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rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
originated in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in the 1960s based on the influence of
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
rock music and bard songs, and was developed by both amateur bands and official
VIA Via or VIA may refer to the following: Arts and entertainment * ''Via'' (Volumes album), 2011 * Via (Thalia Zedek album), 2013 * VIA (music), Soviet and Russian term for a music collective Businesses and organisations * Via Foundation, a Cz ...
. The "golden age" of Russian rock was during the 1980s (especially the era of
perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...
), when the Soviet underground rock bands became able to release their records officially. During this period, "rock clubs" were created, bands like " Kino", " Alisa", "
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
", "
Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...
", "
Nautilus Pompilius The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect logarithmic spiral, equiangular s ...
", "
Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
", " Chaif", and "
Grazhdanskaya Oborona Grazhdanskaya Oborona (Russian: Гражданская оборона, , Russian for ''Civil Defense'', or ГО, often referred to as ГрОб, Russian for ''coffin'') was a Soviet-Russian rock band formed by Yegor Letov and Konstantin Ryabin ...
" appeared and gained popularity, and already known groups, such as "
Mashina Vremeni Mashina Vremeni () is a Russian rock band founded in 1969. Mashina Vremeni was a pioneer of Soviet rock music and remains one of the oldest still-active rock bands in Russia. The band's music incorporates elements of classic rock, blues, and b ...
" and "
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
", began to publish albums officially. Russian rock's characteristic feature was the emphasis on the lyrics. Due to its lyrical emphasis, it became a symbol of the youth of the Perestroika era. Russian rock of the 20th century is often considered a united cultural movement that has some common musical, aesthetic and ideological features. In the 21st century, almost all genres of rock music exist in Russia, which is why "Russian rock" has become a more vague concept.Артемий Троицкий: «Рок перестал быть режущим предметом»
— Радио Свобода, 29 декабря 2016
При этом говорить, что они представляют собой сегодня какое-то мощное общественно значимое движение, как это было в 80-е годы, не приходится. Движения нет, но отдельные силы есть, они в достаточной мере разрозненны, но достаточно разнообразны.
The majority of the Russian bands perform in the
Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...
. According to various polls, the most popular Russian rock bands include Kino,
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
,
Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
, Alisa,
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
and
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
.


History


The early 1960s: Local bard music and first western influences

By the mid-1960s,
beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
groups had formed in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
and
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, at first performing cover versions of foreign hits on home-made equipment. Among these groups were "Sokol", "Scythians", "Buffoons" and "Slavs" (
Alexander Gradsky Alexander Borisovich Gradsky (; born Alexander Borisovich Fradkin, 3 November 1949 – 28 November 2021) was a Russian rock singer, bard, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was one of the earliest performers of rock music in Russia. His div ...
's groups), and "Forest Brothers". In 1965, the band
Sokol Sokol, Sokół or SOKOL may refer to: Sports * Sokol movement, a Pan-Slavic physical education movement, and its various incarnations: ** Czech Sokol movement, the original one ** Polish Sokół movement ** Russian Sokol movement ** Sokol mov ...
released the first rock song in Russian, "Gde tot krai?" (). The beat quartet "
Integral In mathematics, an integral is the continuous analog of a Summation, sum, which is used to calculate area, areas, volume, volumes, and their generalizations. Integration, the process of computing an integral, is one of the two fundamental oper ...
" performed
jazz music Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, hymns, m ...
and compositions in the style of
The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...
and
The Swinging Blue Jeans The Swinging Blue Jeans are a four-piece 1960s British Merseybeat band, best known for their hit singles with the His Master's Voice label: " Hippy Hippy Shake", " Good Golly Miss Molly", and " You're No Good", issued in 1964. Subsequent sin ...
, and also composed their own twists and rock 'n' rolls. With the spread of
Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles from 1963 to 1966. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom in late 1963, propelled by the singles " Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and " She Loves Yo ...
, almost every school had its own rock band. The movement was partly influenced by the ideology of the Western
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
s. At the same time, Russian rock was partly influenced by bard music, a style referred to as ''avtorskaya pesnya'' (), mostly played on unaccompanied acoustic guitar. It was characterized by a strong emphasis on lyrics that sometimes carried a subversive meaning, as well as a lively and informal approach to the theme - romance, everyday life, military songs, patriotic songs, satire, irony etc. The most famous performers of the bard song were Alexander Galich,
Vladimir Vysotsky Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky (25 January 193825 July 1980) was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor who had an immense and enduring effect on Soviet culture. He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which ...
,
Bulat Okudzhava Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (; ka, ბულატ ოკუჯავა; ; May 9, 1924 – June 12, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, musician, novelist, and singer-songwriter of Georgian-Armenian ancestry. He was one of the founders o ...
. Meanwhile, Western music was either being smuggled across the border or released by
Melodiya Melodiya () is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya" in accordance wi ...
as part of what was essentially state-run media piracy, with
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
taking a firm place in Soviet popular culture, and artists such as
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
and
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
completing a somewhat distorted picture of Western music.


The late 1960s and 1970s: Formation of the movement

In the late 1960s, the most advanced Russian rockers began experimenting with folk sound. The
beat music Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music Music genre, genre that developed around Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from British rock and roll, British and Music of the United St ...
movement developed in the provinces. The first Russian rock and roll magazine "Beat-Echo" was released in 1965 (as
samizdat Samizdat (, , ) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the documents from reader to reader. The practice of manual rep ...
).''Кудряц Е.'
Прощание с легендой
// Зарубежные задворки. — 2010. — № 2—3. In Russian
On December 18, 1966, the first rock festival in the USSR was held in
Kamensk-Uralsky Kamensk-Uralsky ( rus, Ка́менск-Ура́льский, p=ˈkamʲɪnsk ʊˈralʲskʲɪj) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kamenka River (Sverdlovsk Oblast), ...
, Sverdlovsk region.''Карасюк Д.'
Четыре года общего режима за песни Ленина-Маккартни
// diletant.media. — 2016. — 15 дек. In Russian
Легендарные рок-фестивали СССР
In Russian
In May 1969, the festival later known as "Woodstock-na-Donu" was held in Rostov-na-Donu.'' Посиделов В.'' «ВУДСТОК»-на-Дону // Ростов официальный. — 2004. — 21 янв. — № 3 (477). — С. 11. In Russian However, the musicians of independent bands faced two problems that limited their activities. The first was the unavailability of recording studios (then sole record label,
Melodiya Melodiya () is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya" in accordance wi ...
, would later forge a partnership with international label EMI in the 70s). The second problem was that after completing higher education, musicians had to make a choice: to leave to work in their specialty or join a professional band -
VIA Via or VIA may refer to the following: Arts and entertainment * ''Via'' (Volumes album), 2011 * Via (Thalia Zedek album), 2013 * VIA (music), Soviet and Russian term for a music collective Businesses and organisations * Via Foundation, a Cz ...
(). Guitar-driven bands evolved during this time, including Leningrad-based Pojuschie Gitary and Belarusian Pesnyary. These bands started the VIA movement, and were followed by others, such as Tsvety,
Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki *, a Russian film directed by Yevgeni Kotov * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', a 1989 and 1991 ...
, , and Sinyaya Ptitsa. Some Soviet composers —
David Tukhmanov David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov PAR (, was born July 20, 1940) is a Soviet and Russian composer. People's Artist of Russia (2000), State Prize of Russian Federation (2003, 2019). Biography Tukhmanov is a son of an Armenian engineer Fyodor David ...
, Yury Antonov — tried to combine the traditions of Soviet estrada with modern musical ideas, including those introduced by Western rock music. At the same time,
Mashina Vremeni Mashina Vremeni () is a Russian rock band founded in 1969. Mashina Vremeni was a pioneer of Soviet rock music and remains one of the oldest still-active rock bands in Russia. The band's music incorporates elements of classic rock, blues, and b ...
in Moscow and
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
in Leningrad started as nominally amateur bands and soon became popular, performing underground concerts. In the early 1970s, Yuri Morozov invented a kind of Russian
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
, using elements of
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
and ethnic Russian music. His sound influenced
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
, Aquarium,
Chizh & Co Chizh & Co () is a Russian rock band, formed in the early 1990s by guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Sergey Chigrakov. The band's last studio album to date was released in 1999. The band was also named The Band of a Year by '' Rock-Fuzz Magaz ...
, and many others, while he worked with them as a
sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...
. Morozov, as well as "Scythians", "Sadko" and "Tin Soldiers", released the earliest Russian rock recordings through
samizdat Samizdat (, , ) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the documents from reader to reader. The practice of manual rep ...
. Another notable artist who started his activity at the same time is
Alexander Gradsky Alexander Borisovich Gradsky (; born Alexander Borisovich Fradkin, 3 November 1949 – 28 November 2021) was a Russian rock singer, bard, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was one of the earliest performers of rock music in Russia. His div ...
, who fused
bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...
music with Western rock. As successful composer and singer, he was able to release some of his recordings through
Melodiya Melodiya () is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya" in accordance wi ...
since 1973. In 1970 and 1971, the first All-Soviet rock festival "Silver Strings" was held.5 легендарных рок-фестивалей, которые потрясли СССР
/ref> In 1971 and 1972, the "Pop Federation" organization was engaged in underground rock concerts.
Moscow Power Engineering Institute National Research University "Moscow Power Engineering Institute" (MPEI; ) is a public university based in Moscow, Russia. It offers training in the fields of Power Engineering, Electric Engineering, Radio Engineering, Electronics, Information ...
was the most famous venue for rock bands of the 1970s in Moscow. In March 1976,
Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
( ESSR) hosted the "Tallinn Youth Songs" Rock Festival, which brought together bands from different republics of the Soviet Union.«Было, есть, будет…» А. Макаревич. Эксмо, 2015 г. ISBN 978-5-699-75838-8. In Russian During this period, concert recordings, rather than studio recordings, were mainly distributed, which were rewritten as self-published from one owner of the tape recorder to another.История советской пиратской музыки: «Я фокстрот танцевал и танцевать буду!»
In Russian
Since 1979, new underground recording studios have emerged ( AnTrop, Sverdlovsk Studio etc.). For Leningrad, the concept of acoustic kvartirnik (
house concert A house concert or home concert is a musical concert or performance art that is presented in someone's home or apartment, or a nearby small private space such as a barn, apartment rec room, lawn, or backyard."VIDEO: House concert in Royal Oak," ...
) was spread; Moscow bands performed mainly in electricity. "Ruby Attack", "Argonauts", "
Mify Mify () are a Rock music, rock band formed in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad in 1966. History 1966-1967: The Red Roosters The history of the group began in September 1966, when Sergey Danilov and Gennadiy Barikhnovskiy were both eighth-graders ...
", "Successful Acquisition", "Mashina Vremeni", "
Sankt-Peterburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601,9 ...
", "Rossiyane", "Vysokosnoe leto", "
Autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...
", and "
Voskreseniye Voskreseniye () is a Russian rock band. History The band was formed in 1979, when drummer Sergey Kavagoe decided to leave Mashina Vremeni and form his own group. Kavagoe was joined by Mashina Vremeni's bassist, Evgeny Margulis. Alexey Romanov ...
" were among the main groups of the 1970s underground scene. Most of them were influenced by the styles of
art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...
,
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
and
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
. Some of the first officially published full-length rock albums were "Russian pictures" VIA "Ariel" (1977) and "Guslar" VIA "Pesnyary" (1979). Some Soviet composers of the turn of the 70s - 80s worked in the
rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
format; the most famous works are "
Orpheus and Eurydice In Greek mythology, the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice () concerns the pitiful love of Orpheus of Thrace, located in northeastern Greece, for the beautiful Eurydice. Orpheus was the son of Oeagrus and the Muse Calliope. It may be a late addition ...
" (1975), "The Star and the Death of Joaquin Murieta" (1978), and " Juno and Avos" (1981).


The 1980s: Golden era

In the 1980s, an underground scene of rock artists emerged who based their style on a mix of Western rock music (particularly from the 1960s and 1970s, but also, increasingly, on the emerging New Wave,
NWOBHM The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis coined the term for an arti ...
and Western
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
) and the Russian
bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...
traditions. Bands such as
Voskreseniye Voskreseniye () is a Russian rock band. History The band was formed in 1979, when drummer Sergey Kavagoe decided to leave Mashina Vremeni and form his own group. Kavagoe was joined by Mashina Vremeni's bassist, Evgeny Margulis. Alexey Romanov ...
, Alisa,
Autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...
, Kino,
Mashina Vremeni Mashina Vremeni () is a Russian rock band founded in 1969. Mashina Vremeni was a pioneer of Soviet rock music and remains one of the oldest still-active rock bands in Russia. The band's music incorporates elements of classic rock, blues, and b ...
,
Nautilus Pompilius The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect logarithmic spiral, equiangular s ...
,
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
,
Secret Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...
,
Piknik Picnic (), or Piknik, is a Russian rock band known for its unique style, a mixture of art rock, progressive rock and original Russian rock. The band was formed in 1978 in Leningrad, though the members consider the band's official starting p ...
,
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
, Krematorij,
Grazhdanskaya Oborona Grazhdanskaya Oborona (Russian: Гражданская оборона, , Russian for ''Civil Defense'', or ГО, often referred to as ГрОб, Russian for ''coffin'') was a Soviet-Russian rock band formed by Yegor Letov and Konstantin Ryabin ...
, and
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
became influential in the development of the genre, with subsequent artists influenced by their style. At the same time, many bands of the 1980s were, in a sense, a group accompanying a songwriter. Often bands were formed around such an author of lyrics (and sometimes music), who was usually considered a "leader" and, just like the band, became widely known. In 1980, Spring Rhythms: Tbilisi-80 took place in
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
in the
Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...
. It was the first official
rock festival A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular eve ...
in the Soviet Union. Many of the prize-winners at the festival were rock groups from the
Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
, as well as
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and the
Baltics The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
. The "Fiztech—1982" festival actually launched the popularity of new wave. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a lot of amateur bands who signed labor agreements and contracts with various philharmonic societies of the USSR, such as "Mashina Vremeni", "
Zemlyane Zemlyane () is a Soviet and later Russian rock band, formed in Leningrad in 1978. Most of their lyrics deal with risk, courage, and masculinity. In 2009, Zemlyane's 1980s hit " Trava u doma" () became the first official anthem of the Russian s ...
", "Autograph", " Cruise", and " Dialog", among others, were able to break into professional scene. Since the mid-80s Russian rock was also influenced by the Russian art group Mitki. The lyrics of the Soviet rock bands often dealt with the darkest sides of 1980s Soviet life, such as
domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
,
alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
(an infamous song by Nautilus Pompilius contained the lines "
Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...
drinks a double bourbon/Alain Delon doesn't drink eau de cologne" as a sarcastic contrast to the alcoholic father described in the song and an indictment of the escapist attitudes of state-run media) and crime, and often carried a hidden political message. In consequence, the mainstream Soviet radio and television ignored Soviet rock bands, which often reached audiences only through word of mouth. The monopoly for music publishing in the USSR belonged to
Melodiya Melodiya () is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya" in accordance wi ...
, the Soviet record label owned and operated by the Council of Ministers through the Ministry of Culture. Melodiya had a strict policy against publishing rock music or underground musicians, while promoting VIAs, whose members (as well as the composers and writers who worked with them) were members of the Union of Composers. Some rock musicians (
Yuri Shevchuk Yuri Yulianovich Shevchuk (; born 16 May 1957) is a Soviet and Russian rock musician and singer/songwriter who leads the rock band DDT, which he founded with Vladimir Sigachyov in 1980. He is best known for his distinctive gravelly voice. His ...
,
Yegor Letov Igor "Yegor" Fyodorovich Letov (, ; (10 September 1964 – 19 February 2008) was a Russian singer-songwriter, best known as the founder and leader of the post-punk/psychedelic rock band Grazhdanskaya Oborona (), as well as the founder of the con ...
and many others) had problems with the
KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
due to their public activities. During the early 1980s, Soviet authorities started to exert heavy pressure on amateur bands, banning underground concerts as a sort of illegal commercial activity and imprisoning some music promoters and sound engineers for earning money from underground concerts. Many of the bands from the 1980s remain active and popular among Russian youth. The term ''Russian rock'' is often used to refer to the particular sound of these bands.


Various music scenes

In the early- to mid-1980s, rock clubs were founded in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
(now
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
) and Sverdlovsk (now
Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...
). These three cities had their own rock scenes and friendly collaborations between artists were commonplace. The
Leningrad Rock Club The Leningrad Rock Club () was a historic music venue of the 1980s in Leningrad, situated on Rubinstein street (Saint Petersburg), Rubinstein Street in the city centre. Opened in 1981 and overseen by Komsomol and KGB, it became the first legal roc ...
, founded in 1981 and supported by the CPSU, Komsomol, and the city and federal governments, was probably the biggest venue, featuring "classic Russian rock" by
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
, Kino, Zoopark,
Piknik Picnic (), or Piknik, is a Russian rock band known for its unique style, a mixture of art rock, progressive rock and original Russian rock. The band was formed in 1978 in Leningrad, though the members consider the band's official starting p ...
, Alisa,
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
, Televizor, N.E.P., etc. It also included the nascent Russian art-rock movement, typified by bands such as Auktyon. An important figure in the Leningrad Rock scene was
Sergey Kuryokhin Sergey Anatolyevich Kuryokhin (16 June 19549 July 1996, nicknamed The Captain) was a Russian composer, pianist, music director, experimental artist, film actor and writer, based in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was an influential fig ...
, a well-known piano/keyboard player of different music genres including rock and free-jazz, and leader of his ambitious multimedia project Pop Mekhanika, was one of the first Soviet underground musicians to release albums in Europe and the United States. Bands from Sverdlovsk, such as
Nautilus Pompilius The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect logarithmic spiral, equiangular s ...
, Chaif, and
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
,Russian Studies
produced more melodic music, making heavy use of keyboards and synthesizers.
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
rock bands, such as
Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
,
Mashina Vremeni Mashina Vremeni () is a Russian rock band founded in 1969. Mashina Vremeni was a pioneer of Soviet rock music and remains one of the oldest still-active rock bands in Russia. The band's music incorporates elements of classic rock, blues, and b ...
,
Voskreseniye Voskreseniye () is a Russian rock band. History The band was formed in 1979, when drummer Sergey Kavagoe decided to leave Mashina Vremeni and form his own group. Kavagoe was joined by Mashina Vremeni's bassist, Evgeny Margulis. Alexey Romanov ...
, Center, Krematorij and
Zvuki Mu Zvuki Mu ( , roughly translated as "Sounds of Moo", sounding to the Russian ear as a humorous abbreviation of ''Zvuki Muzyki'', the Russian translation for ''The Sound of Music'') was a Russian alternative rock/indie rock, indie/post-punk band ...
, were rather different from the others, and sometimes more discreet. The
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
n rock scene began in the 1980s, with songwriters such as
Yegor Letov Igor "Yegor" Fyodorovich Letov (, ; (10 September 1964 – 19 February 2008) was a Russian singer-songwriter, best known as the founder and leader of the post-punk/psychedelic rock band Grazhdanskaya Oborona (), as well as the founder of the con ...
(
Grazhdanskaya Oborona Grazhdanskaya Oborona (Russian: Гражданская оборона, , Russian for ''Civil Defense'', or ГО, often referred to as ГрОб, Russian for ''coffin'') was a Soviet-Russian rock band formed by Yegor Letov and Konstantin Ryabin ...
,
Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...
), Kalinov most, Alexander Bashlachev and
Yanka Dyagileva Yana Stanislavovna "Yanka" Dyagileva (; 4 September 1966 – 1991) was a Russian poet and singer-songwriter and one of the most popular figures of her time in Russia's underground punk scene. She both played solo and performed with others, incl ...
. Their music varied from simple lo-fi punk to indie rock (sometimes acoustic), and the core of their songs were the lyrics. Many albums were first self-released and distributed among fans via trading, then officially re-released years later. Lyrics were often obscene, and showed that the writers had major problems with the Soviet administration and
KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
. A notable act that was not a member of any of the three Rock-Clubs, but nonetheless highly popular, is
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
band
Secret Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...
. At that time, the Russian heavy-metal scene originated thanks to bands like
Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
, Chorny Kofe and
Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...
(formed by a few ex-members of Aria). The glam-metal band Gorky Park achieved high popularity in the west, and was even aired on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. Russian punk's unique style is generally accepted to be most idealized by
Grazhdanskaya Oborona Grazhdanskaya Oborona (Russian: Гражданская оборона, , Russian for ''Civil Defense'', or ГО, often referred to as ГрОб, Russian for ''coffin'') was a Soviet-Russian rock band formed by Yegor Letov and Konstantin Ryabin ...
and by
Yegor Letov Igor "Yegor" Fyodorovich Letov (, ; (10 September 1964 – 19 February 2008) was a Russian singer-songwriter, best known as the founder and leader of the post-punk/psychedelic rock band Grazhdanskaya Oborona (), as well as the founder of the con ...
's other projects. The music mixes equal parts Western punk and traditional Russian influences, with gritty production and extremely charged and political lyrics.


=Punk music movement

= The
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
punk-rock culture started in the 1980s, mostly as a protest movement against the corruption of the regime and the sense there was "no future". It differed from
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
punk culture in that the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
did not have an explicit class society, and the society as such was communist; as a result,
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
punk became a protest against the social climate of the time.
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
punks usually wore boots and coats found in military shops. While in the UK punk arose partly as a protest against more-established rock-music genres like
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
or
glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...
, in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
all
rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
remained in the underground, which made for a certain solidarity between punk-rock fans and other rock fans in Russia. Aside from the traditional
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
ideology, many Russian punks belong to the National Bolshevik movement (with its founder
Eduard Limonov Eduard Veniaminovich Limonov (né Savenko; , ; 22 February 1943 – 17 March 2020) was a Russians, Russian writer, poet, publicist, political dissident and politician. He emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1974, but returned to Russia in 1991 ...
, being a punk himself in his youth) and
Yegor Letov Igor "Yegor" Fyodorovich Letov (, ; (10 September 1964 – 19 February 2008) was a Russian singer-songwriter, best known as the founder and leader of the post-punk/psychedelic rock band Grazhdanskaya Oborona (), as well as the founder of the con ...
, the godfather of Russian punk, linking it to the movement. Yegor Letov is considered the godfather of Russian punk with his band
Grazhdanskaya Oborona Grazhdanskaya Oborona (Russian: Гражданская оборона, , Russian for ''Civil Defense'', or ГО, often referred to as ГрОб, Russian for ''coffin'') was a Soviet-Russian rock band formed by Yegor Letov and Konstantin Ryabin ...
, which started performing in the early 1980s. During
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
times, the band frequently got in trouble with the authorities, and each of the members wasarrested for their activities at some point.Егор Летов: Конец наступает тогда, когда уничтожается живая энергия творчества. ''Периферийная нервная система'' fanzine, #2, Barnaul
/ref> In the late 1980s another band started operating in Russia, reaching a
cult status A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, book ...
:
Sektor Gaza ''Sektor Gaza'' (, in Russian related to ''Gaza Strip'') was a Soviet and Russian punk rock band from Voronezh, founded in 1987 by Yuri Klinskikh. History Sektor Gaza was founded in Voronezh by Yuri Klinskikh, also known as Yuri "Khoy". T ...
. They proclaimed themselves as "
kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...
punk rockers", mixing elements from Russian village life with punk music. However, while some called the band "original" and "true folk punk", others criticized the band's style.
Mikhail Gorsheniov Mikhail "Gorshok" Gorsheniov (Russian: Михаил "Горшок" Горшенёв, full name given at birth – Михаил Юрьевич Горшенёв; 7 August 1973 – 19 July 2013) was a lead singer and composer of Russian horror punk ...
from
Korol i Shut Korol i Shut () were a Russian horror punk band from Saint Petersburg that took inspiration and costumes from tales and fables. History The band was formed in 1988 by a group of school friends in Leningrad (current day Saint Petersburg). The fo ...
said: "
Sektor Gaza ''Sektor Gaza'' (, in Russian related to ''Gaza Strip'') was a Soviet and Russian punk rock band from Voronezh, founded in 1987 by Yuri Klinskikh. History Sektor Gaza was founded in Voronezh by Yuri Klinskikh, also known as Yuri "Khoy". T ...
were never a part of the punk rock wave! They have no idea in music at all". Another cult band formed a few years later was
Korol i Shut Korol i Shut () were a Russian horror punk band from Saint Petersburg that took inspiration and costumes from tales and fables. History The band was formed in 1988 by a group of school friends in Leningrad (current day Saint Petersburg). The fo ...
, introducing horror punk, using costumes and lyrics in the form of tales and fables. Through sophisticated texts and themes not usually explored by punk, and through a sophisticated punk sound,
Korol i Shut Korol i Shut () were a Russian horror punk band from Saint Petersburg that took inspiration and costumes from tales and fables. History The band was formed in 1988 by a group of school friends in Leningrad (current day Saint Petersburg). The fo ...
achieved the status of one of the most popular bands in Russia.


=Tatars

= Traditionally, Tatar rock music has been a
Tatar language Tatar ( ; or ) is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken by the Volga Tatars mainly located in modern Tatarstan (European Russia), as well as Siberia. It should not be confused with Crimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar or Siberian Tatar ...
version of rock music in Russia. Therefore, the lyrics and vocals take priority over instrumental sounds. Some of the earliest
Tatar Tatar may refer to: Peoples * Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar" * Volga Tatars, a people from the Volga-Ural region of western Russia * Crimean Tatars, a people from the Crimea peninsula by the B ...
rock bands were Soviet bands Saq-Soq and Bolgar, as well as Başqarma from
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, all bands active in the late 1980s. Today, the most popular Tatar rock bands are Alqanat (since 2005) from Aqtanış and Xat (since 2001) from Sarman. Some other popular bands are KGB, Yar band, İlsöyä Bädretdineva, İsmail, rhymes and 116. Other
pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
groups include Malaylar, Yarda and Ataqlı Radio Şäxeslär. Pop singer
Alsou Alsou Ralifovna Abramova (; ; ; born 27 June 1983), better known by the mononym Alsou, is a Russian singer. She represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 in which she came second with the song ''Solo'' right after Denmark, giving ...
has sung, at times, in her native Tatar.


From underground to publicity

The late 1980s was a period of breakthrough for soviet rock music entering the public eye. Political and social changes in the country were very important for this process. The censorship was still present, but not as rigid as it was in the 1970s or early 1980s. It took years for the first Soviet rock bands to enter radio and television programs, tour in major concert halls over the USSR, and to release their albums officially on Melodiya, in direct competition with the VIA groups. The rock music situation changed during the
perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...
era. Many Russian rock bands were able to tour and record in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and United States for the first time. As a result, in 1989-1991 the situation was completely different from that of 1985. Moscow Music Peace Festival was held in Moscow featuring western rock artists, Gorbachev accepted
Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
in Kremlin,
Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...
produced an album by
Zvuki Mu Zvuki Mu ( , roughly translated as "Sounds of Moo", sounding to the Russian ear as a humorous abbreviation of ''Zvuki Muzyki'', the Russian translation for ''The Sound of Music'') was a Russian alternative rock/indie rock, indie/post-punk band ...
, and Dave Stewart (of
Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...
fame) produced ''
Radio Silence In telecommunications, radio silence or emissions control (EMCON) is a status in which all fixed or mobile radio stations in an area are asked to stop transmitting for safety or security reasons. The term "radio station" may include anything ca ...
'' by
Boris Grebenshchikov Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music. He is the founder and lead singer of the band Aquarium which has been active since ...
for the release in the western world. With Joanna Stingray's initiative, in 1986 the ''
Red Wave ''Red Wave: 4 Underground Bands from the USSR'' was a split double album released in 1986 and featuring Russian rock bands Aquarium, Kino, Alisa, and Strannye Igry (Strange Games), all from Leningrad. It was the first release of Russian rock ...
'' compilation was released in the United States. It was a double
split album A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "v ...
with four bands from Leningrad:
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
, Kino, Alisa, and Strannye Igry, with one side of vinyl for each band. This compilation was the first official Russian rock release in the west. Stingray sent copies of the release to
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
and Gorbachev, with a statement saying that musicians had already done what both presidents could not do diplomatically.
Melodiya Melodiya () is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya" in accordance wi ...
's reaction was an official release of a record by
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
in order to create the illusion that recordings of the band were also widely released in the USSR. Television and film also contributed to the breakthrough of Russian rock to the public in the 1980s. New musical television shows, such as ''Muzykalny Ring'' (Музыкальный ринг) and ''Programma A'' (Программа "А"), invited rock artists for interviews and live shows. In the late 1980s, several films featuring Russian rock musicians as actors were released. These films include '' Igla'' and '' Assa'' featuring
Viktor Tsoi Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (, ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Russian singer-songwriter and actor who co-founded Kino, one of the most popular and influential bands in the history of Russian music. Born and raised in Leningrad (mode ...
and music by Aquarium and ''
Taxi Blues ''Taxi Blues'' (, translit. Taksi-Blyuz) is a 1990 Soviet comedy-drama film directed by Pavel Lungin. It was entered into the 1990 Cannes Film Festival where Lungin won the award for Best Director. The film was selected as the Soviet en ...
'' featuring Pyotr Mamonov. The Canadian filmmaker
Peter Vronsky Peter Vronsky is a Canadian author, filmmaker, and investigative historian. He holds a PhD in criminal justice history and espionage in international relations from the University of Toronto. He is the author of the bestseller true crime histor ...
travelled to Moscow and Leningrad in February 1988, and shot a series of music videos with , Aquarium, Nebo i Zemlya, Zvuki Mu and other bands. The music videos were tied together in the documentary film ''Russian Rock Underground,'' which aired on MuchMusic television in Canada and on Italian television. Estimates of the popularity explosion of Russian rock in that period are ambiguous. In a series of articles devoted to the history of the Soviet Union, "
Argumenty I Fakty (, commonly abbreviated "АиФ" and translated as ''Arguments and Facts'') is a weekly newspaper based in Moscow and a publishing house in Russia and worldwide. Since 2014, it has been owned by the Government of Moscow. History and profile It ...
" noted: "Young people plunged headlong into rock, which came out of the underground, which, as recognized by the best musicians of this direction, didn't have a creative agenda at that moment."


The 1990s: Post-Soviet era

The beginning of the 1990s are considered to be the end of the "classic" Russian rock era. The two events that mark its end are the death of
Viktor Tsoi Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (, ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Russian singer-songwriter and actor who co-founded Kino, one of the most popular and influential bands in the history of Russian music. Born and raised in Leningrad (mode ...
in 1990 and the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
in 1991. Nevertheless, the Russian rock sound continued to live, and the new Russian rock sound of the '90s was based on it. Many Soviet rock bands, such as
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
,
Nautilus Pompilius The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect logarithmic spiral, equiangular s ...
,
Mashina Vremeni Mashina Vremeni () is a Russian rock band founded in 1969. Mashina Vremeni was a pioneer of Soviet rock music and remains one of the oldest still-active rock bands in Russia. The band's music incorporates elements of classic rock, blues, and b ...
, were still popular. In 1996 the recording company Moroz started releasing the highly popular series Legends of Russian Rock. In the mid-late 1990s the radio station
Nashe Radio Nashe Radio (, ''Our Radio'', pronounced ''Nashe radio'') is a Russian Rock music radio station. It was designed to promote Russian rock bands, as opposed to pop and Western music. Nashe is based in Moscow and broadcast in every major Russian ci ...
was created to promote Russian rock artists, broadcasting in all major Russian cities. Nashe Radio notably influenced the public's auditory taste, and helped many artists gain popularity. The radio station founded
Nashestvie Nashestvie () was the largest open-air Rock festival, festival of Russian rock, organized by Nashe Radio station. It was held annually during the first weekend of July (first weekend of August until 2006) in the environs of Moscow, Russia, since 1 ...
, the largest open-air rock festival of Russian rock music, performed annually from 1999-2019, and was always headlined with famous rock acts. Often aired by Nashe Radio, bands like
Splean Splean () is a popular Russians, Russian rock music, rock band, formed in Saint Petersburg in 1994.Андрей Бурлака. Рок-энциклопедия. Популярная музыка в Ленинграде – Петербурге. ...
, Nochniye Snaiperi, Smisloviye Galutzinatzii, Chicherina, and
Bi-2 Bi-2 is a Belarus, Belarusian alternative rock band, formed in 1988 in Babruysk, Belarusian SSR. During their career, Bi-2 achieved international success in Eastern Europe. Bi-2 was named the Best Rock Act at the MTV Russian Music Awards in 20 ...
created a refreshed Russian rock sound which adopted many elements from
Alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
.
Dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
created a mixture between
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
,
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
and
rapcore A number of overlapping punk rock subgenres have developed since the emergence of punk rock (often shortened to ''punk'') in the mid-1970s. Even though punk genres at times are difficult to segregate, they usually show differing characteristics i ...
. An eminent representative of the heavy metal music genre was
Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
, which had achieved great recognition and popularity among a wide audience in the 1990s. In the late 1990s, numerous
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
,
pop-punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...
and
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
bands broke through.
Sektor Gaza ''Sektor Gaza'' (, in Russian related to ''Gaza Strip'') was a Soviet and Russian punk rock band from Voronezh, founded in 1987 by Yuri Klinskikh. History Sektor Gaza was founded in Voronezh by Yuri Klinskikh, also known as Yuri "Khoy". T ...
was first Russian band to use curse words and vulgar short stories in its lyrics. The
horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by t ...
band
Korol i Shut Korol i Shut () were a Russian horror punk band from Saint Petersburg that took inspiration and costumes from tales and fables. History The band was formed in 1988 by a group of school friends in Leningrad (current day Saint Petersburg). The fo ...
managed to achieve a cult status and mainstream success using fairy-tale inspired lyrics. Other notable punk artists included
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
, Lumen, Tarakany!, and Nogu Svelo!. Many of them developed an original sound and included involvement of unconventional instruments like
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
.
Ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...
was brought to popularity mainly by the band
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, notable for the extensive use of
mat A mat is a hard or soft floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including: * serving to clean items passed over it, such as a doormat, which removes dirt from the soles of shoe ...
(Russian profanity) in its lyrics. The Russian
instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically every subgenre of the style. Instrumental rock was most popular f ...
artist Victor Zinchuk reached international success with his solo career, and with that brought the Russian
instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically every subgenre of the style. Instrumental rock was most popular f ...
scene to a bigger audience.
Indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
was represented by bands such as Masha i medvedi. The western
Pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
sound was introduced by Ilya Lagoutenko's
Mumiy Troll Mumiy Troll ( ) is a Russian rock group, founded in 1983 in Vladivostok by vocalist and songwriter Ilya Lagutenko (). The name is a pun on '' Mumintroll'', the children's books by Tove Jansson, translated into Russian as "Mummi Troll". Caree ...
, who made their records in the UK under the guidance of UK producers. This less lyrically loaded and more energetic style, frequently referred to as rockapops, which was also used by other notable musicians such as
Zemfira Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova (, ; born 26 August 1976) is a Russian rock musician. She has been performing since 1998 and has been popular in Russia and other Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics. To date Zemfira has sold over 3 million ...
, and became prevalent among the younger public. The Russian crime films ''
Brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...
'', with its soundtrack featuring the band
Nautilus Pompilius The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect logarithmic spiral, equiangular s ...
, and its sequel '' Brother 2'', which featured music from various Russian rock artists, brought many young fans to Russian rock.


The 2000s: Further development

The 2000s in Russian rock were marked by both a continuance of the 1990s and something of a comeback of the classic 1980s sound. In the years following the renaissance of Russian cinema and rock, rock in Russia seemed to gain enough ground to differentiate widely through various genres. The 2005 Live 8 concert in Moscow featured mainly Russian
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
artists.
Alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
,
Nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...
and
metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...
gained wider popularity at that time. In the mid-2000s, bands like
Amatory Amatory (commonly stylized as MATORY'', to fit their logo) is a Russian metal band from Saint Petersburg, formed in 1998 by Denis ''DENVERZhivotovsky and Daniil ''STEWARTSvetlov. Later in 1998, they were joined by Evgenyy PJ Potekhin but the ...
, Tracktor Bowling,
Grenouer Grenouer is a Russian rock and metal band, formed in late 1992 in Perm. Their name is an intentional misspelling of grimoire, a magic textbook. History The debut was followed by other albums, released in Russia by labels like Irond, Mo ...
,
Slot Slot, the slot or Slots may refer to: People * Arne Slot (born 1978), Dutch football manager, former player * Gerrie Slot (born 1954), Dutch cyclist * Hanke Bruins Slot (born 1977), Dutch politician * Tonny Bruins Slot (born 1947), Dutch assoc ...
, and 5 Diez were established, and were intensively promoted by the Russian television channel A-One. The channel awarded many of them with the . The Russian heavy metal scene continued to develop, with
power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...
bands like
Catharsis Catharsis is from the Ancient Greek word , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing", commonly used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal an ...
and
Epidemia Epidemia (, sometimes referred to as 'Epi' by fans) is a Russian power metal band famous for doing the Elven Manuscript metal opera in 2004. It was formed by guitarist Yuri "Juron" Melisov in 1993, with the first songs made in 1995. Histor ...
, founded in the 1990s, receiving more attention, and
progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...
band Orgia Pravednikov rising to prominence. In 2002, Valery Kipelov left
Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
and formed the band Kipelov with other ex-members of Aria.
Folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
music had a revival following Pelageya's and Melnitsa's rise from underground acts to bands that were played on the radio, and the attention pagan metal bands like Arkona received. Though the Russian
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
scene had existed since the 1970s, it entered the public eye of Russian rock fans in the 2000s, with bands like Little Tragedies">журнал "Автозвук"
and The Gourishankar being its most obvious representatives. Since 2001, a prog-music festival named
InProg InProg was an international progressive rock festival held almost yearly since 2001 in Moscow, Russia. The festival was organised by the Russian Rock-magazine InRock. The organizers of this festival called it "a festival of intellectual music", ...
was held almost yearly in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. Its popularity constantly grew, and in 2005 it turned from a local
festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
into an international one. The Russian
instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically every subgenre of the style. Instrumental rock was most popular f ...
scene, with bands like EXIT project, Disen Gage, Dvar and Kostarev Group, also received more recognition at that time.


The 2010s: Decline

Despite the fact many bands from previous decades are still active, such as
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
and
Splean Splean () is a popular Russians, Russian rock music, rock band, formed in Saint Petersburg in 1994.Андрей Бурлака. Рок-энциклопедия. Популярная музыка в Ленинграде – Петербурге. ...
, due to the lack of new bands gaining significant attention, there is a common view that Russian rock is in decline. Ilya Chert, from the band
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
, said: "I can see the decline of Russian rock. We are going back to the times, when those who are really talented and wise are operating in basements and clubs with the capacity of 50 people, as they don't commercialize themselves and no one commercializes them". Artemy Troitsky, the famous Russian rock critic, wrote an article titled "Rock died a long time ago, but the funeral was impressive", where he brought up the lack of new faces in the Russian rock scene, and accused bands like
Mashina Vremeni Mashina Vremeni () is a Russian rock band founded in 1969. Mashina Vremeni was a pioneer of Soviet rock music and remains one of the oldest still-active rock bands in Russia. The band's music incorporates elements of classic rock, blues, and b ...
and
Garik Sukachov Igor Ivanovich "Garik" Sukachov (; 1 December 1959) is a Russian musician, singer-songwriter, poet, actor, film director and TV presenter. Career Igor Ivanovich Sukachov was born in the Moscow suburb of Myakinino (now Tushino). His father foug ...
for "selling out" and not protesting against the current government. In 2008 MTV Russia cancelled the nomination "Best Rock Project", with the resulting headlines being "MTV Recognized the Death of Russian Rock". From 2009 to 2013,
Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...
hosted a one-day international rock festival in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
Rock on the Volga.


Rock musicians divided by the Crimean Crisis

The
annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...
in 2014 divided the
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n rock community into supporters and opposers of the move. Former
Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
leader, and current leader of the band Kipelov, Valery Kipelov, expressed support of the "annexation", and stated that it should've been done in 1991. He performed at music festivals celebrating the event in
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
. Konstantin Kinchev and his band Alisa, considered to be among the pioneers of Russian rock, expressed support of the move, and cancelled all of his concerts in
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. Kinchev had already expressed views supporting the return of
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
to
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in 2008. Other prominent figures in Russian rock who expressed support of the move included Chaif, Chicherina, Alexander F. Sklyar, and Vadim Samoylov (ex-
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
member). On the other hand,
Andrey Makarevich Andrey Vadimovich Makarevich (; born 11 December 1953) is an Israeli and Soviet-Russian rock musician and the founder of Russia's oldest still active rock band Mashina Vremeni (Time Machine). Personal life Makarevich was born in Moscow to m ...
was one of the organizers of the 2014 anti-war protests in Russia, and harshly criticized the annexation Another prominent figure to criticize the annexation was
Yuri Shevchuk Yuri Yulianovich Shevchuk (; born 16 May 1957) is a Soviet and Russian rock musician and singer/songwriter who leads the rock band DDT, which he founded with Vladimir Sigachyov in 1980. He is best known for his distinctive gravelly voice. His ...
(
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
) Singer
Zemfira Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova (, ; born 26 August 1976) is a Russian rock musician. She has been performing since 1998 and has been popular in Russia and other Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics. To date Zemfira has sold over 3 million ...
expressed her opposition by waving a Ukrainian flag while performing on stage. The musicians who didn't criticize the annexation, spoke against war in general, and called for peace between the peoples, were prominent figures such as
Boris Grebenshchikov Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music. He is the founder and lead singer of the band Aquarium which has been active since ...
(
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
) and
Vyacheslav Butusov Vyacheslav Gennadievich Butusov (; born 15 October 1961) is a Russian singer-songwriter and composer. He was the lead singer of Nautilus Pompilius (band), Nautilus Pompilius and U-Piter. Since 2019, he has been playing in his group "Orden Slavy". ...
(
Nautilus Pompilius The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect logarithmic spiral, equiangular s ...
).


Characteristics

Fans of Russian Rock would frequently refer to most of the music on MTV Russia dismissively as "popsa", a dichotomy that appeared in the '80s, when government-controlled radio and TV stations would air only politically harmless music by performers such as
Philipp Kirkorov Philipp Bedros Kirkorov (, ; ; born 30 April 1967) is a Bulgarian-born Russian pop singer. Kirkorov's career began in 1985 with participation in the Soviet musical TV show "Wider Circle". Since 2000, he has maintained public interest in his pe ...
. The lines are still quite clearly drawn, with bands such as Nogu Svelo! - who recorded a song with pop-singer Nataliya Vetlitskaya - being an anomaly. In contrast to Western rock, Russian rock is often said to have less drive; it is characterized by different rhythms, instruments and more involved lyrics. Unconventional instruments have often been used in addition to the standard electric guitars and drums associated with rock music (very often
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
and
wind instruments A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitch ...
). Another characteristic of Russian Rock is being partly
folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
. Very often, Russian Rock songs, especially those of the classic 80s bands, talk about national themes, and feature elements from
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
.
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
,
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
and Yuri Morozov are examples of this. Considering its poetic roots (
Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its Russian diaspora, émigrés, and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different e ...
, bard music), lyrics play a far larger role in Russian rock than Western rock. Vocal melody is sometimes eschewed in favor of a more impassioned delivery (
Viktor Tsoi Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (, ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Russian singer-songwriter and actor who co-founded Kino, one of the most popular and influential bands in the history of Russian music. Born and raised in Leningrad (mode ...
, the lead singer of Kino, pioneered a characteristically strained, monotonous style of singing that has been imitated by many). The metaphor of Russia facing both East and West is epitomized by the double-headed Eagle on its coat-of-arms. The Eastern influence in the Russian rock is heard in soundtracks from movies like '' Day Watch,'' which has Tamerlane's legend of the Chalk of Destiny at its roots. Russian rock expressively used and integrated elements from both Western and Eastern culture (especially from countries of the USSR). Yngvar Bordrewich Steinholt (
University of Tromsø The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway ( Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet''; Northern Sami: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in Norway a ...
, Norway) has written a PhD thesis in English, printed by The Mass Media Music Scholars Press, titled "Rock in the Reservation" (2004), about the
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
Rock Club. It also touched upon the history of rock in Russia and its counter-cultural tendencies.


Wordplay

In Russian, the original meaning of word " рок" is "fate" or "doom". The word is used almost exclusively in fiction, especially poetry (a more widely used synonym is " судьба"). These correlate with the poetic roots of Russian rock and its attention to "serious" topics. The wordplay is used in the song "This is Fate" () from
Aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...
's debut album '' Mania Velichia''."This is Fate" lyrics


See also

*'' Legends of Russian Rock'' * Rock and roll and the fall of communism


References


External links


Largest and free mp3 archive of different russian rock gentres, oldies and new most important bands. Site in EnglishRussian Music on the Net: Site about Modern Russian music with many Rock bandsHistory of Rock Music In RussiaA list of Russian rock bands who reached a legendary statusAnnotated library of modern Russian music - including Russian rock

Information about Russian rock history
{{Rock music , state=collapsed
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...