Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (Russian: Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов; Kabardian: Темыркъан Хьэту и къуэ Юрий; born December 10, 1938) was a Russian conductor of Circassian (Kabardian) origin. Born in 1938 in the North Caucasus city of Nalchik, Temirkanov attended the Leningrad School for Talented Children where he continued his studies in violin and viola.

In 1968, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the then-renamed Leningrad Symphony where he remained until his appointment as Music Director of the Kirov Opera and Ballet in 1976. Temirkanov was the first Soviet artist permitted to perform in the United States after cultural relations were resumed with the Soviet Union at the end of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1988. Temirkanov became artistic director and chief conductor of the St.