Slavic

Mystery of the Third Planet (Тайна третьей планеты) is a 1981 animated Soviet feature film based on the children’s sci-fi novella Alice’s Travel by Kir Bulychov (Кир Булычёв), from the Alice (Алиса) book series. The year is 2181, and Alice Selzynova (Алиса Селезнёва), along with her father Professor Selznyov (профессор Селезнёв) and their trusty compadre Captain […]

Prisoner of the Caucasus, or Shurik’s New Adventures (Кавказская пленница, или Новые приключения Шурика; sometimes called Kidnapping, Caucasian Style in English) is a 1966 Soviet comedy produced by Mosfilm and directed by the comic genius Leonid Gaidai (Леонид Гайдай). The film was initially censored (apparently for showing the controversial practice of bride kidnapping in the Caucuses), […]

Agnieszka Chylińska is a Polish singer, songwriter, TV personality, and member of the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (Związek Producentów Audio-Video, ZPAV) known for her high-energy live performances. Though her music is largely styled as dance/pop, her abrasive vocals set her apart from contemporary artists. Chylińska was born on May 23, 1976 in Gdansk, […]

Lube (Любэ; also recognized as Ljube or Lyube) is a Russian rock band that formed in the Moscovian suburb Lyubertsy (Люберцы) in 1989. Contrary to the sugary-sweet style saturating pop music at the time, producer and songwriter Igor Matviyenko (Игорь Матвиенко) wanted to incorporate elements of rock, Russian folk music, and Soviet military songs with […]

The Leningrad Rock Club (Ленинградский рок-клуб) was the first legal rock-club in Leningrad, formed in 1981 under Leonid Brezhnev. Located in the city center, the LRC inspired similar clubs across Russia, most notably in Moscow and Sverdlovsk. None, however, rivaled the success of the original, perhaps due to its proximity to Finland and easier access […]

Neuromonakh Feofan (Нейромонах Феофан) is a mysterious and extraordinary product of the Russian club scene. The name “Neuromonakh” is derived from “Neurofunk,” a subgenre of drum and bass, and the Russian word for “monk.” The band sings exclusively in Russian, but mixes contemporary language with obsolete words and Old Church Slavonic to create epic verses […]

Bitva Extrasenov (Битва Экстрасенсов), Battle of the Psychics, is a Russian-language TNT (ТНТ) TV show based on Britain’s Psychic Challenge. Running since 2007, the show reached peak popularity in November 2013 with a season dedicated to the death of Vladislav Listyev (Владислав Листев), a Soviet TV personality and journalist killed by two unknown assailants in […]

The Zolotoi Gramofon (Золотой Граммофон, lit. “Golden Gramophone”) is one of the most important music award ceremonies in Russia. It was established in 1995 by Russkoe Radio, a Moscow radio station that specializes in Russian pop music. The awards were then attached to a the Russian Hill (Русская Горка) radio show, which aired the 12 […]