Russkaja

The Austrian ska-punk outfit Russkaja gained notoriety in the early aughts through its satirical pairing of Soviet imagery with a musical style self-defined as "Russian Turbo Polka Metal." Formed in Vienna in 2005 by singer Georgij Makazaria (ex-Stahlhammer), the group also features Dimitrij Miller on bass, Engel Mayr on guitar, Lea-Sophie Fischer on violin, Rainer Gutternigg on trumpet, H-G. Gutternigg on trombone, and Mario Stübler on drums. Kasatchok Superstar, their studio debut, appeared in 2008 and debuted at Number 15 on the Austrian charts, followed by the Top 40 entry Russian Voodoo in 2010. Over the next few years, Russkaja became known as the house band of the late-night show Willkommen Österreich and released a string of well-received albums that honed in on their taste for eclecticism, including Energy (2013), Peace, Love & Russian Roll (2015), Kosmopoliturbo (2017), and No One Is Illegal (2019). On February 3, 2023, Makazaria and company decided to abandon the moniker due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, not without dropping their seventh and final album, Turbo Polka Party, which peaked at Number 7 in Austria.