On September 1, 1998, Igor Sorin fell from the sixth-floor balcony of a Moscow studio apartment while he and musicians from DSM Formation were preparing to record his first solo album. According to the band’s sound engineer, Sorin went outdoors that morning to catch his breath and never returned, only to be found later on the grass below. The incident was reported by the band’s crew as a sudden, shocking moment in a hopeful project.
Sorin miraculously survived the fall and was rushed to the 71st City Hospital in Moscow, where doctors diagnosed a fractured spine and complete paralysis of the lower body. A complex operation was planned, but physicians warned the musician’s parents that even if he lived through the procedure, paralysis would remain. Just before the operation, Sorin regained consciousness and spoke briefly with his mother, a moment later recalled by those close to him.
“They carried me to the bed, and his face looked completely calm. ‘Mom, kiss me,’ he whispered. ‘I kissed him and understood this was the end,’” Svetlana Sorina told TV presenter Oksana Pushkina. The recollection comes from an interview with Pushkina.
The operation proceeded, and while surgical teams considered the procedure successful in immediate terms, Sorin could not leave the bed. After three days of struggle, his heart could not endure the fight. On September 4, 1998, Igor Sorin died at the age of 29, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions and a family grappling with loss.
The exact events of that morning remain unclear, and multiple versions of the tragedy circulate among friends, family, and fans.
Igor Sorin was killed
Sorin’s mother believed her son was murdered. She described a confrontation in the studio on Veresaeva Street that night, during which unidentified individuals allegedly broke the artist’s neck and, in fear, transported his body to be placed under the balcony.
Medical notes cited by the family stated that the internal organs were intact. The autopsy doctor explained that a fall from the sixth floor would typically cause damage, including broken cervical vertebrae. The claim is attributed to the hospital pathologist in discussions reported by the family.
The mother added that the people who were with Igor on the night of the incident reportedly moved abroad soon after the accident. Andrei Grigoriev-Appolonov, a former Ivanushki International member, supported the murder theory in an interview with Moscow 24, saying he did not observe any bruises on Sorin that would usually accompany a fall from a height.
“I visited Igor in the hospital, and there were no bruises. Can you fall from the sixth floor without any injuries? A karate expert could break his neck”, Grigoriev-Appolonov stated.
Igor Sorin was ruined by drugs
Several reports suggested that at the time of the tragedy Sorin was under the influence of drugs and may have fallen accidentally from the window. Kommersant’s sources in music circles claimed that the artist had been using drugs for a long period. His friend, journalist Otar Kushanashvili, also spoke about the musician’s struggles with addiction.
“Like many people in demanding creative circles, he faced a harsh pressure that could lead to substance use”, said Kushanashvili in remarks cited in media discussions of the case. In later interviews, Igor Matvienko commented that both Sorin and Oleg Yakovlev were affected by addictions.
Matvienko elaborated that Sorin and others around him had encountered troubling circumstances, noting that the circle he left continued to grapple with the consequences of those years. He also recalled learning about Sorin’s struggles only after Sorin exited the group.
“I don’t know exactly what happened there, but he fell in with friends who were involved in drugs. There wasn’t much money, so the quality of the substances wasn’t ideal. Yet the outcome is the same when addiction takes hold”, said the producer of Ivanushki International.
No traces of alcohol or drugs were found in Sorin’s blood at the time of testing, casting doubt on some of the addiction theories that circulated in later discussions.
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The investigation assessed that the main version of the tragedy was suicide, though the discussion around the case continued in public discourse.
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