Sergey Schnurov (Сергей Шнуров), also known as “Schnur”, was the front man of the wildly popular ska-punk outfit Leningrad (Ленинград) until 2008, and the punk band Ruble (Рубль). His nickname is derived from his last name and means “cord” or “wire” in Russian. Schnurov is especially known for his outspoken character and his often-scandalous live […]

Leningrad (Ленинград) is a hugely popular Russian rock band headed by Sergey “Schnur” Shnurov (Сергей Владимирович Шнуров). Leningrad combines elements of ska, punk, and shanson (шансон). The group is especially known for its use of mat (Russian profanity) and songs celebrating alcoholism. The band became rather well-known in the West after several of its songs […]

Korol i Shut (Король и Шут; King and Jester) is an iconic Russian punk band that existed from 1987 until the death of the band’s leader in 2014.  Their sound combined elements of horror-punk, hardcore, folk rock, and also showed a strong influence of rock n roll groups like The Beatles. In 1987, Leningrad classmates […]

Lyapis Trubetskoy (Russ: Ляпис Трубецкой, Belo: Ляпіс Трубяцкі) was a Belorussian band whose sound ranged over their twenty-five year career from punk rock to ska to folk. The band took their name from Il’f and Petrov’s 1927 novel Twelve Chairs (Двенадцать стульев), adopting the pen name of the novel’s main character. Lyapis Trubetskoy started in […]

Tarakany! (Тараканы!) was one of the first Russian punk bands to emerge after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Tarakany!, which translates to “Cockroaches!”, was formerly known as Four Cockroaches (Четыре таракана) until shortening their name in 1997. Tarakany!’s early work is straightforward punk rock in the vein of classic street punk bands […]

Leonid Rudenko (Леонид Анатольевич Руденко) is a Russian DJ, musician, and producer who records electronic music in Russian and English. Rudenko was born in Moscow, Russia and started mixing music at the age of ten. Self-taught, he began his career as a DJ in 1997 by mixing techno, house, trance, and ambient music. His first […]

Gradusy (Градусы; “degrees”) is a Russian pop band from Stavropol, founded in 2008. It consists of Dmitry Bakhtinov (Дмитрий Бахтинов, bass guitar), who organized the group, Roman Pashkov (Роман Пашков, vocals, guitar), Ruslan Tagiev (Руслан Тагиев, vocals, DJ), and Viktor Golovanov (Виктор Голованов, percussion). Their first hit was the 2009 single “Director” (“Режиссёр”), which was […]

Blestyashchie (Блестящие, “the bright ones”) is a Russian all-female  pop group. It was formed in 1995 by the producers Andrey Grozniy (Андрей Грозный) and Andrey Shlykov (Андрей Шлыков), and their original lineup consisted of Olga Orlova (Ольга Орлова), Polina Iodis (Полина Иодис), and Varvara Koroleva (Варвара Королева). Its membership has changed often over the years—seventeen […]

Mitya (Dmitry) Fomin (Митя/Дмитрий Фомин) is a Russian singer, songwriter, and VJ on MUZ-TV from Novosibirsk. Mitya, the name he goes by professionally, is a common shortened version is full name, Dmitry. He knew from an early age that he would one day become a performer. He went to medical school in Novosibirsk first, though, […]