Scouts

igor_compName: Igor Z.

City: Moscow, Russia

After moving to Moscow from Saint-Petersburg I have been floating between freelance collaborations with local zines and studies at the University of International Relations, itself a breeding ground for countless art and music projects. 


Obsession with music and print eventually led me into the media industry. I got involved into the Hooligan magazine, a leading Russian title about contemporary independent culture from around the world. At the moment I work as Hooligan’s editor apart from promoting some of the local indie bands abroad 



posts by this scout:

Stocking up

(Jan 12, 2013) Jacob Carda is a Russian entrepreneur and designer who brought some excitement back to the dullest thing on the planet – bu...

Melting spot

(Jan 10, 2013) Real talents differ from other people because they are able to surprise on a constant basis. Arkady Novikov,  the owner of the ...

Lo-fi revolt

(Jan 08, 2013) Borth Hermetic is a creative alter ego of a multitask musician Evgeniy Kostkove, previously known for his mischievous performanc...

Stick To The Roots

(Jan 06, 2013)   Dog fights, off-road racing and no-rules wrestling. By looking at a young Dagestani artist Taus Makhacheva you would ne...

Northern Fights

(Jan 04, 2013)   Gosha Rubchinsky needs no introduction. His collections are regularly displayed in Dover Street Market, style editors are ...

Mittens to die for

(Jan 02, 2013) Everybody knows the ‘I love NY’ sign. Some people would happily recall ‘I love Amsterdam’ but nobody would drop a singl...

The recipe hunter

(Oct 05, 2012) Maksim Syrnikov is a unique character in the Russian culinary world today. Over the last several years it’s been fashionable t...

Georgian Cuisine, Revealed!

(Oct 04, 2012) To Moscow, Georgian cuisine is essentially what Indian is to London or Chinese to New York – it’s delicious, inexpe...

How to stop wasting money

(Jul 03, 2012)   No kidding, registering on this new website called Zen Money falls into the category of the life-changing decisions. Throu...

Pavel Pepperstein Beautificating Reality

(Jun 02, 2012) Anything can be beautiful when it comes to contemporary art. Well, at least when one’s scribbles on a piece of paper get ac...

Street modifiers

(Mar 24, 2012)   ‘Partizaning’ is a group of Moscow-based activists obsessed with the idea of improving urban environment. The...

Video with a gifted soul

(Mar 24, 2012) Celebrine is an amazing band formed by Kate Logacheva and Ilya Dmitriev. Both of them have academic background in music and art w...

Pussy Riot

(Mar 24, 2012) Getting on the front page of Guardian ain’t easy task for any emerging band. However Pussy Riot, a feminist punk group fro...

Jewelry for shamans

(Mar 24, 2012) Vasilina Etnie has been djing, painting and designing for most of her life before realising that her biggest passion lies somewhe...

Kira Lao reinvents folk

(Mar 24, 2012) Kira Lao is a promising singer from northwestern Russia who has recently stormed Moscow with her debut album called ‘Sheles...

Protected: Man of the World from Moscow

(Feb 24, 2012) As paradoxical as it might sound, there is probably no better place to be a man of the world than Moscow these days. Every littl...

New Washed Out ‘Within and Without’

(Oct 05, 2011) Washed Out’s new album is a true revelation for many people in this world. While his numerous counterparts are still playin...

Yandex is creating Twitter newspaper

(Oct 05, 2011) Russian Internet mogul Yandex has never been short of surprising ideas. It has recently bought a service called ‘The Tweete...

Advertising in a Soviet way

(Oct 04, 2011) Recent festival of advertising in the USSR showed how little we know about day-to-day life of our communist ancestors. It’...

Urbanized by Gary Hustwit

(Oct 04, 2011) Filmmaker Gary Hustwit has introduced his new design-oriented documentary called ‘Urbanized’ which would close his tr...

Paperless schools

(Oct 03, 2011) Here comes the major breakthrough in paper versus e-readers battleship. Most of Moscow schools will be equipped with British-pr...

Fashion talks

(Oct 03, 2011) Debating about fashion is a weird thing, though occasionally you might find nuggets of profound thinking in fashion-related threa...

Lambada Market

(Aug 18, 2011) Pop-up markets continue its rapid expansion across central Moscow with the recent addition called Lambada-Market taking place in ...

Back to the archives

(Aug 18, 2011) Fashion collaborations usually work according to the formula which rather peculiarly states that one plus one gives one and a hal...

From Egypt with love

(Aug 18, 2011) Watching an intriguing trailer for the new film directed by Greg Barker and called ‘Koran by Heart’ is a genuinely th...

Another goofily named artist

(Aug 17, 2011) Getting shortlisted for the annual Red Bull Music Academy is equivalent to Olympic gold for the aspiring music makers from Russi...

eBay will fight pirates

(Jul 22, 2011) Would you buy a simple rag bag for $150 if it had ‘Rodarte’ label printed on it? Probably not. But eBay believes you ...

Road movie

(Jul 22, 2011) ‘Target’ is one of the most impressive movies I’ve seen since Gaspar Noe’s ‘Enter the Void’. ...

Yotting to the future

(Jul 21, 2011) As it usually happens with the rapidly developing countries, sometimes poor infrastructure is an advantage rather than a drawbac...

Open space cinema

(Jul 20, 2011) Strelka – the trendiest, sexiest and flashiest place in today’s Moscow – has opened its spacious terrace to sho...

Stuck on repeat

(Jul 19, 2011) The weirdest problem with the Russian bands is that they never get tired of doing the same kind of shit thing again and again. S...

YouTube moves into films

(Jul 18, 2011) I’ve never been an ardent fan of the torrents, neither do I like paying money for watching some oldy stuff directed dozens ...

New fashion magazine from Dasha Zhukova

(Jun 10, 2011) As it’s widely rumored, Dasha Zhukova, the flamboyant girlfriend of Roman Abramovich, plans to launch her new fashion an...

Robojournalists will replace humans soon

(Jun 09, 2011) It finally seems that the day when journalists will die out just like the dinosaurs is dramatically close. Take a look at the web...

Quentin’s love affair with Hong Kong

(Jun 08, 2011) Quentin Tarantino has never tried to make a secret of his long-lasting love affair with the iconic action movies from Hong Kong. ...

Miracle Libido: new face of the beat culture

(Jun 08, 2011) New face of the beat culture: Miracle Libido. Creative network of artists and musicians How2Make keeps on storming European and A...

A glance at Moscow’s future

(Jun 07, 2011) With a brand-new design school ‘Strelka’ presenting its first breed of young urban planners, it’s enormously in...

Green season at Flakon

(Jun 07, 2011) ‘Flakon’ is a new center of gravity for local idle youth. Despite being placed on the outskirts of an abandoned Save...

Russian grannies chick

(May 15, 2011) Most old people in Russia are wary of street photographers. That is why it took Igor Gavar a lot of time and efforts to launch th...

Get a degree through Skype

(May 15, 2011) As even kids know, professors and teachers from around the world already use Skype to communicate with their students in other co...

Two many pluses to ignore

(May 14, 2011) ‘Plusplusplus’ is a new guise for the same creative community that has been standing behind the most audacious experi...

He is back to save the world

(May 12, 2011) Well, this piece of information might be out of the underground radars, but the sheer oddity of the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegge...

‘Lavka’ turns Moscow into a farm

(May 11, 2011) It’s not difficult to recall a couple of such places in New York or London, but for Muscovites the very idea of setting up ...

Crash-test for ‘Washed Out’

(May 11, 2011) Washed Out – the chief mastermind behind recent chillwave revolution – is set to release his debut album soon. This n...

Young Entrepreneurs in Moscow

(Apr 08, 2011) The concept ‘small is beautiful’ has become more accepted in in a city where size used to matter a lot. Moscow is a ...

Russian Disneyland

(Apr 07, 2011) Muscovites are about to get their own version of Disneyland. A huge chunk of derelict land, which is currently called Gorky Park...

‘Generation P’ On The Screen

(Apr 06, 2011) Unlike great writers of the glorious past, modern Russian men of letters can’t boast the same level of worldwide recognitio...

Daily Paradox

(Mar 25, 2011) Last year when Rupert Murdoch announced that his News Corporation was working on the world’s first newspaper made exclusive...

The Soviet Answer to Vogue

(Mar 18, 2011) A few days ago I came across an outstanding artefact from the Soviet times. It was a well-preserved edition of a glossy magazine ...

Downshifting to Perfection

(Mar 13, 2011) Mujuice is justifiably regarded as a major hope for Russian electronic music and, undoubtedly, its most promising talent. This g...

Gay Ads Provoke Scandal

(Mar 12, 2011) Ice Hockey film compares having gay sex without condom to playing hockey without a helmet With gay parades still being an officia...

Rise and Fall of Khodorkovsky

(Mar 10, 2011) Khodorkovsky is a striking new documentary produced by a German film director Cyril Tushi. He has been gathering material and fil...

Reykjavik in Moscow

(Mar 05, 2011) Moscow’s winter outdoor pools are a very charming sight: the snow-covered platform and a pair of poles with flashing colour...

Hard Day’s Sight

(Feb 25, 2011) Potentially this film could be a next breakthrough in the history of cinema… but it won’t as technologies are not enough ...

Big Gypsy Wedding

(Feb 17, 2011) A series of documentaries named My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding has stricken me to the heart. Available on YouTube and 4OD Channel websi...

Industrial Riposting

(Feb 10, 2011) Endurance crowd Industrial music hasn’t been that big even back in the 80′s when Cabaret Voltaire and Yazoo forced peo...

Open Space

(Feb 09, 2011) Recently we’ve seen major revival works on a site of former Krasny Oktyabr chocolate factory, which is now being turned int...

Off-Season

(Feb 08, 2011) Cycles & Seasons burst into Moscow’s design circles as a major creative booster to local underground mavericks. Starte...

Free Web? Forget it

(Feb 03, 2011) One of the tariff plans discussed at Allot Communications seminar Web is protected by many laws to be transparent and accessible f...

War and Peace

(Jan 21, 2011) Street 'gopniks' attacking main hero of 'Drifter' Streets turned into hunting sites, self-proclaimed war engulfs ...

Dark and Sleek

(Jan 14, 2011)   Moscow-based designer Dmitry Loginov — the main creative force at the Arsenicum brand — is planning to distribute his dark-...

Strelka, Moscow’s One Night Stand

(Jan 13, 2011) Strelka, the busiest bar in Moscow in 2010, is an embodiment of what was considered cool last decade. Someone would invariably ex...

Have you got your Bookmate?

(Jan 07, 2011) Bookmate is increasingly popular among Russian book lovers It seems that there is another revolutionary Web thing that is going t...

Motorama kicks into future

(Jan 06, 2011) Five-piece band from Rostov gives new meaning to pop music You would never guess that this band comes from the gangster capital o...

Protected: Competing alternate network

(Jul 01, 2010) Q:  What new social networking sites/applications/services have you heard of recently? What do you think of them? How do you fee...

Protected: Participate in something vital

(Jul 01, 2010) Q: What good and bad examples have you seen of brands using social networking sites/applications/services?  A:  I like how big b...

Protected: Moguls should finally make IPO

(Jul 01, 2010) Q: What do you expect to be the ‘next big thing’ or ‘next big trend’ in social networking?  A: Leaving social networks o...

Protected: Miracles of bad designs

(Jun 20, 2010) Q: What’s your current perspective on Facebook? Are you and your friends still using it, if so what for and how has this change...

Office Boxing

(Jun 01, 2010) In a few months Moscow office workers will get a chance to fight each other in a very intelligent and healthy way on the way hom...

The Rollings in Nice

(May 31, 2010) Music fans are waiting for the Cannes premier of the of the documentary Stones in exile directed by Steven Kizhaka. Mick Jagger...

Social Networking can be enormously helpful

(May 27, 2010) Q: How do you feel about social networking sites/applications/services? Why do you feel this way? How does it affect how you use ...

Socializing – Just like old times

(May 27, 2010) Q: How do you tend to socialize with your friends? How has this changed over the past year? How do you expect this to change ove...

Live TV all day long

(May 17, 2010) If you don’t like state-controlled TV channels, create your own! Broadcasting tests of a new media project Rain Optimisti...

New label for start-uppers

(May 17, 2010) Finally you can jump straight to big festival’s stages without queuing in a line of penny-whistle bands. Yuri Chernavsky, o...

Fast fashion

(May 13, 2010) Mass brands have finally defeated podium standards in their run for young consumers. Nowadays it takes less than six months for ...

Save your night out

(May 09, 2010) With the recession still ruling the show, it turns out that saving can be very interesting. You can walk instead of driving, buy ...

Factory boy

(Apr 14, 2010) There was an impressive debut in the recent Sundance Festival, also showed in cinema halls in Moscow. Director Tamra Davis pre...

Get unshelled

(Apr 06, 2010) Some questions may remain unanswered for decades. Just like this one – what’s the problem with the young Russian desi...

What’s the Zef?

(Mar 29, 2010) Smart music critics were right to predict that next-big-thing would rise from the outskirts of civilisation. This time it is Cap...

Twitter is finally in business

(Mar 26, 2010) Twitter didn’t resist too long the opportunity to earn some money. Soon we’ll see ads on the largest microblogging we...

iPad brings hope

(Feb 28, 2010) It wouldn’t be too disengenuous to say that the iPad presentation has been widely discussed among local media circles as i...

Uniqlo arrives, finally

(Feb 28, 2010) There is only one word you might coin when it comes to mass fashion in Moscow and the word is ‘slow’. Brands come an...

Miseducation

(Feb 22, 2010) ‘School’ is often compared to British ‘Skins’ but the principal difference is that ‘School’ d...

Imaginarium at Soviet-era cinema hall

(Feb 20, 2010) Coming back from the opening night of Terry Gulliam’s ‘Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’, I have to admit it was ...

Moody Shopping

(Feb 20, 2010) Andrew Kovalev is a grey-figure of Moscow concept-stores business. He has been standing behind the best stores selling independen...

Cops on fire

(Feb 18, 2010) Musicals are not something closely associated with hip-hop and underground. Nevertheless Moscow based hip-hop community How2Make ...

Circumstances matter

(Dec 02, 2009) Young Moscow-based director Pavel Ruminov showed up with a new experimental work after several years of silence. His new film is c...

Stand Up TV

(Dec 01, 2009) Stand Up comedy is taking over popular Russian TV channels. The grotesque name of the most rated program on Saturday evenings R...

Kitchen talks

(Nov 30, 2009) Private kitchens used to stand in the epicenter of Moscow social life due to the lack of public space in this city. But even today...

Chocolate Factory

(Nov 29, 2009) There is a splendid red-brick factory almost overlooking the Kremlin just on the embankment of Moscow-river. For ages it has been ...

Back to the bars

(Sep 25, 2009) Drugs aside, fuck disco bolus (disco bolus? – ed), in times of financial turmoil everybody is back to their roots.  Drinks ...

Dirty baleariс dances still run the show

(Sep 25, 2009) After a series of fanzine hipster parties (always named in mysteriously bizarre way like “Kolya, ty ne s toy zhivesh’ – lite...

Pop-up stores bubbling up in all areas

(Sep 24, 2009) Moscow fashion and streetwear scene is bubbling with pop-up and concept-stores opening up every-day. Now it has become as cheap an...

Grabbing fresh music to go on ‘Advanced Music’

(Sep 24, 2009) Good place to grab fresh music news is a blog Advanced Music made by a promo team standing behind famous Moscow parties called Idl...

New wave of German art-house getting attention

(Sep 24, 2009) Lots of things I’m personally waiting for. I like Michael Haneke and looking forward for the first screening of his latest ‘Da...