Music and song as a form of dissent in the Soviet Union in the late 1950s – 1980s

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15421/272206

Abstract

In the article, author considers music and song as a form of resistance to the state policy in the field of ideology and culture of the USSR in the late 1950s – 1980s. The relevance of the topic is determined by the current increase in the interest of scholars in the political and ideological processes that took place in this period. The research methodology is based on the study was based on the principles of anthropocentricity, cultural determinism, historicism, objectivity and consistency. The scientific novelty consists in the disclosure of the development of specific forms of uncensored music and song art in the Soviet Union, namely: author’s song, rock music; the specificity of the cultural process and unofficial creative activity of representatives of these genres in the Ukrainian SSR during the study period was determined. Conclusions. Music and song are one of the manifestations of dissent that influenced significantly the views of a large part of the population of the Soviet Union and the union of republics of the late 1950s – 1980s, despite the restrictions of the authorities. However, this phenomenon and its place in the social life of the Soviet Union has not been the subject of independent research yet. Author’s song and rock music became a worldview, a kind of religion, a lifestyle, a system of values of the people of that time. They did not set themselves «rebellious» tasks, as it was commonly defined by the ruling elite of the USSR. The performers of these genres and their fans sought to create opportunities for self-expression in the country for everyone. The considerable popularity of these song and music genres in society showed that the power structure failed to squeeze culture and art into the narrow confines of this or that sociopolitical doctrine. Considerable attention is paid to understanding of the specifics of this phenomenon in the Ukrainian SSR. It is proved that until the mid‑1980s informal music and songwriting in the republic took place in the general union channel, and only the process of national and cultural rise of the second half of this decade contributed to the emergence of a purely national music and song movement based entirely on Ukrainian language and traditions and was not institutionally associated with the Russian-speaking movement.

Downloads

Published

2022-06-20