Янка Дягилева

Yana Stanislavovna Dyagileva, better known as Yanka Dyagileva (September 4, 1966 in Novosibirsk, USSR - May 9-11, 1991) was a Soviet poet and singer-songwriter, active in the Siberian underground scene in the 1980s. She often played as a solo artist, but also collaborated with other musicians from the Siberian scene such as Егор Летов and played as a member in bands such as Великие Октябри (The Great Octobers) and Гражданская оборона (Grazhdanskaya Oborona). Yanka quickly gained fame and respect in the Soviet rock underground. Despite this, Yanka never wanted to become famous outside the underground scene and would avoid giving interviews. On May 19 she was burried, her funeral was attended by more than a thousand people. To this day people still visit her burial site. Yanka had studied piano earlier in her life but gave it up, later in her life she became interested in playing guitar which she learned mostly in the club of Zhirkombina. She had started writing poems very early on as well, it is said she read a lot, among her favourite authors were Marina Tsvetaeva, Anna Akhmatova, Nikolay Gumilev, Andrey Platonov. On May 9, 1991, she left her home where her family lived in Novosibirk and went to the woods alone. No one knew her wereabouts, but eight days later, on May 17, her body was found lifeless in the Inya River by a fisherman. The police reports concluded it was an accidental drowning, forensic reports found no evidence of violent injuries. Despite the official report, it is speculated that she took her own life as a result of depression. There is a rumour that her close friends all received a letter on May 10 wishing them good fortune and expressing her love for them. There is also a speculation about her death being a murder by some people Yanka had met days prior, and the inconsistencies with the official reports are explained by the police not properly investigating the case. Discography (partial): 1988 - Не положено! (Not allowed!) 1988 - Деклассированным элементам (Declassified Elements) 1988 - Концерт в Кургане (Live in Kurgan) 1989 - Продано! (Sold!) 1989 - Красногвардейская (Live in Moscow) (named after a Moscow Metro station. Also known as Акустика) 1989 - В Харькове (Live in Kharkov) 1989 - Домой! (Home!) 1989 - Ангедония (Anhedonia) 1990 - Янка и Гражданская Оборона выступают в МЭИ (Yanka and Grazhdanskaya Oborona live at MEI) 1991 - Стыд и срам (Shame and Reproach) (two versions of this album exist. one contains 4 songs played in an acoustic fashion. the other is a compilation and remastering done by Egor Letov with 7 songs, and most of them played with electric guitar.) Some self-made recordings were also produced. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.