Bi-2 is a

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band, formed in 1988 in

Babruysk Babruysk (, ) or Bobruysk (, ; , ) is a city in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Babruysk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is situated on the Berezina, Berezina River. Bab ...

, Belarusian SSR. During their career, Bi-2 achieved international success in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. Bi-2 was named the Best Rock Act at the

MTV Russian Music Awards The MTV Russia Music Awards made its debut in 2004 and have celebrated local Russian talent as well as International. The MTV Russia Music Awards (RMA) features local and international acts and music celebrities being honoured by Russian viewers. ...

in 2007. They also received other Russian and international prizes, including

ZD Awards ''Zvukovaya Dorozhka, also known as ZD Awards'' (, "sound track") is Russia's oldest hit parade in the field of popular music. It was founded in 1975 and has been published monthly in Moskovskij Komsomolets since 1977. It features both Russian a ...

and

World Music Awards The World Music Awards was an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event was based in Monte Carlo. Awards were presented to the worl ...

. In 2015, Bi-2 was named the best Russian rock band according to

Music Box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces Musical note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...

. Included in the

Top Hit Music Awards Top Hit Music Awards is an annual music award ceremony established by ''TopHit'' in 2013. Artists, authors and producers from Russia, Ukraine, other countries of Eastern Europe and countries around the world are awarded for outstanding achievement ...

''Hall of Fame'', along with such performers as

Svetlana Loboda Svetlana Serhiivna Loboda (; ; born 18 October 1982), also known by the stage name LOBODA, is a Ukrainian singer and songwriter.Andrey Makarevich Andrey Vadimovich Makarevich (; born 11 December 1953) is an Israeli and Soviet-Russian rock musician and the founder of Russia's oldest still active rock band Mashina Vremeni (Time Machine). Personal life Makarevich was born in Moscow to m ...

. Participant of many Russian and European

music festivals A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

, including the festival “Christmas Meetings of

Alla Pugacheva Alla Borisovna Pugacheva (, ; born 15 April 1949) is a Russian singer and songwriter. Her career began in 1965 and continues to this day, although she retired from performing in 2010 after the international concert tour "Dreams of Love". For her ...

” and others''.'' In 2023, the band members

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

History

The band was formed in 1988 in

Bobruisk Babruysk (, ) or Bobruysk (, ; , ) is a city in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Babruysk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is situated on the Berezina River. Babruysk o ...

, Belarus, by two teenagers, Aleksandr "Shura" Uman and Yegor "Lyova" Bortnik, who were amateur actors. Initially, the band's name was "Bratya po Oruzhiyu" (Brothers in Arms), which was formed in 1988, then "Bereg Istini" (Shore of Truth), which resulted in the abbreviation BI-2. Lyova and Shura began to use this moniker as their stage names, and Shura eventually changed his passport surname to Bi-II. At the beginning of the 1990s the two moved to Israel and as

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

received citizenship, but in 1993 Shura moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

while Lyova remained and served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

. In 1994 Shura formed a romantic and professional relationship with pianist and artist Victoria Bilogan and in 1997 they recorded their first album "''Bespolaya i Grustnaya Lyubov''" ("Sexless and Sad Love"). During this time, Lyova and Shura continued to compose music together, exchanging their recordings and guitar tabs via

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

and phone. Before forming Chiron, Shura collaborated with Dee Ellus, his first English lyricist, in 1993 and 1994. Shura, together with Dino Molinaro and Michael Aliani, former members of

Ikon iKon (; stylized as iKON) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2015 by YG Entertainment. The lineup consists of six members: Jay, Song, Bobby, DK, Ju-ne, and Chan. Originally a seven-piece band, B.I departed from the group in June 2019. ...

, formed the

darkwave Dark wave, or darkwave, is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as being dark, ro ...

band Chiron. In 1998 Lyova moved to Australia and joined Chiron as well, but the two left the project in less than two years to continue with their own band. BI-2 band

In 1999 Bi-2 moved to Russia, where the band had previously tried to release its 1997 album "Bespolaya i Grustnaya Lubov" ("Sexless and Sad Love," 1998), but those plans were ruined by the

1998 Russian financial crisis The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the Russian rouble, ruble and sovereign default, defau ...

, which affected the record business. In 1999, the band consisted of only two men, but the lineup soon was increased by session musicians. The band gained popularity only in 2000 when it recorded the songs for the soundtrack to the popular

Brother 2 ''Brother 2'' () is a 2000 Russian crime film written and directed by Aleksei Balabanov and starring Sergei Bodrov Jr.. It is a direct sequel to the 1997 film ''Brother''. The film is set in Moscow and Chicago. ''Brother 2'' received mostly po ...

movie by

Aleksei Balabanov Aleksei Oktyabrinovich Balabanov (; 25 February 1959 – 18 May 2013) was a Russian film director, screenwriter, and Film producer, producer, a member of European Film Academy. He started from creating mostly arthouse pictures and music videos ...

. Several score songs, included in the Bi-2 eponymous debut album, shook rock radio charts, including the influential

Nashe Radio Nashe Radio (, ''Our Radio'', pronounced ''Nashe radio'') is a Russian Rock music radio station. It was designed to promote Russian rock bands, as opposed to pop and Western music. Nashe is based in Moscow and broadcast in every major Russian ci ...

chart. Bi-2 continued with "Meow Kiss Me" (2001) and "Foreign Cars" (2004), both achieving gold album status in Russia. Each of their albums included duet recordings with other rock musicians from such bands as

Splean Splean () is a popular Russians, Russian rock music, rock band, formed in Saint Petersburg in 1994.Андрей Бурлака. Рок-энциклопедия. Популярная музыка в Ленинграде – Петербурге. ...

Chaif Chaif (Чайф) is a Russian rock band formed in 1984 in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Russia, by Vladimir Shakhrin and Vladimir Begunov. Their name is derived from the word ''chai'', meaning tea, and ''kaif'' (slang word), meaning pleasure. ...

, Nochniye Snaiperi, and

Zemfira Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova (, ; born 26 August 1976) is a Russian rock musician. She has been performing since 1998 and has been popular in Russia and other Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics. To date Zemfira has sold over 3 million ...

, among others. Videos for Bi-2 songs often appear on

MTV Russia MTV Russia or MTV Россия () was a Russian music and entertainment TV channel, which carried out its broadcasting from 25 September 1998 to 31 May 2013. On 1 October 2013, MTV Russia was relaunched as a satellite pay TV channel. In March 2 ...

. In 2005 the double CD "Odd Warrior" was released, which consists completely of duets and collaborations. In 2022, the band opposed the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

and refused to sing at venues that had banners supporting the invasion. Their concerts in Russia were eventually canceled, and they were forced to emigrate. By May 2023, they were touring the United States and giving concerts. Lyova Bi-2 wrote on social media that he would not return to Russia. In January 2024, members of the group were arrested in Thailand for allegedly violating work permit regulations and faced possible

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

to Russia because five of its members have

Russian citizenship Russian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Russia. The primary law governing citizenship requirements is the federal law "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation" (, ), which came into force on 1 July ...

. As those members also have citizenship of other countries (Israel and Australia), the issue became a diplomatic concern involving several countries, also fueled by arguments that the Russian request is related to silencing political dissidents. On 1 February 2024, the entire group was sent instead to Israel. At the end of May 2024, Maksim Andriushchenko of the band (with his son) and three other persons (alongside their families) associated with it, have been granted the citizenship of

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

Discography

Unreleased albums

* ''Traitors Of Motherland'' (; 1988–1991)

Studio albums

* ''Sexless and Sad Love'' (Бесполая и грустная любовь; 1998) * ''Bi-2'' (Би-2; 2000) * ''Meow Kiss Me'' (Мяу Кисс Ми; 2001) * ''Cars Of Foreign Make'' (Иномарки; 2004) * ''Moloko'' (Молоко; 2006) (lit.: Milk) * ''Amusement Park'' (Луна-парк; 2009) * ''What Men Talk About'' (О чём говорят мужчины; the soundtrack to the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

of the same name, 2010) * ''Spirit'' (2011) * ''#16plus'' (#16плюс; 2014) * ''Event Horizon'' (Горизонт событий; 2017) * ''Hallelujah'' (Аллилуйя; 2022)

Re-released albums

* ''BI-2'' (+2 tracks; 2000) * ''Sexless and Sad Love'' (+ Bonus CD; 2004) * ''Milk'' (+2 tracks; 2007)

Singles

* ''Silver'' (Серебро; 2000) * ''Wolves'' (Волки; 2001) * ''My Love'' (Моя любовь; 2001) * ''Sand'' (Песок; 2003) * ''Slow Star'' feat. Diana Arbenina (Медленная звезда; 2005) * ''Muse'' (Муза; 2008) * ''Bowie'' (Digital Single) (2009) * ''Christmas'' (Digital Single) (2009) * ''Optimist'' (Оптимист, 2011) (Digital Single) * ''Non-Air-Raid Alarm'' (Безвоздушная тревога; 2011) * ''Island'' (Остров; 2011) * ''#Hipster'' (#Хипстер; 2014) * ''Dark Skies'' (Тёмные небеса; 2014) * ''Taken To The Army'' (Забрали в армию; 2014) * ''Grass Near The House'' (Трава у дома; 2015) * ''Likes / Alice'' (Лайки / Алиса; 2016) * ''Bird On The Windowsill'' (Птица на подоконнике; 2016) * ''Pilot'' (Лётчик; 2017) * ''Whiskey'' feat. John Grant (Виски; 2017)

EPs (Extended Plays)

* ''Kite'' (Бумажный змей; 2010)

Compilations

* ''Fellini Tour'' (live album recorded with

and Thomas; 2001) * ''Bi-2. Collection'' (2CD; 2005) * ''Bi-2 feat. Symphony Orchestra of

Ministry of Internal Affairs Of Russia The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; , ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enforcement in Russia through its agencies the Police of Russia, Main Direc ...

'' (Би-2 и Симфонический оркестр МВД России; 2010)

Remixes

* ''drum ' (2002)

Internet-releases

* ''Bi-2. Live'' (2000) * ''Unplugged@16tons'' (2003) * ''Part Of Pipes'' (Партия дудок; 2004) * ''Rock Festival In Mogilev 1989'' (Могилёвский рок-съезд 1989; 2005) * ''Seventh Day'' (Седьмой день; 2006) (Soundtrack) * ''Rare Album'' (Раритетный; 2006) * ''Without Words I'' (Без слов I; 2008) * ''Without Words II'' (Без слов II, 2008) * ''Fools of Fortune'' (Превратности судьбы; 2009) (Soundtrack) * ''One Song By One Tour'' (C гастролей по песне; 2010) (Bootleg) * ''Unplugged@16tons'' (Re-Released) (2010) * ''And Ship Is Sailing'' (И крабль плывёт; 2010) * ''Without Words III'' (Без слов III, 2012) * ''Spirit (Without Words... IV)'' (Spirit (Без слов… IV), 2013) * ''Bi-2 feat. Prague Metropolitan Symphonic orchestra (Without Words V)'' (Би-2 и Prague Metropolitan Symphonic orchestra (Без слов V); 2013)

Chiron's releases

* ''Eve'' (2000) * ''Bleed'' (2004)

Other projects' releases

* ''Odd Warrior'' (Нечётный воин; 2005) * ''Odd Warrior 2'' (Нечётный воин-2; 2007) * ''Odd Warrior 2,5'' (Нечётный воин-2,5; 2011) * ''Odd Warrior 3'' (Нечётный воин-3; 2013) * ''Odd Warrior. The Best'' (Нечётный воин. Лучшее; 2015)

Notes

References

External links

History of the band on another web-site
(in Russian)
Russmus info on Bi-2, including English translations
(in English)
About the band at last.fm
(in English)
БИ-2: Аккорды песен
(in Russian) {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1988 Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups reestablished in 1998 Russian rock music groups Belarusian alternative rock groups Post-grunge groups Belarusian indie rock groups Soviet rock music groups World Music Awards winners Russian National Music Award winners Belarusian emigrants to the United States