Elina Gerodes was born on the 18th of April,1978, inLeningrad(i.e. St.Petersburg), in a cool and cloudy typical St.Petersburg weather spring day. This baby was instantly loved by everyone in the family, so much that each one wanted to give her a name. Three months after she was born, in order to decide what name to give her, the members of the family organized a draw. At the draw Elina chose the name that her mother suggested.
During her childhood, she played with level lenses and guns in leather holsters instead of dolls and balls, due to the fact that her father was a military hydrograph. During his service, the family was always following him around the area of the Baltic Fleet inRussiaandEstonia. The sounds of theBaltic Seabecame a sensational music in the ears of the young Elina, which later inspired her to write poetry.
Perhaps that was the reason at the age of nine Gerodes wrote her first composition. Since the age of thirteen Elina started writing poems regularly. During teenage years she got a primary music education from her friends. Various Russian singers, such as Victor Tsoi, Yuri Vizbor, Alexander Rozenbaum, Crematori inspired her and attached her heart to the guitar forever.
After finishing school, Elina wanted to enter the theatre college but instead she entered the law faculty of Alexandrovsky lyceum of A. Pushkin. Later, Gerodes continued her education in the law faculty of St.Petersburg State University of Alexander Pushkin.
Noteworthy is that there is a deeper connection between Elina and the name of Alexander Pushkin. In 1872 Elina's ancestors, a family of Estonian Germans, named Gerodes, decided to change their place of living from Revel and moved to beautiful places not far from Gatchina (30 kmfrom St.Petersburg). They bought the windmill, which had been designed and built by Abraham Gannibal, the famous great grandfather of Alexander Pushkin. In that area the famous Russian poet was born and brought up.
Subsequently Elina gave birth to her daughter and concentrated for a few years solely on bringing her up and on her education. As time passed by, the need to write lyrics and songs was growing stronger and stronger. Indeed she started writing again and one poem was following the other.
In 2006, with the help and support of her friends, Gerodes organized her first concert in a historic and symbolic place inSt Petersburg, called the "Stray Dog". She courageously performed in the café, which was full of people. "Stray Dog" is an Art café, where literary, theatrical and artistic elements have been meeting and merging together since it first opened in 1911. The most famous frequenters of the "Stray Dog" were, amongst others, Tamara Karsavina, Mikhail Fokin, Yuriy Yurev, Anna Akhmatova, Nikolay Gumilev, Konstantin Balmont, Igor Severyanin, Alexander Black, Osyp Mandelshtam and many others.