Kino

One of Russia's most popular rock bands, Kino came to prominence during the Gorbachev era of glasnost and perestroika, and struck a nerve with many Soviet youths longing for a brighter, freer future. The group's legend was tragically cemented when frontman Victor Tsoi (sometimes Tsoy) was killed in a car crash in 1990, sparking a massive outpouring of grief rivaling that of icons like Kurt Cobain or John Lennon. The group remains an object of cultish adulation, manifested in graffiti, memorials, and tributes by lone guitar players in underground walkways throughout the former U.S.S.R. As a 19-year-old, Tsoi formed the first version of Kino in his hometown of St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) in 1981, along with Alexei Ribin and Oleg Valinsky. In its first incarnation the group was called Garin i Giperboloidy (Garin and the Deathray) but one year later became Kino. The Soviet regime considered rock music a threat to its tenets of collectivism and uniformity, so Kino, like all groups of the time, was forced into the semi-anonymity of underground clubs and gatherings at friends' apartments. These so-called kvartirniks were often referenced by Tsoi in his compositions, as were other details of life under Soviet rule recognizable to listeners. The chance meeting on a St. Petersburg local train (elektrichka) between Tsoi and Akvarium's Boris Grebenshikov led to the recording of Kino's first album. Grebinshivkov overheard Tsoi playing the song "Vse Moi Druzya Idut Marsham" (All My Friends Go Marching By) en route from one of his concerts and introduced the young musician to Andrei Tropillo, director of Lenningrad's first independent recording studio. Akvarium provided the muscle for Kino's 1982 debut, 45. After its release, the trio moved to Moscow and splintered; Ribin left in...