In the spring of 1982, they began to perform at the Leningrad Rock Club and met with the influential underground musician Boris Grebenshchikov.

[1] The name was chosen because it was considered short and "synthetic", and the band members took pride in that it had only two syllables and was easy to pronounce by speakers all over the world.

Lyrically, it resembled earlier Soviet bard music for its romanticism of city life and the use of poetic language.

[5] In late 1982, Kino attempted to record a second album at the studio of the Maly Drama Theatre, along with drummer Valery Kirilov [ru] (who later joined Zoopark) and sound designer Andrey Kuskov.

In the winter of 1983, they played several shows in Leningrad and Moscow and were sometimes accompanied by Aquarium drummer Pyotr Troshchenkov [ru].

According to Grebenshchikov, Kasparyan was a poor guitar player initially, but he quickly progressed and eventually became the second most important member of Kino.

Tsoi was in charge of the creative component, writing music and lyrics, while Rybin did all the administrative work, such as organizing concerts, rehearsals and recording sessions.

The title was inspired by Tsoi's job as a boiler plant operator ("nachalnik" means 'chief' or 'boss,' and "Kamchatka" is slang for 'a very faraway place' – but also a folk name for the boiler plant where Tsoi worked, now his museum), as well as a reference to the 1967 Soviet comedy Nachalnik Chukotki (Russian: Начальник Чукотки).

Kino then performed at II Festival at the Leningrad Rock Club, where they were highly acclaimed and began to take off in popularity.

[10] In the summer, they participated in a critically acclaimed joint performance with Aquarium and other bands held in the Moscow suburb of Nikolina Gora [ru] under the close supervision of the state security forces.

He was replaced by jazz guitarist Igor Tikhomirov [ru], who remained part of Kino's "classic lineup" until its end.

[10] In the spring the band performed at the IV Festival Rock Club, where they received the grand prize for the song "Dalshe deystvovat budem my" (Russian: «Дальше действовать будем мы», lit.

[10] Soon after gaining national fame, Kino began to receive invitations to perform from all over the Eastern Bloc and even from some foreign countries.

[10] In 1989, they released Zvezda po imeni Solntse (Russian: Звезда по имени Солнце, lit.

[12] Kino appeared on the popular Soviet television program Vzglyad and attempted to record several video clips.

)[19] In June 1990, after finishing a lengthy touring season, the band decided to take a short break before recording an album in France.

While it had no official title, it is often called the Black Album (Russian: Чёрный альбом, romanized: Chorny albom) in reference to its all-black cover.

It was released in December 1990, and shortly after, Kino and others close to Tsoi held a press conference announcing the end of the band.

[21] In 2012, on what would have been Tsoi's fiftieth birthday, the band briefly reunited to record the song "Ataman", which had originally been intended to feature on the Black Album.

[27] A remake of the album Eto ne lyubov... was released on 15 March 2024, featuring original vocals and a newly recorded instrumental[28] Kino's musical style has generally been described as post-punk[29][30][31][32][33][34] and new wave.

[10] The ideas of liberty were present (one song was named "Mother Anarchy") but, on the whole, the band's message to the public was not overly or overtly political, except for the recurring theme of freedom.

Their songs largely focused on man's struggle in life and dealt with such overarching themes as love, war, and the pursuit of liberty.

)[37] In addition, "Gruppa Krovi" was listed as one of forty songs that changed the world in a 2007 Russian-language edition of Rolling Stone.

[38] Tsoi's simple, relatable lyrical style was very accessible to Kino's audience and helped them gain popularity throughout the Soviet Union.

In the summer of 2011, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Kino in the village of Morske, Crimea, on the place where in 1981 stood the tent of the future musicians of the band by the Sudak rock club - a memorial sign in the form of a guitar with a plaque was installed.