Why they matter

Mify was one of the first rock bands in the USSR. They were there when Soviet rock was just getting started, and they went from playing school-beat covers to creating their own hard rock and jazz-rock hybrids. They outlasted trends and were there for some major moments (like Tropillo’s studio, the Leningrad Rock Club’s launch, and big festivals). Their story isn’t about big hits, but about staying true to their roots and their skills—the thing that’s been consistent in the Petersburg rock scene.

70s Soviet rock band posing against dark backdrop, reflecting the rebellious spirit of the era.

1960s

The band formed back in September 1965 when a bunch of teens from school got together. Like a lot of Soviet beat groups, they started out covering British hits and early rock ‘n’ roll. What made them stand out was their longevity and adaptability. Even though the band’s policies, fashion, and personnel changed a lot over the years, they kept writing, performing, pausing, and returning. They never stopped telling the story.

From the beginning, two musicians were key to Mify: the guitar legend Sergey Danilov (b. 1951) and the soulful bassist Gennady Barikhnovsky (b. 1952). Early vocalist Dmitry Zadvornov was with the band for a short time, and they first appeared in 1966 under the English-language name The Red Roosters (after the Rolling Stones’ “Little Red Rooster”). Then they settled on Mify. By late 1967, they were playing school dances and local clubs. Then, in 1968, they won a city contest and became neighborhood heroes. With better gear and a stable rehearsal spot, they started playing folk covers of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and The Animals.

Vintage Soviet rock band performing under Lenin portrait, showcasing the rise of Soviet rock music.

Bass guitarist Gennady Barikhnovsky said:

It’s interesting that when we started out, between 1967 and 1969, there were no bans on the Beatles or similar repertoire. Nobody was cracking down on us: you could freely play whatever you wanted — Beatles, Hollies. You couldn’t hear those bands on the radio, they weren’t broadcast, but nobody forbade us from singing their songs. At that time, there simply wasn’t a ban on it.

Yuri Ilchenko joined the group in 1969 and brought keyboards, vocals, and later guitar to the mix.

1970s

Around 1970, the band started playing heavier music (like Cream, Grand Funk, and Iron Butterfly), and they played in suburban dance halls and the semi-professional circuit. Sometimes, they even played with state philharmonic lineups to keep playing legally. Danilov’s “Strange Day” showed a shift from doing covers to writing his own stuff.

As a band, we got better at a pretty fast pace in those early years. We first got together in 1966, gave our first concerts in 1967, and by 1968 we were already getting paid to play dances outside the city — we were just 16, and we’d already earned our first money. Back in ’69, when I was just 17, still in 10th grade, we were doing our thing at official dance halls all over Leningrad. By the end of 1971, we were working with the Philharmonic, so we became professional musicians. Back then, we weren’t called Myths (Mify) yet. When we joined the Philharmonic, we performed under the name Dreamers. That’s when we all got our artist certificates — I’ve still got mine somewhere. So by 1972, when we weren’t even 20 yet, we were already professional artists. I remember coming back from a tour in ’72 with 270 rubles in my pocket, while my mom, who worked two jobs, earned only 90.

Мифы - Концерт в ДК им. Г.К. Орджоникидзе, Ленинград (30.01.1974) - YouTube

The mid-1970s brought experiments and instability. Under Ilchenko’s influence, Mify experimented with jazz-rock and even hired a horn section, impressing at showcases like “Spring Key” but also branching out into restaurant work and side projects. People kept coming and going like a revolving door, and it was always the same story: they’d come together, then break up, then get back together.

Back in the early ’70s, there weren’t any explicit bans on music yet, but the pressure was starting to mount. There were lots of amateur band festivals, and they were pretty common for a while. But every one of those festivals ended with “something going wrong.” Inevitably, there were consequences, some more serious than others.

For example, in 1973, Vasily Vasilyevich Tsaryov organized a festival. Then, without much explanation, he was let go. And this was despite the fact that the jury included Anatoly Vasilyev, leader of The Singing Guitars (Poyushchiye Gitary). It was a legit event, but for some reason, Tsaryov still got punished for it.

Tropillo recording

Andrey Tropillo and Mify band, Soviet rock musicians in a recording studio, capturing the ambiance of the USSR's vibrant rock scene in the late 20th century.

The next big change came in 1980, when Danilov and Barikhnovsky got together again for some independent studio sessions with Andrei Tropillo. Back in 1981, Mify played at the opening of the Leningrad Rock Club, a spot that was huge for Soviet rock. They soon tracked their album “Doroga domoi” (The Way Home). The lineups changed, but the energy kept building.

At the 1983 Rock Club Festival, they tied for second place with Aquarium and won a special jury prize for the anti-war song “Otvétny udar”—a clear statement about the times.

When the Rock Club first opened its doors back in 1981, word spread like wildfire among the city’s musicians. Back then, there was just one music scene, and everyone knew everyone. A lot of us went to the very first meeting just out of curiosity. Can you imagine? They were opening some kind of club where bands could actually play.

At that point, we weren’t just well known, we were already the “dinosaurs.” We had played at the festival in the Nevsky Palace of Culture, which was the forerunner of the Rock Club, and we were already 27 by then. Since we were among the top bands around at the time, I joined the very first Rock Club council. That’s why all the top groups were invited to perform at the opening, including Mify. Piknik, Zerkalo, and Rossiyane were with us.


We helped open the Rock Club and joined it. Later on, the Rock Club became more of a private hangout for insiders, but at the beginning, it was a really powerful event for its time.

1980s

After another slow period, 1987–1989 was a big time for the band. They had a triumphant stage return, the album “Mifologiya,” an official Melodiya maxi-single “Madison Street,” and the LP “Bei, kolokol!” (Strike, Bell!) that included contributions from past members and guests (including DDT’s harmonica). Danilov took a break from live work in 1988, but his songs remained central. Barikhnovsky handled guitar, while a revolving cast played bass and keys.

In 1991, Danilov, Barikhnovsky, and Ilchenko played together at “Rock Against Tanks” on Palace Square, and then they did a bunch of club gigs, a 25th-anniversary show in 1992, and the studio album “Vniz golovoy” (Head Down) with DDT’s Mikhail Chernov on sax. TV finally called, but in February 1994, Barikhnovsky emigrated to Germany, and Mify—true to form—quietly folded rather than formally ended.

Key milestones