Yegor Letov

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Igor Fyodorovich "Yegor" Letov (Russian: Игорь Фёдорович (Егор) Летов; 10 September 1964, Omsk) is the creator and singer of the Russian punk band Grazhdanskaya Oborona (Russian: Гражданская Оборона). He also formed the collective collage band "Communism," and played with female punk legend Yanka Dyagileva's band.

Undoubtedly a prolific musician, Letov is a controversial figure. He was controversial in the mid-to-late 1980s when he satirized the Soviet system, and pretty much invented a gritty Soviet punk sound with folk underpinnings. And he may have become even more controversial after the fall of the USSR, seemingly turning nostalgic over the old days and has made friends and fans out of nationalists and communists.

In an interview, Letov expressed that his favorite poet is Alexander Vvedensky (1904-1941), one of the OBERIU writers. He also expressed his interest in Conceptualism, and spoke of his own work in punk music and in creating a public image as a work of conceptual performance art.