Михаил Круг (Mikhail Krug)

Mikhail Krug (born Mikhail Vorobyov, 1962–2002) was a Russian singer-songwriter and one of the most iconic figures in the genre known as russky shanson — a style blending storytelling ballads with themes drawn from criminal-underworld life, prison culture, and working-class hardship in post-Soviet Russia. Based in Tver, he became the genre's defining voice through his distinctive raspy vocal delivery and narrative songwriting rooted in street realism.

His breakthrough came with the 1994 album «Жиган-лимон» (Zhigan-Limon), followed by a string of releases including «Зелёный прокурор» (1995), «Живая струна» (1996), and «Мадам» (1998), which cemented his reputation nationwide. His song «Владимирский централ» (Vladimir Central) became one of the most recognizable shanson anthems ever recorded, still widely known decades later across Russian-speaking audiences.

Krug's career was cut short by his murder in 2002, but his catalog continued to expand posthumously with releases like «Роза» (1999), «Мышка» (2000), and «Посвящение» (2002). He remains widely regarded as the genre's most influential and beloved performer, shaping how shanson is written and performed by successive generations of artists.