Ruslana Stepaniwna Lyschytschko, known professionally as Ruslana, was born on May 24, 1973, in Lwiw, Ukraine. She is a singer and began her musical journey at a young age, performing with the group Orion and later with the children's ensemble Posmischka. Ruslana's career took off in 1996 when she won the Slawiansky Basar, an international singing competition held in Vitebsk, Belarus. Her debut album Myt' Vesny was released in 1998 and included notable songs like "Svitanok". In 1999, Ruslana participated in the film adaptation of the musical Ostanne rizdvo 90-x, which won the Ukrainian Film of the Year award. Her breakthrough came with the release of her album Wild Dances in 2003, which featured the hit single "Wild Dances". The song won the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul, earning 280 points from 35 out of 36 participating countries. This victory brought the contest to Kyiv for its 50th anniversary in 2005. Ruslana's subsequent projects included Wild Energy, a multimedia project that combined music, videos, and literature, and the album Amazonka released in 2008. She continued her musical journey with albums like EY-fori-YA in 2012, showcasing her versatility as an artist.
