Add InterestIosif Kobzon, an iconic Russian crooner and political figure dubbed "the Soviet Sinatra" for his decades-long career, has died. The Russian State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, said in a statement that Kobzon died Thursday. In the same year, as an influential member of the Soviet Jewish community, he participated in the talks that restored Soviet-Israeli diplomatic ties, which had been cut after the 1967 Mideast War. In the years of perestroika and after the Soviet collapse, fame and connections helped Kobzon launch a career in business and politics. In 2007, Kobzon celebrated his 70th birthday with a seven-hour-long concert at the Kremlin's concert hall and a tour of former Soviet republics.

Source: ABC News August 30, 2018 12:48 UTC