Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (russian: Виктор Робертович Цой; ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
singer and songwriter who co-founded
Kino
Kino may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasters
* KINO, a radio station in Arizona, U.S.
* Kino FM (98.0 FM – Moscow), a Russian music radio station
* KinoTV, now Ruutu+ Leffat ja Sarjat, a Finnish TV channel
Fictional entities ...
, one of the most popular and musically influential bands in the history of
Russian music
Music of Russia denotes music produced from Russia and/or by Russians. Russia is a large and culturally diverse country, with many ethnic groups, each with their own locally developed music. Russian music also includes significant contributions ...
.
Born and raised in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
(now known as
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
), Tsoi started writing songs as a teenager. Throughout his career, Tsoi contributed a plethora of musical and artistic works, including ten albums. After Kino appeared and performed in the 1987 Soviet film ''
Assa
Assa may refer to: Places
* Assa (Chalcidice), a town of Chalcidice in ancient Macedonia, Greece
* Assa, Morocco, a town in Southern Morocco in the Jbel Ouarkziz
* Asa River (Kazakhstan), river in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
* Assa (river), river ...
'', the band's popularity surged, triggering a period referred to as "Kinomania", and leading to Tsoi's leading role in the 1988
Kazakh new wave art film
An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...
''
The Needle''. In 1990, after their high-profile concert at the
Luzhniki Stadium
Luzhniki Stadium ( rus, стадион «Лужники», p=stədʲɪˈon lʊʐnʲɪˈkʲi, ''Stadion Luzhniki'') is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. The full name of the stadium is Grand Sports Arena of the ...
, Tsoi briefly relocated to Latvia with bandmate
Yuri Kasparyan
Yuri Dmitriyevich Kasparyan (russian: Ю́рий Дми́триевич Каспаря́н, born 24 June 1963) is a Russian and former Soviet musician best known for his time as the guitarist of the Soviet rock band Kino and as a member of ...
to work on the band's next album. Two months after the concert, Tsoi died in a car collision.
He is regarded as one of the most important pioneers of
rock music in Russia
Rock music became known in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and quickly broke free from its Western roots. According to many music critics, its "golden age" years were the 1980s (especially the era of perestroika), when the Soviet underground roc ...
and is credited with popularizing the genre throughout the Soviet Union. He retains a devoted following throughout the former Soviet Union, where he is known as one of the most influential and popular people in the history of Russian music.
Viktor Tsoi became popular by combining his music and lyrics with philosophy.
Early life
Viktor Robertovich Tsoi was born on 21 June 1962, in a maternity hospital on Kuznetsovskaya Street in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. He was the only child of Valentina Vasilyevna Tsoi (), a Russian schoolteacher, and Robert Maximovich Tsoi, a
Soviet Korean engineer from
Kzyl-Orda
Kyzylorda ( kk, Қызылорда, translit=Qyzylorda, ), formerly known as Kzyl-Orda (russian: Кзыл-Орда), Ak-Mechet (Ак-Мечеть), Perovsk (Перовск), and Fort-Perovsky (Форт-Перовский), is a city in south-cen ...
, Kazakhstan, where his Korean parents had been exiled after Stalin's 1937
deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union
The deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union (; ) was the forced transfer of nearly 172,000 Soviet Koreans (Koryo-saram) from the Russian Far East to unpopulated areas of the Kazakh SSR and the Uzbek SSR in 1937 by the NKVD on the orders of S ...
. The family's Korean ancestry can be traced back to
Songjin
Kimch'aek (), formerly Sŏngjin (Chosŏn'gŭl: 성진, Hancha: 城津), is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It was an open port in 1899. It has a population of 207,699.
Etymology
The city received its current name in 1951 during ...
,
Hamgyong
Hamgyong Province () was one of the Eight Provinces (Korea), Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Hamgyŏng was located in the northeast of Korea. The provincial capital was Hamhung, Hamhŭng.
Names
The province was first establis ...
, Korea (present-day
Kimchaek
Kimch'aek (), formerly Sŏngjin (Chosŏn'gŭl: 성진, Hancha: 城津), is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It was an open port in 1899. It has a population of 207,699.
Etymology
The city received its current name in 1951 durin ...
, North Korea), where Viktor's great-grandfather Choi Yong-nam was born in 1893.
Tsoi grew up in the vicinity of the
Moskovsky Victory Park. The family lived in the notable "general's house" at the corner of
Moskovsky Avenue
Moskovsky Prospekt (russian: Моско́вский проспе́кт, ''Moskovsky Avenue'') is a 10 km-long prospekt in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It runs from Sennaya Square and Sadovaya Street, to Victory Square, where it splits into ...
and Basseynaya Street (the building is now an architectural monument). For some time Tsoi studied at a nearby school in Frunze Street, where his mother worked.
From 1974 until 1977, Tsoi attended a secondary art school, where he was a member of the band Palata No. 6 (russian: Палата № 6, English: "
Ward No. 6"). From 1977, he attended the
Serov Art School, until he was expelled in 1979 for poor performance. Afterwards, he attended SGPTU-61, a
secondary city vocational school, where he studied to become a wood carver. In his youth, he was a fan of
Mikhail Boyarsky
Mikhail Sergeyevich Boyarsky (russian: Михаи́л Серге́евич Боя́рский; born 26 December 1949 in Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian actor and singer. He is best known for playing swashbucklers in historical adventure films; ...
and
Vladimir Vysotsky
Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky ( rus, links=no, Владимир Семёнович Высоцкий, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr sʲɪˈmʲɵnəvʲɪtɕ vɨˈsotskʲɪj; 25 January 1938 – 25 July 1980), was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor ...
, and later
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...
, after whom he started modelling his image. He was fond of martial arts and often sparred "in Chinese" with bandmate
Yuri Kasparyan
Yuri Dmitriyevich Kasparyan (russian: Ю́рий Дми́триевич Каспаря́н, born 24 June 1963) is a Russian and former Soviet musician best known for his time as the guitarist of the Soviet rock band Kino and as a member of ...
.
Career
Tsoi began writing songs at the age of 17. In the 1970s and the 1980s, rock music was an underground movement limited mostly to Leningrad;
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
pop stars, endorsed by the Soviet state, ruled the charts and received the most exposure from the media. However, rock music was not popular with the government, and rock bands received little to no funding and were given little exposure by the media. The
Leningrad Rock Club
The Leningrad Rock Club (russian: Ленинградский рок-клуб) was a historic music venue of the 1980s in Leningrad, situated on Rubinstein Street in the city centre. Opened in 1981 and overseen by the KGB, it became the first lega ...
was one of the few public places where rock bands were allowed to perform.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tsoi was a close friend of Alexei Rybin. Rybin, a member of the hard rock band Piligrimy (russian: Пилигримы, lit=Pilgrims), and Tsoi, who played bass guitar in the group Palata # 6 (russian: Палата № 6, lit=Chamber # 6), met at the house of Andrei "Svin" Panov, in whose apartment people and musicians often gathered, and also where his own punk band
Avtomaticheskie udovletvoriteli
Avtomaticheskie udovletvoriteli (russian: Автоматические удовлетворители, lit=The Automatic Satisfiers, abbreviated AU) was a Soviet, and later Russian, punk band, formed in Leningrad in 1979. It is considered the fi ...
rehearsed. By this time, Tsoi had begun to perform the songs he wrote at parties.
Tsoi and Rybin, as members of Автоматические удовлетворители (Avtomaticheskie udovletvoriteli), went to Moscow and performed punk-rock metal at
Artemy Troitsky's underground concerts. During a similar performance in Leningrad on the occasion of
Andrei Tropillo
Andrei Vladimirovich Tropillo (russian: links=no, Андрей Владимирович Тропилло; 21 March 1951, Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian record producer, music publisher, sound engineer, founder of the label AnTrop (""), and ro ...
's anniversary, Tsoi and Rybin first met
Boris Grebenshchikov
Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (russian: link=no, Борис Борисович Гребенщиков; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music. He is the fou ...
. Later, after a solo concert by Grebenshchikov, they met up and Tsoi played two of his songs to him. Grebenshchikov, who had already been a relatively established musician in the Leningrad underground scene, was very impressed by Tsoi's talent and helped him start up his own band.
Beginnings of Kino
At the Leningrad Rock Club, Tsoi played as a solo artist supported by members of the band
Aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
. Tsoi's lyrics and music impressed the crowd. In the summer of 1981, Tsoi, Rybin, and Oleg Valinsky formed the band Garin i giperboloydy (russian: Гарин и Гиперболоиды, lit=Garin and the hyperboloids). The name was a homage to the classic Russian novel ''
The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin'' by
Aleksey Tolstoy. In autumn of the same year, the band was admitted to membership of the Leningrad Rock Club. Not long after, Valinsky was
conscripted into the army, leaving only Tsoi and Rybin, who renamed the band to Kino. Kino began recording its debut album in the spring of 1982.
First albums
Kino began recording its debut album, ''
45'', in the spring of 1982 at Andrei Tropillo's studio. Members of Aquarium also took part in the recording, with Boris Grebenshchikov directing the album. By the summer, the album was completely finished. Its duration was 45 minutes, after which the album was named ''45''. The album got some distribution and Kino performed in many apartment concerts in Moscow and Leningrad.
On 19 February 1983, a joint concert with Kino and Aquarium took place. After the concert,
Yuri Kasparyan
Yuri Dmitriyevich Kasparyan (russian: Ю́рий Дми́триевич Каспаря́н, born 24 June 1963) is a Russian and former Soviet musician best known for his time as the guitarist of the Soviet rock band Kino and as a member of ...
was invited to join the band as a guitarist. In the spring, Rybin left Kino due to disagreements with Tsoi. Tsoi and Kasparyan spent the summer on joint rehearsals. As a result, Kino recorded the album ''46'', which was initially thought of as a demo for ''
Nachalnik Kamchatki
Nachalnik Kamchatki () is the third album of the Soviet rock band Kino. The name of the album is a play on the title of the 1967 Soviet film ''Chief of Chukotka'' ().
The album was recorded on a multitrack tape recorder in the AnTrop studio. An ...
'' (russian: Начальник Камчатки, lit=Chief of Kamchatka). ''46'' was widely distributed and was considered to be a full-fledged album. In the fall of 1983, Tsoi went to a psychiatric hospital in Pryazhka, where he spent a month and a half. As a result, Tsoi was not conscripted into the army.
After being discharged from the psychiatric hospital, he wrote the song "Trankvilizator" (russian: Транквилизатор, lit=Tranquilizer).
''
"Peremen!/"My zhdyom peremen" ("Changes!"/"We are waiting for changes")'', first performed by Tsoi in the summer of 1986, quickly became an important political song, an embodiment of the spirit of the
Perestroika
''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
. It remains a powerful political song, prominently used during
2020–2021 Belarusian protests
The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were a series of mass political demonstrations and protests against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. The largest anti-government protests in the history of Belarus, the demonst ...
.
Rise to fame
1987 was a breakthrough year for Kino. The release of
their 6th album ''
Gruppa Krovi
''Gruppa krovi'' (russian: Группа крови, lit=blood type, blood group Russian IPA: /ˈɡrupːə ˈkrovʲɪ/) is the sixth studio album by Soviet rock band Kino, first released in 1988. Released at the height of Perestroika and Glas ...
'' () triggered what was then called "Kinomania". The open political climate under glasnost allowed Tsoi to make ''Gruppa Krovi'', his most political album, yet it also allowed him to record a sound of music that no one before him had been able to play. Most of the tracks on the album were directed at the youth of the Soviet Union, telling them to take control and make changes within the nation; some of the songs addressed the social problems crippling the nation. The sound and lyrics of the album made Tsoi a hero among Soviet youth and Kino the most popular rock band ever. In the diverse Soviet republics, fans translated his originally Russian lyrics into their native languages as well.
Over the next few years, Tsoi appeared in several successful movies and also travelled to the United States to promote his films at film festivals. Several more albums were released, their themes were once again mostly political, further fueling the band's popularity. Even though Tsoi was a huge star, he still lived a relatively ordinary life. He kept his old job in the boiler room of an apartment building, called Kamchatka, which is currently a museum/club dedicated to the singer. The fact that he worked at a boiler plant surprised many people. Tsoi said that he enjoyed the work and he also needed the money to support the band, as they still received no government support and their albums were copied and passed around the nation via ''
magnitizdat
''Magnitizdat'' () was the process of copying and distributing audio tape recordings that were not commercially available in the Soviet Union. It is analogous to ''samizdat'', the method of disseminating written works that could not be officially ...
'' free of charge. This made Tsoi even more popular among the people because it showed that he was down to earth and they could relate to him. He also went on tour in 1988–1989 to Italy, France, and Denmark. Kino's finest hour came in 1990 with a concert at Moscow's
Luzhniki Stadium
Luzhniki Stadium ( rus, стадион «Лужники», p=stədʲɪˈon lʊʐnʲɪˈkʲi, ''Stadion Luzhniki'') is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. The full name of the stadium is Grand Sports Arena of the ...
; 62,000 fans filled the stands to celebrate the triumph of the USSR's most successful rock group. It also was one of the four times the Luzhniki Olympic Fire was ever lit.
Film appearances
In 1987, the band Kino, along with other
Russian rock
Rock music became known in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and quickly broke free from its Western roots. According to many music critics, its "golden age" years were the 1980s (especially the era of perestroika), when the Soviet underground roc ...
bands, appeared as themselves in ''
Assa
Assa may refer to: Places
* Assa (Chalcidice), a town of Chalcidice in ancient Macedonia, Greece
* Assa, Morocco, a town in Southern Morocco in the Jbel Ouarkziz
* Asa River (Kazakhstan), river in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
* Assa (river), river ...
'' (), a film by
Sergei Solovyov. However, the film as a whole has nothing to do with rock music, and Kino simply appears as a cameo in the end.
In 1988, Viktor Tsoi starred as the protagonist in ''
The Needle'' (russian: Игла, translit=Igla), directed by
Rashid Nugmanov
Rashid Nugmanov (also written Rachid Nougmanov; russian: Рашид Мусаевич Нугманов; born March 19, 1954, in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan) is a Kazakhs, Kazakh film director, dissent, dissident, political activistDruker, Jeremy, (2003-11- ...
and written by Aleksandr Baranov and Bakhyt Kilibayev. The plot is centered around the character Moro, who returns to
Almaty
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
, Kazakhstan, to collect money owed to him. While waiting out an unexpected delay, he visits his former girlfriend Dina and discovers she has become a morphine addict. He decides to help her quit and fight the local drug mafia responsible for her condition. But Moro finds a deadly opponent in "the doctor," the mafia kingpin who is exploiting Dina. Tsoi was nominated for an award for his role in the film.
The film's soundtrack, including original music by Tsoi's band Kino, contributes to the overall feeling of the movie, in addition to the film's use of post-modern twists and surreal scenes.
The movie was officially released in February 1989 in the Soviet Union.
Death
On 15 August 1990, in Latvia, Tsoi was driving on the
Sloka –
Talsi
Talsi (; liv, Tālsa, german: Talsen) (population 11,371) is a town in Latvia. It is the administrative centre of Talsi Municipality. It is nicknamed the "green pearl of Courland".
Etymology
It is believed that the name is derived from an old L ...
highway, near
Tukums
Tukums (; german: Tuckum; liv, Tukāmō) is a town in the Zemgale region of Latvia.
History
The historical center of Tukums developed between trade routes leading from the mouth of the Daugava River to Prussia. The oldest part is today's Ta ...
and
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
. At 12:28 p.m., Tsoi died in a car collision. The investigation concluded that Tsoi had
fallen asleep while driving, possibly due to
fatigue
Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...
;
[Схема аварии на сайте РИА Новости](_blank)
RIA Novosti. 15 August 2007: "В 12 час. 28 мин на 35 км трассы из-за поворота со скоростью 60–70 километров в час выехал автобус Икарус, который Цой не заметил." he had not consumed alcohol for at least 48 hours before his death. At the time he fell asleep Tsoi was driving at a speed of at least 130 km/h, causing his dark blue
Moskvitch-2141 to turn into the oncoming lane and collide with an
Ikarus 250
The Ikarus 250 is a high-floor bus used as a coach for long-distance service. It was made from 1968–1989, alongside the smaller Ikarus 256, by the Hungarian bus manufacturer Ikarus.
Technical description
Designed as a high-floor two-axle ...
bus. Tsoi was pronounced dead at the scene. The bus driver was not injured. Tsoi's car was completely destroyed to the point that one of its tires was never found.
The death of Viktor Tsoi was a shock to many fans, some even having committed suicide. On 17 August, ''
Komsomolskaya Pravda
''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (russian: link=no, Комсомольская правда; lit. "Komsomol Truth") is a daily Russian tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper, founded on 13 March 1925.
History and profile
During the Soviet era, ...
'', one of the main Soviet newspapers, had the following to say about Tsoi and his meaning to the youth of the nation:
On 19 August, he was buried in a closed casket at the
Bogoslovskoe Cemetery
Bogoslovskoe Cemetery (russian: Богословское кладбище) is a cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is located in the Kalininsky District of the city between and .
The name comes from the church of John the Apostle, (russi ...
in Leningrad. Thousands of people came to the funeral.
Kasparyan left for Leningrad prior to the collision, with a tape containing the only recording of Tsoi's vocals for the band's next album. The remaining members of Kino finished and released the ''
Black Album'' in December. It later became the band's most popular creation.
Personal life
Viktor lived with his wife, Marianna Tsoi, and his son Alexander (born 1985). Tsoi lived a poor life, with Marianna saying that they could not even afford a proper wedding dress. The apartment building boiler room he worked at was nicknamed "Kamchatka", and is now the site of a museum and rock club dedicated to Tsoi. He previously also worked in Kyiv, Ukraine, however after the authorities found out he was working illegally, he was sent to Moscow.
During the filming of ''
Assa
Assa may refer to: Places
* Assa (Chalcidice), a town of Chalcidice in ancient Macedonia, Greece
* Assa, Morocco, a town in Southern Morocco in the Jbel Ouarkziz
* Asa River (Kazakhstan), river in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
* Assa (river), river ...
'', Tsoi met Natalia Razlogova, the director's assistant. Tsoi later fell in love with Razlogova and separated from Marianna. However, they did not divorce, for the sake of their son.
Legacy
Portraits of Viktor Tsoi are displayed today in many places around Russia, from graffiti on the fences of
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to an entire wall dedicated to Viktor Tsoi in a bylane of the famous
Arbat Street
Arbat Street (Russian ), mainly referred to in English as the Arbat, is a pedestrian street about one kilometer long in the historical centre of Moscow, Russia. The Arbat has existed since at least the 15th century, which makes it one of the o ...
in Moscow, where fans still gather to remember their hero. Other Tsoi Walls can also be found in
Minsk, Belarus
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
and in some regions of Kazakhstan. In 2000 some of the nation's top rock bands came together and released their interpretations of Kino's best songs as a tribute to Viktor Tsoi on what would have been his 38th birthday.
In 2012, on what would have been Tsoi's 50th birthday, the remaining members of Kino gathered to record the song "Ataman" (), with his vocals that were recovered from his car crash but never used because of its poor quality. The drummer
Georgiy Guryanov died shortly after, making "Ataman" the last song recorded by Kino and its members.
On 15 August 2020, the 30th anniversary of Tsoi's death was marked. In memory of Tsoi, the
Palace Bridge
Palace Bridge (, ''Dvortsoviy Most''), a road- and foot-traffic bascule bridge, spans the Neva River in Saint Petersburg between Palace Square and Vasilievsky Island. Like every other Neva bridge (except for Big Obukhovsky Bridge), it is drawn ...
in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
was lifted to his songs. Fans across the country commemorated his death, especially in his home city of
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
where a number of events and concerts were organised, as well as at the
Tsoi Wall in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. The day before, a 4-meter-tall monument dedicated to Tsoi was erected in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in his memory.
The South Korean rock band
YB covered the song "Gruppa krovi" (; ) on their 1999 album ''Korean Rock Remade'' ().
Viktor An
Viktor An (russian: Виктор Ан; born Ahn Hyun-soo ( ko, 안현수) on November 23, 1985),. is a South Korean-born Russian Short track speed skating, short-track speed skating coach and retired short-track speed skater. With a total of e ...
, a South Korean-born Russian
short track speed skater
Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as a ...
, chose his Russian name "Viktor" in honour of Tsoi.
Popular culture
*
Joanna Stingray
Joanna Stingray (russian: Джоанна Стингрей Dzhoanna Stingrey, , born Joanna Fields, 1960) is an American singer, actress, music producer and socialite. She was a key figure in popularizing Soviet and Russian rock music and cultur ...
commemorated him in her song, "Tsoi Song".
* On 21 June 2012,
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
commemorated Tsoi's 50th birthday with a
Google Doodle
A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...
reminiscent of the
Tsoi Wall.
* In 2015, Tsoi's song "
Kukushka" () was covered by Russian singer
Polina Gagarina
Polina Sergeyevna Gagarina ( rus, Поли́на Серге́евна Гага́рина, p=pɐˈlʲinə sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈɡarʲɪnə; born 27 March 1987) is a Russian singer and songwriter. She Russia in the Eurovision Song Contes ...
for the movie ''
Battle for Sevastopol
''Battle for Sevastopol'' (russian: Битва за Севастополь, lit=Battle for Sevastopol; uk, Незламна, lit=Indestructible) is a 2015 Biographical film, biographical war film about Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a young Soviet Union, ...
''.
* In the 2018 film ''
Leto
In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Leto (; grc-gre, Λητώ , ''Lētṓ'', or , ''Lātṓ'' in Ancient Greek dialects#Provenance, Doric Greek) is a goddess and the mother of Apollo, the god of music, and Artemis ...
'', Tsoi was played by Teo Yoo.
* In 2018, a monument to Tsoi was erected in
Almaty
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
, Kazakhstan.
* In the 2019 videogame, ''
Metro Exodus
''Metro Exodus'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by 4A Games and published by Deep Silver. It is the third installment in the ''Metro'' video game trilogy based on Dmitry Glukhovsky's novels, following the events of ''Metro 203 ...
'', multiple songs by Kino such as “We Want Changes”, “Watch Yourself”, “A Song Without Words” and “Shut The Door Behind Me", can be heard on the radio during segments set on a train as it travels across Russia, its crew in search of a hospitable place to live after a nuclear war. “Shut The Door Behind Me” can also be heard in the beginning of the level 'Taiga' as the player and a crew member scout out a valley.
* In the 2020 videogame, ''
Cyberpunk 2077
''Cyberpunk 2077'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. Set in Night City, an open world set in the ''Cyberpunk'' universe, players assume the role of a customisable mercenary know ...
'', graffiti reading "цой жив" (Tsoi is alive) can be found in various locations.
Family
* Maxim Maximovich Tsoi (Korean name: Choi Seung Jun,
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 최승준) — Viktor's grandfather on his father's side; a Korean from Kazakhstan.
* Robert Maximovich Tsoi (born 5 May 1938,
Korean name
A Korean name (Hangul: ; Hanja: ) consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both South Korea and North Korea. In the Korean language, ''ireum'' or ''seongmyeong'' usually refers to the family name (''seon ...
: Choi Dong Yeol, Hangul: 최동열) — Viktor's father; an engineer.
* Valentina Vasiliyevna Tsoi (née Guseva) (8 January 1937 – 28 November 2009) — Viktor's mother; a physical education teacher.
* Marianna Igorevna Tsoi (born Kovalyova, Rodovanskaya after her first marriage) (5 March 1959 – 27 June 2005) — Viktor's wife; Viktor and Marianna met in 1982, married in 1984, and separated in 1987, after which Viktor moved in with his new girlfriend Natalia Razlogova.
Marianna became the owner of the rights to Viktor's songs after his death. She survived him by 15 years, dying of cancer in 2005.
* Alexander Viktorovich Tsoi (performed as Molchanov) (born 5 August,
1985) — Viktor's son; a graphic designer and musician. In June 2012, on his first ever interview, he said that he owns a club in St. Petersburg, writes and performs music, and works as a graphic designer, creating album covers for other musicians.
He was a guitarist in the band Para bellvm.
* Natalia Emilyevna Razlogova (born 20 October 1956) — Viktor's girlfriend; a film critic, translator, and sister of the famous film critic
Kirill Razlogov
Kirill Emilevich Razlogov (russian: Кири́лл Эми́льевич Разло́гов; 6 May 1946 – 26 September 2021) was a Russian film critic and cultural anthropologist. He was the President of the Russian Guild of Film Critics from M ...
. After Tsoi's death, she married journalist
Yevgeny Dodolev and left for the US, where she and Dodolev had two children.
References
Cited sources
*
Further reading
* "Виктор Цой, Звезда по Имени Солнце: Стихи, Песни, Воспоминания", Eksmo, 2001.
*
External links
*
*
Viktor Tsoi's 50th BirthdayGoogle Doodle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsoi, Viktor
1962 births
1990 deaths
Koryo-saram
Musicians from Saint Petersburg
Singers from Saint Petersburg
Russian singer-songwriters
Soviet male film actors
Russian male film actors
Road incident deaths in Latvia
Road incident deaths in the Soviet Union
Russian people of Korean descent
Russian rock singers
Russian punk rock musicians
Kino
Kino may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasters
* KINO, a radio station in Arizona, U.S.
* Kino FM (98.0 FM – Moscow), a Russian music radio station
* KinoTV, now Ruutu+ Leffat ja Sarjat, a Finnish TV channel
Fictional entities ...
Soviet male singers
20th-century Russian male singers
20th-century Russian singers
New wave musicians
Russian male singer-songwriters
Post-punk musicians
Soviet people of Korean descent
Burials at Bogoslovskoe Cemetery