Viktor Tsoi's 50th Birthday

This Google Doodle is to commemorate the 50th birthday of Viktor Tsoi, frontman of the band 'Kino'. He started writing songs at the age of 17 and debuted in 1982 at the age of 22. During the time Kino debuted, Russian rock was seen as nothing as an underground movement and was not popular until Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost and perestroika.

It then took him and his band 5 years and 5 albums to earn fame with their album "Группа Крови" (Blood Type). He also acted in movies like "Игла" (The Needle).

Sadly, on 15 August 1990, while Viktor Tsoi, his band and his son, Alexander were in Latvia, Tsoi was returning from a fishing trip and while driving at 130km/h, collided with a bus and crashed. He died instantly on impact, while the bus driver was not injured. The death of Tsoi shocked many, some even commiting suicide.

The legacy he left was not forgotten. Viktor Ahn, a Korean speed skater who had moved to Russia from Korea, named himself Viktor because it was part of the word "victory" and to remember Viktor Tsoi.