History of creation and composition
The history of the creative union of young people begins in 1998. That year, Vladimir Zhdamirov and Oleg Simonov created a group called “Dalniy Svet” and a year later they recorded the album “Presylochka” in a Voronezh recording studio. The group existed in this form until 2001.
In 2001, soloists Vladimir Zhdamirov and Oleg Simonov, together with the producer of “Russian Chanson” Alexander Abramov, decided to create a new group and called it “Butyrka”. This name appeared by chance, after a daring escape of several prisoners from Butyrka prison in September 2001.
During the existence of the group, its members changed several times. Of those who appeared in the team since the beginning of its formation, only 2 people remained. This is Oleg Simonov, who plays keyboards and creates lyrics, and bass guitarist Alexander Goloshchapov, who left the group in 2010, but returned 3 years later.
Bassist Alexander Goloshchapov
Drummer Tagir Alyautdinov and guitarist Alexander Kalugin left the group in 2006. Second guitarist Sergei Egorov worked in the band from 2006 to 2009, and bass guitarist Anton Smotrakov from 2010 to 2013.
The founder, composer and performer of songs, Vladimir Zhdamirov, who has been part of the group since its inception, left the group in 2013. This was a big blow for Butyrka fans and left many questions; everyone was interested in why the lead singer left the band when it was at the peak of its fame.
Vocalist Vladimir Zhdamirov
As it became known from the artist’s interviews for various Internet sites, he simply decided to pursue his solo career after many years of work in the group, the man records new songs and regularly pleases fans of his creativity with concerts in Russian cities.
After Zhdamirov left the creative team, a new soloist, Andrei Bykov, took his place in 2015. The public reacted ambiguously to the man. Since fans have gotten used to the permanent soloist for many years, not everyone liked the new man.
Vocalist Mikhail Borisov
The first concerts with the new lineup were not as welcoming as the musicians were accustomed to. Although Zhdamirov himself stated in an interview that he was not delighted with the creative abilities of the new soloist. However, after a while, the fans accepted the man, and today all concerts are held with the same full houses.
Andrey Bykov knew the creator of Butyrka long before he was on the team. Then Oleg Simonov appreciated the professional qualities of the man and even invited him to cooperate and recommended him to replace Zhdamirov. In 2015, the man began touring with the group, and a year later he took part in the anniversary concert, which took place in Voronezh.
Vocalist Andrey Bykov
The musician is not going to leave the group, he intends to continue to delight listeners with new hits, since his vocal qualities are suitable for performing Butyrka’s hits. Before joining the group, Bykov’s biography was almost unremarkable. He himself comes from the Perm region, traveled to Moscow to work and at the same time performed in various institutions, until he finally moved to the capital.
In addition to the “old guys” of the group, the current lineup includes drummer Yuri Akimov, since 2009 guitarist Andrei Zhuravlev, vocalist Andrei Bykov, sound engineer Valery Liznev and art director Yulia Griboedova.
Biography of the second soloist
In 1960, Andrei Bykov was born in the city of Berezniki, Perm Territory. His biography as a talented musician began there. His mother was a kindergarten teacher, and his father worked as an artist. Both parents took an active part in amateur artistic performances, which Andrei was introduced to from childhood. Raised by the example of his parents, the musician already had his own repertoire of several dozen folk songs by the age of five.
At the age of 12, the family was shocked by grief - the father of the future musician passed away. His mother raised him alone and encouraged him to study at the Palace of Pioneers, where the first teenage instrumental ensembles were created. When Andrey Bykov picked up the bass guitar, the choice in favor of music was finally made. The teenagers played rock and roll, which was popular at that time. Four years later, the future singer decided to grow professionally, which led him to a music school. True, he was unable to complete the course; according to the musician himself, he lacked perseverance. In addition, the department was a wind section and he learned to play the bassoon, which moved Andrei Bykov away from the stage.
After his studies were abandoned, the future singer began playing with friends on the dance floors of the city, but this career did not last long. In 1978, the musician went to military service, where he spent two years. Upon returning home, he began performing in restaurants. Then there was a period of work at the Philharmonic Society of the city of Ulyanovsk, which was followed by a return to tavern life, first in Abkhazia, and then in his native Berezniki.
Music
The musicians' debut "First Album" was released in 2002. The reason for the success that the young people achieved was the sincerity of Simonov’s poems and Zhdamirov’s unusual but memorable vocals. The most devoted fans of the group’s work at that time were people who were familiar with life behind barbed wire. And in order to get closer to ordinary people, in their songs the men used not only themes of prisons and camps, but also told stories from life.
Song “Smell of Spring” by the group “Butyrka”
The name of the next album, “The Second Album,” which was released in 2002, became a successful continuation of the first, and after its distribution, it finally consolidated the success of the guys in their creative endeavor. The team’s work was also noted at the “Worthy Song of 2002” music award ceremony. The event took place at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall, the Butyrka group won in the Discovery of the Year category and even received an award for the video for the song “Smell of Spring,” which was filmed by director A. Tumandeev.
The next album of the musicians, “News,” was released in early 2004, and a year later, fans of the group enjoyed new compositions from the album “Icon.” Their songs became hits and remained at the top of the television charts for weeks.
Song "Baba Masha" by the group "Butyrka"
Poe exceeded the expectations of fans, while the music recorded, songs and albums released were of the highest level of quality. At this rate, in 2007 the artists were already releasing their fifth album.
The Sixth Album, released in 2009, had only a few new songs. It also became the last album that was released under the contract with Russian Chanson. The contract was not renewed, and the team decided to develop independently. Since then, Butyrka has been releasing new songs on its own and continuing its creative development.
The song “Walking September” by the groups “Butyrka” and “Vorovaiki”
Also in 2009, the group created its own website on the Internet, where fans listen to Butyrka’s hits and receive information about concerts. In the period from 2010 to 2014, the team pleases fans with 3 more new albums. By 2022, their discography already consisted of 11 albums.
The group has collaborated with other artists more than once; they have joint songs with Irina Krug, Vorovayki and other performers. In addition to songs, Butyrka does not forget about the videos that can be seen on the Internet today. The team shot a video for the song “Smell of Spring”, “Ball”, “Icon”, “Malets” and others.
Song “Certificate in the Blood” by the group “Butyrka”
There are also videos from fans on YouTube, for example, for the song “Certificate in the Blood.” The group still has many songs that even those who are not their fans know by heart. Among the most popular are “Baba Masha”, “Golden Domes”, “News”, “On the Other Side of the Fence” and others.
Museum in the Pugachev Tower
Since 1971, a museum began to operate, which contains authentic documents related to the history of the Butyrsky detention center, products made by prisoners in different years of the prison castle’s existence, and many other exhibits.
The museum was created in the year of the 200th anniversary of the start of construction and is located on the third floor of the Pugachev Tower. The exhibitions are located in former cells where political prisoners of Tsarist Russia were kept in past times. You can visit the museum only as part of a tour group. Children under 14 years of age are prohibited from entering the territory.
The Butyrka group now
Since “Butyrka” has won the hearts of listeners from various Russian and foreign cities during its existence, today the group is active in concert activities and participates in events with other stars. Latest photos from the musicians' performances, trips and tours can be seen on their official website.
Butyrka group in 2022
In December 2022, the team took part in a concert in memory of Mikhail Krug. In addition to them, Grigory Leps, Mikhail Shufutinsky, Irina Dubtsova, Irina Krug and other modern pop stars performed on stage.
At the beginning of 2022, the musicians released a new song “They Fly Away.” The composition is dedicated to the military pilot, their fellow countryman Roman Filipov, the man died in Syria while performing his military duty. Fans noticed that the song’s sound and manner of performance differed somewhat from the band’s main work.
Song “They Fly Away” by the group “Butyrka”
As for the tour schedule, Butyrka spent the summer of 2022 on the coast of the Krasnodar Territory. The group also performed in Moscow, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and in April - in Rostov-on-Don, Novocherkassk and Taganrog.
Detention center today
The construction of the complex was determined to be outside the city limits. But since Moscow was upset, the prison ended up almost in the center of the capital.
Now the Butyrsky prison complex is officially considered a pre-trial detention center for the city of Moscow.
The prison territory consists of 18 three-story buildings, which are designed for 435 cells (101 of them, measuring 72 m², are common). In addition, Butyrka has 32 specially isolated cells (punishment cells) for isolating prisoners who violate the established rules.
In pre-trial detention center No. 2 (Butyrskaya prison) there can be up to 3,500 people. There are currently about 2,700 people under investigation there. Since 1992, church services have been held again in the Orthodox Petrovsky Church.
Guilty?
Many prisoners say they are in prison for no reason. There are very unusual cases: a person has committed one crime, but is serving a sentence for another - one that he did not commit. Such people have asked me several times how to deal with this. Moreover, I cannot force a person to denounce himself, and by law a person is not obliged to testify against himself. To such a prisoner I say: “Even though you have been convicted unjustly now, but take this as retribution for your past sins.”
Prisoners who have long sentences can simply become brutal - not in the sense that they can kill someone. They just stop taking care of themselves, washing themselves, going for walks - they sink down and live like in a den. They actually go crazy. It is a common story that people do not live even seven years in prison with this lifestyle. But with believers the situation is completely opposite: even in prison, life does not end for them and has meaning. The staff themselves see that prisoners change after churching; they do not have the number of violations and recidivism that are common in prison. They see the results. They see that faith really helps.
