"Civil Defense", or "Coffin", as "fans" like to call them, was one of the first conceptual groups with a philosophical bent in the USSR.
Their songs were so filled with the themes of death, loneliness, love, as well as social overtones, that "fans" considered them almost philosophical treatises.
The face of the group - Yegor Letov was loved just for his style of performance and the psychedelic mood of the verses. As they say, this music is for the elite, for those who can feel the spirit of anarchy and real punk.
A little about Yegor Letov
The real name of the vocalist of the Civil Defense group is Igor. From early childhood he loved music. He owes his inclination to this type of art to his brother Sergei. The latter traded music records, which, of course, were in short supply.
Sergey bought records of The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and other Western rock artists, and then resold them at a bargain price.
Interestingly, the boys' parents were not connected with music. Father - military and secretary of the district committee of the Communist Party. He did not even think that his sons would devote themselves entirely to music.
It was also the older brother who gave Igor the first guitar. The guy learned to play on it day and night. When Sergei lived in a boarding school in Novosibirsk, Igor often visited him.
The young musician was struck by the atmosphere of this place - almost pure anarchy and freedom of thought, which was difficult to find in the Soviet Union.
It was then that, under the impression of the trips, Igor began to write poetry. It turned out he was excellent, because he had the talent of eloquence. Over time, the brothers moved to Moscow, where Igor had the idea to create his own team.
In the work, the guys were completely different - Sergey played for himself, and Igor strove for fame. Therefore, he moved back to his native Omsk, where he created his first team, "Posev".
Creation of the Civil Defense group
The magazine "Posev" (or Possev-Verlag) was the real antagonist of the Soviet Union. It was the name of this publishing house that Letov decided to use as the name for his team.
The original composition of the group looked like this:
• Egor Letov - songwriter and vocalist;
• Andrey Babenko - guitarist;
• Konstantin Ryabinov - bass player.
The band released several albums in the first few years. However, the music was not released to the general public, as it was an experiment with style and sound. The team played something on the verge of noise, psychedelics, punk and rock.
Punk music legend, the British band the Sex Pistols, had a significant influence. By the way, they also became famous precisely for their desire for anarchy and freethinking.
In 1984, Alexander Ivanovsky was not a permanent member of the group, but sometimes took part in the recording of records. He, having left the group, wrote a denunciation of the rest of the participants.
It is easy to understand that the authorities of the Soviet Union did not approve of such creativity. And that's putting it mildly.
Therefore, it was decided to create a new group "ZAPAD", which did not last even a year. At that time, Letov had two faithful companions: Konstantin Ryabinov and Andrey Babenko. It was with them that Yegor formed the Civil Defense group.
New beginning of the Civil Defense group
Initially, the name of the group offended Yegor's father, who was a military man, a little. However, the family decided not to take anything to heart, and they managed to maintain a warm relationship. The father always understood his son and his attitude towards the Soviet regime.
The guys knew that they would not be able to perform live. They were constantly monitored because of anti-Soviet ideas. The situation was aggravated by Ivanovsky's denunciation.
The musicians went the other way - they recorded and distributed records without concert activity. Thus, in 1984, the first work of the Civil Defense group, the album GO, was released.
A little later, the group released "Who is looking for meaning, or the history of Omsk punk" - the continuation of "GO". At the same time, Andrei Vasin joined the group instead of Babenko.
The hype around the scandalous group went beyond their hometown. They became famous throughout Siberia, and later - throughout the Soviet Union.
Power attacks
It was during this period that the KGB kept a close eye on the musicians. Their provocative texts caused a storm of indignation in the authorities.
Coincidence or not, but Ryabinov was suddenly drafted into the army (although he had serious heart problems), and Letov ended up in a psychiatric hospital. Knowing that he would not be able to get out of there as a full-fledged person, Letov wrote, wrote and wrote again.
A significant number of poems came out from the pen of Yegor during this period of his life. Poetry just helped the musician to maintain a full-fledged thinking.
The triumphant return of the Civil Defense group
Letov started recording the next disc alone. Later, Yegor met the brothers Evgeny and Oleg Lishchenko. At that time, they also had a Peak Klaxon team, but the guys could not get past Yegor without extending a helping hand to the latter.
After pressure from the authorities, Letov became virtually an outcast, and only the Lishchenko brothers began to cooperate with Yegor. They provided him with instruments and jointly recorded the disc "Extra Sounds".
Everything turned upside down after the spring performance of the Civil Defense group in Novosibirsk in 1987. Several rock bands were forbidden to perform at the concert, instead of them the organizers called Letov.
To say that it was a resounding success is an understatement. The audience was delighted. And Letov stepped out of the shadows.
The concert was quickly learned in the USSR. And then Yegor quickly recorded a few more records. Having a rebellious nature, the musician invented the names of the musicians who allegedly took part in the recording.
Moreover, in the list of group members, he also indicated Vladimir Meshkov, the KGBist responsible for the arrest of Letov.
Thanks to a triumphant performance in Novosibirsk, Letov gained not only fame, but also true friends. It was there that he met Yanka Diaghileva and Vadim Kuzmin.
The latter helped Yegor avoid a mental hospital (again). The whole company fled the city.
It is logical that in such a situation you need to hide, but the guys managed to give concerts throughout the Union: from Moscow to Siberia. And they didn't forget about new albums either.
Over time, the Civil Defense group became a serious competitor for Nautilus Pompilius, Kino and other Russian rock legends.
Letov was a little frightened by the popularity that fell upon him. He aspired to her, but now he realized that she could harm the authenticity of the team.
"Egor and opi ... nevyshie"
A group with a rather eccentric name was created by Letov in 1990. Under this name, the musicians recorded several albums. However, the group did not repeat the success of the Civil Defense group.
Then a tragic event followed, which, perhaps, irreversibly affected the fate of the group and Letov himself.
In 1991 Yanka Diaghileva disappeared. Soon she was found, but, unfortunately, dead. The body was found in the river, and the tragedy was determined to be a suicide.
Disappointments and new successes of the group
The group's fans were in turmoil when Letov suddenly began to support the Communist Party. Although the musician returned to work with the Civil Defense group, he did not find significant success.
After the release of the album "Long Happy Life", the group celebrated its 20th anniversary. This was followed by speeches not only in Russia, but also in the United States. For a rather original group, this is an unprecedented success.
What is their work about?
The main difference between the music of the Civil Defense group is its simplicity and low sound quality. This was done intentionally to show simplicity and protest.
The motives of creativity varied from love and hate to anarchy and psychedelics. Letov himself adhered to his own philosophy, which he liked to talk about in interviews. According to him, his position in life is self-destruction.
The end of the era of the Civil Defense group
In 2008, Yegor Letov died. His heart stopped on February 19. The death of the leader and ideological mentor led to the disintegration of the group.
From time to time musicians get together to re-record existing material.
