Egorka Letov

Yegor Letov is the leader of the Soviet punk band "Civil Defense." He is 23 years old, tall and thin. He has dark, long hair (a typical punk hairstyle), which he sometimes pulled back into a ponytail. Letov was very thin, gaunt, and appeared fragile. The effects of a harsh stay in a psychiatric hospital in 1985–1986 were evident. He dressed in whatever he could find in Soviet stores or from black marketeers. His signature style in 1987 was worn-out Soviet jackets worn over wrinkled shirts, simple plaid shirts (often missing buttons), torn or frayed trousers, and old sneakers. He might wear homemade bracelets or beads around his neck, which he collected at hippie hangouts. Yegor lived in a state of constant war with the system. After his forced treatment in a psychiatric hospital, he completely lost his fear of the KGB and the police. He was a totalitarian, insufferable despot of the arts. Letov himself admitted that he literally "grabbed people by the scruff of their necks spiritually" and demanded 100% commitment from them. He was a maniac obsessed with his work. Recording five albums in a month alone, playing all the instruments himself, singing the parts, and mixing on broken equipment, was a testament to his wild, manic energy in 1987. Letov was terrified (and not without reason) of KGB wiretapping. When recording albums at home, he cranked up the volume on his headphones to maximum, used pillows instead of speakers, or recorded instruments at minimal volume to avoid attracting the attention of his neighbors. Even in conditions of total shortages and poverty, he managed to barter, buy, and collect books, records, and magazine clippings. He read books voraciously. He often swore, and, like ordinary men, drank and smoked. He spoke assertively, with a slightly muffled, yet very confident and hypnotic tone. In arguments he easily turned into furious, uncompromising shouting, defending his point.