Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music. He is the founder and lead singer of the band Aquarium which has been active since 1972. Grebenshchikov is frequently referred to as BG (; pronounced "Beh-Geh"), after his initials. Early years (1953–1979) Grebenshchikov was born on 27 November 1953, in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. In 1972, he founded the band Aquarium with his childhood friend Anatoly "George" Gonitsky as a postmodern theatrical endeavor that included poetry and music. Grebenshchikov was accepted into Leningrad State University. Due to his musical activities, he started missing exams and failing classes. Grebenshchikov eventually received a graduate degree in applied mathematics. Inspiration from The Beatles and Bob Dylan transformed Aquarium into a low-fi electric blues band that moonlighted in acoustic reggae. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union regime routinely suppressed experiments in non-standardized self-expression as a matter of policy, so decent recording facilities were out of reach. The several two-track recordings hacked out over those years, such as Temptation of St. Aquarium (Iskushenie Svyatogo Akvariuma), Count Diffusor's Fables (Pritchi grafa Diffuzora), Menuet for a Farmer (Menuet zemledel'tzu), and a motley crew of "singles" were of unprofessional quality but showcased showed his interest in Oriental thought and mysticism that eventually became his trademarks. In 1976, Grebenshchikov also recorded of his first solo album S toy storony zerkal'nogo stekla (Beyond the Mirror Glass) and a double album with Mike Naomenko titled All Brothers are sisters (Vse Brat'ya - sestry). Classical years (1980–1988) In 1980, Artemy Troitsky, the first public Russian rock critic, invited Aquarium to perform at the Tbilisi Rock Festival. The festival was a state-sanctioned attempt to control the Russian rock music movement. A covert KGB-bound report caused Grebenshchikov to lose his day job and membership in Komsomol. As western rock music was still officially banned at the time, Aquarium acquired more underground listeners. The first Aquarium music available in the West was in 1986 when a double album entitled RED WAVE, 4 UNDERGROUND BANDS FROM THE USSR appeared in record stores in the U.S. Besides Aquarium, Kino, Strange Games, and Alisa were recorded on a four-track machine, smuggled out of the country, and released by a small record label from Hollywood. During this time, bands in the USSR were either officially sanctioned or were not allowed to