In Omsk they said goodbye to Yegor Letov

Yesterday in Omsk the funeral of the leader of the punk group “Civil Defense” Yegor Letov took place. More than 300 people came to say goodbye to one of the country's main musical nonconformists. They saw off the leader of Civil Defense on his final journey peacefully, with his songs and port wine. Egor Letov died on Wednesday night. According to a preliminary version, the 43-year-old musician’s heart stopped in his sleep. Local punks began commemorating the leader of Civil Defense, who lived and worked in Omsk, on Wednesday, which is why not everyone was able to come to yesterday’s farewell ceremony in the ritual hall of Omsk City Clinical Hospital No. 1. In total, a little over 300 people gathered for the funeral service. “I called everyone, invited everyone, but half refused, they say there’s a lot of work,” complained one of the young people.
There were no noticeable presence of famous Russian rockers among those gathered - most of those who came to the funeral service were young people under the age of 20. However, there were also fans with experience. While waiting for access to the body to be allowed, those present sang songs of the leader of “Grob” with a guitar, drinking cheap vermouth and port from their throats. “I don’t think that his songs will ever lose relevance for young people. Here is his latest album (“Why do we dream?” - “Kommersant”) - it’s very relevant,” artist Alex Altaysky shared with a Kommersant correspondent.
There were many who came to the funeral from other regions - Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kemerovo. When asked why they decided to visit Omsk that day, they answered laconically: “This is Letov.” Musician Alexey “Papa” knew Yegor Letov from the 80s, concerts in Omsk cultural centers. “There were such groups as Labyrinth and Express, he participated in them as an author or composer. We played in “Sibzavod”, in “Ogonyok” - there was such a club in the settlement, the police were chasing...” he shared his memories. He believes that the main thing in Yegor Letov’s songs was not the music, but the lyrics, which “will be missed.” “There was a niche that he filled. This is national music. National punk,” added the musician.
The leader of the Omsk rock band "Ultra-s" Stanislav Chernyavsky is sure that the last serious rock musician in Russia died in Omsk. “Kinchev doesn’t write. Shevchuk moved on to other projects. And this was the last active musician, who recently, after a long pause, began to gain momentum. We expected a lot of new things from him, and everything ended so absurdly,” explained Stanislav Chernyavsky.
The farewell to the country's main nonconformist from music was surprisingly calm. In line at the coffin, people were mostly silent or discussing things not related to creativity. The lights were dim in the ritual hall, and Civil Defense songs were playing softly from the speakers. Many said in a low voice that they did not recognize the musician: “He seems somehow small, and very thin.”
Yegor Letov was buried at the Staro-Vostochny cemetery in Omsk.
Alexander Kornev, Anatoly Shestakov, Omsk

Kommersant (Novosibirsk) No. 30 dated 02/22/2008, p. 15

Funeral with songs and port wine