Brest Fortress (Брестская крепость) is a 2010 Russian and Belorussian historical/war drama film. It is about the defense of the fortress against the Nazis, which was one of the first World War II battles that the Soviet Union took part in. The film is highly accurate to the real-life event, presenting a documentary-like look at […]
Ninth Company (9 Рота) is a 2005 Russian war film about the Soviet Union’s war with Afghanistan. The war, between the Soviets—supported by Afghan allies—and Afghan guerrilla-type soldiers, lasted from 1979 to 1989. The film takes place toward the end of this period and is based on a true story, that of the “battle at […]
Mela Koteluk (real name Malwina) is an up-and-coming Polish indie pop singer. Originally from Sulechów, in far western Poland, she has been performing since 2002, though only released her first album in 2012. Before Koteluk started her solo career, she collaborated with some impressive Polish artists—Gaba Kulka, most notably, and also the band Scorpions, for […]
Bi-2 (Би-2) is a Belorussian/Russian alternative rock band that has been in existence on and off since the late 1980s. Its two founders, Lyova Bi-2 (Лёва Би-2; Yegor Bortnik, Егор Бортник) and Shura Bi-2 (Шура Би-2; Aleksandr Uman, Александр Уман), met as teenagers in Bobruisk, Belarus, where they were both involved in the theater of […]
Pilot (Пилот; sometimes also written PilOt or PILOT) is a Russian grunge/punk/metal/rock/folk band from St. Petersburg, Russia. It was founded in 1997 by Ilya “Devil” (Илья “Чёрт”; real name Ilya Knabengof, Илья Кнабенгоф), the band’s singer. The other members were Roman Chuikov (Роман Чуйков; guitar), Stas Markov (Стас Марков; bass), and Vitya Kuzmichev (Витя Кузмичев; […]
AnimatsiYa (АнимациЯ; translates to “animation,” with an emphasis on “I” in the Russian) is a Russian rock group that was formed in 2000 in Chistopol, Tatarstan. They’re considered to be a heavy metal/hard rock band. According to their own definition in their record-label biography, they play something called “clean rock … uniting all the traditions […]
Splean (Сплин; the misspelling of “spleen” in English is intentional) is a well-established post-Soviet Russian rock band. The name was inspired by a poem by Sasha Chyorniy (Саша Чёрный), a Silver Age poet, which referenced the depression-like ailment of spleen. The band was founded in 1994 by Aleksandr Vasilyev (Александр Васильев). Before this, Vasilyev had […]
Rayhon G’aniyeva is an Uzbek pop singer who usually goes by her first name alone. She sings mainly in Uzbek, though occasionally also in Russian. She is considered one of the most influential contemporary Uzbek pop artists. Rayhon was born in 1978 in Tashkent to an artistic family: both her parents, Tamara Shokirova and Otabek […]
Silent Souls (Овсянки; the actual translation is “Buntings,” referring to a type of bird) is a 2010 Russian drama, one of the recent crop of artistic, internationally recognized independent Russian cinema. It is based on the short story of the same name by Denis Osokin (Денис Осокин). Osokin has published quite a lot of poetry […]
Lola Yo’ldosheva (or Лола Юлдашева; and she often uses the Roman transliteration of this name, Lola Yuldasheva, rather than the Uzbek spelling) is an Uzbek pop singer, actress, and songwriter. She usually goes by her stage name, simply Lola. She sings most often in Uzbek, but sometimes in Russian as well. Lola was born in […]
Urmat Usenov (Урмат Усенов) is a Kyrgyz pop singer. These days he sings mainly in Kyrgyz, though he has recorded several songs in Russian and even occasionally sings in Turkish. Usenov grew up in Talas, a Kyrgyz village, but his parents sent him to Bishkek when he was 11 because they believed he had a […]
The Return (Возвращение) is a 2003 Russian drama, one of the most globally famous among recent-ish Russian art films. The film tells the story of two young brothers, Andrey and Ivan, whose father unexpectedly appears in their lives. The brothers have barely even met their father before this—they know him only from a single old […]
