Punk Rock and the Collapse of the USSR

[Rita Safariants]

Dear Alexander,

You may want to track down the late Soviet samizdat journal Roksi, which was being published in Leningrad in the late 80s/early 90s. Additionally, I would recommend looking into the history of the Leningrad hard rock music club, Tam Tam, which was founded by former Akvarium cellist, Vsevolod Gakkel. One noteworthy punk band of that time is Pupsy, as well as the creative circle that existed around Andrei "Svin" Panov. Andrei Burlaka has published several rock "encyclopedias," which may serve as a great starting point.

Additionally, there were a number of documentary films that deal with the late Soviet punk movement to varying degrees. I've recently completed a PhD dissertation on a related topic: rock music in late Soviet cinema, which should be available on ProQuest. Perusing its bibliography and/or filmography may prove useful. I will also be happy to chat more about this off list.

All Best,

Rita Safariants
Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian Studies
Vassar College


On Aug 29, 2013, at 2:05 PM, Alexander Herbert <alexanderherbert45 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> Greetings to all Colleagues, Professors, and Undergraduate students,
> 
>    I am a graduate student at Indiana University, working with Professor Ben Eklof in 19th century Russian History. As a side project, a friend and I are attempting to piece together what we hope might be an in-depth history about underground Punk Rock and Hardcore immediately before, during, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union (were looking at 1985-present). 
>   I spent half a year in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, where I was swept into a large underground hardcore music scene deeply rooted in the colloquiums and nuances of American and British Hardcore Punk Rock. I was able to successfully network across a wide range of "extreme music" lovers, but I was unable to come into contact with any late Soviet generation punk rockers.
>   I was wondering if anyone in the network has any possibly resources that might be of use to us in our Soviet- era study. Whether you have personal experience, or you know of a publication-- any help would be great. 
> Even if you just want to discuss the project a bit, please feel free to contact me.
> 
> All inquiries and aids can be sent to Alherber at indiana.edu
> Cheers,
> - Alexander Herbert
> 
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