Arkady Rotenberg Rotenberg was born in 1951 in Leningrad, where his father, Roman, worked in management at the Red Dawn telephone factory, allowing the family to avoid living in a communal apartment. Rotenberg is of Jewish ancestry. In 1963, when he was age twelve, Rotenberg and Vladimir Putin both joined Anatoly Rakhlin's sambo club. In 1978, Rotenberg graduated from the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health and became a judo trainer. After Putin returned to Russia in 1990, Rotenberg trained with him several times a week. During the 1990s, Rotenberg and his brother, Boris, who had moved to
Abie Rotenberg and Shlomo Carlebach as strong influences. While his folk-inspired sound and inspirational lyrics are strongly reminiscent of Carlebach, Rotenberg's soft and sometimes melancholic voice, however, contrast with Carlebach's ecstatic style. Rotenberg has collaborated with other Jewish musicians including Mordechai ben David, Avraham Fried, Yehuda Schechter, Yaakov Shwekey, Moshe Yess and Shlomo Simcha with whom he co-starred in Israel National Radio's Miracles 18 concert. Rotenberg has also been a main fixture of the annual HASC "A Time for Music" concerts. He has produced a children's audio series called the "Marvelous Midos Machine" composed of 4 volumes, with all original material. Rotenberg