Skverna – Butovo & Привет красавица

“Band biographies tend to be boring to ugly, and upon reading, one feels sorry for the writer, so we’ll try to keep it short.” Thus begins the biographies (on VK) of Skverna, power trio with lyrics pro Kotov, партизан и вяческу сумятицу – about cats, partisans, and all kinds of confusion.

Mothers and Sons

There isn’t much more to reveal about Skverna (not to be confused with the Russian black metal band Скверна – see Reverso or Академик if you’re curious about the meaning). Judging by the view counts on their YouTube page, the numbers would already be higher if their mothers watched once a month. Sadly for those moms, it seems they don’t. So help the sons out – and do yourself a favor while you’re at it: Skverna is a hidden gem and comes highly recommended.

Бутово

From Долгие проводы (2019).
Butovo is the name of a district in Moscow (just outside the МКАД or ring road), large enough for a North and South. It’s also an area with a lot of history. Though the song isn’t about that, it’s well worth knowing.

• Mass Grave in Moscow Suburbs is Among Russia’s Holiest Sites (The Moscow Times, 2014)
• The Butovo Shooting Range (SciencesPo, 2009)
• Former Killing Ground Becomes Shrine to Stalin’s Victims (The New York Times, 2007)
• Butovo firing range (Wikipedia)

Lyrics available on the track page on Bandcamp.

Привет красавица

From Привет (2017)
A hello to a beautiful girl – for more details, you’ll have to listen and hopefully understand. The lyrics weren’t found online (not even here), but they’ll be posted on this website as soon as the email enquiry gets a reply. (Привет, Скверна.)

Update 2026: the wait continues, though optimism has faded.

More Skverna on Bandcamp and Facebook. You can also listen on Apple Music and Spotify.

Most of the music here is also available in an R1 playlist on YouTube (in the order of posting).
Also see Best Russian Music and Russian Song Lyrics.

Last update March 15, 2026