Visions of the (Holy) Motherland in Contemporary Russian Popular Music: Nostalgia, Patriotism, Religion and Russkii Rok

Abstract

This article investigates contemporary relationships between the popular music genre russkii rok (Russian rock) and historical, societal, national, and religious contexts. From an account of the St. Petersburg rok discourse it moves on to analyze how the genre is embedded in notions of the national. Among the aspects discussed are ties between musicians, government, and the Russian Orthodox Church. Made from a post-Soviet and postcolonial viewpoint, the investigations suggest that, while nationalism plays a prominent role in the genre's popularity, diffusion, and appropriation, a sentiment such as nostalgia is perhaps no less important.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ruth Dockwray, Anastasia Kozhevnikova, Sergio Mazzanti, Martin Paulsen, and our anonymous reviewer for their valuable comments and contributions to this article.

Notes

^[1] We approach russkii rok as a social-historical genre and define it loosely based on bands from the Leningrad Rock Club discussed below. While a common trait is a focus on the lyrics, we refrain from defining unifying musical traits due to an incorporation of different musical styles. All translations by authors.

^[2] In the following, we apply generic terms in their wide sense (rock, pop, metal, ska, punk, russkii rok). The terms obviously have highly contestable boundaries depending on context, and our use of them should not be regarded as absolute or dogmatic. Rather, it reflects their use by musicians and listeners in Russia. Critique or deconstruction of such terms lies beyond the scope of this article.

^[3] The following account is based on Steinholt.

^[4] The Party's youth organization Velikii Leninskii Kommunisticheskii Soiuz Molodezhi, also abbreviated to VLKSM.

^[5] Leningrad All-Union Creative Amateur Workshop—a center for amateur arts.

^[6] The term russkii rok in the sense of a specifically defined genre first appears in the 1990s (cf. Mazzanti).

^[7] In 1988, the LRK held its biggest festival ever. It had to be held in two “rounds” to accommodate all the participants.

^[8] He added that the music was also built around the same harmonic progressions.

^[9] The co-author found that these negative attitudes towards russkii rok were also present with post-Soviet emigrants in Berlin. Asked what russkii rok is, Yuriy Gurzhy, a DJ at the popular fortnightly event Russendisko, answered: “That, what was created in the USSR—badly recorded music with mostly pathetic and political lyrics. Today mostly uninteresting musically.”

^[15] Vasmer says that Bat'ko is the first diminutive of batia (father), in Ukrainian: bat'o. The second diminutive, batiushka, has replaced bat'ko in modern Russian, whereas the archaism is still observed in titles for certain leaders of the south west, e.g. Ukrainian anarchist Bat'ko Makhno or President of Belorus, Bat'ko Lukashenko. Whereas port wine has become a symbol of Leningrad rock of the 1980s, horilka is the Ukrainian word for vodka. In Russia horilka can also mean vodka with red chili peppers (and honey), usually marketed as a Ukrainian speciality.

^[10] The song can be found at < http://skasvoboda.ucoz.ru/index/0-5> (28 Feb. 2008). It is also featured in the 2005 video clip on the same page. The clip's version is, however, not quite representative, since Rudenko mixed up the form and left out the solo part during the concert. The lyrics in this earlier version also differ slightly.

^[11] The drums retain the same beat throughout the whole song, playing straight eights on the high hat, accenting the 2 and 4 on the snare, while the bass drum plays three consecutive eight notes starting on the off-beat and with an accent on the second eight (which is either the 1 or the 3 of the bar), ending on the off-beat.

^[12] The guitar together with the high hat accents the “offs” on all four beats of the measure while the bass shifts between the root and fifth in the triads on each beat. The snare accents the 2 and 4 and the bass drum 1 and 3.

^[13] The heavily distorted guitar creates a sound wall and changes chords together with the bass on the 1 of every measure. The high hat plays slightly shuffled fourth notes accenting the on-beat while the snare continues to accent the 2 and 4 and the bass drum plays a four-measure riff mainly accenting the 1 and 3, however accenting the 3+ in the second and fourth bar.

^[14] We intentionally do not call the version Ukrainian since it is a mix of Russian and Ukrainian—linguistically referred to as surzhik.

^[16] A short clip with Vladimir Putin as well as the, at that point assumed, newly elected Dmitrii Medvedev interrupting the group Liube's performance at the celebration can be seen at < http://media.kremlin.ru/2008_03_02_01_01.wmv> (8 Aug. 2008). Other groups that performed at the event were Splin, Chaif, Nochnye Snaipery and Bi-2.

^[17] The group Televizor with its vocalist Mikhail Borzykin is probably the most prominent example of a former LRK group openly criticizing the current government and being harassed because of their actions. Borzykin can be seen performing at the Dissenters' March on 1 May 2008 in St. Petersburg at < http://grani-tv.ru/entries/243/> (8 Aug. 2008).

^[18] The Logo-VAZ News Corporation also includes the record company Real Records founded in 1999 (Yarotsky). It contains the labels Real Records, Iceberg Music and Zazhigai M'iuzik. Their roster contains groups from Russia, Ukraine, and Belorussia, covering the styles rock and pop ( < http://www.realrec.ru/about.php> 5 Sept. 2006). Most of their rock musicians are also heavily featured on Nashe Radio.

^[19] This was backed by statistics received by Danilova for St. Petersburg and TNS Gallup AdFact's Radio Index ( < http://www.tns-global.ru> 22 Feb. 2008).

^[20] Nashe radio's all inclusive approach to music made in Russia is also shared by the Russian record label Misteriia Zvuka. On their web-page they lump Ukrainian bands they promote (Vopli Vidopliasova, Okean El'zi) in the category russkii rok ( < http://www.mystery.msk.ru/company.phtml?id = mp> 14 Feb. 2008). During a recent visit to the record store Titanik in St. Petersburg (1 Oct. 2008) Vopli Vidopliasova was found also to be placed under the label russkii rok.

^[21] We deliberately write rock here to distance the station from other stations playing pop. Other stations playing music of a similar style (e.g. Radio Roks) focus primarily on anglophone artists and air few Russian bands.

^[22] The sign is made by extending the index and middle fingers while holding the ring and little fingers with the thumb. The Old Believers are a group of Russian Orthodox Christians who in the 17th century disagreed with the church reforms by Patriarch Nikon and subsequently broke with the mother church.

^[23] “Pravoslavnye” is also a song on Alisa's album Solntsevorot (Solstice) from 2000.

^[24] Or, in the words of Andrei Kagadeev, a local musician from St. Petersburg: “And in their ranks, you'll also find those who drank themselves to Russian Orthodox Christianity” (interview with Kopeikin, Kagadeev and Turist). Both Kinchev and Shevchuck have a history of alcohol and, in Kinchev's case, drug abuse.

^[25] According to Stupnikov, they also touched on the pop-rock discourse: Kinchev declared Fabrika Zviozd, the Russian version of Star Academy, real Satanism and Shevchuk encouraged the Metropolitan to ask Putin for more rock on TV.

^[26] He is parodied for his flirtation with different religions in a video clip by the St. Petersburg artist collective NOM (of which the above-mentioned Andrei Kagadeev is a member). Using the song “Bespechnyi russkii brodiaga” (“Carefree Russian Tramp”) from the album with the same title (Akvarium) the parody depicts a Grebenshchikov look-a-like walking through the city playing the guitar and drinking with two Buddhists, a Muslim, a Jewish klezmer fiddler, a Russian Orthodox priest, a Catholic monk, and finally with a FSB agent (where he makes a commitment to cooperate—a hint at his meetings with Surkov discussed below). The clip can be seen at < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v = GwgYSsM6TvM> (12 Dec. 2008).

^[27] Coincidentally he has also written lyrics for the Soviet/Russian group Agata Kristi.

^[28] See Chernov (“Tank”, “Chernov's Choice”, “Taking”, “Rock in a Hard Place”), Bratersky, Kormil'tsev (“Tret'ia”) and Staff Writer for more information.

^[29] The organization has been instrumental in several protests against oppositional movements and foreign diplomats, even blocking the entrance to the Estonian consulate in Moscow 2007. Nashi was quietly reorganized in spring 2008.

^[30] The clip can be viewed at < http://gazmanov.ru/media/clips/clips_17.html> (3 Oct. 2008).

^[31] The basic drum riff during the verse is a two-bar riff, with the bass drum hitting the 1, 2+ and 3 in the first and the 1, 2+ and 3+ in the second bar, the snare accents 2 and 4, while the high hat stresses all the beats.

^[32] The lyrics can be found at < http://www.piligrim-rock.ru/ru/slava_rossii> (17 Feb. 2008).

^[33] The clip can also be found at < http://www.piligrim-rock.ru/ru/item487> (18 Feb. 2008).

^[34] This tendency to glorify Russia can also be seen in Russian festivals such as Slava Rossii, Slava Moskve (Hail Russia, Hail Moscow), which in 2006 was sponsored both by the ruling party Edinaia Rossia (United Russia) and Piligrim's vocalist Andrei Kovalev, who also happens to be a member of the Moscow city parliament for Edinaia Rossia, and Ia vybiraiu Rossiiu—Rossiia—vpered! (mentioned on p. 318). Ivan Tsarevich, another nationalistic tainted group, also performed at Slava Rossii, Slava Moskve (with the song “Rossia vperiod,” (“Russia Forward”)) and that festival ended with all the groups performing “Slava Rossii” together.

^[35] Kursk was a nuclear submarine which sunk in the Barents Sea 12 August 2000, killing all the sailors on board.

^[36] Even though Piligrim's lyrics argue for a multi-ethnic Russia we are tempted to say ethnic, since the imagery clearly stresses a Slavic community.

^[37] Pugacheva's dominance can also be seen in her being ranked second in a popular survey of Russia's current elite in both 2006 and 2007. See < http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID = 840835> (21 Feb. 2008). The three groups Alisa, Piligrim and Oleg Gazmanov's also represent continuity from the Soviet time: Kinchev and Gazmanov both started their careers in the mid-1980s and the history of Piligrim, re-founded in 2004, goes back to the 1970s.

^[38] VIA Samotsvety's song was also covered by VIA Volga-Volga in 2008 in a slightly ironic manner).