Eles (Элес, meaning “dream” in English, and not to be confused with the Kazakh girl band of almost the same name) was a contemporary Kyrgyz band popular in the 1990s and 2000s. They sang in Russian and Kyrgyz. One of the most successful Kyrgyz bands of all time, they are credited with being one of […]

Arsen Zhumabekov (Арсен Жумабеков, though he goes by his first name alone) is a popular contemporary Kyrgyz pop star who sings in Kyrgyz, Russian, and English. His music is a bit different from that of some of the other most famous Kyrgyz singers of today—less dance-y, more melodic, fitting his more serious-sounding voice. From Talas, […]

Мirbek Аtabekov (Мирбек Атабеков) is known as the most famous Kyrgyz singer of today (or perhaps of all time). Limon.kg, a Kyrgyz online newspaper, has called him “our everything,” a title that refers to common way that Russians have of referring to Pushkin. He’s also a songwriter and starred in the 2014 Kyrgyz film Talisman […]

Nurbek Savitakhunov (Нурбек Савитахунов) is a Kyrgyz contemporary pop/rock singer who sings mainly in Russian. Less boy-band-pop-y than, say, fellow Kyrgyz stars Mirbek Atabekov and Omar, he has a smooth, easy-to-listen-to voice that he combines with somewhat harder rock backup. He’s often grouped with indie-folk bands, but he himself considers himself more of an urban […]

Mumiy Troll   is a rock, alt rock, and Britpop band founded in Vladivostok, Russia in 1983. The band’s name is a play on words, specifically on Moomin Troll , which is a series of Finnish children’s books. The band has a unique sound and style that, it seems, most people either really like or really […]

This Russian pop-rock and soft rock duo, formed in 2003, is actually named after American actress Uma Thurman. They typically write their band name with the (mostly) Latin letters as above, but occasionally one sees their name Russified as “УмаТурман” in Russian. Brothers Sergei and Vladimir Kristovski, who comprise the band, site a long-held adoration […]

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 […]

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 […]