Early years Kino was formed in 1981 by the members of two earlier groups from
Leningrad (now
Saint Petersburg), Palata No. 6 and Piligrimy. They initially called themselves Garin i giperboloidy () after
Aleksei Tolstoi's novel
The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin. The group consisted of
Viktor Tsoi, guitarist , and drummer . They began rehearsing, but Valinsky was drafted and had to leave the band. In the spring of 1982, they began to perform at the
Leningrad Rock Club and met with the influential underground musician
Boris Grebenshchikov. It was around this time that they changed the band's name to Kino. The name was chosen because it was considered short and "synthetic", and the band members took pride in that it had only two syllables and was easy to pronounce by speakers all over the world. Tsoi and Rybin later said that they had the idea for the name after seeing a bright cinema sign.
45 and the beginning of a career (1982) Kino released their debut album,
45, in 1982. Since the band only consisted of two members, Grebenshchikov suggested that members of his band
Aquarium assist Kino in recording the album. These included cellist
Vsevolod Gakkel, flautist , and bassist . Since they had no drummer at the time, they used a
drum machine. This simple line-up made the album sound lively and bright. Lyrically, it resembled earlier Soviet
bard music for its romanticism of city life and the use of poetic language. The album consisted of thirteen songs and was named
45 in reference to its length. The group's popularity was rather limited at the time, so the album was not considered much of a success. Tsoi later stated that the record had come out crudely and he should have recorded it differently.
In between (late 1982–1984) In late 1982, Kino attempted to record a second album at the studio of the
Maly Drama Theatre, along with drummer (who later joined
Zoopark) and sound designer Andrey Kuskov. However, Tsoi lost interest in the project and they ceased recording. In the winter of 1983, they played several shows in Leningrad and
Moscow and were sometimes accompanied by
Aquarium drummer . Rybin was replaced by rehearsal bassist Maksim Kolosov and later, guitarist
Yuri Kasparyan. According to Grebenshchikov, Kasparyan was a poor guitar player initially, but he quickly progressed and eventually became the second most important member of Kino. With Kolosov and Kasparyan, Kino performed their second concert at the Leningrad Rock Club. The band's responsibilities were split evenly between Tsoi and Rybin. Tsoi was in charge of the creative component, writing music and lyrics, while Rybin did all the administrative work, such as organizing concerts, rehearsals and recording sessions. In March 1983, a serious conflict broke out between them, the culmination of multiple differences between the two musicians. Tsoi was particularly annoyed that Rybin performed his songs, and not his own writing, while Rybin did not like Tsoi's unconditional leadership of the group. Eventually, the two stopped talking, and Rybin left the band. The only audio document from this period was a bootleg called
46, which consisted of demos of new songs by Tsoi. These songs continued with the romanticism of
45, but also had darker undertones. Tsoi dismissed the recording as "only a rehearsal tape," but many fans viewed it as Kino's second record. Nonetheless, it has never been recognized as a legitimate album by the band. After the album was finished, Tsoi formed the electric section of Kino, which included Kasparyan on lead guitar, Titov on bass guitar, and
Georgy Guryanov on percussion, and in May 1984, they began to actively rehearse a new concert program. Kino then performed at II Festival at the Leningrad Rock Club, where they were highly acclaimed and began to take off in popularity. The group soon became famous and started to tour the Soviet Union.
Noch and nationwide recognition (1985–1986) In early 1985, Kino attempted to record another album, but Tsoi did not like producer
Andrei Tropillo's interference in his work, and the project was left unfinished. The album sold 10,000 copies in
California, becoming the first release of Soviet rock music in the West.
Gruppa krovi and critical acclaim (1986–1988) From 1986 to 1988, Tsoi began to act in more movies and continued to write songs for Kino. The film
The Needle (), which he starred in, brought the band to even more prominence, and their 1988 album
Gruppa krovi () brought them to the pinnacle of their popularity. Russian journalist
Alexander Zhitinsky called
Gruppa krovi one of the best works of Russian music and said that it elevated Russian rock to a new level. The album was also acclaimed in the West, where it was released in 1989 by
Capitol Records and lauded by American critic
Robert Christgau. At the request of a U.S. fan the song "Gruppa krovi" was even translated by Tsoi and recorded with English lyrics by the band in Moscow in January 1988.
Noch was also released on vinyl by
Melodiya in 1988. Kino performed on central television in the Soviet Union, and
Assa, a 1987 film featuring Russian rock, showed Tsoi performing "
Khochu peremen!" () in front of a crowd of thousands. After this, Kino's popularity swept the country, and their music captured the minds of the Soviet youth of the 1980s. Around this time, the band decided to create a separate pop band to perform their more light-hearted songs to balance the pop songs that helped them gain popularity with Tsoi's introspective musings. In 1990, Kino performed at
Luzhniki Stadium, where the organizers lit the Olympic flame,
Chеrny albom and the end of Kino (1990) In June 1990, after finishing a lengthy touring season, the band decided to take a short break before recording an album in
France. However, on , Tsoi died in a car crash near
Tukums while returning from a fishing trip. Before Tsoi died, they had recorded several songs in
Latvia, and the remaining members of Kino finished the album as a tribute to him. While it had no official title, it is often called the
Black Album () in reference to its all-black cover. It was released in December 1990, and shortly after, Kino and others close to Tsoi held a press conference announcing the end of the band.
Reunions (2012, 2019–present) In 2012, on what would have been Tsoi's fiftieth birthday, the band briefly reunited to record the song "Ataman", which had originally been intended to feature on the
Black Album. The song was not featured on the album at its release because the only existing recording of the song contained only low-quality vocals. This was the final release of the band and the final song to feature Georgy Guryanov, who died on 20 July 2013, from complications of
hepatitis C,
liver and
pancreatic cancer, at the age of 52. In 2019, the band announced a reunion with concerts planned in the fall of 2020 for the first time in 30 years. It would feature the band's guitarist
Yuri Kasparyan and bass guitarists
Alexander Titov and Igor Tikhomirov. It would also use Viktor's voice, digitized from original multichannel recordings, and be accompanied by a "unique video sequence". Viktor Tsoi's son, Alexander, became the band's producer. However, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the concerts were postponed to 2021. In March 2021, a live album called
Kino in Sevkabel came out, and a year later, on 22 December 2022, an album named
12_22, was released on platforms. A remake of the album
Eto ne lyubov... was released on 15 March 2024, featuring original vocals and a newly recorded instrumental On October 2, 2025, ''Молнии Индры (Indra's Thunder)
, a remake of songs from the album Начальник Камчатки (Nachalnik Kamchatki)
, together with additional tracks from Ночь (Noch')
, Любовь - это не шутка (Lyubov' - eto ne shutka)'', and more, was released, featuring the original vocals with brand-new instrumentals. In April 2026, Kino announced that it will perform seven new concerts in Canadian and American cities, being Toronto, New York, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Calgary. This also marked the first time Kino has ever performed in North America. == Style ==