Absolute Rascals (Отпетые Мошенники) is a Russian pop boy band that hails from the suburbs of St. Petersburg. According to the group themselves, they are not sure when they were founded—“we think least of all about dates, numbers and sums. We’re more interested in notes, harmonies, lyrics”—but their first major concert took place in December […]
Korni (Корни; “roots”) is a Russian pop boy band. It was founded in 2002 through the TV show Star Factory (Фабрика звёзд) by producer Igor Matvienko, who is also responsible for the bands Fabrika (“factory”) and Ivanushki International. Star Factory debuted on Russia’s Channel One in 2002 and was a huge success. It featured 16 […]
Tanya Teryoshina (Таня Терёшина) is a Russian pop singer and model. She was born in Budapest—her father was a Soviet military official, so the family moved frequently, and she grew up in Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, and finally Smolensk, Russia. She attended an art institute in Smolensk, where she studied painting, but she also participated in […]
Andrei Shirman (Андрей Ширман), also known as “Smash”, is a successful Russian electronic and house DJ. He performs in Russian and English, generally favoring English and occasionally mixing the languages in one song. Shirman was born May 23, 1982 in Perm, Russia.Both of his parents had a love for music. His father was a jazz […]
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, […]
Polina Gagarina (Полина Гагарина) is a Russian singer and Russia’s entry into the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, where she placed second in a difficult, politically charged atmosphere. Gagarina was interested in music from her childhood, often giving loud, heartfelt performances to her parents. The turning point for her was hearing Whitney Houston perform on TV; […]
