Picnic (), or Piknik, is a Russian rock band known for its unique style, a mixture of

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

and original Russian rock. The band was formed in 1978 in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, though the members consider the band's official starting point to be Edmund Shklyarsky's arrival, in 1981, or the year the first album was recorded—1982. Some of their early songs are in Polish, due to Shklyarsky's paternal heritage. In 2016, the band was barred from playing in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

due to their performance in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

after it was annexed by Russia. Music critic Andrei Burlaka notes the group as a cult phenomenon in Russian rock music. Picnic were set to perform at the Crocus City Hall on 22 March 2024 before a terrorist attack took place there, killing 145 people. On the afternoon of 24 March, it became known that Ekaterina Kushner, the assistant to the director of the group, had died in the attack.

Band members

Current * Edmund Shklyarskiy – vocals, guitars, keyboards (1981–present) * Leonid Kirnos – drums, percussion (1982–1984, 1987–present) * Marat Korchemny – backing vocals, bass (2003–present) * Stanislav Shklyarskiy – keyboards (2007–present) Past * Alexei Dobychin – vocals (1978–1983) * Evgeny Voloshchuk – bass guitar (1978–1984, 1985) * Sergey Omelnichenko – guitar, vocals (1978–1981) * Nikolai Mikhailov – flute, saxophone (1978–1981) * Alexander Matskov – drums (1978) * Alexander Kondrashkin – drums (1978–1979, 1980) * Yuri Danilov – flute, clarinet (1979–1981) * Alexander Yevseev – drums (1979) * Nikolai Korzinin – drums (1979–1980) * Pyotr Troshchenkov – drums (1980–1981) * Pavel Kondratenko – keyboards (1980) * Alexei Malkov – keyboards (1980) * Mikhail Panaev – vocals (1980–1981) * Alexander Savelyev – guitar (1981–1990) * Sharifzhan Abdulov – drums (1981) * Ali Bakhtiyarov – drums (1981–1983) * Viktor Morozov – drums (1982) * Vadim Lebanidze – keyboards (1983) * Sergei Shepel – guitar (1983) * Vladimir Sizov – bass (1984, 1989–1990) * Viktor Sergeev – keyboards (1984) * Sergei Voronin – keyboards (1984, 1986–2006) * Alexander Fedorov – drums (1984) * Viktor Evseev – bass guitar, backing vocals (1985–1988, 1990–1996), keyboards (2007) * Yuri Klyuchantsev – keyboards, saxophone, percussion (1986–1988, 1990–1996) * Vadim Ponomaryov – drums (1986–1987) * Andrey Merchansky – guitar (1990–1994) * Alexander Rokin – bass guitar, backing vocals (1996–1999) * Svyatoslav Obraztsov – bass guitar, backing vocals (1999–2003)

Discography

* ''Dym'' (1982) (Дым) * ''Tanetz Volka'' (1984) (Танец волка) * ''Iyeroglif'' (1986) (Иероглиф) * ''Rodom Niotkuda'' (1988) (Родом ниоткуда) * ''Kharakiri'' (1991) (Харакири) * ''Nemnogo Ognya'' (1994) (Немного огня) * ''Vampirskiye Pesni'' (1995) (Вампирские песни) * ''Zhen-Shen'' (1996) (Жень-Шень) * ''Steklo'' (1997) (Стекло) * ''Pit Electrichestvo'' (1998) (Пить электричество) * ''The Best'' (compilation, 1998) * ''Egiptyanin'' (2001) (Египтянин) * ''Fioletovo-Cherny'' (compilation, 2001) (Фиолетово-чёрный) * ''Nastoyashchiye Dni 1982–1992'' (compilation, 2002) (Настоящие дни) * ''Smutniye Dni 1992–2002'' (compilation, 2002) (Смутные дни) * ''Chuzhoy'' (2002) (Чужой) * ''Govorit i Pokazyvayet'' (2003) (Говорит и показывает) * ''Tribute'' (Piknik songs performed by other artists, 2003) (Трибьют) * ''Ten Vampira'' (with Vadim Samoylov) (2004) (Тень вампира) * ''Korolevstvo Krivykh'' (2005) (Королевство кривых) * ''Novoyegipetskiye Pesni'' (remix album, 2005) (Новоегипетские песни) * ''Mrakobesiye i Dzhazz'' (2007) (Мракобесие и джаз) * ''Zhelezniye Mantry'' (2008) (Железные мантры) * ''Teatr Absurda'' (2010) (Театр абсурда) * ''Tri Sudby'' (2011) (Три судьбы) * ''Pevets Dekadansa'' (2012) (Певец декаданса) * ''Chuzhestranets'' (2014) (Чужестранец) * ''Iskri i Kankan'' (2017) (Искры и канкан) * ''V rukax velikana'' (2019) (В руках великана) * ''Veselyi i zloi'' (2022) (Весёлый и злой) * ''Odin na odin'' (2024) (Один на один)

References

External links

* (Russian)
Edmund Shklyarskiy's official website
(Russian)
English lyrics

{{Authority control Musical groups from Saint Petersburg Soviet rock music groups Russian new wave musical groups Russian post-punk music groups Russian progressive rock groups Russian art rock groups Russian gothic rock groups Russian symphonic rock groups Russian psychedelic rock music groups Musical groups established in 1978