rock music in late Soviet literature

[michael.pushkin]

Andrei Voznesensky:

'Na nashikh glazakh rok proizvel elektrogitarizatsiyu vsei strany. Cherez
elektrogitary protsess soznaniya podklyuchaetsya k mirovoi energosisteme'
(Ogonyok, 29, 13-20 July 1991, p. 10) - just about makes it into the Soviet
period!

Mike Pushkin
CREES
ERI
University of Birmingham
UK

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Yoffe" <yoffe at GWU.EDU>
To: <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 3:22 PM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] rock music in late Soviet literature


> Indeed rock music is almost untouched in Soviet period literature.
> Vladimir Rekshan, former leader of one of Leningrad's earliest rock bands
Sankt Peterburg touches upon rock in many of his later novels. See
particularly his Kaif polnyi (1990). His earlier book Tretii zakon Niutona
(1986) surprisingly almost does not touch upon rock at all.
> Rock is mostly just mentioned in Soviet literature, if acknowledged at
all. Aksenov, indeed is the only one who calls it by its real name,
acknowledges the phenomenon, and describes related youth movements, such as
hippie thing (particularly in his strangely daring for mid 70s V poiskakh
zhanra). He also mentions rock in Ostrov Krym.
> Yuri Trifonov mentions rock music in Predvaritel'nye itogi, but calls a
rock band a "bit gruppa." And generally seems to be suspicious about the
whole thing.
> Older generation of Soviet writers (excluding Aksenov) even the ones
realistic or critical about the Soviet regime, still mostly viewed rock
music as a "questionable" if not to say utterly negative phenomenon. Which
was quite in line with Soviet official party line on the subject (expressed
passionately by Kuniaev and Mikhalkov). That's why there is almost no
mention of it in Soviet literature, as well as there is almost no mention of
youth subcultures, counterculture and such. Even Vladimir Tendriakov, who
wrote deeply about youth, shies away from the subject. As to emigre and
underground writers of the period, it is another story, but still there is
surprisingly almost nothing on the subject, except for Limonov's
acknowledgement of his familiarity with rock music, and his professed love
for it.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: A Smith <Alexandra.Smith at SHEFFIELD.AC.UK>
> Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 10:09 pm
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] rock music in late Soviet literature
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
>
>
> > --I was just wondering if anyone knows of any Soviet fiction
> >  >from the 1970s or 1980s (or even 1990s), that explicitly deals
> >  >with rock music or rock musicians. ---
> >
> >  Dear Dunja,
> >
> >  Although your question was about fiction, you might be interested to
> > know about
> >  Viktor Krivulin's long poem dedicated to Kurekhin "Kontsert pamiati
Kurekhina"
> >  (1997):
> >
> >
> >  All best,
> >  Alexandra Smith
> >
> >  Alexandra Smith (PhD, University of London)
> >  Lecturer in Russian,
> >  Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies,
> >  University of Sheffield, UK.
> >
>
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