Tsoi Wall, Moscow

The Tsoi Wall (Russian: Stena Tsoya) is a graffiti mural in Moscow dedicated to the Soviet rock icon Viktor Tsoi and his band Kino. Located at the house №37, the memorial is considered to be one of Moscow's cultural landmarks.

Viktor Tsoi rose to fame and was extremely popular in the 1980s. He met his “rock-n-roll” death – in a car crash – at the age of 28. Years on, Tsoi remains a popular figure among modern Russians as someone who really taps into the rebellious feelings of the youth. Curiously enough, ethnic Korean as he was, Tsoi has gained popularity in South Korea lately, with some of his songs translated into Korean.

The public grief led to the memorial graffiti mural to appear at Old Arbat on 15 August 1990, started off with a simple inscription "Viktor Tsoi has died today" spray painted in black. Subsequently, someone inscribed a reply: “Tsoi Zhiv!” (Tsoi Lives!), followed later by many other inscriptions, including lines from his lyrics (snippets from Kino's songs "Pachka sigaret" ["Pack of Cigarettes"] and "Muraveinik" ["Anthill"]), portraits of Tsoi, and poetry dedicated to him. Eventually, the wall was full and the people started covering over each other’s work.

In 2006 the wall was painted over by the Art Destroy Project members, but the graffiti was restored by Tsoi's fans. In 2009 the Moscow authorities announced plans to renovate the wall, but the plans were met with skepticism and ultimately dropped. Today, the graffiti work is still underway and constantly re-made, changing almost completely from week to week.

It is customary for Tsoi's fans to leave a broken lighted cigarette in the special ash plate by the wall. Frequently visited by Tsoi's fans, the wall has become a place to hide a note for a friend or arrange a meeting.