 The honorary title was originally modeled after the German honorific title for distinguished opera singers.Historically, the title was bestowed by princes or kings, when it was styled "Hofkammersänger(in)".In Imperial Russia before 1917, several stars of stage and film were honored with the title "Imperial singer", but after the Soviet Revolution of 1917, the new government made changes and established the title of the Meritorious Artist of Russia (RSFSR and other Soviet republics).