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 […]

5sta Family (it is the same in Russian) is a Russian R&B group. They are known for, and are understandably proud of, operating independently and writing most of their songs themselves. The group was founded in 2005 when Vasiliy Kosinskiy (V-kes; Василий Косинский) and Valeriy Yefremov (CoolB; Валерий Ефремов) met online and decided that they […]

Timati (Тимати) is the stage name of one of Russia’s biggest mainstream hip hop stars, and owner of the popular record label Black Star Inc. Born Timir Il’darovich Iunosov (Тимур Ильдарович Юнусов), Timati is of Tatar and Jewish descent. Timati raps in both Russian and English, and has recently risen to a measure of international […]

T-Killah is the stage name of Aleksandr Ivanovich Tarasov (Александр Иванович Тарасов), a Russian rapper who has gained a substantial following mostly through internet-only releases. The social networking site VKontakte is one of T-Killah’s main platforms, though he has also released two physical albums. Tarasov grew up in Moscow, studied economics, theater, and music, and […]

Noize MC is the stage name of Russian rapper Ivan Aleksandrovich Alekseev (Иван Александрович Алексеев). Aside from his music, Noize MC has become known in recent years as a vocal critic of the Russian authorities and particularly of Russia’s 2014 intervention in Ukraine, which has resulted in many of his shows being cancelled or raided […]

Guf (Гуф) is the stage name of Russian rapper Aleksei Sergeevich Dolmatov (Алексей Сергеевич Долматов) . Guf was a founding member of the seminal hip hop group Centr (Центр), has had an extremely prolific solo career, and founded the labels ZM Nation and Tsao (Цао) Records. Guf entered the rap world in 2000 as part […]

Prime Minister (Премьер Министр) is a Russian pop/rock band founded in 1998 by producer Evgeny Fridlyand (Евгениы Фридлянд) and sound producer Kit Breitburg (Кит Брейтбург). The band is best known for representing Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002. The group originally consisted of Vyacheslav Bodolika (Вячеслав Бодолика), Peter Jason (Питер Джейсон), Zhan Grigoryev-Milimerov […]

Lena Katina (or Yelena; Лена Катина) is a Russian solo pop singer and former member of the legendary Russian duet t.A.T.u. Though she is best known around the world for her participation in t.A.T.u., she is a musician and individual in her own right, beyond the group’s long shadow. Katina grew up in Moscow, where […]