Yelizaveta Zarbatova, the oldest member of Buranovskiye Babushki, has sadly passed away at the age of 87.

Back in 2012, Buranovskiye Babushki were selected to represent Russia at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Baku with the song Party for everybody. Shortly after winning the Russia national final, Buranovskiye Babushki revealed that any of the money they raised would be used to build a church in Buranovo. Qualifying from the semi-final in first place, Buranovskiye Babushki eventually ended in 2nd place with a total of 259 points.

Although Yelizaveta Zarbatova did not appear on the Eurovision stage, she played a big part in the production of a number of Buranovskiye Babushki’s songs. Yelizaveta passed away on the 13 January at the age of 87. She was buried in her native village of Buranovo.

The esctoday.com team offers their deepest sympathy and condolences to the family and friends of Yelizaveta Zarbatova.


Jessica was born and raised in the United Kingdom. Eurovision has been a huge part of her life for a number of years, getting to see the contest live for the first time in 2015. Jessica joined the ESCToday team in November 2013.