Viktor Tsoi’s Wall opened in Kyiv

On August 15, 1990 the earthly life of Viktor Tsoi ended (the rocker got in an accident on the highway near Riga, he fell asleep at the steering wheel). The first Memorable Wall of Viktor Tsoi appeared on Moscow’s Arbat in 1990, when after the news of the musician’s death an inscription “Viktor Tsoi died today” appeared on a wall of the building No. 37, and later one of Kino fans added “Tsoi is alive!” and wrote quotes from his songs, declaring his love to the musician. Fans of Viktor Tsoi music still have a tradition of leaving a lit cigarette in a special ashtray near the Wall.

Later inscriptions “Tsoi is alive!” appeared on walls in many cities of the former USSR and they still remain there, though 23 years have passed.

Tsoi’s songs remain popular among the young people even today. It is believed that the death of the rock musician even contributed to the popularity of Kino, creating a kind of cult of a tragically deceased hero. The front man of Zoopark Maik Naumenko (he died a year and 12 days after Tsoi) said: “In our country you need to die to finally become popular!”

The organizer of the event in Kyiv is a singer Dasha Suvorova, who stressed that the building on Hrushevskoho Street 4B (entrance from the yard) was not chosen by chance, this building is linked to the struggle of the art community against spontaneous development of our capital. “The Art Platform has been fighting for three years to save this building and make it a center of modern culture,” the activists said.

After the concert the night continued at “Art Picnic of Slava Frolova” (1 Akademika Hlushkova Street) with the screening of the live concert of Kino and the film Igla Remix (directed by Rashid Nugmanov), where the lead role of Moro, who works as a stoker and in his spare time secretly gives concerts as a singer and rock musician was played by Viktor Tsoi.