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Magnitizdat
''Magnitizdat'' () was the process of copying and distributing audio tape recordings that were not commercially available in the Soviet Union. It is analogous to ''samizdat'', the method of disseminating written works that could not be officially published under Soviet political censorship. It is technically similar to bootleg recordings, except it has a political dimension not usually present in the latter term. Terminology The term ''magnitizdat'' comes from the Russian words ''magnitofon'' () and ''izdatel’stvo'' (). Technology Magnetic tape recorders were rare in the Soviet Union before the 1960s. During the 1960s, the Soviet Union mass-produced reel-to-reel tape recorders for the consumer market. In addition, Western and Japanese tape recorders were sold through secondhand shops and the black market. According to Alexei Yurchak, in contrast to ''samizdat'', “''magnitizdat'' managed to elude state control by virtue of its technological availability and privacy.” ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulat Okudzhava
Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (russian: link=no, Булат Шалвович Окуджава; ka, ბულატ ოკუჯავა; hy, Բուլատ Օկուջավա; 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 of the Soviet genre called " author song" (''авторская песня'', ''avtorskaya pesnya''), or "guitar song", and the author of about 200 songs, set to his own poetry. His songs are a mixture of Russian poetic and folk song traditions and the French ''chansonnier'' style represented by such contemporaries of Okudzhava as Georges Brassens. Though his songs were never overtly political, the freshness and independence of Okudzhava's artistic voice presented a subtle challenge to Soviet cultural authorities, who were thus hesitant for many years to give him official recognition. Life Bulat Okudzhava was born in Moscow on May 9, 1924, into a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Galich (writer)
Alexander Arkadievich Galich (russian: Алекса́ндр Арка́дьевич Га́лич, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐrˈkadʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈɡalʲɪtɕ, a=Alyeksandr Arkad'yevich Galich.ru.vorb.oga, 19 October 1918 – 15 December 1977) was a Soviet poet, screenwriter, playwright, singer-songwriter, and dissident. Biography ''Galich'' is a pen name, an abbreviation of his last name, first name, and patronymic: Ginzburg Alexander Arkadievich. He was born on 19 October 1918 in Ekaterinoslav (then Dnipropetrovsk and now Dnipro), Ukraine, into a family of Jewish intellectuals. His father, Aron Samoilovich Ginzburg, was an economist, and his mother, Fanni Borisovna Veksler, worked in a music conservatory. For most of his childhood he lived in Sevastopol. Before World War II, he entered the Gorky Literary Institute, then moved to Konstantin Stanislavski's Operatic-Dramatic Studio, and then to the Studio-Theatre of Alexei Arbuzov and Valentin Pluchek (in 1939). He wrote plays and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Censorship In The Soviet Union
Censorship in the Soviet Union was pervasive and strictly enforced. Censorship was performed in two main directions: * State secrets were handled by the General Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press (also known as Glavlit), which was in charge of censoring all publications and broadcasting for state secrets *Censorship, in accordance with the official ideology and politics of the Communist Party was performed by several organizations: ** Goskomizdat censored all printed matter: fiction, poetry, etc. **Goskino, in charge of cinema ** Gosteleradio, in charge of radio and television broadcasting **The First Department in many agencies and institutions, such as the State Statistical Committee (Goskomstat), was responsible for assuring that state secrets and other sensitive information only reached authorized hands. Destruction of printed matter The Soviet government implemented mass destruction of pre- revolutionary and foreign books and journals from lib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avtomaticheskie Udovletvoriteli
Avtomaticheskie udovletvoriteli (russian: Автоматические удовлетворители, lit=The Automatic Satisfiers, abbreviated AU) was a Soviet, and later Russian, punk band, formed in Leningrad in 1979. It is considered the first Russian punk band, and its founder, Andrei Panov, is sometimes referred to as "the first punk in the USSR". History Andrei Panov, also known as "Svin" (), formed Avtomaticheskie udovletvoriteli (AU) in autumn 1979. The group's name was a loose Russian translation of Sex Pistols, who were a major influence on the group's style and attitude. AU were also influenced by the Soviet bard Vladimir Vysotsky. In December 1980, Artemy Troitsky invited AU to give a series of apartment concerts in Moscow. Viktor Tsoi played bass in the group at this time. On March 23, 1981 AU performed at Andrei Tropillo's birthday celebration in a St. Petersburg cafe with a similar line-up. Most of the group's earliest performances took place in private apa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grazhdanskaya Oborona
Grazhdanskaya Oborona (Russian: Гражданская оборона, ), Russian for ''Civil Defense'', or ГО, often referred to as ГрОб, Russian for ''coffin'') were a Soviet-Russian rock band formed by Yegor Letov and Konstantin Ryabinov in Omsk, USSR, in 1984. They were one of the earliest Soviet and Russian psychedelic/ punk rock bands. They influenced many Soviet and, subsequently, Russian bands. From the early 1990s, the band's music began to evolve in the direction of psychedelic rock and shoegaze, and band leader Yegor Letov's lyrics became more metaphysical than political. History Formation and early years In 1982 the 18-year-old poet and musician Yegor Letov formed the band Posev (''The Sowing'', named after the official NTS magazine) with his friend Konstantin "Kuzya UO" Ryabinov. In 1984 Posev became Grazhdanskaya Oborona. The band was preparing to record an album, but their defiantly anti-authoritarian stance and overtly political lyrics made them an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bard (Soviet Union)
The term bard ( rus, бард, p=bart) came to be used in the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, and continues to be used in Russia today, to refer to singer-songwriters who wrote songs outside the Soviet establishment, similarly to folk singers of the American folk music revival. Because in bard music songwriters perform their own songs, the genre is also commonly referred to as author song (russian: авторская песня, ''avtorskaya pesnya'') or bard song (russian: бардовская песня, ''bardovskaya pesnya''). Bard poetry differs from other poetry mainly in being sung with simple guitar accompaniment as opposed to being spoken. Another difference is that it focuses less on style and more on meaning. This means that fewer stylistic devices are used, and the poetry is often in the form of a narrative. What separates bard poetry from other songs is that the music is far less important than the lyrics; chord progressions are often very simple and tend to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrei Tropillo
Andrei Vladimirovich Tropillo (russian: links=no, Андрей Владимирович Тропилло; 21 March 1951, Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian record producer, music publisher, sound engineer, founder of the label AnTrop (""), and rock musician. Biography Tropillo first became involved in the Soviet rock scene in the 1970s. In 1976, he initially attempted to set up a small record factory in a room rented from his then-employer, the Geophysics department of Leningrad University. He also organized concerts for several bands, including Mashina Vremeni, and used the income to buy technical equipment for sound recording. Tropillo later started working part-time at the House of Pioneers in the Krasnogvardeysky District of Leningrad, teaching members of the Young Pioneers about sound recording and giving guitar lessons. This position afforded him better access to sound equipment and allowed him to develop a studio. Tropillo began to invite local rock bands to record i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Wave
''Red Wave: 4 Underground Bands from the Soviet Union'' 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 music into the United States. Joanna Stingray, who developed a friendly relationship with some of the most prominent Soviet underground rock band members upon her first visit to the Soviet Union, and Boris Grebenshchikov, the Aquarium frontman, are credited with the idea of releasing such an album in the West. The material for this compilation was recorded on a non-commercial basis by the four Leningrad bands and smuggled by Joanna Stingray to the US. Production and release was done by the Los Angeles-based indie label Big Time Records on June 27, 1986. Three of the four bands (Aquarium, Kino and Alisa) on this album have later become icons of the Russian rock movement and are still widely known and followed in Russia. Due to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leningrad Rock Club
The Leningrad Rock Club (russian: Ленинградский рок-клуб) was a historic music venue of the 1980s in Leningrad, situated on Rubinstein Street in the city centre. Opened in 1981 and overseen by the KGB, it became the first legal rock music venue in Leningrad. Overall, it was the largest rock scene in the Soviet Union and influenced the development of Russian rock. History Leningrad was a centre of rock music in the Soviet Union, perhaps due to its geographical proximity with Finland, which made it easier to access Western music. Attempts to create rock clubs began as early as 1973, but they were largely unsuccessful. The Leningrad Rock Club formed in 1981 under Leonid Brezhnev. Membership card number one was issued to Beatles fan Kolya Vasin. It was intended to be organized similarly to the Union of Soviet Composers and censored lyrics and issued permits to perform in an effort to prevent the bands from making much that was too controversial. However, by p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joanna Stingray
Joanna Stingray (russian: Джоанна Стингрей Dzhoanna Stingrey, , born Joanna Fields, 1960) is an American singer, actress, music producer and socialite. She was a key figure in popularizing Soviet and Russian rock music and culture in the West in the 1980s. Biography Born Joanna Fields, Stingray is a native of Los Angeles, California. In 1983, Stingray released her U.S. 12-inch, 4-track debut, ''Beverly Hills Brat'', under the name Joanna. In her early musical career, she performed at Studio 54. In 1984, aged 23, Stingray traveled to Leningrad as a tourist with her sister, who was studying in London and had an opportunity to take a trip to visit the Soviet Union for one week. In Leningrad, she was introduced to Boris Grebenshchikov of the rock group Aquarium. Impressed by Grebenshchikov, and other artists' music, Stingray began smuggling the music of underground Soviet rock bands beyond the confines of the Soviet Union. On July 27, 1986, Australian record compa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egor Letov
Igor Fedorovich "Yegor" Letov (russian: link=no, И́горь Фёдорович "Его́р" Ле́тов, ; 10 September 1964 – 19 February 2008) was a Russian poet, musician, singer-songwriter, audio engineer and conceptual artist, best known as the founder and leader of the post-punk/psychedelic rock band Grazhdanskaya Oborona (). He was also the founder of the conceptual art avant-garde project Kommunizm and psychedelic rock outfit Egor i Opizdenevshie. Letov collaborated with singer-songwriter Yanka Dyagileva and other Siberian underground artists as a record engineer and producer. Biography Letov was born in Omsk, Siberia to Fyodor Letov, a military man and World War II veteran from Northern Ural (Perm Krai), and Tamara Letova, a doctor of Russian Cossack origin from Kazakhstan. The Letov family had Russian, Mordvin, Komi and Turkic ancestors. The family moved to Omsk from Semipalatinsk a few years before Yegor's birth. From a young age, Yegor and his older brother ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
