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Bad Brains are a hardcore punk band hailing from Washington D.C, United States who formed in 1977. The band have released nine studio albums and are considered one of the most influential bands in the history of punk rock.

The band formed in 1975 as a jazz-fusion group called Mind Power. However, since the group’s inception every member of the band had a voracious appetite for music of all forms, and were never going to be tied down to playing one form of music. Mind Power toured and recorded together for two years before Sid McCray, a friend of the band, introduced them to a number of first wave punk bands like the Sex Pistols and the Dead Boys. Punk rock grew into an obsession that the whole band shared, and soon enough the songs they were writing became straight up punk rock anthems.

The band changed their name to Bad Brains in tribute to the song of (nearly) the same name by The Ramones, but what truly changed them into one of the most influential punk bands of the age was yet to come. After taking in a Bob Marley concert, the band decided to temper their heavy punk sound with influences from dub and reggae, and soon, thanks to their unmistakeable sound and astonishing live performances, they were one of the must see bands of the thriving D.C hardcore scene. In fact, their live shows got so intense and their crowds got so rowdy that they were actually banned from performing in many D.C clubs and venues, which of course made the demand to see them even stronger.

By the end of 1981 they had signed to Neil Cooper’s ROIR Records and released their self-titled debut album in January of the next year, For an underground record it got an unprecedented amount of attention, and their next effort, 1983’s “Rock For Light”, was produced by The Cars’ Ric Ocasek. The band spent the rest of the decade as one of the most critically acclaimed punk acts around, despite the fact that their line-up was in constant flux. The band split in 1995 but reconvened in 1998 and have since toured frequently and released some of the best material of their career in the interim. To this day, Bad Brains come highly recommended.

Live reviews

Bad Brains is one of the most influential punk bands to come out of the Washington DC area and they are well regarded for a reason. To say the least a Bad Brains show is inspirational with their shows having motivated many young musicians to start up punk bands, one of these musicians being Ian MacKaye who formed the bands Minor Threat and Fugazi.

Bad Brains is more than a novelty act consisting of all black musicians blaring punk music, they are a band of enthusiastic, talented musicians who have a strong motivation to get their message across to their audience. Although the band is highly influenced by other punk music such as the Dead Boys and the Ramones (they named themselves after the Ramone’s song “Bad Brain”), they also drew influence from other genres such as jazz-fusion and reggae.

Most of Bad Brains early performances were completely wild with audience members stage diving off of balconies and massive mosh pits forming all while singer, HR, was yelling his lyrics and prowling around stage erratically. There most recent performances are still as heavy as ever, but their stage presence is more subdued. They have become more mellow with old age, not playing with as much pent up energy from their former days. Bad Brains manages to incorporate their more chilled presence into their performance quite well. They add more laid back reggae music into their performance allowing them to create pleasing tones with their jamming. This diversity of music in their setlist is very intriguing as they go back and forth between their heavy punk music and their good-vibe reggae music.

A Bad Brains show still consists of the inspirational elements from a show of theirs back in the day, but this time around there is a broader range of material to be inspired by ranging from the classic hardcore punk tunes to their more recent brand of reggae songs.

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Bad Brains | Interview | Darryl Jenifer | ‘The Youth Are Getting Restless’ Reissue

Hardcore Punk legends Bad Brains have recently teamed with Org Music to bring you remastered reissues of their seminal releases.

With the help of the band, Org Music and Dave Gardner spent over a year tracking down the best possible audio sources for each title, including many original analog tapes that were previously thought to be lost for good. It’s been a very in-depth process for everyone involved, uncovering lost master tapes, unreleased recordings, never before seen photos, and archives from decades past.

‘The Youth Are Getting Restless (Live At The Paradiso, Amsterdam, 1987)’ will be available in January 2023, followed by ‘Omega Sessions’ scheduled for Summer 2023, and ‘Live at The Fillmore 1982’ scheduled for Fall 2023.

Darryl Jenifer, the original and long-standing Bad Brains bassist, was very happy that Bad Brains got back all the master rights and recordings. In the following interview we will discuss how it all came together.

“Bad Brains has a life of its own”

How involved were you with the process of getting the masters finally coming back to the band, uncovering lost master tapes, unreleased recordings, never before seen photos, and archives from decades past?

Darryl Jenifer: Ultra involved as expected and involved as anyone would be when it comes to one’s life works, one would hope. Bad Brains has a life of its own, always moving and morphing into various currents of positive energy and love.

Let’s talk about the sound, what are some of the key differences that remastered editions offer?

Overall sonic textures are vital to the listener, it’s important to deliver a honest no nonsense professional master, that way people won’t think your work is a demo. [Laughs]

It must feel very exciting to find many original tapes that were previously thought to be lost for good…

Well, there’s finding stuff, then there’s people returning your stuff versus finding out where your stuff is, it’s all good. The stuff belongs to Jah anyway. Bad Brains belong to the youth and people.

It’s actually pretty incredible that all nine albums will see this treatment.

Yes, I wish I could re-mix a lot of the music as well, but the times were different back then, different ears, speakers, amps, different air.

Then there’s the Org fanzine, a sixteen page fanzine-style booklet, printed on newsprint, which features never before seen photos, vintage concert flyers, and new writings about the band from contemporaries like Henry Rollins, Chuck Dukowski, Jack Rabid (Big Takeover Magazine), and Jesse Malin. Let me take this opportunity to ask you about the very early days. If we were to visit your teenage room, what kind of records, singles and fanzines would we find there?

In my room you would find albums like ‘Presence’ by Led Zeppelin, ‘Frampton Comes Alive!’ by Peter Frampton, then stuff by Black Sabbath, Return To Forever, Brand X, Weather Report, Earth, Wind & Fire, Lonnie Liston Smith, Roy Ayers, the Dickies, the Ramones, the Damned, Generation X, the Buzzcocks, Sly and the Family Stone.

I think all of our readers would truly appreciate it if you can take a moment and speak about the albums. What runs through your mind when hearing each of the albums today.

I haven’t listened to Bad Brains albums for decades. I know what the musical intention was during the sessions and I can feel if that was achieved, sorta like too close to the forest to see the trees syndrome. One thing for sure: Bad Brains were very serious about Bad Brains.

“We were just unafraid of playing what we wanted”

It’s incredible that you started as a sort of a Fusion band. Mind Power was influenced by Return to Forever and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Would you like to tell us what was your initial idea?

We started Mind Power as teenagers before we discovered Punk Rock. We never played a show as Mind Power and we only had one song. Bad Brains took over the idea of Mind Power in a matter of months. People like to say we were a fusion band and a reggae band, we were just unafraid of playing what we wanted to play all styles at once.

Your sound transition is notorious… turning your way to hardcore punk. How did that come about?

Punk showed us that we could express ourselves and have a message. Punk is freedom, think about it… you don’t even have to know how to play an instrument, all you have to do is WANT to play, so cool. Thanks Punk Rock! Imagine me parroting Stanley Clarke genius bass lines and Paul Simonon (The Clash) smashing his bass after playing half cocked reggae bass lines … AWESOME.

And how did you first get influenced by the Rastafari movement?

In the beginning Bad Brains were PMA (positive mental attitude) soldiers, then Bob Marley inspired through his music and message showed us our rightful mission, the next level. Thanks Bob. I accidently saw Bob Marley perform live at the Capital Center, I was originally there to see Stanley Clarke. It was an unforgettable experience.

How did the punk audience react at the beginning of the band when you started playing reggae tunes?

The first audience to witness our Reggae Punk transition live was Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, Alec MacKaye, and a few other first fans. They wore beanies to our show and skanked around saying “Yes Mon,” they thought it was funny and kinda heckled us, but Bad Brains does not care about anything when we are doing our thing … Big up to those guys.

Did you miss the Washington days when you moved to New York City?

We didn’t miss anything during those years. We were singularly focused on Jah, Bad Brains, PMA and the mission, no time to be missing stuff.

I guess this will be impossible to answer, but still, what would be the craziest moment that happened while playing?

I’ll never forget the time a random Skinhead came on stage skanking around me, I fun lovingly attempted to kick him off the stage and my foot got caught in his suspenders launching backwards into my rig, I still kept rocking though … The life and times of Bad Brains is filled with positive and negative experiences.

What are some of the most important players that influenced your own style and what in particular did they employ in their playing that you liked?

James Jamerson’s phrasing, Percy Jones’ plucking, Stanley Clarke’s chords and harmonics. I invented my rock bass techniques from these players. Geezer Butler, Aston “Family Man” Barrett, Lloyd Parks, Errol “Flabba” Holt and so on.

Do you have any other active projects going on at this point? Will you continue to record new albums?

I have been working on a solo album with tracks with Lenny White, John Medeski, Jamie Saft, Ben Perowsky, smoothed Rubba Dub hybrid stuff, and remixing my nephews material, Bedouin Soundclah. I’ve been painting a lil, riffing a lil, and just all around OG staying creative and keeping my dream alive.

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Headline photo: Steven Hanner

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About bad brains.

Bad Brains are an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of other genres like funk, heavy metal, hip hop and soul. Bad Brains are followers of the Rastafari movement. Originally formed as a jazz fusion ensemble under the name Mind Power, Bad Brains developed a very fast and intense punk rock sound which came to be labeled "hardcore", and was often played faster and more emphatically than the music of many of their peers. The unique factor of the band's music was the fact that they played more complex rhythms than other hardcore punk bands, also adapting non-punk style guitar riffs and solos into their songs. Bad Brains have released nine studio albums (one of which is entirely composed of instrumental versions of their early material). The band broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different singers or drummers. Since 1994, the "classic" lineup of singer H.R. (Human Rights), guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson (H.R.'s younger brother) has reunited, albeit performing sporadically.

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La Villette Freestyle Festival, Paris, 2023

Salon des sports, paris, 2023, benchmark fest, paris, 2022, the golden blocks, paris, 2022, flower by kenzo, paris, 2022, benchmark fest, paris, 2021, a propos #22/de paris #9 launch, paris, 2020, lockdown online live quizz, 2020, the sour solution ii video premiere, 2019, le garage janoski, paris, 2019, vans ultra range event, 2018, fiac x raphaël zarka, paris, 2018, adidas dasdays paris, 2018, lomepal flip tour, grand management, 2017, benchmark contest, paris, nike sb, 2017, benchmark contest, berlin, nike sb, 2017, benchmark video premiere, paris, 2016, alexis papadopoulos.

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On May 27th and 28th took place the Freestyle Festival in La Villette, the largest public park located in the north part of the French capital. Street art, basket ball, music, parties and skateboarding, for free.

Bad Brains took care of the skateboarding side of things with initiations hosted by qualified coaches, a best trick contest, demo’s with César Dubrocca, Hugo Corbin, Jules Tortuyaux and Juan Renaux, a Realaxe women’s only session and some board upcycling by our friends from Spotwaste. Good times.

In partnership with Skateparks de France, we sat up a booth with a mini ramp, a giant screen and whole team to welcome the French mayors in need of knowledge about urban cultures. Not our typical audience.

The main goal was to animate this corner of the tradeshow and inform mayors about how to deal with skateboarding, build a skatepark or just learn about the values of it, in order to integrate it into the life or their cities.

Following the 2021 edition, we went back to La Cité Fertile with the same recipe but the same motivation to celebrate skateboarding. Mornings were filled with free skate courses, afternoons with skate events et Saturday night hosted a clubbing option by Rinse France.

New obstacles built by Skatepharma based on the original ‘Benchmark Benches’ were spread into the 400 square meters indoor building while the outside had became an official skate fair/tradeshow with around 20 booths.

Since 2014, Golden Blocks bring classic sports to the kids where nothing usually happens. This non-profit just got more ambitious in 2022 by introducing alternative sports like skateboarding and with opening The Golden Blocks Academy. Where sports meets education.

They reached us to take care of the skateboarding side of things so we got instructors, custom made obstacles, complete boards and full pads, and made sure all these kids will never forget their first step on a skateboard!

For the launch of their new product and campaign called L’Absolue, Kenzo asked Stéphane Borgne to make it happen. Different field, different audience, but still a success.

BENCHMARK FEST, Paris, 2021

After 2 years of COVID, we felt the need to bring back the infamous Benchmark Contest to the Parisian scene. Only this time we decided to add a full festival around it and secure the skateboarding side with an indoor location for 2 days.

We created special concrete obstacles based on the original ‘Benchmark benches’ and had booths, video screenings, initiations, showcases and good fun despite the heavy rain. Be sure that the Benchmark Fest. will return to La Cité Fertile in 2022!

A PROPOS #22…

A Propos magazine & De Paris Yearbook joined forces at Nozbone for the launch of their new issue, on February 6th, 2020. Window painting by the one and only Morgan Navarro.

LOCKDOWN ONLINE QUIZZ

Live quizz on social media during the first lockdown in France. Skate culture and good times directed by Alexis Papadopoulos and Ahmed Ghazi.

There will always be skateboarding videos, and some of them need to be watch on the big screen. So we found this great location on Place de la République, branded the place, got a beer partnership, invited the scene and screened the highly expected second Sour Solution video. And surprised Oscar Candon turning pro. Good fun for all.

To celebrate the 10 years of the iconic Janoski shoe, Nike SB opened Le Garage Janoski for more than a month in the very center of Paris. Beyond the daily sessions in the skatepark, Le Garage also hosted a bar, an exhibition, initiations and music sessions. Along with the Nike SB crew, Stéphane Borgne managed the whole thing, from scouting, designing, MCing, hosting and all you can imagine to make sure everything run smooth.

VANS ULTRA RANGE EVENT PRO EVENT

In 2018, the process of rebuilding Place de la Nation in Paris started by reducing space allowed to cars. Eventually, that just left a large no-man’s-land that skateboarding naturally exploited. When Vans needed an event for the launch of the Ultra Range Pro shoe, a large branded wallride/quarter pipe was built and installed for a day on the plaza, with the city permission and the precious help of the Cosa Nostra Skatepark staff.

When geometry meets skateboarding by the Champs-Elysées. Before being a worldwide and recognized artist Raphaël Zarka is a skateboarder. Most of his projects have a strong link with his first love, and this one was quite unique and short-lived: a ‘cycloidal ramp’ sitting in front of the Grand Palais for a week. From the original concept, dealing with the city council until the dismount of the masterpiece, Stéphane Borgne took care of it all, along with the Nike SB crew.

ADIDAS Dasdays

Parisian link with 19-93 Agency for the 10 days event in the 10th arrondissement in September 2018. Local production and animation, from scouting for locations to photo reporting.

BENCHMARK CONTEST, PARIS, 2017

For its 10 year anniversary, the Nozbone Benchmark Contest got inspired by the Bauhaus movement and travelled to Berlin the weekend after the Parisian contest, in partnership with Civilist Skateshop and Nike SB.

LOMEPAL FLIP TOUR

Tour managing of Lomepal’s Flip Tour that launched his international career in 2017. Wild concerts in the streets of Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes, Montpellier, Geneva, Barcelona, Lille, Brussels and Paris in September 2017. Big time. In collaboration with Grand Management and Nike SB.

BENCHMARK CONTEST, BERLIN, 2017

In partnership with the Paris Surf & Skateboard Film Festival, we hosted the premiere of the Benchmark Video 2016 at the MK2 Bibliothèque right after the traditional price giving of the Benchmark Contest.

HR of Bad Brains at Pineapples with The Speed Spirits & Trash Cinema

Sat Nov 19 2022 at 08:00 pm

1434 Pineapple Avenue,Melbourne,32935,US | Melbourne, FL

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Jesse Malin Previews New Concert Film ‘Chasing the Light’ With Bad Brains Cover

• By Joseph Hudak

Joseph Hudak

Jesse Malin will be the first to tell you that he owes much of his worldview, musical and otherwise, to Bad Brains singer H.R Now, with H.R. dealing with his own medical issues, Malin is directing fans toward a benefit concert for the singer while also announcing his own new project: the concert film and live album Chasing the Light .

On Friday, Malin previewed Chasing the Light , directed by Dave Stekert, with the release of a live performance of “I & I Survive” featuring H.R.  

“H.R. was a childhood mentor of mine,” Malin says in a statement. “H.R. was spreading the words of Positive Mental Attitude, and teaching us about the musicality and generosity and power that his group Bad Brains had.”  

The concert was filmed over two shows in January 2022 at the Sheen Center in New York City, a year before Malin suffered a spinal stroke that affected his ability to walk. He’s currently undergoing physical therapy and stem-cell treatments at a clinic in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “I am getting some strength back in my legs, but it moves a lot slower than I would like. I don’t want to portray it like I’m ready to do the James Brown splits onstage,” he told RS in December. “I definitely have a long way to go, but I’m blessed and so grateful for the amazing fans and friends that I have.”

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Malin’s Chasing the Light will be released as both a film and a live album on June 21 via Little Steven’s Wicked Cool Records. “This is a story of how we survived during those years,” Malin says of the pandemic era, “and how we were able to put back into the community that we came out of.”

Chasing the Light film tracklist:

• “State of the Art” (Tommy Stinson, guitar & vocals) 
• “Gray Skies Look So Blue”
• “Brooklyn” 
• “St. Christopher” (lead vocals by Catherine Popper) 
• “Shining Down”
• “Ameri’ka”
• “About You”
• “Strangers and Thieves”
• “Sinner” 
• “She Don’t Love Me Now”
• “I & I Survive” (lead vocals by H.R)
• “If I Should Fall from Grace with God” (w/ Eugene Hütz)
• “Greener Pastures”

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This table lists how often a song was performed by Bad Brains in 2022. Multiple performances from the same setlist are also counted towards the total.

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Omsk Russia – Do not try to leave Omsk

• Gepostet am 9. February 2022
• last updated 4. August 2022
• , in: Russia

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“Don’t try to leave Omsk” – thanks to this meme, the second largest Siberian city Omsk has become one of the most famous cities in Russia. But being well-known does not automatically mean having a good reputation.

Omsk – The worst city in Russia

Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the most important Russian writers, spent four years in an Omsk penitentiary.

“Omsk is a lousy town. Hardly any trees here. Heat and wind with sand in summer, blizzard in winter. A dirty little town, military and bawdy to the max.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky

So pejoratively wrote Dostoevsky to his brother in 1854 shortly after his release. In various unofficial rankings, Omsk has been declared the worst city in Russia, including by the well-known Moscow travel blogger and photographer Ilya Varlamov , who ran for mayor in Omsk in 2012. He had the ambitious goal of making the much-hated Omsk the most livable city in the country. Varlamov was not elected, because Moscow and Omsk are far apart – not only geographically.

Bathe in cheese and be buried quickly

The so-called Omsk cheesemakers – former employees of a cheese factory who bathed in milk at a company party at the factory – are known throughout Russia. They posted pictures of this themselves on the Russian social network VKontakte. Father and son Golovanovi are also from Omsk. They are Russia’s fastest morticians and winners of the “Graves without limits” competition to see who can dig a grave the fastest.

But is the city really that bad and are its inhabitants as creepy as you know from the Internet? To answer this question, I went there myself. I had to accept the risk of not being able to leave the city.

Third capital of Russia

“In Omsk it’s like Paris, only better”, “We love Omsk and are proud of Russia” – with these graffiti the city greeted me. The locals are apparently not as negative about their homeland as some bloggers from the capital. By the way, from 1918 to 1919, during the Russian Civil War, Omsk was the capital of the anti-Bolshevik White Russia led by Admiral Kolchak. 

According to a poll conducted in the summer of 2021, 49% of Omsk residents were in favor of moving the capital from Moscow to Omsk. The idea of moving the capital has been discussed for several years, but it is unclear where. When, as part of a program for the development of Siberia, it was proposed that five new cities be founded in Siberia, the satirical portal “Panorama” (comparable to the “Onion”) posted the message that one of these five cities should be founded in the place where Omsk is today. The joke was well received.

The egg of Poleshayev and the birth of the meme

In Omsk, a monument commemorates the city’s founder Ivan Buchholz. Because of its strange shape, this monument is also called the “Egg of Poleshayev”. During a storm in 2014, the seven-meter sphere fell from its pedestal and thus tried to leave Omsk. But the monument could not escape – it was caught again in time by tractors and hoisted back onto its pedestal. A second attempt to escape two years later was also unsuccessful.

According to another, less beautiful version, the meme arose after the documentary of the same name about the difficulties of Omsk’s youth in the local labor market. The meme has become so widespread that even the deputy mayor of Omsk, Alexander Burkov, called it the cause of the region’s economic problems and complained that it would scare off investors.

The shortest subway in the world

An interesting Omsk sight is the metro. With only one station, the Pushkin Library stop, it would probably be the smallest metro in the world today, but in 2019 it was decided to stop the project. While the Soviet Union was still in power, the directive was that every city with over 1 million inhabitants should have a metro. In 1991, work began on building a metro in Omsk. The project failed several times, allegedly for lack of money.

According to another version, the available money was not used for years in accordance with the goal. After all, there is a subway bridge in Omsk and a permanently closed subway station, where art exhibitions are now held regularly. What does not exist, however, is a functioning subway. The Youtube-Channel Railways of the World took a closer look:

But even if there is no working metro in Omsk, there is at least one good place where you can forget your pain about the missing metro. In the library building, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the metro station, there is a private brewery “ U Pushkina ” (To Pushkin) at 11 Krasny Put Street. There you can taste delicious, freshly brewed and tapped beer from Omsk.

The Siberian citadel of underground music

And even though Omsk lacks obvious sights, there are other treasures to be discovered here. Namely, Omsk is the hometown of a famous Siberian musician and poet. The founder of the punk band “Grazhdanskaya Oborona” Yegor Letov, about whom we report in this article about Russian rock music , is from here. His name is closely connected with the city of Omsk, even though he did not give a single concert here.

In 2018, ten years after Letov’s death, there was a proposal from among the population to name the Omsk airport after Letov as part of the “Great Names of Russia” project. However, the Minister of Culture Medinsky thought it was bad custom to name an airport after a living person. “Letov is alive, and Lenin and Lennon” – Medinsky replied to the justified remark that Letov was already no longer alive.

Even though there are no names comparable to Letov in Omsk these days, the city’s underground scene is still quite lively. Well-attended alternative festivals are regularly held here and in the surrounding area. Even before the pandemic, I was lucky enough to experience the performances of the Omsk band Altera Pars, which many Siberian festival-goers and visitors to underground clubs know.

From the Omsk oblast, more precisely from the city of Kalachinsk, comes the Nordic ritual folk band Nytt Lan, which should be familiar to fans of Nordic folk music. The stouner rock band Groggy is also known far beyond the borders of Omsk. So Omsk is at least an important center of attraction for Russian music culture.

Germans in Siberia

And also especially for German visitors Omsk can be quite interesting. Because the first German settlers existed in Siberia already since the end of the 19th century. They were civil servants, members of the military and farmers. At that time Siberia was attractive for many. A second wave of migration to Siberia during and after the Second World War was less voluntary: Stalin ordered several thousand citizens of German origin to be deported to Siberia.

Before the collapse of the USSR, about 130,000 ethnic Germans lived in the Omsk oblast, just under half of them resettled in Germany during the 1990s. According to a census, 50,055 Germans still lived in Omsk Oblast in 2010, 14,470 of them directly in the city of Omsk.

In the summer of 2021, shortly before the end of Angela Merkel’s chancellorship, the residents of the Omsk village of Wechhnij Karbusch made a video asking the Chancellor to asphalt the main road in the village, because the oldest and most important road in the village, founded by the Russian Germans, is in a pitiful condition and they have to be ashamed when guests from Germany come to visit. The villagers addressed their request to Merkel because they did not receive any help from Russian politicians and officials. Unfortunately, however, a spokeswoman for Angela Merkel denied the request.

Lenin monument in Omsk

And so people in Russia prefer to look back to old constants – like Lenin. Even 30 years after the collapse of the USSR, Lenin is still perceived by many in Russia as a kind of sacred cow. Whether small or large, there is at least one Lenin monument in every Russian city. Omsk is no exception, there were once even 18 Lenin monuments in the city! 

But one of them was dismantled and provides space for new legends. In 2007, when the Uspensky Cathedral was rebuilt on the main square of Omsk, someone noticed that the cast-iron Lenin standing next to it pointed with his hand to the cathedral. However, Lenin was a great opponent of the church and religion.

The monument was first covered for a few weeks and then secretly dismantled at night. The Omsk Secretary of the Russian Communist Party reacted indignantly, saw the action as a crime, and reported the city council to the prosecutor’s office. However, the monument never returned. There are different versions of the legend, which say that it is either stored somewhere or was demolished. However, perhaps the people of Omsk simply do not want to believe that Lenin actually managed to leave Omsk.

The author of this text thanks his long-time buddy and Omsk patriot Andrei Vlasov for the unique city tours and Nikita Plisko for the introduction to the alternative Siberian music scene.

* – this link is an affiliate link. If you buy or order something here, we will receive a small commission. It won’t cost you a cent extra and we can continue to write new articles for you. Thank you for your support!

Yuri Borovskikh

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Omsk city, Russia

The capital city of Omsk oblast .

Omsk - Overview

Omsk is one of the largest cities in Russia, a major scientific, cultural, sports, transport, and industrial center. The administrative center of Omsk Oblast, it is the second most populous city in Siberia.

The population of Omsk is about 1,126,000 (2022), the area - 567 sq. km.

The phone code - +7 3812, the postal codes - 644000-644246.

Omsk city flag

Omsk city coat of arms.

Omsk city map, Russia

Omsk city latest news and posts from our blog:.

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2 August, 2012 / Omsk city from bird's eye view .

14 December, 2011 / Time-lapse video of Omsk city .

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History of Omsk

Foundation of omsk.

The need to build a Russian fortress on the banks of the Irtysh at the mouth of the Om River arose in connection with the steppe nomadic peoples. In particular, with the Oirats, whose tribes in the first decades of the 17th century began to appear within the borders of the Russian state being under the onslaught of their external enemies and as a result of internal civil strife. However, various foreign and domestic political problems of Russia hindered the development and defense of the South Siberian borders.

The situation changed only at the beginning of the 18th century, when the Russian conquest of Siberia intensified. Since Peter I paid great attention to geographical research in the south, the expeditions of that time combined socio-political tasks and tasks of scientific research.

One of such expeditions was led by the Russian military and statesman, associate of Peter I, Major General Ivan Bukhgolts. The goals of the expedition, numbering about 3,000 people, were to search for ore and gold deposits, the discovery of trade routes to India and China, as well as the construction of towns on the Irtysh River.

The expedition left Tobolsk to the south along the Irtysh in July 1715. In the spring of 1716, after a conflict with the Dzungars in the north of today’s Kazakhstan, the remnants of the expedition (about 700 people) withdrew to the mouth of the Om River, where they laid a new fortress named Omsky ostrog (fortified settlement).

According to the census of 1725, 992 people lived in the fortress, in 1742 - 1,092 people. From the first years of its existence, it served as a place of exile for prisoners. After serving hard labor and imprisonment, a lot of them stayed in Omsk for permanent residence.

More Historical Facts…

Omsk in the second half of the 18th century

The ethnic composition of the region’s population was formed in the process of settling the territory. Russians, Germans, Ukrainians, Poles, Belarusians, and representatives of many other nationalities were sent here to serve or were exiled. The indigenous people of the region were the Siberian Tatars and Kazakhs, who switched to a sedentary lifestyle.

The foundation of the second Omsk fortress took place in 1762. The first fortress, although it occupied a favorable geographical position, was wooden and, by the middle of the 18th century, it was dilapidated. In 1765, new stone fortifications were constructed. The first stone structure of the fortress was the Resurrection Military Cathedral, built in 1773 and preserved to this day.

In the end of the 18th century, the Omsk fortress was one of the largest structures in the eastern part of the Russian Empire, its area was more than 30 hectares. In 1782, it was transformed into a town named Omsk within the Tobolsk Governorate. In 1785, the coat of arms of Omsk was approved.

Omsk became the center of management of the Siberian transport routes and the Siberian Cossack army, which not only guarded the South Siberian borders, but also made a huge contribution to the economic development of the steppe expanses of Kazakhstan, the annexation of Central Asia to the Russian Empire.

Omsk in the 19th century

The fire of 1819 destroyed almost half of the town including the archive and the magistrate of Omsk with all the first archival documents. Therefore information about the life of Omsk in the 18th - early 19th centuries is scarce and fragmentary. In 1825, the population of the town was about 9,000 people.

In 1829, the town’s development plan was approved. It was made by the famous Petersburg architect V.I. Geste, who took the city of St. Petersburg as a model with its wide avenues, huge neighborhoods, fountains, cast-iron bridges, and an abundance of green spaces.

The composition of the population of Omsk was not quite usual. In the middle of the 19th century, since Omsk was the center of the military and civil administration, the proportion of the military in the local population reached about 60%.

Fyodor Dostoevsky (one of the greatest psychological novelists in world literature), who served a term of hard labor in the Omsk prison in 1850-1854, in a letter to his brother gave Omsk the following description: “Omsk is a disgusting town. There are almost no trees. In summer, heat and wind with sand, in winter, a snowstorm. I have not seen nature. The town is dirty, military and highly depraved.”

By the second half of the 19th century, Omsk in its development outstripped many steppe towns and became not only an administrative, but also a commercial and industrial center. In 1861, in Omsk, there were 2,122 houses (31 stone houses), 34 factories and plants, about 20 thousand residents.

In 1892, the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway began, which gave a new impetus to the economy of Siberian towns and positively influenced Omsk. The development of the Trans-Siberian Railway caused an increase in the urban population due to migrants who came to work from the central part of the Russian Empire. According to the 1897 census, 37.3 thousand people lived in Omsk. The town had 14 streets with a total length of more than 140 km and 13 squares.

Omsk in the first half of the 20th century

The beginning of the 20th century was a time of great changes for Siberia. Mass peasant colonization caused a sharp leap in the development of the region’s economy, primarily its agrarian sector, and the Trans-Siberian Railway ensured the inclusion of the local economy in the system of the All-Russian and European markets.

Due to its favorable economic and geographical position - at the intersection of the railway and the Irtysh River, in the middle of a vast agricultural territory - Omsk quickly turned into a large transport, trade and industrial center of Western Siberia and Governor-Generalship of the Steppes (Eastern and Central Kazakhstan).

Wholesale trade in bread, butter and other agricultural products was concentrated here. Omsk also became one of the industrial, social and cultural centers of Western Siberia. By 1903, the city’s population grew to 60 thousand people. In 1914, it had about 134.8 thousand residents. Omsk became the most populous city in Siberia.

During the Civil War on the territory of the former Russian Empire, from June 1918 to November 1919, Omsk was the residence of the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Admiral Alexander Kolchak, who declared this city the capital of white Russia opposing red Russia of the Bolsheviks. Soviet power was finally established in the city in 1920.

In the summer of 1921, an event took place that had a decisive impact on the cultural and economic life of Omsk. The functions of the administrative center of Siberia were transferred from it to the city of Novonikolaevsk (future Novosibirsk). In 1934, Omsk became the administrative center of a separate Omsk Oblast.

Over the years of industrialization, Omsk became one of the largest centers for agricultural engineering in the USSR. The metal-working industry also developed at a rapid pace. In 1939, Omsk numbered more than 288 thousand people.

During the Second World War, about 200 industrial enterprises were evacuated to Omsk, as well as 60 hospitals, dozens of educational institutions, theaters, museums, and hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Omsk after the Second World War

In the post-war years, new enterprises were put into operation in Omsk, all existing factories and plants were reconstructed and expanded. The industrial potential of the city was also strengthened by the Omsk oil refinery, the largest in the country. In connection with the rapid development of industry, especially petrochemical enterprises, the ecological situation deteriorated. The concentration of harmful substances in the air sharply increased. In 1964, the population of Omsk was about 702 thousand people.

In the 1970s-1980s, Omsk developed rapidly. In 1975, the city’s population exceeded 1 million. The most pressing problem was the ecological situation. Omsk was in the top 10 cities of Russia in terms of environmental pollution. Another problem that required an immediate solution was the development of passenger transport. The capacity of Omsk streets was exhausted, and therefore the construction of the subway became an urgent issue.

The economic crisis that gripped Russia after the collapse of the USSR had a negative impact on the economy of Omsk and the region as a whole. There was a significant decline in industrial production, construction volumes fell, and unemployment rose. A lot of organizations of the defense complex, research institutes, and design bureaus found themselves in a deep crisis without the state defense order.

The share of mechanical engineering and metalworking, light industry, and, to a lesser extent, chemical and petrochemical, forestry and woodworking industries decreased. At the same time, the share of the fuel industry, energy, and construction materials industry began to grow.

In the 2000s, Omsk again became one of the most important economic centers of Western Siberia with a developing mechanical engineering, petrochemical industry, various branches of the woodworking, construction industry, and a highly productive agro-industrial complex. In recent years, Omsk has also acquired the features of one of the largest Siberian centers of entrepreneurship and banking/financial activities.

Architecture of Omsk

On the street in Omsk

Author: Tim Brown

Yak-9 fighter aircraft in front of the aerospace engineering company Polyot in Omsk

The Omsk Cadet Corps

Author: Stanislav Katsko

Omsk - Features

Omsk is located in the south of the West Siberian Plain at the confluence of the Om River into the Irtysh, about 150 km from the border of Russia with Kazakhstan. About 60% of all residents of Omsk Oblast live in Omsk. The City Day of Omsk is celebrated on the first Saturday of August.

The city’s coat of arms is very similar to the first coat of arms of Omsk approved by Empress Catherine II in 1785. It depicts a part of the brick fortifications, which symbolizes the reason for its foundation as a fortress and the center of the Siberian defensive line.

Omsk belongs to the temperate climatic zone with a continental climate of the forest-steppe of the West Siberian belt. It is distinguished by an abundance of sunlight. The average air temperature in January is minus 16.3 degrees Celsius, in July - plus 19.6 degrees Celsius. The highest wind speeds are observed in winter and spring, which is the reason for frequent snow and dust storms.

In the past, the ecological situation in Omsk was very unfavorable. Since 2011, the city’s environmental development rating has increased significantly. This was the result of large-scale modernization of many large industries (including the Omsk oil refinery). Today, road transport is the main source of air pollution in the city.

The level of pollution of the Omsk rivers - Irtysh and Om - remains consistently high. Swimming in them is prohibited. While industrial effluents are becoming more environmentally friendly, sewers are releasing waste products including diesel fuel and petroleum products into the rivers. Dust raised by dust storms is also a serious problem for the city as it contains a lot of harmful substances including lead.

The city’s industry is based on oil refining, petrochemistry, chemical industry, mechanical engineering (production of aerospace equipment, armored vehicles, agricultural equipment). Omsk is a major transport junction - the Trans-Siberian Railway runs through the city from west to east, and the navigable Irtysh River crosses it from south to north. Omsk Airport offers regular flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Surgut, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Salekhard, Kazan, Krasnodar, Sochi.

The unfinished subway of Omsk has become famous in Russia thanks to its only one fully built station. Its construction began back in 1992. However, due to funding problems, the completion of the first line was postponed numerous times. In 2019, it was finally decided to permanently stop construction. For local residents, because of the long wait for the completion of the construction, the Omsk metro symbolizes unrealizable hopes, they talk about it with irony.

In Omsk, there are practically no buildings higher than 50 meters, according to this parameter it is one of the lowest cities with a population of over one million. 130 architectural monuments are concentrated in the central part of the city, almost half of the total number.

Main Attractions of Omsk

Dormition Cathedral - the largest church in Omsk located in the very center of the city. The original church was built in 1891-1898. In 1935, it was completely destroyed. In 2005-2007, an exact copy of the building was restored in its original place. This is one of the most beautiful buildings in Omsk. At night, the building is illuminated and looks especially majestic. Tarskaya Street, 7.

Irtysh Embankment - the main walking street of Omsk with a picturesque view of the Irtysh River. Built in the middle of the 20th century, the embankment was reconstructed in the 2000s. You can walk along the alley on foot, ride rollerblades or a bike.

Merchant Batyushkin’s Mansion (1902). This architectural monument is located on the Irtysh Embankment. It is also known as the Kolchak’s House because Alexander Kolchak, the Supreme Ruler of Russia, lived in this building in 1919. One part of the building is occupied by the registry office of the Central District of Omsk. The Center for the Study of the History of the Russian Civil War is also open here. Irtyshskaya Naberezhnaya Street, 9.

Omsk State Museum of History and Local Lore - one of the oldest museums in Siberia and Russia founded in 1878. In total, this museum has over 200 thousand various objects of cultural, historical and artistic value. The museum is especially proud of such exhibits as the cast-iron figures of the Chinese lions Shi-Tzu, presented to the museum from China in 1895, as well as the skeleton of a woolly mammoth almost 3 meters high. Lenina Street, 23?.

Omsk Regional Museum of Fine Arts named after M.A. Vrubel - one of the largest museums of fine arts in Siberia. It has collections of foreign and Russian art from antiquity to the present day. In total, there are over 22 thousand works by painters, graphic artists and sculptors, as well as more than 1.5 thousand rare folios.

Walking through the exhibition halls, you can admire the canvases of Shishkin, Aivazovsky, Surikov, Repin, Serov, Vereshchagin. The exhibition of rare icons dating from the 17th-20th centuries is of constant interest among visitors, as well as a unique collection of jewelry made of precious metals found in the Scythian and Sarmatian burial mounds. Two buildings of the museum are located at Lenina Street 3 and 23.

In November 2019, a new exhibition was opened in a historical building at Muzeynaya Street, 4 - the exhibition of art of the 20th-21st centuries. The Hermitage-Siberia Center is located here too - the first representation of The State Hermitage Museum (the second-largest art museum in the world) beyond the Urals.

Chokana Valikhanova Street - a pedestrian street located in the historic part of Omsk. The street is decorated with abstract architectural forms, flower beds, wrought-iron lanterns. The walking area ends with an observation deck with a picturesque view of the Irtysh River.

Museum of Kondraty Belov . The museum of this landscape painter born in Omsk can be found in a picturesque wooden house, which is considered one of the most interesting architectural monuments of Omsk. The exposition tells about the life and work of Kondraty Belov, as well as about the history of the building itself.

In total, this museum has about 700 exhibits. The permanent exhibition also includes works by Kondraty Belov’s son Stanislav and paintings by some other local artists. In addition, temporary exhibitions of contemporary Omsk artists are regularly held here. Chokana Valikhanova Street, 10.

Plumber Stepanych Monument - an unusual sculpture located in the center of Omsk, which you can literally stumble upon while walking along Lenin Street between the houses #12 and #14. Leaning out of the hatch, the plumber is depicted as realistic and life-size as possible. It is among the most photographed monuments in Omsk. There is a similar sculpture in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.

Lyuba Monument . This sculpture, located on the opposite side of Lenin Street from the monument to the plumber Stepanych, is especially loved by Omsk residents and tourists, who love to be photographed against its background.

This beauty in a lace dress with a neckline and a crinoline sitting on an openwork bench and reading a novel had a real prototype - Lyubov (diminutively Lyuba or Lyubasha) Gasford, the wife of the Governor-General of Siberia, who lived in Omsk in the 19th century and died at a young age due to illness. One of the streets of Omsk and the park are named in her memory. She is a local symbol of femininity and beauty.

Omsk Fire Tower - a picturesque architectural monument built at the beginning of the 20th century. Inside the tower there are museum expositions dedicated to the local fire brigade and the history of tower construction. Internatsionalnaya Street, 41?.

Park of Culture and Rest named after the 30th anniversary of the Komsomol - a popular place for walks, recreation and entertainment of Omsk residents and tourists, which has retained “the spirit of the Soviet era” in its name. Today, on an area of 73 hectares, several zones have been organized, various types of recreation are presented. There are walking alleys, ponds, water activities, for example, riding on hydro-scooters.

The ice town is open in winter, the Return of the Dinosaurs exhibition - in summer. The “House Upside Down” exposition is also popular with tourists. This park is a place for mass festivities, city celebrations and events. Maslenitsa, Christmas, City Day, and other holidays are celebrated here. Maslennikova Street, 136.

Natural Park “Bird Harbor” - a specially protected area located on the path of bird migration in the central part of Omsk. During autumn flights, up to 3 thousand birds stop here for rest. It is a great place to enjoy nature, walk along the eco-trail, and observe the life of birds. The park is situated in the floodplain on the left bank of the Irtysh River next to the Victory Park on Yeniseyskaya Street.

Omsk city of Russia photos

Pictures of omsk.

Bogdan Khmelnitsky Monument in Omsk

Lenin Monument in Omsk

Churches of Omsk

Chapel of St. George in Omsk

Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Omsk

Cathedral of the Nativity in Omsk

Sights of Omsk

Fountain with frogs in the park next to the main building of the Agricultural Academy in Omsk

Author: Alexey Pavlov

Church of St. Nicholas in Omsk

Exaltation of the Holy Cross Cathedral in Omsk

Author: Stanislav Vosinsky

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The Top 12 Things to Do in Omsk

Feel the love in the very heart of Russia

In Russia, all roads lead to Moscow , on account of the city's status as the national capital and its importance throughout history. If geography were the deciding factor, however, the Siberian city of Omsk would be the point where all Russia's roads converge—it's located literally in the heart of the country, approximately as far from Vladivostok as it is from the Belarusian border. Omsk boasts a spate of exciting attractions, even if you simply make a stop here as you ride the Trans-Siberian Railway eastward or westward.

Marvel at Assumption Cathedral

Chelsea Hicks/Flickr/CC BY 2.0

Orthodox architecture never gets old, even if you've been traveling in Russia for a long time. This is particularly the case when it comes to the Assumption Cathedral of Omsk, whose gold-and-turquoise domes look resplendent under the blue skies that bless Omsk during the warmer months of the year. The cathedral was built in 1891 under the orders Nicholas, the last Tsar of Russia.

Time Travel at Omsk Fortress

Ogg-omsk/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

The bad news? Much of what was once Omsk Fortress is now a residential area, with the only notable landmark that still stands being Tobolsk Gate (think Paris' Arc de Triomphe , but yellow and smaller). The good news? There's essentially no reason for a military fortification to exist in today's peaceful Omsk, which means you can stroll amid parks and cafés and imagine the area being war-torn—a small sacrifice to make in exchange for not being blown to bits.

Go Green at Ptich'ya Gavan'

Forinrap/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0 

Or white, as it were: Omsk is covered with snow several months of the year, which means that its prized Ptich'ya Gavan' central park is often more of a winter wonderland than the green reprieve you experience in summer. The park is popular with local families, to whom you can say "Privet" (Hello) as you walk past.

Walk on Omsk's Artsy Side

G0rn/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0

Although the building that houses Omsk District Museum of Visual Arts is unmistakably Russian, the collection you find inside is surprisingly eclectic for a city deep in Russia's interior. Recent collections have included a revival of Van Gogh's great works, among others. This is a particularly enjoyable Omsk attraction on cold winter days, when temperatures can drop far below freezing and sunshine can be rare.

Shoot for the Moon

Worldwide Planetarium Database

Though Omsk is a relatively large city, the skies over it become dark enough in the evening for stargazing. While visitors are not permitted to use the expensive telescopes housed inside, exhibits inside the museum provide a fascinating look into the cosmos, narrated by expert astronomical guides.

Shop on Lenin Street

yykkaa/Getty Images

Lenin Street's name is appropriate: Although it's the high street of a city thousands of miles from Moscow, the European-style architecture and cosmopolitan vibe you feel as you stroll past its boutique and cafés evokes the capital of Russia more than its forlorn interior. Local specialties you can purchase here include rustic jams made from local berries (and even, in some shops, cedar cones), as well as handmade rugs from Kazakhstan, which sits just south of Omsk.

Sample Siberian Cuisine

Quynh Anh Nguyen/Getty Images 

Speaking of unique Siberian food, it's not just preserves made from the fruits of evergreen trees. Omsk is a great place to discover the flavors of Russia's wild interior, whether you eat zagutai and stroganini (Siberia's take on sushi) or classic Russian plmeni dumplings filled with decidedly Siberian ingredients, such as bear and rabbit meat. Vkusno ! (That's Russian for "delicious"!)

Enjoy Historical Houses—While You Still Can

Simon Richmond/Getty Images

The wooden houses that line Nikolskiy Prospekt aren't protected, but they should be. Historical structures that are unfortunately in a state of disrepair, these houses are slated for demolition at some unspecific point in the future. Be sure to catch a glimpse of these historical house before they're gone. There will, however, be at least one left standing for a long time. The Omsk State Art Museum is in a traditional wooden house.

Go to the Circus

Vladislav Domnich/Getty Images

Omsk State Circus is a popular spot for local families, whose children love the opportunity to see acrobatic performances and animals that wouldn't otherwise make appearance in Siberia. If you do attend a show here, keep in mind that ethics with regard to animal treatment might not match up with those in North America or Western Europe, to say nothing of the smell that can pervade the auditorium during and even after a show.

Be a Drama Queen

While there's no guarantee that any shows will be playing at Omsk Drama Theater at the time of your trip, a visit to this 19th century building is a spectacle in and of itself. While not as huge, say, as Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, it's nonetheless an ornate architectural wonder that hearkens back to a glorious time in history. The interior of the theater is even open during the daytime; ask the person who's inside if any tours are available when you turn up.

Explore Cities Deeper in Siberia

Tuul & Bruno Morandi/Getty Images

Siberia starts in Omsk, even if you can't continue far into it. If you don't plan to travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway, take one of two day trips from Omsk. Travel to Tobolsk, whose hilltop Kremlin is one of the most picturesque in all of Russia, and whose beauty inspired a photo by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that ended up winning several awards. Or visit Tomsk, where you'll find a botanical garden dedicated to Siberian flora, and a museum that celebrates wooden architecture.

Ride the Trans-Siberian Railway

 lvinst/Getty Images

The idea of leaving Omsk behind can seem difficult, especially now that you've gotten to know this city in the heart of Siberia as well as you have. The mint-colored facade of Omsk Railway Station will make you smile, however, even if you're crying inside as you depart. Though it's not quite on the mid-line of the Trans-Siberian route between Moscow and Beijing , Omsk is a worthy starting place to begin a journey to either. If you head east make sure to stop in Irkutsk , the home of Lake Baikal and another underrated Siberian city.

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