Youth, the first bands of Tsoi

The musician grew up as an only child in the family. He was an average student at school and struggled with exact sciences. Therefore, after finishing eight grades, and since Viktor was good at drawing and had a talent for other arts, he enrolled in the "Serovka." The Serov Art School at that time was located near Smolny — at 5 Proletarskaya Diktatura Street. Now, neither the "Serovka" nor the street with that name exists. At the school, he discovered his talent as a musician and became a member of the band "Palata N6." Instead of Proletarskaya Diktatura Street, there is now Lafonskaya Street; the Serov Art School became the St. Petersburg Roerich Art School and changed its location — it now operates on Grazhdansky Prospekt. Tsoi never graduated from the school — he was expelled in his second year due to poor academic performance. Witnesses claim that his passion for music was partly to blame. Then, at his parents' insistence, Viktor enrolled in SPTU-61, specializing in "Wood Carving." His passion for music did not leave him there either. It was here, on the outskirts of the city, in mid-1981, that Viktor Tsoi, together with Alexey Rybin and Oleg Valinsky, created the musical group "Gagarin and the Hyperboloids," which soon became known as "Kino."

In this group, Tsoi and his friends created iconic works that remain popular to this day — "Aluminum Cucumbers," "The Last Hero," "Trolleybus." After presenting the songs to the general public, they instantly spread throughout the entire Soviet Union.

The phrase "A Star Called the Sun" has several meanings in Viktor Tsoi's life. It is not only a line from his song but also the title of his diploma work. Nowadays, anyone interested can see the wooden panel with this title. It is kept in the museum of SPTU-61.

Now, this is Branch No. 2 of the Kirov Restoration College. The diploma work of Tsoi — a carved door casing with the sun — is still preserved in the art museum of the educational institution. Viktor made progress in wood carving; he was even featured on the popular "Monitor" program on Leningrad television as the best student.

Tsoi could professionally carve netsuke figures from wood, and he regularly gave his friends ashtrays and other wooden crafts as gifts. For some time, Viktor even worked in the workshop of the Catherine Palace in Pushkin.

Sources:

https://spbinteres.ru/sankt-peterburg-viktora-coya.html

https://spbcult.ru/articles/istoriya-peterburga/progulka-po-adresam-viktora-coya-v-peterburge/