Pyotr Konstantinovich Leshchenko, a singer in the Russian Empire, and later Romania, is universally considered "the King of Russian Tango" and specifically known for his rendition of "Serdtse"—a tango, sung unusually not in Spanish but in Russian.

Leonid Osipovich Utesov, also spelled Utyosov or Utiosov, born Lazar (Leyzer) Iosifovich Vaysbeyn or Weissbein, was a famous Soviet estrada singer, and comic actor, who became the first pop singer to be awarded the prestigious title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1965.