Songs of Protest: The Soviet Rock Scene and the Emergence of a Russian Counterculture
The popularity of rock music in the 1980s Soviet Union stoked the emergence of Russian rock as a counterculture against the Soviet government and created a generation of rebels amidst the collapse of the USSR.
Music is one of society’s best teachers. In Songs of Protest, writers analyze some of music’s greatest hits, using their findings to make sense of the world around them.
Written by Mahina Adams
Photo courtesy of Soyuz.ru
In Russia, the ‘80s ushered in a new wave of American pop culture known as perestroika, a policy of greater openness to other countries and consumption of Western culture introduced by then-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The increasing romanticization of the West in the late Soviet period allowed for a new appreciation of rock music and the creation of the Leningrad Rock Club, the most successful rock club in the USSR. Even with tight restrictions in place within the venue, like the banning of dancing and requiring permits by bands to perform, the rock scene flourished as the space provided younger generations with new access to Western music. Bands such as The Beatles and Talking Heads quickly gained prominence.
Rock music and the new creative outlet it provided younger generations evolved into a form of protest against the socialist environment of the time. The Leningrad rock scene was at the forefront of this movement and exposed Soviet citizens to the ideas of the West, further creating more dissidents against socialism within Russia. Youth culture deviated from Soviet ideology as many became disinterested in the state and embraced the individualistic attitude of rock, departing from the heavy reliance on community in the USSR.
The Leningrad doubled as a Communist party-licensed venue for concerts and stomping ground for many famous Russian rock musicians, including Boris Grebenshchikov of Aquarium. These songs delivered messages that deviated from the norms of Soviet life. Grebenshchikov called on his listeners to “become a generation of janitors and nightwatchmen” so as to have time for more creative pursuits in their time off. The Russian rock scene not only criticized the government but brought attention to underprivileged groups like blue-collar workers, and advocated for them, too. Musicians in Russia at this time served a greater social role in society, and their music had to have meaning that would emphasize this.
Photo courtesy of The Calveat Journal
Viktor Tsoi is essential to the Russian rock conversation. Involved in the Leningrad rock scene as well, Tsoi was the lead singer of Kino, inarguably the most influential Russian rock band to form. The image of Tsoi, with his long hair and carefree attitude, has become a symbol of counterculture in Russia against oppression and the rejection of all-controlling governments. The 2018 musical film “Leto,” directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, explores the recording of Kino’s first album, 45, and the relationships created in the counterculture of the Leningrad. Kino’s song, “Хочу перемен,” translated to “I Want Changes” in English, became a Russian protest anthem, as he sings in the chorus: “Our hearts require the changes / Our eyes require the changes / Into our laugh and our tears / And into pulse of veins. / Changes! / We are waiting for changes.” Kino championed the new form of rock rebellion and inspired youth in the underground world of Russian rock to express their power through art. Although he died at 28 in the midst of his career, Tsoi’s influence is still seen in Russia today, from commemorative graffiti on the walls of Moscow to a statue in St. Petersburg erected in his honor.
Rock music served to create a meaning for the young creative generation and juxtaposed them against the older generations, who weren’t as used to the romanticization of the West and its influences. A new wave of punk kids became self-aware of their defiance against the norms the older generation grew up with, further separating themselves from such customs. In a country undergoing transition, older generations still viewed the United States as the enemy and were wary of adopting its cultural influences. Many Soviet citizens at this time were still unaware of what the world looked like on the other side of the iron curtain, and even more people who lived during the ‘80s didn’t know the end of the USSR was so close. Rock music lyrics expressed the nihilism present in day-to-day life and sought to provide a meaning for Russian youth struggling to improve in a politically oppressed society resistant to change.
The Russian rock counterculture movement was able to catch on, not only due to the Leningrad Rock Club, but to new technology which made music more accessible. Shortwave radios, which allow for a signal to carry thousands of miles, increased the craving for Western rock. The technology even became popular on the black market, as radios unregulated by the Soviet Union became popular due to their lack of censorship. As a tool for exploring the world outside of Russia, radios made it easier to obtain popular music and learn more about the world beyond their borders. Rock on bones was another advancement that helped culminate this counterculture. Original rock records were copied onto used X-ray plates, hence the name rock on bones, and people had access to Western music in new forms. Both of these technologies became promoted as a cultural tool to gain an internationalist outlook, creating an intimacy with the free world and comparisons to their own socialist state.
The rock counterculture came to an end in the early ‘90s with the closing of the Leningrad Rock Club and the fall of the Soviet Union. Although the rock scene’s popularity dwindled, the importance of rock as a symbol of promise and hope stayed with the subculture that formed because of it. Today, Russian rock is still used as a tool for rebellion with more current bands like Pussy Riot, which brings attention to women’s and gender rights issues under a still very much oppressed and censored state. Despite the closure of the Leningrad, the once underground rock culture has become more public, gaining international attention and praise.