Nikolay Vasin

Nikolai Ivanovich "Kolya" Vasin (, 24 August 1945 – 29 August 2018) was a Russian music historian, writer, one of the main popularizers of the Beatles' creative work inside the USSR and Russia, collector who became prominent in the Soviet Union for collecting Beatles memorabilia.

He first came into contact with Beatles music via bootleg records in 1964. In 1970, Vasin entered into correspondence with John Lennon, and was said to be the only Soviet citizen to do so. Vasin amassed a large collection of Beatles memorabilia and turned his apartment into an impromptu museum. He campaigned for greater recognition of the Beatles and rock musicians in Russia, proposing the renaming of Leningrad as "Lennongrad", public holidays and the construction of a tall "John Lennon Temple of Peace and Love". Vasin is known as the biggest Beatles fan in the USSR and Russia. He died in a fall from the third story of a Saint Petersburg shopping centre.

Early life in the Soviet Union Growing up in Leningrad, in the Soviet Union, Vasin first came across the music of the Beatles in 1964 whilst listening to bootleg LP records. The Soviet authorities regarded rock music as subversive and there was no way of purchasing legitimate copies – Vasin obtained the tracks, which had been inscribed onto old X-ray slides, through the black market. Vasin became fascinated by the music and the band and converted his apartment into an impromptu Beatles museum with memorabilia that he collected. In 1970 he wrote to John Lennon to congratulate him on his birthday. Lennon, having seemingly picked Vasin's letter out of a vast pile of fan mail, responded and included a copy of the Plastic Ono Band's Live Peace in Toronto 1969 signed by him and Yoko Ono, and T-shirt also. He is said to have been the Beatles' biggest fan in Russia and to have been the only Soviet citizen to have been able to correspond with Lennon. Vasin held the first membership card of the Leningrad Rock Club. Vasin claimed that the Beatles gave him more joy than having children would have. Sir Paul McCartney found out about Vasin from journalists in 1987 and sent an autograph for him. Their first meeting took place years later, on the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg (2003). McCartney again visited Russia in 2004, by an invitation of Vasin, to celebrate his own birthday and give concerts at the same time.

Life in Russia

Since 1989, Vasin has travelled extensively in the United States and the United Kingdom, communicating with Beatles researchers from around the world. In one of his first trips he met Allan Williams, the first manager of the band, who then began to come to Russia to join Vasin in celebrating the birthdays of Beatles members. For a while Vasin was involved in the popularisation of Elvis Presley's music in Russia, as Presley had been a great influence on his idols.

Vasin campaigned for a museum-cum-shrine (or the "John Lennon Temple of Peace and Love", as he called it) honouring John Lennon to be erected in Saint Petersburg. This tall structure would stand on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and include two large spheres – one in yellow inscribed with "all you need is love" and one in blue with "give peace a chance".

Vasin died on 29 August 2018, five days after his 73rd birthday, "It's impossible to live in a country where nobody supports a Temple of John Lenon".

Filmography YearTitleRole Notes 1990 Vrubay Bitlov! Himself Documentary short 2003 Paul McCartney in Red Square Himself TV special documentary 2009 How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin Himself TV movie documentary2017 Ach, Europa! Himself TV mini-series documentary