Kjuregej

Alexandra Kjuregej Argunova, better known by her folk singer name, Kjuregej (born 12 December 1938), is a painter, actress, musician, and stage and costume designer. She is from the Sakha Republic and was born in Siberia, but has lived and worked in Iceland for several decades.

Alexandra Argunova was born in Yakutia; after her father died in World War II, and her mother also died not long after, she and her brother were placed in a boarding school. In 1961–66, she studied theatre in Moscow at GITIS, now the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts, In 2011 she released a CD titled Lævirkinn (The Lark), with thirteen songs recorded in 2009–11 plus three recorded in 1972 by Icelandic National Broadcasting, in which she performed with guitarist Gunnar H. Jónsson. Most she sings in Yakut, some in Russian and some in Icelandic. The recording received a special jury recognition award at the 2012 Icelandic Music Awards. In 2013, she returned to Russia to perform with Icelandic musicians. Works by her are to be found in many public places, such as her sculpture Hjálpaðu mér að fljúga (Help Me to Fly) in the grounds of the Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine Section of the Landspítali hospital in Reykjavík.

Seeking to build closer ties between Sakha and Iceland, Kjuregej opened a Yakut house and culture centre in Iceland in the late 2000s.

Súsana Svavarsdóttir wrote a biography of Kjuregej, published in 2000, titled Hættuleg kona (Dangerous Woman). Her relationship with her husband was the subject of a 2008 documentary by Yuri Salnikov, Магнус и Кюрегей (Magnus and Kjuregej).