41 Facts About Irina Levshakova

Irina Yuryevna Levshakova was a Russian paleontologist, geologist, artist and musician.

Irina Levshakova is most famous for her deep involvement in the underground rock music scene in Leningrad during the 1980s and 1990s.

Irina Levshakova spent several years in Central Asia doing geological surveys.

In 1984, Irina Levshakova inherited the Linnik Dacha, a house in Komarovo previously owned by her grandfather Vladimir Pavlovich Linnik.

Irina Levshakova turned the dacha into a haven for rock musicians, converted one of the rooms into a recording studio, regularly held parties, and allowed bands to play concerts there.

Irina Levshakova rehearsed with several of the most famous local rock musicians of her time.

Irina Levshakova was a talented artist, creating cover art for many rock albums and having her artwork shown at exhibitions in both Russia and internationally.

Irina Levshakova was in 2010 arrested for having grown the largest ever plantation of cannabis in northwestern Russia, though she was sentenced only to five years probation.

Irina Levshakova died in 2016, aged 56, due to heart failure.

Irina Levshakova Yuryevna Kuznetsova was born in Leningrad on 6 May 1959.

Irina Levshakova's father, Yuri Ivanovich Kuznetsov, was an art historian.

Irina Levshakova's grandfather Vladimir Pavlovich Linnik was a famous Soviet physicist and her uncle Yuri Linnik was a mathematician.

Irina Levshakova did not grow up in her family home, the 'Linnik Dacha' in Komarovo.

Irina Levshakova instead spent her early years with her uncle Yuri.

Irina Levshakova was in her youth considered a hippie, a lifestyle frowned upon in the Soviet Union.

Irina Levshakova studied at the Department of Palaeontology at the Leningrad State University under Lev Isaakovich Khosatzky, a well-known Soviet zoologist and paleontologist specialized in turtles.

From 1980 onwards, and through the 1980s an 90s, Irina Levshakova was deeply involved in the underground rock scene in Leningrad.

Irina Levshakova turned one of the rooms into a recording studio.

The dacha began to function as a concert venue; Irina Levshakova regularly held parties and organized apartment concerts.

Irina Levshakova rehearsed with artists such as Boris Grebenshchikov and Konstantin Kinchev.

Irina Levshakova frequently painted cover art for the albums of rock bands, often with "psychedelic" watercolors.

Irina Levshakova's art was at one point exhibited at the Oslo Museum in Norway.

In early 1989 Irina Levshakova was in England, where she recorded several programmes with the Russian-language BBC presenter Seva Novgorodsev, including a programme on 11 February in commemoration of Bashlachev and a programme on 25 February on the subject of Greenpeace and environmental issues.

Irina Levshakova unsuccessfully attempted to realize a musical project of her own during her time in England.

Irina Levshakova starred in the music video for the band's song "The Real Indian".

Reportedly believing that Irina Levshakova was a witch and an "embodiment of evil", Chistyakov put on a painted ritual skirt and borrowed an Uzbek ritual dagger from a friend.

Irina Levshakova was arrested on 14 September 2010 for growing cannabis at her dacha.

Irina Levshakova's plantation was reported by the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia to have been the largest known in recent years and the largest ever cannabis plantation in northwestern Russia.

Irina Levshakova made no attempt at hiding her guilt and confessed to having consumed marijuana for a long time.

Irina Levshakova was tried for the crime of storage and cultivation of drug-containing plants.

For most of her life, Irina Levshakova lived at the Linnik Dacha in Komarovo, often with numerous animals.

Irina Levshakova's mother stayed with her at times until she died in 2009.

Irina Levshakova had a poor relationship with her eldest sons, who had grown up largely without her.

Irina Levshakova did not watch television or read books, with the exception of the works of Kozma Prutkov, which she greatly enjoyed.

Irina Levshakova listened to the Echo of Moscow and Radio Liberty radio stations.

Irina Levshakova regularly received Arabic records from her brothers, one of whom worked in Kuwait and another who worked as an ambassador in Baghdad.

Irina Levshakova died of sudden heart failure on 31 January 2016, aged 56.

Tropillo and Irina Levshakova often took walks together and bought food for her dogs.

Irina Levshakova was cremated on the morning of 9 February 2016.

Irina Levshakova continued to be remembered by the residents of Komarovo after her death, with some claiming that the Linnik Dacha remained "cursed" and "inhabited by an immortal witch".

Irina Levshakova is a fascinating figure, not known to all within the world of palaeontology, but too fascinating to ignore or move into the obscurity of time.