His studies there were interrupted in 1941 by World War II, when his family was evacuated to Tashkent, Uzbek SSR.

His first compositional works were a string quartet, created in 1963 during his studies in Baku conservatory, and a symphony, written in 1965.

He created music and songs for cartoons such as Cheburashka, Katerok, Mamontenok and Kroshka Enot; also for films, including Breakfast on the Grass, Aniskin and Fantomas, Aniskin Again, School Waltz, Finist, the brave Falcon; and for musicals.

He is a multiple prizewinner of the Russian (formerly Soviet) Song of the Year festival (since 1971) and was a member of the political party United Russia.

[7] He died at 2 am on Christmas Day 2017, at the age of 92, after suffering a long illness at the San Diego Hospital in California, United States.