Lumen is a Russian rock, alt rock, and punk band formed on February 12, 1998 in Ufa, Russia. Lumen means “light” in Latin. The band consistently uses the English “Lumen” although occasionally some media use the Russified “Люмен.” Current members include Rustem Bulatov (Рустем «Тэм» Булатов), Igor Mamaev (Игорь «Гарик» Мамаев), Yevgeni Trishin (Евгений «Шмель» […]

Alla Pugachova (Алла Пугачёва) is a classic Russian pop artist, actress and competition judge, and was arguably the most successful Soviet performer from the 1970s until the Soviet collapse. Pugachova was born April 15, 1949 in Moscow, Russia. At the age of 5, her parents enrolled her in music school. By the time she had […]

Irina Krug (Ирина Круг) is a Russian singer, and the widow of Russian shanson singer-songwriter Mikhail Krug (Михаил Круг). Born in Chelyabinsk, Krug was interested in music and theater from a young age, but it took a while for her musical and theatrical career to kick off—she worked as a waitress initially. She met Mikhail […]

Mikhail Krug (Михаил Круг; his real last name is Borobyov, Боробьёв) was a Russian singer-songwriter and musician, one of the most famous and highly regarded in the genre of shanson, or “criminal music” (referring usually to the subject matter). He was also a bard. He died in 2002, at the age of 40. Krug grew […]

Aleksandr Dolskiy (Александр Дольский) is a Russian bard, along the lines of Vladimir Vysotsky, Bulat Okudzhava, and others. He is a guitar player and actor in addition to a singer-songwriter. His songs have less of a folk style than do those of some bards—his musical education was extensive, and his songs display a high degree […]

Mashina Vremeni (Машина времени) was one of the Soviet Union’s pioneering rock bands. Formed in Moscow in 1969, Mashina Vremeni has worked across various genres over the years, and continues to make music today. Their name translates to “Time Machine.” Mashina Vremeni’s eclectic sound, which has ranged from classic rock, to blues, to Beatles-style pop, […]

Evgenii Margulis (Евгений Шулимович Маргулис) is a prolific Russian rock musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and one of Russia’s most famous blues composers.  He is known as a founding member of one of Russia’s most important classic rock bands, Time Machine (Машина времени), as well as a founder and on-again-off-again participant in Voskresenie (Воскресение), also a […]

Crematorium (Крематорий) is a popular rock band in Russia. Headed by vocalist and songwriter Armen Grigoryan (Армен Григорян), who founded the band in Moscow in 1983, its sound ranges from blues to psychedelic to classic rock and Grigoryan’s lyrics often deal with the fantastic, such as the possibility of life after death. In the beginning, […]

Lolita Milyavskaya (Лолита Милявская) is a Russian-Ukrainian pop singer and TV host. She often goes by her first name alone. Lolita was born in Mukachevo, Ukraine. Her mother was a singer, and her father was her producer and concert director as well as an orchestra conductor. Lolita began singing informally when she was 10 but […]