Yegor Letov

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Yegor Letov
Birth name	Igor Fyodorovich Letov
Also known as	Yegor Letov
Born	September 10, 1964 Omsk, USSR
Died	February 19, 2008 (aged 43)
Genre(s)	punk, garage punk, post-punk, psychedelic rock, industrial, experimental music, conceptual art
Occupation(s)	vocalist, musician, poet, songwriter, producer, painter
Instrument(s)	singing, guitar, bass guitar, drums
Years active	1982 - 2008
Label(s)	GrOb-records,Zolotaya Dolina(on LP 1992-1994), BSA, HOR, Misteriya Zvuka, Vyrgorod
Associated acts	Grazhdanskaya Oborona,Kommunizm, Kuzya UO, Yanka Dyagileva
Website	http://www.gr-oborona.ru

Igor Fyodorovich "Yegor" Letov (Russian: Игорь Фёдорович (Егор) Летов; 10 September 1964, Omsk - 19 February 2008, Omsk) was the creator and singer of the Russian punk band Grazhdanskaya Oborona. He also formed the collective collage band "Communism", and played with female punk legend Yanka Dyagileva.

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 helped develop a gritty Soviet punk sound with folk underpinnings. He may have become even more controversial after the fall of the USSR, seemingly turning nostalgic over the "good old days" and has made friends and fans out of nationalists and communists.

In an interview, Letov expressed that his favorite poets are Alexander Vvedensky (1904-1941), one of the OBERIU writers, and Vladimir Mayakovsky. 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.

Since 1997 Letov has been married to the bass guitarist of Grazhdanskaya Oborona Natalya Chumakova; they had no children.

Yegor Letov's heart stopped in sleep on 19 February 2008 at his home in Omsk.^[1] He was 43 years old.