This is definitely not pokazukha. Not even close.
This is real.
At a concert Sunday at Moscow's Olympic Hall, veteran rocker Yury Shevchuk, front man for the band DDT, lit into Russia's rulers. In a four-minute monologue between songs, Shevchuk ranted furiously (albeit poetically) about the corruption, impunity, and brutality at the heart of the regime Vladimir Putin built over the past decade:
Judging from the loud cheers Shevchuk received, he had a receptive audience.
(A video of the speech in Russian, which is burning up the Russian Internet, can be found here.)
Shevchuk also took fellow musicians to task for cozying up to the Kremlin, participating in corporate-sponsored concerts, and performing frivolous songs at a time when the country is in crisis. He called on musicians to lead what he called a "revolution of the soul."
In an interview today with RFE/RL's Russian Service, Shevchuk said despite the fact that many musicians are co-opted by the regime, there is also a small revolution brewing below the decks. He compared the situation to the underground Soviet rock scene in the 1970s and 1980s:
How significant is this? On one hand, Shevchuk, whose grandparents were Stalin-era political prisoners, is a well-known critic of the Putin regime who has spoken up before. He has attended a March of Dissent here and there. He has spoken out against Russia's August 2008 invasion of Georgia. He has even written a song, "When All The Oil Is Gone," that mocks the Kremlin's economic dependence on energy commodities.
Nevertheless, by speaking out so forcefully in such an official venue as the Olympic Hall in Moscow, Shevchuk has ratcheted up his opposition a notch or two.
And apparently, Shevchuk is not alone in his attempt to nudge Russia's artistic and cultural elite into more open defiance of the Kremlin.
On Monday, day after Shevchuk's comments, the popular actor Aleksei Devotchenko -- star of popular TV crime shows like "Streets Of Broken Lamps" and 'Bandit St. Petersburg" -- posted a diary on the Internet criticizing his colleagues for cozying up to the Kremlin and making "pseudo-patriotic" propaganda films.
And "Vedomosti" is reporting today that a group of 13 cultural figures, including music critic and media personality Artyom Troitsky, have penned an open letter to President Dmitry Medvedev calling for an investigation into an automobile accident involving LUKoil vice president Anatoly Barkov in which two women, 36-year-old Olga Aleksandrina and 72-year-old Vera Sidelnikova, were killed.
Witnesses said Barkov's armored Mercedes caused the accident by driving into the wrong lane to avoid a traffic jam. Barkov and his driver were unharmed and police have attempted to blame the crash on Aleksandrina.
The rapper MC Noize, who a close friend of Aleksandrina's sister, posted a protest song on the Internet condemning Barkov, LUKoil, and the Russian authorities.
Musicians and actors. Disgruntled cops. Frustrated workers. Rechnik. Kaliningrad.This drip drip drip of social dissent is building -- slowly, surely, and clearly.
Whether or not the battles at the top in Russia are just pokazhkha, the rumblings in society are very very real.
Will these nascent, scattered, and fractured roots of a social uprising reach critical mass and become a catalyst for real political change? Will they get crushed in a Kremlin crackdown? Or will it all fade away, leaving people discouraged and disgusted? Stay tuned.
-- Brian Whitmore
This is real.
At a concert Sunday at Moscow's Olympic Hall, veteran rocker Yury Shevchuk, front man for the band DDT, lit into Russia's rulers. In a four-minute monologue between songs, Shevchuk ranted furiously (albeit poetically) about the corruption, impunity, and brutality at the heart of the regime Vladimir Putin built over the past decade:
The system that has been built in our country is brutal, cruel, and inhumane. People are suffering, not only in prisons and camps, but in orphanages and hospitals as well. So many bastards are feeding themselves on power. With epaulettes on their shoulders and with flashing lights in their heads, they are robbing us, running us over on the road, and shooting us in stores. And nobody is being held accountable.
Judging from the loud cheers Shevchuk received, he had a receptive audience.
(A video of the speech in Russian, which is burning up the Russian Internet, can be found here.)
Shevchuk also took fellow musicians to task for cozying up to the Kremlin, participating in corporate-sponsored concerts, and performing frivolous songs at a time when the country is in crisis. He called on musicians to lead what he called a "revolution of the soul."
In an interview today with RFE/RL's Russian Service, Shevchuk said despite the fact that many musicians are co-opted by the regime, there is also a small revolution brewing below the decks. He compared the situation to the underground Soviet rock scene in the 1970s and 1980s:
I know there are thousands of wonderful musicians who sing songs about civil themes, who do not agree with what is happening in this country. There are a lot of wonderful young people who are playing in cellars. And all this is gaining some critical mass.
How significant is this? On one hand, Shevchuk, whose grandparents were Stalin-era political prisoners, is a well-known critic of the Putin regime who has spoken up before. He has attended a March of Dissent here and there. He has spoken out against Russia's August 2008 invasion of Georgia. He has even written a song, "When All The Oil Is Gone," that mocks the Kremlin's economic dependence on energy commodities.
Nevertheless, by speaking out so forcefully in such an official venue as the Olympic Hall in Moscow, Shevchuk has ratcheted up his opposition a notch or two.
And apparently, Shevchuk is not alone in his attempt to nudge Russia's artistic and cultural elite into more open defiance of the Kremlin.
On Monday, day after Shevchuk's comments, the popular actor Aleksei Devotchenko -- star of popular TV crime shows like "Streets Of Broken Lamps" and 'Bandit St. Petersburg" -- posted a diary on the Internet criticizing his colleagues for cozying up to the Kremlin and making "pseudo-patriotic" propaganda films.
And "Vedomosti" is reporting today that a group of 13 cultural figures, including music critic and media personality Artyom Troitsky, have penned an open letter to President Dmitry Medvedev calling for an investigation into an automobile accident involving LUKoil vice president Anatoly Barkov in which two women, 36-year-old Olga Aleksandrina and 72-year-old Vera Sidelnikova, were killed.
Witnesses said Barkov's armored Mercedes caused the accident by driving into the wrong lane to avoid a traffic jam. Barkov and his driver were unharmed and police have attempted to blame the crash on Aleksandrina.
The rapper MC Noize, who a close friend of Aleksandrina's sister, posted a protest song on the Internet condemning Barkov, LUKoil, and the Russian authorities.
Musicians and actors. Disgruntled cops. Frustrated workers. Rechnik. Kaliningrad.This drip drip drip of social dissent is building -- slowly, surely, and clearly.
Whether or not the battles at the top in Russia are just pokazhkha, the rumblings in society are very very real.
Will these nascent, scattered, and fractured roots of a social uprising reach critical mass and become a catalyst for real political change? Will they get crushed in a Kremlin crackdown? Or will it all fade away, leaving people discouraged and disgusted? Stay tuned.
-- Brian Whitmore
