Sergei Prokofiev — composer with roots in the Russian Empire
Sergei Prokofiev was a Russian composer and pianist born in Sontsivka (now Donetsk region, Ukraine) who became one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. Peter and the Wolf, Romeo and Juliet, the Classical Symphony, Lieutenant Kijé, and War and Peace are among his most celebrated works. He returned to the Soviet Union in 1936 and spent his final years under Stalinist repression.
Tracing the roots — Donetsk
Born in Sontsivka (Donetsk region, Russian Empire, now Ukraine) in 1891, Prokofiev studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and spent years abroad before his fateful decision to return to the USSR in 1936. Stalin's aesthetic dictates constrained his late career, and he died on the same day as Stalin in 1953 — his death going almost unnoticed in the national mourning.
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Donetsk. At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.