Let the Swans Dance!
Russian Music for and against War, Lies, and Dictatorship
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Russia’s war against Ukraine produces its own musical accompaniment. Musi-cians are helping the Kremlin sustain popular support for the “special military operation”. At the same time, artists from the musical counterculture – mostly in exile – agitate against the war and Putinism. They denounce repression, militarisation, the cult of war, and the deformation of Russian society. They hardly address the suffering of the Ukrainian population as a result of the war. However, so long as these songs remain accessible in Russia via YouTube, virtual encounters between people who desire a different Russia are at least possible.
(Osteuropa, 3-4/2023, pp. 189–211)