Victor Karpovich Merzhanov (Russian: Ви́ктор Ка́рпович Мержа́нов) (August 15, 1919 – December 20, 2012) was a Russian pianist. Merzhanov was born in Tambov and studied at Tambov Musical College with Solomon Starikov and Alexander Poltoratsky. Between 1936-1941 he studied at the Moscow Conservatory in the classes of Samuil Feinberg (piano) and Alexander Goedicke (organ), graduating with distinction.   He achieved international recognition as a pianist in 1945 when he won the first prize (shared with Sviatoslav Richter) at the Third All-Soviet-Union Piano Competition. In 1949, he was placed tenth at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Merzhanov became a Moscow Philharmony soloist in 1946.   Merzhanov was a Professor at the Moscow Conservatory from 1947 until his death. Among his students are prize-winners of international competitions: Vladimir Bunin, Oleg Volkov, Igor Girfanov, Yuri Didenko, Mikhail Olenev, Hideyo Harada, Nazz...