Viktor Tsoi, the lead singer of the legendary Russian rock band Kino, broke the hearts of his fans across the world when he died in a tragic car crash at age 28. A symbol of rebellion, Tsoi transformed rock music from an underground movement to a mainstream phenomenon in Russia.
Russian rock-musician Zemfira has made her mark as a singer in Russia and other former Soviet republics with studio-albums like Zemfira and Forgive Me My Love, and hit singles like You Want? Forgive Me My Love became the best-selling album of Zemfira with over 1,500,000 copies sold, while overall till date Zemfira has sold over 3 million records.
Legendary Russian rock musician and lead singer of the band Zvuki Mu, Pyotr Mamonov was also a fine actor, known for his stellar performances in films such as Dust and The Island. He contracted COVID-19 I 2021 and passed away in a Moscow hospital soon after.
Soviet Russian singer-songwriter and film-actor Igor Talkov is best-known for releasing popular songs like Clean Ponds and Summer Rain. While several of his songs were about love and fate, many also included lyrics containing political message criticising the Soviet regime. He also starred in the films Tsar Ivan the Terrible and Behind the Last Line. He was murdered in 1991.