Rock music in Russia
Russian rock music originated in the Soviet Union in the 1960s based on the influence of Western rock music[1] and bard songs, and was developed by both amateur bands and official VIA.
The "golden age" of Russian rock was during the 1980s (especially the era of perestroika), when the Soviet underground rock bands became able to release their records officially. During this period, "rock clubs" were created, such groups as "Kino", "Alisa", "DDT", "Bravo", "Nautilus Pompilius", "Aria","Chaif", "Grazhdanskaya Oborona" appeared and gained popularity, and already known groups, such as "Mashina Vremeni" and "Aquarium", 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.[2][3][4][5]
In the 21st century, almost all genres of rock music exist in Russia, which is why "Russian rock" has become a more vague concept.[6][7] The majority of the Russian bands perform in the Russian language.
According to various polls,[8][9][10] the most popular Russian rock bands include Kino, Aquarium, Aria, Alisa, DDT and Agatha Christie.
History[edit]
The early 1960s: Local bard music and first western influences[edit]
By the mid-1960s, beat groups had formed in Moscow and Leningrad, at first performing cover versions of foreign hits on home-made equipment.[11] Among these groups were "Sokol",[12] "Scythians", "Buffoons" and "Slavs" (Alexander Gradsky's groups),[13] and "Forest Brothers".[14] In 1965, the band Sokol released the first rock song in Russian, "Gde tot krai?" (Russian: "Где тот край?").[15][16] The beat quartet "Integral" performed jazz music and compositions in the style of The Shadows and The Swinging Blue Jeans, and also composed their own twists and rock 'n' rolls.[17] With the spread of Beatlemania,[18] almost every school had its own rock band.[19] The movement was partly influenced by the ideology of the Western hippies.[20][21]
At the same time, Russian rock was partly influenced by bard music, a style referred to as avtorskaya pesnya (Russian: авторская песня, lit. 'author's song'), mostly played on unaccompanied acoustic guitar. It was characterized by a strong emphasis on lyrics that sometimes carried a subversive meaning,[22] 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,[23] Bulat Okudzhava.[24]
Meanwhile, Western music was either being smuggled across the border or released by Melodiya as part of what was essentially state-run media piracy, with The Beatles taking a firm place in Soviet popular culture, and artists such as The Rolling Stones and Deep Purple completing a somewhat distorted picture of Western music.[25]
Wordplay[edit]
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" (Russian: Это рок) from Aria's debut album Mania Velichia.[127]