Yuri Vasil'evich Shatunov (birth name: Yuri Vasil'evich Shatko) was born September 6, 1973 in Kumertau, Bashkortostan, a Russian republic. He grew up in the village of Savel'evka. After the death of his parents, his aunt, who lived in the village of Tyul'gan, raised him. Eventually, when Yuri was a young boy (around 5 or 6 years old), she put him in an orphanage, Akbulak Children's Home, located in the village of Akbulak. He went to school at Orenburg Boarding School Number 2. Yuri had a tendency to run away from the orphanage, and head back to Tyul'gan.
Eventually, he stopped after meeting Sergej Borisovich Kuznecov, a talented poet and composer. Together they formed the band, Laskovyj Maj. Yuri was one of Laskovyj Maj's many lead singers (The band had about 6 or 7 singers, each with their own songs.). Eventually, the band split, due to fights between singer Andrej Razin, and Sergej Kuznecov.
Yuri went solo, and in 1992, released his album "Znayesh'" under the Laskovyj Maj name. It was the last album he'd do with Sergej Kuznecov for 3 years. Yuri performed at one of Alla Pugacheva's big concerts, proclaiming that she was a diva, and hard to work with. In 1993, Yuri's career was put on hold, due to the death of his best friend, Laskovyj Maj keyboardist, Misha Suhomlinov. Yuri became depressed, and no one thought he'd make a comeback. He proved everyone wrong in 1995, when he released his album "Ty pomnish'?" It was the first time he had worked with Sergej Kuznecov since the album "Znayesh". Yuri continued to do concerts, and in 2001, he released the album "Vspomni Maj", once again working with Kuznecov. "Vspomni Maj" included familiar Laskovyj Maj hits, such as Leto. In 2002, Yuri released the album "Sedaya noch'", it also had updated versions of Laskovyj Maj songs. 2004 was a busy year for Yuri, release-wise. He released an album called "Padayut list'ya" which was all of the songs from the "Sedaya noch'" album, and two remixes. He then released "Yesli hochesh'... ne bojsya". It was a hit album! He continued to do concerts, and performances on TV shows. He married a woman named Svetlana Sokolova, moved to Munich, Germany with her, and in 2006, Yuri became a father. His son, Denis, was born September 5, 2006. 2006 also saw the release of what might just be Yuri's best album ever, "Zapishi moj golos". He still continues to record music, in 2008 he released a song called "Majskij vecher", and as of 2009, he is touring again with Laskovyj Maj.
