In the 1970th, a documentary called “Me and Others”, based on the research of a psychologist Valeria Mukhina, came out.
It has experimentally been proven that normal, adequate people, children and adults, may completely change their
judgments about obvious things, reaching the point of absurdity.
And all they need for that — is the opinions of people around them.
Look closely, Oleg. What color are the pyramids?
Both are white. Take a look, Andrey.
What color are the pyramids? Both are white.
Olga, what color are the pyramids? Both are white.
Lena, what color are the pyramids? Both are white.
That is in our nature, that opinions held by a group, the opinions held by the majority of people who surround us
have a tremendous effect on us.
When Putin’s government started the war against Ukraine, their task number one was to create an illusion of widespread
support, like, Russians can’t sleep until Russian tanks can drive through Kreschatic.
So now we’ll unite and deal with all them junkie-nazis.
And if you have doubts that our cause is just then you must feel like a marginalized minority.
Because everyone around says “white”, and if you see that it’s black, then you're a fool and a traitor.
It’s not surprising that since the first day of the war, the machinery of repression has been targeting people
who had an audience. Those whose opinions are respected by a considerable number of people.
For the time being it’s not that important what people talk about in smoking rooms and kitchens.
After all it’s just talking.
But when it’s people who can gather stadiums talking, that becomes important.
And these people were recommended to shut up.
Or better yet, to say something in support of the war. But not everyone agreed to be silenced.
NOT SILENCED
Some spoke immediately. Loud and clear.
After February 24, the leader of “Nogu Svelo” Max Pokrovsky wrote several anti-war songs and made great music videos.
Noiz EoSi and singer Monetochka didn’t stop at anti-war songs and went further.
After the beginning of the war they went on a charity tour in European cities.
All the money from tickets and internet streams (tens of thousands of euro)
were transferred to help Ukrainian refugees.
In April, in Tomsk, Bi-2 refused to perform in a concert hall with a banner that said “Zа президента” (for the president).
They covered the Z with decorations, to which the administration objected, and as a result,
the concert was canceled. After that, the band had to stop all their concert activity in Russia.
The Russian football union had to apologize before the Ministry of Justice for their one-off performance
before the viewers of the summer supercup match.
Because how it happened so that the opponents of the war were allowed to sing before the crowd.
Rappers Oxxxymiron and Face, “Kasta”, Alexey Kortnev with his band “Neshastny Sluchay”,
singer Manizha who was on the Eurovision, you won’t be able to buy tickets to their live performances
in Russia anytime soon. For the same old reason — anti-war stance.
Things that a poet from the 19th century would call lyric, are called extremism in the 21st century.
They openly write it in the official documents: to ensure that laws on counteracting extremism are respected,
the prosecutor’s office demands to not allow making political statements during the live performance
of rock band “Anacondaz” at a festival.
The justification is as follows: because earlier their singers supported Navalny, criticized governmental bodies,
and condemned the Special Military Operation.
The musicians are still trying to contest the decision in court. As of now with no success.
Zemphira left Russia and went on a long tour and at every concert she spoke against the war.
But, we’ll talk about her at the end of the video.
The old guard of Russian rock — Boris Grebenshikov, Andrey Makarevich, Yury Shevchuk…
The people who sang about freedom even back in the 80th, stay true to themselves.
In order to keep singing, or even just talking, many musicians had to leave the country.
Extremism (that is, any form of criticizing the government) and discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation
(that is, any opinion that contradicts the statements of the Ministry of Defence),
those are crimes that can lead you to prison.
And the power apparatus is now mass-producing such cases simply to justify its own existence.
The fact that the accused is a famous person won’t stop them today, on the contrary, it will be considered
an aggravating circumstance. That’s the main reason for why many musicians left.
Too many words would have to be erased from their songs.
In a certain sense, Shevchuk became an exception, as he walked along the edge.
They wrote a protocol on him after his speech about what Motherland is.
Then his case was being ping-ponged between Ufa and Saint Petersburg.
Even in our courts, as vile as they are, it was difficult to find someone who would take it.
In the end, a judge was found and the musician was fined for discrediting the army. It could end much worse.
Let's see what he said. This is very important.
Why are they killing people in Ukraine?
Why do our guys have to die there? For what purposes, friends?
For what purposes, again, the youth of Russia and Ukraine die, old people, women and children die, why,
for Napoleonian plans of another of our Caesars?
My friends, homeland is not a president’s ass which you must always be kissing.
Homeland is a destitute old woman selling potatoes at a train station.
That is homeland.
For Shevchuk as well as for many others, the complete cancellation of all live performances
in Russia was the price that they had to pay to be able to say what they think and to call black a black.
Of course, to musicians who mostly sing for a Russian-speaking audience, it was a painful blow.
and living in their home country. In the same manner, concerts of Leonid Agutin and Valery Miladze were canceled,
and even Alla Pugacheva was mud slinged.
Aleksandr Molochnikov performances were canceled – he publicly denounced attempts to justify the invasion by
speculating on the subject of the Great Patriotic War.
After Dmitry Krimov’s anti-war statements, his plays too have disappeared from Moscow theaters.
Kirill Serebrennikov’s name was erased from theater posters. Programmes were reprinted.
And Gogol Center, a theater that he founded and that is called “beyond world class” by specialists, was simply closed.
Actors Renata Litvinova, Chulpan Khamatova, and Arthur Somlyaninov will have to for the time being
live in work outside Russia, as well as piano player Polina Osetinskaya and ballettmeister Alexei Ratmansky.
Books by Dmitry Bykov, Boris Akunin, Dmitry Glukhovsky and Leonid Parfenov were pushed
to the farthest bookshelves in Russian bookstores.
Well at least they aren’t burning books yet, merely hiding them.
And forcing publishers to stop working with unwanted authors.
Some in the long list of dissenters had years of publicly standing up against Putin’s government in the past.
To some, just one message in social media or a single honest interview was enough.
Deputies, prosecutors, booklicking idiots of all ranks and titles stay vigilant.
Write down all who don’t support the president as extremists and enemies of the state!
And sweep them out from Russia’s cultural space!
In this background, all that weeping about how Russian culture is being canceled
in the West sounds especially funny.
The West doesn't need to do anything, you manage just fine by yourselves.
Especially considering that the entire list of foreign agents is basically a list of the most important
persons in the modern Russian culture.
The resulting list is as long as from Shevchuk to Pugacheva.
Crazy ideologues of Putin's Pax Russica rush to defend Dostoevsky and Pushkin against imaginary threats.
Alert, alert, russophobes attack everything that we hold dear!
But the truth is, there is nothing to protect it from.
Canceling all things Russian only exists in some sick imaginations.
While in the real world, Chaykovsky and Musorgsky are respected parts of world culture.
This season, Schelkunchik will be played in Hamburg, “Sleeping Beauty” in Vienna, and La Skala in Milan
is preparing to play “Boris Godunov”.
This year, this december.
The protectors of “correct” Russian culture push all parts of it that they deem “wrong” out of the country.
Banning Russian writers, musicians, directors.
The people whose works will become the basis on which Russia of the 21st century will be judged in the future.
Z CULTURE
This spring, in March and April, some sort of a cultural event was held in all Russian major cities.
A sort of a music-patriotic marathon Zа Россию (For Russia with Z).
By official formulation given by its organizers — “in support of soldiers involved in the special operation”.
It all was happening while the world was in horror from all that the Russian army had left behind
after its withdrawal from Kyiv.
And during that time, in 30 Russian cities, in the main city squares, scenes were being built,
covered by symbols of the war.
The propaganda was creating a picture: happiness, widespread support, and monolithic unity of Russian society.
Tickets were being forcibly sold to public sector workers, and in some places, they herded students
and kids from the “youth army”.
With programmes of these concerts one could verify the names of singers and musicians
who ran under the banner of Putin’s war.
Well what can I say.
It’s hard to believe that some of the participants truly believe that ruining our relationships with the entire world,
starting a bloody war with a neighbor, and having thousands of young and not so young men, women,
and children killed was a good thing for our country and the right thing to do.
That this is how the road to wellbeing, development and prosperity looks like.
These people can’t be excused with ignorance. More likely, they simply work for those who pay.
For as long as the state budget has the money for both missiles and singers, they’ll keep working.
As soon as the money runs, so will their love for the war. So there are two opposite camps.
People who stood on the opposite sides of the war and openly declared their position.
But still there is a split, some supported the war. There are people on either side who openly declared stated their opinion.
But a large number of artists today keep working in silence. Without showing either support or condemnation.
Without “paying attention” to symbols, without focusing on things that are dangerous to be focusing on.
They do what millions of other, non-public persons in modern Russia do.
Can you judge them? It’s a difficult question.
But I don't think so.
To risk your life's work, to share that risk with your colleagues, it’s not something that everyone can do.
We could understand them.
But still there are those who couldn’t stay silent.
And there are many of them, mostly they were the people who played stadiums, the people
who are respected by millions. We need to support these people and always remember what they did.
They didn’t owe anything to anyone, and still did the right thing.
They supported truth and justice, having sacrificed a lot, and we thank them for it.
In the end of this video, let's listen to
a Zemphira's song from one of her concerts.
Watch it to the end, even after she stops singing, it's really great.
See you tomorrow.
Today is the 253rd day of the war, a war that my country unleashed.
We started this tour on day 228. What a terrible new reality. Concerts during war.
I know that never again… first of all I want to express my support for Ukraine.
And I know that I'll never again play in Ukraine.
But I remember those concerts. Kharkiv, Dnipro, Kyiv, Donetsk, my beloved Odessa.
I remember it all. And of course, no one can take it away from me. It will stay with me forever.
But I also feel sorrow for Russia. I love my Russia.
Many times I traveled through it along and across. I saw bright faces at my concerts, and this too will stay with me forever.
But right now, there is a war, a senseless, brutal war, and right now my country is destroying both Ukraine and itself.
I want peace. No to war.