Authors

Discussion

During the time of the Soviet Union there was a fear of the power of words and music. Countries bordering on the West were able to access Western broadcasts; and this was seen as a means of undermining communist ideology. Western albums were copied onto discarded x-ray plates, the Roentgenizdat industry, which was eventually made illegal. Hard-line Komsomol youth organisations set up patrols to monitor and prevent the spread of Western music in entertainment venues.

Following the Khrushchev thaw singers in many of the Soviet states introduced aspirations of freedom into their music. In Czechoslovakia this became aligned to Dubček’s concept of socialism with a human face, liberalisation within a Soviet framework. Marta Kubišová song Modlitba Pro Martu based on a poem by a 17th century Moravian bishop with the words Now, you have lost your government, when it is given back, the people will return was banned. Ring-o-ding, recorded in 1969, echoed a clear message: Behind each gate there is a single bell, and someone rings it every day. These songs again became prominent in the Velvet Revolution leading to the country’s independence. Western Ukraine was responsive to the European scene and many folk and jazz groups formed there in the 1960’s. Around this time the songwriter Volodymir Ivasiuk came to prominence. His 1971 song Chervona Ruta sung by Sofia Rotaru became a hit. His growing status as a figurehead for Ukrainian nationalism became a concern for the authorities and led to his death in 1979. It was the first Chervona Ruta Festival held in 1989 that defied official policies and regulation and was a milestone that led to the Orange Revolution 15 years later and Rotaru’s reinstatement as a figurehead.

A more recent instance of music memory is in Georgia. Two songs that were dominant at the time of national movement against Soviet rule in 1989 have resurfaced in the present-day protests, the folksong Shavlego and the art song My Dear Country. The first has its roots in folklore history. The lyrics of My Dear Country belong to Ilia Chavchavadze, one of the foremost figures of the nineteenth-century national liberation movement, a writer and poet. Their reappearance reflects Georgia’s ongoing struggle for freedom, identity, and democratic values. For many the songs are a reminder of the former struggles against an oppressive regime. My Dear Country, however, looks forward to a time when these young ones will restore the days of your former glory.

It is of note that many of the protest songs used recently have their origins both in cultural history and national poets. Quoting Olesya Khromeychuk, Taras Schevchenko has sustained future generations with his words Boritseia -poborete, keep fighting and you will prevail. Words and music are at the heart of democracy even when silenced.<