ANDREJ IWANOWITSCH SCHOLUCH was born on 29.11.1895 in the district Rechitilovka Poltava/Ukraine as son of wholesaler Ivan Ivanovich and Irina Pelagia Scholuch. After graduating from grammar school Scholuch started a career as an officer and was trained at the military academy in Perm/Ural. Directly thereafter Scholuch was on duty as young second lieutenant at the western front near Lemberg, today's Lviv/Ukraine. During the Revolution he served under General Wrangel and in 1919 was promoted first lieutenant.
The next year he emigrated to Galipoli/Turkey, where his unit deployed again for fighting plundering red seamen. In 1921 he was brought to an internment camp in Alexandria/Egypt.
After his release Scholuch went to Paris, where he at first earned his living in a car production plant. In his spare time he put his heart and soul into the formation of the Ural Kosaken Chor, with which he toured for the first time in 1924, taking him to Spain, France, Portugal, Benelux, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Not surprisingly the choir had its seat in Germany. After the discontinuance in 1972 Scholuch dedicated himself to the Orthodox Church music until his death (9.1.1979, Düsseldorf). It's true that Scholuch never had the commercial success like Serge Jaroff, but he never had to fear an artistic comparison.

MICHAIL GREGORYWITSCH MINSKY was born on 12.8.1918 in Kazan, studied singing at the Kazan Music School, and got a scholarship for studying music at the Moscow State Conservatory, decided, after his imprisonment in Germany, to stay there. In 1949 he got a music scholarship in the VS, sang there with many important opera companies. In the late fifties Minsky became a member of the Schwarzmeer Kosaken Chor. In the early sixties however Serge Jaroff asked him to join the Don Kosaken Chor, with which he travelled around the world until the discontinuance in 1979. During that period numerous recordings of the soloist Minsky have been made. In the eighties Minsky managed to secure a good position as concert soloist, before he in 1986 went on a tour again with the Original Don Kosaken Chor of the meanwhile deceased Serge Jaroff, with the cooperation of Nikolai Gedda. Conductor: Michail Minsky. Almost parallel to this he acted artistic director of the Ural Kosaken Ensemble. His last dream Minsky realized1988 in the Netherlands: as initiator he organised the ceremonies regarding the 1000 year anniversary of the Russian-orthodox Church. A few days later Michail Minsky passed away on 9.10.1988 in Zwolle/the Netherlands.