Grazhdanskaya Oborona, Russian for Civil Defense, or ГО, often referred to as ГрОб, Russian for coffin) were a Soviet-Russian rock band formed by Yegor Letov and Konstantin Ryabinov in Omsk, USSR, in 1984. They were one of the earliest Soviet and Russian psychedelic/punk rock bands. They influenced many Soviet and, subsequently, Russian bands. From the early 1990s, the band's music began to evolve in the direction of psychedelic rock and shoegaze, and band leader Yegor Letov's lyrics became more metaphysical than political.
Yegor Letov live on stage during his solo concert at "Luise Cultfactory" in Nürnberg (Nuremberg), Germany (4 November 2000)
Russian rock music originated in the Soviet Union in the 1960s based on the influence of Western rock music and bard songs, and was developed by both amateur bands and official VIA.
Nashestvie, one of the largest Russian rock festivals that attracts up to 200,000 fans annually
The "forefathers" of 70's Russian rock: Andrey Makarevich founded "Mashina Vremeni" in 1969...
...and Boris Grebenshchikov founded "Aquarium" in 1972
Post-punk band Kino was one of the most popular in the 1980s Soviet Union.