Formed in 1999 in New York City’s Lower East Side, Gogol Bordello is known for its theatrical stage shows inspired by Gypsy music incorporating minor-key accordion and violin mixed with punk and dub. “Gogol” comes from Nikolai Gogol, one of the most influential writers in Russian and Ukrainian literature. He served as an ideological influence for the band because he "smuggled" Ukrainian culture into Russian society, which Gogol Bordello intends to do with Gypsy/ East-European music in the English-speaking world.