Yanka Dyagileva

Yanka Dyagileva

Yana "Yanka" Stanislavovna Dyagileva (Russian: Яна Станиславовна Дягилева; 4 September 1966 – c. 9 May 1991) was a Russian poet and singer-songwriter.

Dyagileva was born in Novosibirsk. She was one of the brightest figures in Russia's underground punk scene. She both played solo and performed with others, including Egor Letov and Velikiye Oktyabri (the Great Octobers), a rock band. Dyagileva was greatly influenced by Alexander Bashlachev and Igor "Egor" Letov, who were her friends. Her songs were a mixture of desperate and depression, punk-style nihilism and folk-like lamentations.

On May 9, 1991, she disappeared from her countryside home, where she lived with her family. On May 17, she was found dead in the Inya River, far away from the place where she had disappeared. It is thought she probably committed suicide after a long bout with depression, although no formal finding of suicide was made; the official point of view is that she accidentally drowned. There were also some rumours that Yanka as a matter of fact had been killed, as there had been no water in her lungs and that her skull had been fractured. There is no documental evidence of these rumours.

It was only after her death that her records became known to the general public in Russia.