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VIA (
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: ''ВИА'') is an abbreviation for Vocal- usicInstrumental-Ensemble (russian: Вокально-инструментальный ансамбль, ''Vokalno-instrumentalny ansambl''). It is the general name used for pop and
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
bands that were formally recognized by the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
government from the 1960s to the 1980s. In Soviet times, the term ''VIA'' generally meant ''band'', but it is now used in Russia to refer specifically to pop, rock, and folk groups active during the Soviet period. In the PRL and some other neighbouring satellite states of the USSR the term big-beat was used instead.


History

The term VIA appeared in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and represented a model under which the Soviet government was willing to permit domestic rock and pop music acts to develop. To break through to the state-owned Soviet media, a band needed to become an officially recognized VIA. Each VIA had an artistic director (художественный руководитель) who served as manager, producer, and state-appointed censor. In some bands (such as Pesniary) the artistic director was the band's leading member and songwriter, while in others he played the role of impresario. Soviet VIAs played a specific style of pop music. They performed youth-oriented (but officially approved) radio-friendly music, which combined contemporary Western and Soviet trends. Folk instruments were often used, and occasionally a keytar (a keyboard held like a guitar). Songs varied from pop ballads, dance-beat disco and new wave to mainstream rock. Many VIAs had up to ten members (including a number of vocalists and multi-instrumentalists), who were in frequent rotation. Due to state censorship, the lyrics of VIAs were family-friendly; typical topics were universal emotions like love, joy, and nostalgia, or idealized vignettes from daily life. Many bands also encouraged national culture and patriotism, (especially those of national minorities from the smaller Soviet republics) such as Yalla from
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
, Labyrinth from
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
and Chervona Ruta from
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Folk-based VIAs such as
Pesniary Pesniary (also spelled Pesnyary, be, Песняры, ) was a popular Soviet Belarusian folk rock VIA. It was founded in 1969 by guitarist Vladimir Mulyavin. Before 1970, the band was known under the name Liavony (Лявоны). Style Pesniary ...
(later they mixed folk rock and progressive rock styles), Siabry and
Verasy Verasy (''Верасы́'') was a musical band created in Belarus (then Belarusian SSR, Soviet Union) in 1971. It was created under the Belarusian State Philarmony, Minsk, director and composer Vasily Rainchik. Verasy is Belarusian for heather ( ...
were especially popular in Belarus.“Pesnyary” – Legends in Bell-Bottoms
/ref> Russian bands from Moscow and Leningrad (such as
Zemlyane Zemlyane (russian: link=no, Земляне, lit=Earthlings) is a Soviet and later Russian rock band, formed in Leningrad in 1978. The band achieved great popularity in the early 1980s and remains active. A key artist in the VIA (vocal-instrumen ...
and
Tsvety Tsvety (russian: link=no, Цветы, lit=The Flowers) is a Soviet and Russian rock band that, according to ''Itogi'' magazine, "started all Russian alternative culture". It was one of the first bands to introduce rock music to the Soviet show bu ...
) were more oriented towards Western pop and rock music. Many VIAs were created by musicians that played together in local choruses or musical theatrical productions. The earliest VIAs included Avangard (Avantgarde) in 1964, Poyushchiye Gitary (The Singing Guitars) in 1966, Vesyolye Rebyata (Jolly Fellows) in 1968, and Dobry Molodtsy (Good Guys) in 1969.


Unique Characteristics

The typical VIA consisted of 6 to 10 band members, with several singers and musicians capable of playing multiple instruments. Lead vocalists in VIAs usually did not play an instrument, but only sang. Virtually every member of a VIA was a professional musician with formal musical education and many years of performance experience. All the members were part of the federal or republican Union of Composers and alumni of conservatories or music schools. The Soviet government had strict rules governing how members of a VIA were to behave on stage and conduct themselves in public. Movement around the stage was discouraged. Musicians typically remained in one place as they played their instruments or sang. Anything outside of the conservative "norm", such as tattoos, leather jackets, or metallic accessories were forbidden. VIA song recordings were done by the State owned record company
Melodiya Melodiya ( rus, links=no, Мелодия, t=Melody) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union. History Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm ...
(Melody). Concerts and performances were organized by professional associations such as Soyuzkontsert (Union Concerts), Moskontsert (Moscow Concerts), Lenkonsert (Leningrad Concerts), Roskontsert (Russian Concerts), and Goskontsert (Government Concerts), along with regional orchestra groups. At times, a VIA would collaborate with a well-known solo singer to provide musical backing. Examples include Yury Antonov and VIAs
Araks , az, Araz, fa, ارس, tr, Aras The Aras (also known as the Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz) is a river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan excl ...
and
Aerobus Aerobus is a self-propelled electrically powered bus-like vehicle riding on a suspended overhead cable. The cable arrangement, similar to a suspension bridge, allows for long spans of up to 600 metres between pylons. The Aerobus system was invent ...
,
Alla Pugacheva Alla Borisovna Pugacheva, ) (born 15 April 1949), is а Soviet and Russian musical performer. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day, even though she has retired from performing. For her "clear mezzo-soprano and a full display o ...
and VIA Retsital,
Sofia Rotaru Sofiia Mykhailivna Yevdokymenko-Rotaru (born 7 August 1947), known as Sofia Rotaru ( uk, Софія Михайлівна Ротару ; russian: link=no, Софи́я Миха́йловна Рота́ру; ro, Sofia Rotaru), is a former Ukrainia ...
and VIA Chervona Ruta,
Valeriy Obodzinskiy Valery Vladimirovich Obodzinsky (russian: Вале́рий Влади́мирович Ободзи́нский; 24 January 1942 – 26 April 1997) was a Soviet and Russian singer (tenor), a holder of the title of Meritorious Artist Mari Autonomous ...
and VIA Verniye Druziya, and
Lev Leschenko Lev Valerianovich Leshchenko (russian: link=no, Лев Валерьянович Лещенко; born 1 February 1942), is a Russian singer, who is best known for his rendition of "Den Pobedy" and the 1980 Summer Olympics closing ceremony theme ...
and VIA
Spektr Spektr (russian: Спектр; en, Spectrum) (TKM-O, 77KSO, 11F77O) was the fifth module of the Mir Space Station. The module was designed for remote observation of Earth's environment containing atmospheric and surface research equipment. Sp ...
.


Repertoire

VIAs typically performed songs written by professional composers and lyricists who were members in good standing of the Composers' Union and the
Writers' Union The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers (russian: Союз писателей СССР, translit=Soyuz Sovetstikh Pisatelei) was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded ...
in the former Soviet Union. Some songs were created by VIA members or the VIA's artistic director. In the early 1980s, there was an unspoken rule that at least 80% of a VIA's performance repertoire had to be songs written by union members. VIAs performed songs in a range of musical styles, including folk music, disco, rock, and synth-pop. Although tightly controlled by the government, VIAs had an enormous influence on the Russian public and created an audience for the rock music wave that followed. On the other hand, VIAs tended to deliver songs that were mainstream, simple in expression, and conservative in performance. Lyrics tended to focus on uncontroversial topics such as patriotic motifs, love stories, idealizations of work, light humor, ballads, current events, and folk themes. Any social criticism or protest was heavily censored and largely forbidden, except when directed against the West. A number of VIAs did cover versions of foreign hits, typically changing the lyrics to entirely different meanings, but matching the music and vocalization. At times, VIAs went so far as to claim that the music was their own original work.


Rise and Fall

VIAs as a movement in Soviet music existed for approximately two decades, from the mid-1960s until the mid-1980s. They were very popular, particularly among Soviet youth. The best known VIAs would perform year round, giving several concerts a day. Many of these concerts received television and radio air time. Their albums sold tens of millions of copies. Most VIAs dissolved in the late 1980s. This was in part due to rock music becoming more popular and the censorship apparatus largely falling apart. The advent of synthesizers, samplers, and other technologies that enabled the creation of music without the use of a large number of musicians was also a contributing factor. Finally, the lyrical content of VIA songs became far less relevant in the new, more open society. Although most VIAs disappeared, a number of VIA members enjoyed successful subsequent careers as solo performers or members of new bands. Many Russian pop and rock stars of the 1990s were VIA members in the 1970s and 1980s. A few of the most popular VIAs endured and continued to exist into the 1990s and thereafter, usually with a significantly different membership.


Bands

Groups exemplifying VIA music included: *
Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...
* Dos Mukasan *
Iveria Iveria may refer to: Places * Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel, Tbilisi, a hotel Georgia * Iveria, an archaic name for the country of Georgia Other uses * Iverian or Mingrelian language, spoken in Western Georgia * FC Iveria Khashuri, a Georgian footb ...
*
Pesniary Pesniary (also spelled Pesnyary, be, Песняры, ) was a popular Soviet Belarusian folk rock VIA. It was founded in 1969 by guitarist Vladimir Mulyavin. Before 1970, the band was known under the name Liavony (Лявоны). Style Pesniary ...
* Poyushchiye Gitary ("Singing Guitars") * Samotsvety *
Tsvety Tsvety (russian: link=no, Цветы, lit=The Flowers) is a Soviet and Russian rock band that, according to ''Itogi'' magazine, "started all Russian alternative culture". It was one of the first bands to introduce rock music to the Soviet show bu ...
("Flowers") *
Verasy Verasy (''Верасы́'') was a musical band created in Belarus (then Belarusian SSR, Soviet Union) in 1971. It was created under the Belarusian State Philarmony, Minsk, director and composer Vasily Rainchik. Verasy is Belarusian for heather ( ...
* Vesyolye Rebyata ("Jolly Fellows") * Yalla *
Zemlyane Zemlyane (russian: link=no, Земляне, lit=Earthlings) is a Soviet and later Russian rock band, formed in Leningrad in 1978. The band achieved great popularity in the early 1980s and remains active. A key artist in the VIA (vocal-instrumen ...
("Earthlings")


See also

*
Big-beat (Eastern Bloc) Big-beat (also called 'big beat' or bigbit) is a term used in Eastern Bloc countries in the 1960s to cover rock and roll and related genres, as the original name was not approved by authorities in those nations (the USSR and its satellite state ...
* Franciszek Walicki *
Niebiesko-Czarni Niebiesko-Czarni (Blue-Blacks) were one of the most popular Polish big-beat and rock groups of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was founded by Franciszek Walicki. Czesław Niemen Czesław Niemen (; February 16, 1939 – January 17, 2004), ...


External links


English


The trends that led to modern Russian music: Romance, Bards, VIAs


Russian


Articles on VIA history

A list of VIAs

VIA era fan site



Videos


1960-80's Soviet music videos


References

{{reflist Soviet music *