Putin leads mourners at moving funeral of 'Soviet Sinatra' Iosif Kobzon after his death from cancer aged 80

Russian President Vladimir Putin led mourners at the moving funeral of the “Soviet Sinatra” Iosif Kobzon on Sunday.

The crooner, who was a perennial fixture on Soviet and Russian radio in the early 1960s, died aged 80 after a protracted battle with cancer on Thursday.

President Putin sat with Mr Kobzon's widow Nelli Kobzon, who covered her hair in a black shawl and as the ceremony progressed held hands with the first female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the Daily Mail reports.

Mr Putin was also seen laying a bunch of roses on at the bottom of the casket that was emblazoned with the Russian flag.

Mourners were able to see Mr Kobzon for one last time and say goodbye to the popular singer as the top of the casket was left open for part of the funeral held at the Tchaikovsky concert hall in Moscow, Russia.

 most popular singers of the 20th century.

With his trademark toupee and boxer's build that could easily withstand seven-hour singing marathons, Kobzon was omnipresent on Soviet and Russian radio and television starting in the early 1960s.

His devotion to the Communist party and a repertoire of patriotic songs about the achievements of the Soviet people helped him become one of the most successful performers of the Soviet era. He sold tens of millions of records in the Soviet Union and the Socialist Bloc countries.

Kobzon was born into a poor Jewish family in the eastern Ukrainian town of Chasov Yar in 1937 - in the darkest hour of purges instigated by Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

As part of a children's choir, Kobzon performed in front of Stalin and later graduated from the prestigious Gnesin music school in Moscow. He rose to fame in the early 1960s with Cuba My Love, a song praising the anti-US struggle of Cuban Communists.

By 1973, Kobzon had become a member of the Communist Party and earned a degree at the University of Marxism-Leninism.

In 1989, Kobzon was elected to the first Soviet parliament. In the same year, as an influential member of the Soviet Jewish community, he participated in the talks that restored Soviet-Israeli diplomatic ties, which had been cut after the 1967 Middle East War.

He tried to organise a Russian tour for his long-time idol Frank Sinatra. 

But to Sinatra's demand to be sent a handwritten invitation from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and to hold his show on Moscow's Red Square, Kobzon replied with a four-letter swear word.

From 1997 until his death, Kobzon was a lawmaker in the State Duma, joining the Kremlin-organised United Russia party.

Kobzon advocated for the introduction of strict limits on foreign music in radio and television broadcasts.

Using his political and business connections, he facilitated the release of dozens of captured Russian soldiers and civilians during the wars in Chechnya.

In recent years, Kobzon travelled to his native eastern Ukraine to show his support for the Kremlin-backed rebels, defying protests from the Ukrainian government. 

In one of his last shows, he performed in the rebel capital of Donetsk in October 2014, celebrating the inauguration of the rebel leader.

Kobzon is survived by his third wife Nelly, son Andrey, daughter Natalya and 10 grandchildren.