Kuzma (Kozma) Minin (Russian: Кузьма (Козьма) Минин; full name Kuzma Minich Zakhariev-Sukhoruky, Russian: Кузьма Минич Захарьев Сухорукий;; ? – 1616) was a Russian merchant from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, who, together with Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, became a national hero for his role in defending the country against the Polish invasion in the early-17th century.

A native of Balakhna, Minin was a prosperous butcher (meat trader) in the city of Nizhny Novgorod. When the popular patriotic movement to organize volunteer corps in his home city was formed, the merchants chose Minin, a trusted and respected member of the guild, to oversee the handling of the public funds donated by them to raise and equip the Second Volunteer Army (Второе народное ополчение).

The army led by prince Dmitry Pozharsky was credited with clearing the Moscow Kremlin of Polish-Lithuanian forces on November 1, 1612. Minin distinguished himself as a skilled commander and was made a nobleman and member of the Boyar Duma under the newly elected Tsar Michael Romanov. He died in 1616 and was interred in the Archangel Cathedral of Nizhny Novgorod. A central square of that city is named after him and Prince Pozharsky.

Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky (Russian: Дмитрий Михайлович Пожарский) (October 17, 1577 - April 30, 1642) was a Rurikid prince, who led Russia's struggle for independence against Polish-Lithuanian invasion known as the Time of Troubles. He obtained from Mikhail I of Russia the unprecedented title Saviour of the Motherland.

Pozharsky was descended from a dynasty of sovereign princes which ruled the town of Starodub-on-the-Klyazma near Suzdal. At one point in the 15th century their family patrimony burned to the ground, in consequence of which event they assumed the name of Pozharsky (from pozhar, the Russian word for conflagration). It is interesting to note that Dmitry's mother came from the Beklemishev family, just like the mother of Mikhail Kutuzov, who would be credited with saving Russia precisely two centuries after him.

The family was never particularly prominent, and Pozharsky's early career was not documented until he took part in the Zemsky sobor which elected Boris Godunov to the throne in 1598. Four years later, he was attested as a stolnik. When the Time of Troubles broke out upon Godunov's death, he was present at the defense of Kolomna (1608) and helped Vasily IV during the Siege of Moscow in 1609. Later that year, he routed the Bolotnikov Cossacks at the Pekhorka River. In 1610, Pozharsky was in command at the defense of Zaraysk against the forces of False Dmitry II.

Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (Russian: Реги́нa Ильи́нична Спе́ктор, IPA: [rʲɪˈɡʲinə ˈspʲɛktər], English: /rɨˈdʒiːnə ˈspɛktər/; born February 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.

Spektor was born in Moscow, Soviet Union in 1980 to a musical Russian Jewish family. Her father, Ilya Spektor, is a photographer and amateur violinist. Her mother, Bella Spektor, was a music professor in a Soviet college of music and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York. She has a brother Barry (Bear), who was featured in track 7, "* * *", or "Whisper", of her 2004 album, Soviet Kitsch.

She learned how to play piano by practising on a Petrof upright that was given to her mother by her grandfather. She was also exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father, who obtained such recordings in Eastern Europe and traded cassettes with friends in the Soviet Union. The family left the Soviet Union in 1989, when Regina was nine and a half, during the period of Perestroika, when Soviet citizens were permitted to emigrate. Regina had to leave her piano behind. The seriousness of her piano studies led her parents to consider not leaving the USSR, but they finally decided to emigrate, due to the ethnic and political discrimination that Jews faced. Spektor is fluent in Russian and reads Hebrew, and has since paid tribute to her Russian heritage, quoting the poem February by the Russian poet Boris Pasternak in her song Après Moi, and stating “I’m very connected to the language and the culture.”

Lenna Kuurmaa (born 26 September 1985 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian singer-songwriter and actress. She is a member of the girl group Vanilla Ninja, but after the band's hiatus since 2009, has started work as a solo-artist. She released her debut album Lenna in June 2010.

From 1990 to 2002, Lenna Kuurmaa was a member of the ETV Lasteekraani Muusikastuudio and performed together with the choir in many festivals internationally (in Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Israel, the United Kingdom, Spain, USA and Russia). She studied violin in Tallinn Music School from 2000 to 2006 under teacher Urvo Uibokand. She received vocal training from Ester Lepa and Ludmilla Issakova 1997–2002. In 2002 she took part of televised singing contest Fizz Superstar, where she made it to the quarter-finals. In the same year Kuurmaa, together with 3 other girls, formed the rock band Vanilla Ninja. After Vanilla Ninja's hiatus in 2009, Lenna Kuurmaa started working as a solo-musician with the artist-name Lenna. In June 2010, she released her debut album Lenna under Mortimer Snerd. All of the songs were written together with and produced by Vaiko Eplik, who is also the owner of the record label. Her band also performed at the 2010 Shanghai EXPO.

Sven Lõhmus (born 13 July 1972) is an Estonian pop-composer, producer and lyricist.

Established producer from Estonia. He has worked with leading artists of the Baltic States, including Vanilla Ninja (of which he was also manager), the Suntribe, the Urban Symphony and Getter Jaani. 3 times, in 2003, 2004, 2010, he won the award for "best author" to the "Eesti Popmuusika Aastaauhinnad". He was also singing in two bands: the Mr. Happyman and Black Velvet.