Whose Tsoy?

Whose Tsoy? is an eight-part podcast by Boris Barabanov on the VotVot platform, exploring the songs of Kino as business assets, tools of manipulation, and ideological weapons.

“Everyone loves the dead—convenient and quiet,” raps Slava KPSS in a recent track, noting that a dead man won’t sell out to the regime, star in a bad film, or support the annexation of Crimea. Among his roll call of idealized dead figures is Viktor Tsoy, the undisputed icon of Russian rock—universally revered and rarely questioned. Yet his songs and legacy are repeatedly co-opted to promote everything from consumer goods to political agendas.

How did the question “Whose side would Tsoy be on today?” become so politically loaded that even the most notorious deputies, propagandists, and military figures seek to claim him? How did “Kukushka” become an anthem for Z-patriots? Why are Tsoy's heirs courting support from Putin, and why has Kino, newly reunited, begun re-recording its old albums?

Barabanov’s podcast dives deep into how Tsoy’s legacy is being reshaped—and weaponized—in today’s Russia.