Russian Post-Punk (contextual research)

What is punk?

To begin my initial research into the origins and context of Russian Post-punk for the album cover project, I wanted to gain a wide definition of what Punk was and how Russian punk differs from Western punk. This would be crucial in broadening my understanding of the genre and pulling out bits of information that could be useful in the concepts of my designs.

Within the definition of punk, there is a strong sense of rebellion against the norm and in the case of Russian punk, against the corruption and regime of the Soviet Union. The key characteristic of Russian punks in contrast to British punks was that there was no high establishment (upper class) to rebel against, as everyone was poor; Russian punks rather rebelled against everything around them. Another characteristic associated with Russian punks was their military boots and jackets found in military shops.

How does post punk differ from punk?

Post Punk in itself is a rebellion against traditional punk, with the genre taking inspiration
from other musical sources to develop more of an avant-garde sound; a lot of post-punk
stuff is defined as being vey melancholy, moody, and nonconformist.

The post punk scene

Current day post punk still maintains this reputation of being enemies of the state; although commercialised post punk came into the mainstream during the late 90s, the raw, political nature of genuine/ authentic post punk bands stayed in the underground scene and continued to rebel against popular culture. Names associated with this nature are bands such as the feminist post punk group, Pussy Riot. There is a strong sense that the punk youth in Russia live on the fringes of society; the article above discusses how kids in Russia are still figuring themselves out, which seems to be a universal feeling.

Origins from 1970's punk in Russia

 I felt like it was important to understand what punk in Russia stood for during its initial introduction under Soviet rule; during my research, a sense of isolation and solitude was prominent, with the key phrase 'us against the world'. Due to the political tensions and the Soviet governments' censorship, punk was very much a hidden scene within 1070's Russia; so much so that albums and clothing were sold in black markets or smuggled in. The traditional Russian punk ideology stemmed from a feeling of anger that many Soviet boys had, which served as a platform to express their emotions.