Oleg Gazmanov awarded with the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"" IV degree, 26 December 2012 Oleg Mikhaylovich Gazmanov (Russian: Олег Михайлович Газманов, born 22 July 1951 in Gusev) is a Russian pop singer, composer and poet, specializing in patriotic songs, as well as songs which cover more conventional pop/rock themes. Gazmanov is leader of pop group "Эскадрон" (Squadron). His songs have been covered by others in the chanson style, such as Mikhail Shufutinsky. He is also a Candidate for Master of Sport of the USSR in gymnastics and is well known for his acrobatics performed during live shows, especially at the beginning of his musical career in the early 1990s. In July 2014 Gazmanov was banned from entering Latvia because of alleged "through words and actions having contributed to the undermining of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity". In August 2016, the Lithuanian government also denied his entry to Lithuania at Vilnius airport. His step son Nadavik Livyatnov got injured by an obsessive fan while trying to cut some of Oleg's hairs.