semantic related expressions which mean the same – vа́lenukhi (pl.), vа́lezhki, vа́leni, vа́lentsi, kа́tanki) – warm felted highboots made from dried sheep’s wool; they are usually hard by their form, but there are soft types which are made for a corresponding footwear.

Valenki are a kind of traditional Russian footwear which is usually worn for walking on dry snow when the weather is frosty. Valenki wear out most quickly from the bottom and very often is soled with leather or other durable material to prevent this, so they are often worn with galoshes. Also, to protect from getting wet – they use a rubber sole, and there are valenki with glue-sew and molded soles. Traditionally, valenki come in brown, black, gray and white, but the last few years, consumers are available to order these boots in a variety of colors (red, blue, purple, green, yellow, orange). Valenki are included in standard of supplying officers and the ranks of the internal military service of the Russian army with warm clothes and gear.

Lidia Andreyevna Ruslanova (sometimes spelt Lidiya or Lydia, Russian: Лидия Андреевна Русланова; 27 October 1900, Saratovskaya gubernia – 21 September 1973, Moscow) was one of the greatest and best-loved performers of Russian folk songs.

She was born in Chernavka near Saratov, into a peasant family, and was christened "Agafia Leykina" (Russian: Агафья Лейкина) By the time she was five, both her parents had died; her father in the Russo-Japanese War and her mother soon after. As a result, she spent most of her childhood in an orphanage. She began singing when she joined the local parish children's choir and soon became a soloist.

Her uncle invited her to work in a furniture factory. One of the factory's owners heard her singing as she worked and recommended that she go to study at the Saratov Conservatory. However, she did not enjoy academic study. During the First World War, she worked on a hospital train and met Vitalii Stepanov during this period, with whom she had a child, born in May 1917. He left her after a year, due to her erratic lifestyle. According to a Saratov source, she married a different man who later died in the Russian Civil War, whom she took her surname from.

James Wesley Voight (born March 21, 1940), better known by his stage name as Chip Taylor, is an American songwriter, who is noted for writing the songs "Angel of the Morning" and "Wild Thing." He is the brother of actor Jon Voight and geologist Barry Voight. He is the uncle of actress Angelina Jolie and actor James Haven.

Taylor attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. After an unsuccessful attempt to become a professional golfer, Taylor entered the music business, writing pop and rock songs, both alone and with other songwriters, including Al Gorgoni (as the duo Just Us), Billy Vera, Ted Daryll, and Jerry Ragovoy.

Taylor's best-known songs are "Wild Thing," which, though originally recorded in 1965 by Jordan Christopher & The Wild Ones, became famous as both a 1966 hit single for The Troggs and a 1967 live performance by Jimi Hendrix, and "Angel of the Morning," a hit for Merrilee Rush in 1968, and then a million-selling single in 1981 for country-pop singer Juice Newton. Other notable pop and country songs written by Taylor include "He Sits at Your Table" (Willie Nelson), "I Can't Let Go" (Evie Sands, Linda Ronstadt), "The Baby" (The Hollies), "Worry" (Johnny Tillotson), "Make Me Belong to You"(Barbara Lewis), "I Can Make It With You" (The Pozo Seco Singers, Jackie DeShannon), "Any Way That You Want Me" (The Troggs, Evie Sands, Juice Newton), "Step Out of Your Mind", "Country Girl City Man" (Billy Vera and Judy Clay), "I'll Hold Out My Hand", "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" (Janis Joplin), "Julie" (Bobby Fuller Four), "Lonely Is As Lonely Does" (The Fleetwoods), "Sweet Dream Woman" (Waylon Jennings), "A Little Bit Later On Down the Line" (Bobby Bare) and "Son of a Rotten Gambler" (Emmylou Harris, the Hollies, Anne Murray).