Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin Named Cultural Ambassadors to Russia

In one of the more intriguing pieces of news that's come across our desks in recent weeks, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin will be named Cultural Ambassadors to Russia by the U.S. Consulate in Russia, but only for one day. The indie pop group from Springfield, Mo., who are named after the former president of Russia, will play the Old New Rock Festival in Ekaterinburg, a Jan. 13 event sponsored by the Boris Yeltsin Foundation.

"We learned about the SSLYBY group quite by chance, through Internet search,” explained Yevgeny Volk, deputy director of the Yeltsin Foundation. “You might know about the ‘serendipity phenomenon’ – when searching for something, you discover something completely different!"

Upon listening to the band's music and learning about their choice of name, the foundation contacted the band about performing the festival. The group will also visit an English-language school in Ekaterinburg.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin released their first album, 'Broom,' in 2005. They have since released two full-lengths of all-new material, 2008's 'Pershing' and 2010's 'Let it Sway,' in addition to a handful of one-off singles and EPs. A collection of unreleased songs, demos and other rarities, 'Tape Club,' came out in 2011.

Yeltsin was President of Russia from 1991 to 1999, during which time he oversaw the dissolution of the Soviet Union before resigning eight years later in disgrace. He died in April 2007, shortly before the band made their only previous trip to Russia, for a festival in Moscow. But those of us who remember his time in office can presume that he would have greeted this news with copious quantities of vodka. He liked to drink.