Kurtis Cameron Music 1040-Music & Culture Instructor: Barbara Shelton 4/3/2013 Term Paper Russian Music and

Culture The great drama of Russian history has been between its state and society. Put simply, Russia has always had too much state and not enough society. -- Fareed Zakaria (BrainyQuote.com) In 1994, an 11-year-old Peter Kouzmine left Russia with his parents who came to America for work. Peter was born in Tomsk, Russia, a city on the Tom River in the southwest of Siberian Federal District, one of the oldest towns in Siberia (Wikipedia, Tomsk). Peter, when asked what kind of music he liked to listen to, said that he did not have any specific preference. He said that he saw no reason to limit himself to a specific genre of music, and that he could usually find one or two songs in any genre that he liked. I like some but not all songs in that would be heavy metal, industrial, country, and even pop. But when mood strikes me I also like some jazz, dubstep, and electronica. There are songs in other genres that I like. I have very eclectic tastes. --Peter Kouzmine When asked how Russian music influenced his taste in music, he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union and its associated culture, as well as the turmoil of cultural rebirth, showed him that things can and will change, and that is the reason why his music tastes are so diverse. Peter explained that: American culture had great deal of influence on Russian culture. Following collapse of USSR there was great urge to emulate America. Today its a lot more subdued, and there is a blowback as some people who fear loss of cultural identity take almost violent protest to all things American. As for Russian culture influencing America, I do notice some subtle things but nothing definitive. This is not surprising given how many Russians traveled to U.S. In U.S. I lived in Texas, Utah, New Jersey (just next to New York City), and

upstate New York (where the Amish are). This is an incredibly diverse country and I believe my answer to this question will be extension of answer to previous. The world is diverse and many things can and will happen. So why limit oneself to single genre or song? There are things to like and dislike everywhere, and different music speaks to different times and concerns for different people. --Peter Kouzmine Under the regime of Joseph Stalin, in the 1930s, music was controlled within certain boundaries of content and innovation. Classicism was favored, and experimentation was discouraged. Shostakovich's veristic opera, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, was denounced as "formalism" in the Pravda newspaper and was removed from theatres (Edmunds, Neil). Music publishing and promotion in Soviet Union was a state monopoly. Soviet musicians had to assign to state-owned label, Melodiya, to earn money and fame for their talent. This meant the acceptance of certain boundaries of experimentation, using only the family-friendly performance and politically neutral lyrics favored by censors. Meanwhile with the arrival of new sound recording technologies, it became possible for common fans to record and exchange their music via magnetic tape recorder. This helped the underground music subculture (such as bard and rock music) to flourish despite being ignored by the state-owned media (Ivanova, Vera). Peter says that after the end of censorship during Gorbachevs glasnost period and the collapse of the USSR, new musical styles arose and gave voice to what people were dealing with: songs that remembered hard times and worries for the future. Peter also mentions that today there are some Soviet nostalgia songs (people knew what to expect back then and memories tend to be rose tinted). During his interview Peter was asked, what issues have arisen in the government involving popular music? He said that the situation with a group called Pussy Riot was a

pertinent example of political issues involving popular music in Russia. Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist punk rock collective based in Moscow. Founded in August 2011 (Clover, Charles), it has a variable membership of approximately 11 women ranging in age from about 20 to 33 who wear brightly colored balaclavas (Cadwalladr, Carole). They stage unauthorized provocative guerrilla performances in unusual public locations, which are edited into music videos and posted on the Internet. Their lyrical themes include feminism, LGBT rights, and opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin (Cadwalladr, Carole). On February 21, 2012, five members of the group staged a performance on the soleas of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Church security officials stopped their actions. By evening, they had turned it into a music video entitled "Punk Prayer Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!" The women said their protest was directed at the Orthodox Church leader's support for Putin during his election campaign (YouTube). And we need to sing it not on the street in front of the temple, but at the altarthat is in a place where women are strictly forbidden. The fact is, the church is promoting a very conservative worldview that does not fit into such values as freedom of choice; the formation of political, gender, or sexual identity; critical thinking; multiculturalism; or attention to contemporary culture. It seems to us that the Orthodox Church currently lacks all of these virtues. --Pussy Riot (Pussy Riot.) On March 3, two of the group members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were arrested and charged with hooliganism. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was later arrested on March 16. They were denied bail and held in custody until their trial began in late July. On August 17, 2012, the three members were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, and each was sentenced to two years imprisonment. On October 10, following an appeal, Samutsevich was freed on

probation, her sentence suspended. The sentences of the other two women were upheld. In late October 2012, Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were separated and sent to prison. The trial and sentence attracted criticism, particularly in the West. Public opinion in Russia was generally less sympathetic towards the women. Putin said that the band had "undermined the moral foundations of the country and they got what they asked for (Wikipedia, Pussy Riot). Although Russian history is full of turmoil and controversy, the nation has greatly contributed to American music. According to Victor Yuzefovich, a musicologist from Washington D.C., the Russian invasion of musicians began during the nineteenth century. He said that appearances by Anton Rubenstein in 1872, the premier of Tchaikovskys First Piano Concerto in 1875, and Tchaikovskys subsequent recitals in New York, Washington, Philadelphia and Baltimore in 1891 were among the first interactions between American and Russian musical cultures. Other composers; such as, Rachmaninoff, Nabokov and Schillinger also contributed to the early Russian influence on American music. Igor Stravinsky, who arrived in America in 1939, ushered in a time of unprecedented Russian influence on American music (Wheeler, Nicholas). Personally, I know of one song that is very Russian, a song that I have listened to since I was very young, and a song that I love dearly. The Tetris theme, as most Americans more commonly know it, was originally a Russian folk tune called Korobeiniki, based on a poem written by Nikolay Nekrasov. Due to its increasing tempo and the dance style associated with it, it quickly became a popular Russian folk song. Korobeiniki were peddlers with trays, selling fabric, haberdashery, books and other small things in pre-revolutionary Russia. The song is a sad poem about the love between

a girl named Katya and a young Peddler. The story ends with the Peddler, who is engaged to Katya, being killed by a thief as he and the thief were passing each other on the road. (Wikipedia, Korobeiniki). It surprised me to discover that a song that I learned to love through my childhood love of videogames had nothing to do with building walls or arranging tetriminos (the four square pieces used in Tetris). Millions of Geeks in America recognize this song. Tetris has been called the most recognized videogame of all time (Metts, Jonathan). Many musicians have covered this games song with very interesting and entertaining variations to the music. Russian music throughout its history has been very influential on all those who came into contact with it. Through censorship, revolution, and commercialism this music has survived and evolved, and by association so have many people and societies. I hope to be able to discover how the music and culture of Russia will continue to change and inspire the future of the world.

Citations: "Fareed Zakaria." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2013. 2 April 2013. Web. http://www.brainyquote.com

Wikipedia. Tomsk. Wikipedia, 2013. Web. 2 April 2013. Edmunds, Neil, eds. Soviet Music and Society under Lenin and Stalin: The Baton and Sickle. Routledge, 2009. Pages: 264. Print. Ivanova, Vera. History of Rock Music in Russia. Russia-ic. 2007. Web. 2 April 2013. Clover, Charles. "Pussy Riot dig claws into Putin. Financial Times (London). 2012. 2 April 2013. Cadwalladr, Carole. "Pussy Riot: will Vladimir Putin regret taking on Russia's cool women punks?. The Observer (London). 2012. 2 April 2013 Pussy Riot. Pussy Riot!: A Punk Prayer For Freedom. The Feminist Press (2012). Print. "- ", " Pussy Riot ("Punk Prayer 'Mother of God, Chase Putin Away', Pussy Riot in the Cathedral")" (in Russian). YouTube. February 21, 2012. Web. 2 April 2013. Wikipedia. Pussy Riot. Wikipedia. 2013. Web. 2 April 2013. Wheeler, Nicholas. The Russian Influence on American Music. Wilson Center.org (2013). Web. 2 April 2013. Metts, Jonathan. Tetris from the Top: An Interview with Henk Rogers. NintendoWorldReport.Com (2006). Web. 2 April 2013. Wikipedia. Korobeiniki. Wikipedia. 2013. Web. 2 April 2013.