The Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians or RAPM (russian: Российская Ассоциация Пролетарских Музыкантов, РАПМ ) was a musicians'

creative union Creative unions () in the Soviet Union were voluntary societies that united Soviet citizens according to their creative (artistic) occupations. They were similar to Soviet trade unions; more specifically, in Soviet ideology and law they were a su ...

of the early

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

period. It was founded in June 1923, by Lev Shul'gin, Aleksei Sergeev, and David Chernomoridikov. RAPM's members advocated "mass songs" for choirs , easily accessible melodies that were often inspired by folk tunes, and which songs were often collectively composed. The RAPM initially had the task of liaising with composers, critics, educators and administrators sympathetic with the regime. However, it soon became clear to the founders of RAPM that the organization was outgrowing its role as an advisory body, and tensions grew between members. By 1924, Shul'gin and Sergeev left the organization, believing the content being produced was either too simplistic, or too inaccessible to actual workers. Sergeev and Shul'gin, along with most of the composers from RAPM would go on to form the Revolutionary Composers and Musical Activist group (ORKMiD). Left with few composers, the RAPM would deteriorate, as the political context of the time (the

New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...

, encouraging ties to the West) favoured the

Association for Contemporary Music Association for Contemporary Music (ACM) (russian: ACM - Ассоциация Современной Музыки, ''ASM - Assotsiatsiya Sovremennoy Muzyki'') was an alternative organization of Russian composers interested in avant-garde music. It w ...

, which accepted western music. The RAPM would become an ideological and aesthetic opponent against the

. The RAPM sought to develop a musical style which evoked feelings of unison and solidarity. A typical example of this might be a choir singing in complete unison, with very little polyphonic variance: the unity of the singers would emphasize the notion of solidarity while the style would be reminiscent of folk music for the sake of accessibility. On 23 April 1932 it was disbanded, together with other unions, such as

Russian Association of Proletarian Writers The Russian Association of Proletarian Writers, also known under its transliterated abbreviation RAPP (russian: Российская ассоциация пролетарских писателей, РАПП) was an official creative union in the ...

, by the

Decree on the Reformation of Literary and Artistic Organizations A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

.''Music for the Revolution'' by Amy Nelson, p.242

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