8 April 1902
Maria Maksakova was born
She was born in Astrakhan and was the eldest daughter in the family of a public servant who had died before Masha started school. From the age of ten, Maria was singing with a church choir, and earned some money to support the family; later the girl became the leader of the choir alto group, where she worked until 1917. After the revolution, she studied piano and vocal in music school. In 1919, she joined an opera company in Astrakhan, where she met her future husband who became the head of the company.