Thousands of fans flooded into Moscow's B1 Maximum club to see the winners of one of the most influential accolades in Russian rock and alternative music. While the music scene has a lot of awards for pop, there is a lack of recognition for alterative art

The Rock Alternative Music Prize, or RAMP, was organised by Russian A-One TV channel. Held annually since 2005, it promotes a thriving underground music industry that may not get a lot of mainstream airtime on radio and TV.

The awards comprised of ten categories ranging from “The debut of the year” to the lifetime achievement or “Fathers of Rock” award.  

This was no typical event full of industry backslapping, and the winners were chosen by audiences voting on the award's website.

And Valery Kipelov, famous for being the lead singer of ‘Aria’, Russian heavy metal band, won the “Fathers of Rock” prize. He's been on stage for more than 20 years and started his music career at a time when rock and alternative music was still very much underground.