Reisshinka (from Reißschiene, T-square; literally, “small T-square”) was an amateur satirical musical ensemble of women-architects, which was created in 1953 at Mosproekt institute and patronized by the Central House of architects. It was the counterpart of the male Koh-i-Noor (named after the popular Czech pencil brand). The two ensembles existed for over five decades, often performing together and giving numerous concerts (altogether over 1500) all over Russia. Their performances often took popular songs changing the lyrics to satirize contemporary architecture. Architect Rimma Aldonina with engineer Alexander Heifetz (Kheifets) were the performance directors of Reisshinka; Aldonina was also the lead singer and the author of much of Reisshinka’s lyrics. Architect Igor Pokrovsky was the performance director and lyrics writer of Koh-i-Noor. Architects Iraida Shishkina was among the ensemble’s founders, while Oktyabrina Lebedeva was another long-term performer and lead singer in Reisshinka.

Despite the fact that the ensembles quickly gained popularity among the Soviet public and performed in central music venues in the country, they were always considered amature. None of the ensembles’ performers, directors, or managers were ever paid for their work. This also enabled a greater degree of freedom that the ensembles could enjoy, and their lyrics were often highly critical of Soviet architecture, construction industry, and society in general. This critical edge, however, prevented them (with two early exceptions) from appearing on television. 

In 2001, Aldonina, Lebedeva, Heifetz, Pokrovsky, and Koh-i-Noor members Yury Sokolov and Vyacheslav Kuvyrdin became the inaugural recipients of the prize of Irina Arkhipova foundation, established by the celebrated Soviet opera singer Irina Arkhipova, herself a graduate of Moscow Institute of Architecture.