Slavic

TSA (short for Tajne Stowarzyszenie Abstynentów, or “secret society of abstainers”) is a Polish rock band regarded as precursors of heavy metal in Poland. The band was founded by guitarist Andrzej Nowak and bassist Tomasz “Whatfora” Zatwarnicki. While the band was founded in 1979, it has only been active during distinct periods since—1979 to 1989, […]

Sogdiana (real name Oksana Nechitaylo, Оксана Нечитайло) is a Russian-Uzbek pop singer. She sings in Uzbek, Russian, and Chechen, though most often in Uzbek. Sogdiana’s family is Chechen, but she grew up in Uzbekistan—she was born in 1984 in Tashkent. She studied the piano in school and studied at a conservatory at the same time, […]

25/17 is a Russian alternative rock and hip-hop group that was formed in 2002 in Omsk, a Siberian city. The group initially went by the name Ezekiel 25:17 (Иезекииль 25:17)—the quotation reads “I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath,” otherwise known as Samuel L. Jackson’s most famous line from […]

Fisz (real name Bartosz Waglewski) is a Polish rapper, hip-hop artist, and musician of various other genres. Born in Warsaw, his brother is the hip-hop artist and producer Emade (Piotr Waglewski) and his father, Wojciech Waglewski, is the leader of the alternative band Voo Voo. Fisz started out in band RHX, along with his brother […]

City 312 (Город 312) is a Kyrgyz Russian-speaking (and -singing) alternative rock band founded in Bishkek in 2001. They’re currently celebrating their 15th anniversary with a concert tour through various countries in the former Soviet Union. The group, founded by Leonid and Dmitry Pritula (Леонид, Дмитрий Притула), chose 312 for its name because it’s the telephone […]

Voo Voo is a Polish rock and jazz band founded in Warsaw in 1986 and still going strong today. Its original members were Wojciech Waglewski (vocals, guitar), Andrzej Nowicki (bass guitar), Wojciech Morawski (drums), and Milo Kurtis (percussion, trumpet). Most of them came from the band Morawski Waglewski Nowicki Hołdys, which existed only from 1984 […]

Hey is one of the more popular and well-regarded Polish rock bands working today. It was founded in 1992 by Piotr Banach, who was the band’s guitarist, but it is best known as the project of Kasia Nosowska, the lead singer, who also writes most of the band’s music. The band was started in Szczecin […]

Brest Fortress (Брестская крепость) is a 2010 Russian and Belorussian historical/war drama film. It is about the defense of the fortress against the Nazis, which was one of the first World War II battles that the Soviet Union took part in. The film is highly accurate to the real-life event, presenting a documentary-like look at […]