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Press articles
“A vacation home in the ‘Stalinist Empire’ style will appear in the Dmitrov Municipal District” [Дом отдыха в стиле “сталинский ампир” появится в Дмитровском городском округе], RIAMO [РИАМО], April 11, 2024, URL: https://riamo.ru/news/nedvizhimost/dom-otdyha-v-stile-stalinskij-ampir-pojavitsja-v-dmitrovskom-gorodskom-okruge/, accessed September 10, 2024.
Aleksandrova Olga [Александрова Ольга], “‘On stupidity and idiocy’: Russia invents standards for writers” [“Дурь и идиотизм”: в России придумали стандарты для писателей], Radio Svoboda [Радио Свобода], September 20, 2024, URL: https://www.svoboda.org/a/durj-i-idiotizm-v-rossii-pridumali-standarty-dlya-pisateley/33127602.html, accessed September 28, 2024.
Aronson Vika, Mielke Brad, and Deliso Meredith, “How ‘Swan Lake’ became a symbol of protest in Russia,” ABC News, April 29, 2022, URL: https://abcnews.go.com/International/swan-lake-symbol-protest-russia/story?id=84401801, accessed September 10, 2024.
Aynbinder Ada [Айнбиндер Ада], “Is Tchaikovsky our everything?” [Чайковский – наше все?], Muzykalnaya zhizn [Музыкальная жизнь], 29/05/2020, URL: https://muzlifemagazine.ru/chaykovskiy-nashe-vse/, accessed 10 March 2025.
Barabash Ekaterina [Барабаш Екатерина], “Interview with Medinsky: ‘There is no evidence of Tchaikovsky’s homosexuality’” [Интервью с Мединским: “Нет никаких доказательств гомосексуальности Чайковского], Interfax, September 17, 2013, URL: https://www.interfax.ru/interview/329409, accessed June 21, 2025.
Baunov Aleksandr [Баунов Александр], “The aesthetic ideal of the people in the service of the state” [Эстетический идеал народа на службе у государства], Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, September 22, 2015, URL: https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2015/09/esteticheskij-ideal-naroda-na-sluzhbe-u-gosudarstva?lang=ru, accessed March 10, 2025.
Belova Daria [Белова Дарья], “The Nutcracker: how did a fairy tale become a favorite ballet?” [Щелкунчик: как сказка стала любимым балетом?], Saint Petersburg Culture Portal [Портал “Культура Петербурга”], December 3, 2024, URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20250421201009/https://www.spbcult.ru/articles/iskusstvo/shchelkunchik-kak-skazka-stala-lyubimym-baletom/, accessed June 23, 2025.
Bondarenko N.F. [Бондаренко Н. Ф.], “Tchaikovsky as a Patriot” [Чайковский как патриот], Communist Party of the Russian Federation – Stavropol [КРПФ-Ставрополье], official website, August 8, 2019, URL: https://kprf26.ru/17787, accessed June 22, 2025.
Bukker Igor [Буккер Игорь], “‘Swan Lake’ – A Long-Playing Commemorative Melody?” [“Лебединое озеро” – долгоиграющая поминальная мелодия?], Pravda [Правда], 01/03/2007, URL: https://www.pravda.ru/culture/214937-swanlake/, accessed September 10, 2024.
Dolgacheva Larisa [Долгачева Лариса], “The entrance of Prince Igor on a white horse” [“Въезд “Князя Игоря” на белом коне”], Da capo al fine, September 20, 2024, URL: https://gazetaigraem.ru/article/44073, accessed June 20, 2025.
Gavrilova Lyudmila, Karlova Olga, and Moskalyuk Marina [Гаврилова Людмила, Карлова Ольга, Москалюк Марина], “The Constant of the Russian Soul: Tchaikovsky, Levitan, Bunin” [Константа русской души: Чайковский, Левитан, Бунин], Den i noch [День и ночь], no. 6, 2010, URL: https://magazines.gorky.media/din/2010/6/konstanta-russkoj-dushi-chajkovskij-levitan-bunin.html, accessed June 13, 2025.
Genova Anna [Генова Анна], “Tchaikovsky. A Russian Genius” [Чайковский. Русский гений]. Russkiy mir [Русский мир], 07/05/2015, URL: https://russkiymir.ru/publications/189740/, accessed 13 March 2025.
Honcharenko Oleksiy [Гончаренко Олексій], “‘Swan Lake’ for Putin” [“Лебединое озеро” для Путина], Ukrainska Pravda [Українська правда], April 30, 2014, URL: https://blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/goncharenko/5360db40b189c/page_4/, accessed September 10, 2024.
“In Volgograd, a restored Stalinist Empire-style complex is being saved in Gagarin Park” [В Волгограде спасают возрожденный сталинский ампир в парке Гагарина], Vysota 102 [Высота 102], 30/08/2024, URL: https://v102.ru/news/133837.html, accessed September 10, 2024.
Kharpaleva Natalia [Харпалева Наталья], “Serge Rachmaninoff: Gone But Not Betrayed” [Сергей Рахманинов: уехавший, но не предавший], Foma [Фома], 01/04/2023, URL: https://foma.ru/rahmaninov-chto-jetot-znamenityj-jemigrant-dumal-o-rossii-gde-ego-objavili-materym-vragom.html, accessed 10 March 2025.
Koshechkina Varvara [Кошечкина, Варвара], “Putin spoke to a 13-year-old girl after her wish was granted” [“Путин поговорил с 13-летней девочкой после исполнения ее желания”], Lenta.ru, December 15, 2012, URL: https://lenta.ru/news/2021/12/15/pogovoril/, accessed September 8, 2024.
Kudryachov Konstantin [Кудряшов Константин], “The Other Tchaikovsky. Every six minutes, one of the composer’s works is performed somewhere in the world,” [Другой Чайковский. Каждые 6 минут в мире исполняют произведение композитора]. Argoumenty i Fakty [Аргументы и Факты], no. 19, 07/05/2020, URL: https://aif.ru/culture/person/drugoy_chaykovskiy_kazhdye_6_minut_v_mire_ispolnyayut_proizvedenie_kompozitora, accessed March 10, 2025.
Lachendro Zuzanna, “How ‘Swan Lake’ Became a Cultural Phenomenon,” The New Statesman, March 26, 2024, URL: https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/theatre/2024/03/how-swan-lake-became-cultural-phenomenon, accessed September 10, 2024.
Lobova Svetlana [Лобова Светлана], “185 years since the birth of Pyotr Tchaikovsky: what will be discussed in the ‘Conversations About What Matters’ on March 31” [185 лет со дня рождения Петра Чайковского: о чем пойдет речь на «Разговорах о важном» 31 марта], Uchitelskaya Gazeta [Учительская газета], March 28, 2025, URL: https://ug.ru/185-let-so-dnya-rozhdeniya-petra-chajkovskogo-o-chem-pojdet-rech-na-razgovorah-o-vazhnom-31-marta/, accessed March 28, 2025.
Lotsik Polina [Лоцик Полина], “Tatiana Navka’s show Swan Lake will take place in Saint Petersburg from December 26 to January 7” [Шоу Татьяны Навки “Лебединое озеро” пройдет в Санкт-Петербурге с 26 декабря по 7 января], Sports.ru, October 1, 2024, URL: https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1116428396-shou-tatyany-navki-lebedinoe-ozero-projdet-v-sankt-peterburge-s-26-dek.html, accessed September 12, 2024.
Matusevich Aleksandr [Матусевич Александр], “Patriotic Premiere: Ivan Soussanine at the Gates of the Astrakhan Kremlin” [Патриотическая премьера: “Иван Сусанин” у стен Астраханского кремля], Astrakhan State Opera and Ballet Theater [Астраханский Государственный Театр Оперы и Балета], official website, “News” section, 09/08/2023, URL: https://www.astoperahouse.ru/news/7155-patrioticheskaya-premera-ivan-susanin-u-sten-astrakhanskogo-kremlya, accessed June 20, 2025.
Medvedev Sergey [Медведев Сергей], “Artemy Troitsky: ‘There will be no culture in Russia’” [Артемий Троицкий: “Культуры в России не будет”], Radio Svoboda [Радио Свобода], February 18, 2024, URL: https://www.svoboda.org/a/artemiy-troitskiy-kuljtury-v-rossii-ne-budet-/32823097.html, accessed March 7, 2025.
Melnik Yan [Мельник Ян], “Tatiana Navka: Putin likes Swan Lake, and my husband doesn’t like it at all. But I always go against the grain: ‘No, I’ll prove to you that it will be a cool performance.’” [Татьяна Навка: Путину нравится “Лебединое озеро,” а моему супругу – категорически нет. Но я всегда иду вразрез: “Нет, я тебе докажу, что это будет крутой спектакль”], Sports.ru, December 22, 2021, URL: https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1104609204-tatyana-navka-putinu-nravitsya-lebedinoe-ozero-a-moemu-suprugu-kategor.html, accessed September 10, 2024.
“Muscovites queue for days for tickets to The Nutcracker ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre” [Москвичи сутками стоят в очереди за билетами на балет «Щелкунчик» в Большом театре], Meduza, November 9, 2023, URL: https://meduza.io/feature/2023/11/09/moskvichi-sutkami-stoyat-v-ocheredyah-za-biletami-na-balet-schelkunchik-v-bolshom-teatre, accessed September 10, 2024.
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“Navka asked the state for 29.5 million rubles for her ice show” [Навка запросила у государства ₽29,5 млн на свое ледовое шоу], RBK [РБК], September 12, 2024, URL: https://www.rbc.ru/sport/12/09/2024/66e2f6ee9a7947b58e5e079f, accessed March 11, 2025.
Pilyasov Anton [Пилясов Антон], “Navka on the new show: ‘Swan Lake is my lifelong dream, which could not be realized in sports’” [Навка о новом шоу: “Лебединое озеро – мечта всей моей жизни, которую не удалось воплотить в спорте”], Sports.ru, April 12, 2020, URL: https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1084864092.html, accessed September 10, 2024.
“Premiere 2024: Swan Lake: Premiere in Petersburg” [Премьера 2024: “Лебединое озеро”: Премьера в Петербурге], Navka.show, poster [Афиша], URL: https://navka.show/shows/lebedinoe-ozero-peterburg, accessed March 30, 2025.
“Putin named Tchaikovsky and Mozart his favorite classical composers” [Путин назвал Чайковского и Моцарта любимыми классическими композиторами], Krasnaya Vesna [Красная Весна], June 18, 2024, URL: https://rossaprimavera.ru/news/fd03feb7, accessed March 10, 2025.
“Putin signed the law on the inadmissibility of foreign words” [Путин подписал закон о недопустимости иностранных слов], RBK [РБК], February 28, 2023, URL: https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/63fe4c789a7947188c29e726, accessed March 10, 2025.
“Rumors about Putin’s death: Swan Lake will not (yet) be performed” [Слухи о смерти Путина: “Лебединого озера” (пока) не будет], DW, October 27, 2023, URL: https://www.dw.com/ru/sluhi-o-smerti-putina-lebedinogo-ozera-poka-ne-budet/a-67232567, accessed September 10, 2024.
“Russian schools introduce ‘Family Studies’: Will students save them from the demographic crisis?” [В российских школах вводят “Семьеведение”: от демографического кризиса спасут ученики?], Radio Svoboda [Радио Свобода], April 2, 2025, URL: https://www.svoboda.org/a/v-rossiyskih-shkolah-vvodyat-semevedenie-ot-demograficheskogo-krizisa-spasut-ucheniki-/33368586.html, accessed April 2, 2025.
Saykina Ekaterina [Сайкина Екатерина], “Who listens to classical music and why it is not losing popularity” [Кто слушает классику и почему она не теряет популярности], Sirius, December 14, 2024, URL: https://siriusmag.ru/articles/2850-kto-slusaet-klassiku-i-pocemu-ona-ne-teraet-popularnost/, accessed June 21, 2025.
“Scene from Swan Lake at Putin’s inauguration, the art collective ‘Yav’ paints new graffiti in Saint Petersburg” [Сцена из “Лебединого озера” к инаугурации Путина Арт-группа “Явь” нарисовала новое граффити в Санкт-Петербурге], The Village, May 7, 2018 URL: https://www.the-village.ru/city/news/311389-black-black-swan, accessed September 10, 2024.
Sedova Galina [Седова Галина], “Why Pushkin is ‘our everything’” [Почему “Пушкин – наше все”], Culture.rf [Культура.рф], n.d., URL: https://www.culture.ru/s/vopros/pushkin-nashe-vse/, accessed September 7, 2024.
Sharikov Aleksandr [Шариков Александр], “The audience of the classical music radio station ‘Orfey’: results of empirical research (2005-2015)” [“Аудитория радиостанции классической музыки “Орфей” : результаты эмпирических исследований (2005-2015)”], Science of Television [Наука телевидения], vol. 13, no. 2, 2017, p. 124-160, URL: https://tv-science.online/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NT13.2.pdf, accessed July 25, 2025.
Shenkman Yan [Шенкман Ян], “Instead of ‘Yes, Death!’ – ‘Yes, Laughter!’” [Вместо “Да, Смерть!” – “Да, Смех!”], Novaya Gazeta. Evropa [Новая газета. Европа], September 12, 2022, URL: https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2022/09/12/vmesto-da-smert-da-smekh, accessed September 10, 2024.
Sirota Anna [Сирота Анна], “Hans-Joachim Frye: ‘Tchaikovsky is a Russian soul’” [Ханс-Йоахим Фрай: “Чайковский – это русская душа”], Metro - Saint Petersburg [Метро – Санкт-Петербург], October 10, 2024, URL: https://www.metronews.ru/novosti/peterbourg/reviews/hans-yoahim-fray-chaykovskiy-eto-russkaya-dusha-2173305/, accessed October 12, 2024.
Studneva Elena [Студнева Елена], “Tchaikovsky, the most popular Russian composer abroad” [Чайковский – самый популярный российский композитор за рубежом], International Life [Международная жизнь], February 6, 2021, URL: https://interaffairs.ru/news/show/28986, accessed September 8, 2024.
Svistunova Olga [Свистунова Ольга], “‘For some reason, Swan Lake had to be shown.’ Ballet outside politics” [“Зачем-то потребовалось крутить ни в чем не повинное Лебединое озеро.” Балет вне политики], TASS [ТАСС], August 19, 2021, URL: https://tass.ru/obschestvo/12158521, accessed September 10, 2024.
“The Bolshoi Theatre launched its ‘coronavirus project’ with a broadcast of Swan Lake. Social media users weighed in on the symbolism (video, photo)” [Трансляцией “Лебединого озера” Большой театр начал свой “коронавирусный проект.” В соцсетях оценили символизм (видео, фото),” Fontanka.ru [Фонтанка.ру], March 27, 2020, URL: https://www.fontanka.ru/2020/03/27/69056371/, accessed July 31, 2025.
“The Führer and his Shaman. How the Kremlin is recreating Nazi aesthetics in music for war propaganda” [Фюрер и его Shaman. Как Кремль воссоздает нацистскую эстетику в музыке для пропаганды войны], The Insider, July 21, 2023, URL: https://theins.ru/obshestvo/263308, accessed March 1, 2025.
“The Music of the Russian Soul: P. I. Tchaikovsky, ‘The Seasons.’ Creative meeting with Svetlana Tolstenok (Moscow)” [Музыка русской души: П. И. Чайковский, Времена года. Творческая встреча со Светланой Толстенок (г. Москва)], Bryansk Regional Scientific Universal Library named after F. I. Tyutchev [Брянская областная научная универсальная библиотека им. Ф. И. Тютчева], 09/18/2024, https://libryansk.ru/library-news/view/31808/, accessed March 10, 2025.
“The Plushenko Academy has requested a grant of 19.5 million rubles for the ice show” [Академия Плющенко запросила грант в размере 19,5 млн рублей для ледового шоу], Forbes Sport, February 6, 2025; URL: https://www.forbes.ru/sport/530378-akademia-plusenko-zaprosila-grant-v-razmere-19-5-mln-rublej-dla-ledovogo-sou, accessed March 11, 2025.
Troitsky Artemy [Троицкий Артемий], “Kringe Rock. Artemy Troitsky on the failure of Putin’s musical agitprop” [Кринж-рок. Артемий Троицкий о провале путинского музыкального агитпропа], The Insider, November 11, 2022, URL: https://theins.ru/opinions/troitskiy/256860, accessed March 8, 2025.
Vinogradov Sergei [Виногадов Сергей], “‘Savouring Russianness.’ The Return of Chekhov and Tchaikovsky to Europe” [“Насладиться русскостью.” Чехов и Чайковский возвращаются в Европу], Russkiy Mir-Publications, 04/17/2025, URL: https://russkiymir.ru/publications/335156/, accessed June 16, 2025.
“Vladimir Putin Awards Hans-Joachim Frey the Order of Friendship” [Владимир Путин наградил Ханса-Йоахима Фрая Орденом Дружбы], Federal Territory “Sirius” [Федеральная территория "Сириус"], May 23, 2023, URL: https://sirius-ft.ru/tpost/fg6hyrk2k1-vladimir-putin-nagradil-hansa-ioahima-fr, accessed June 21, 2025.
“With the support of United Russia, schools in Udmurtia are organizing classes dedicated to the 185th anniversary of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky” [При поддержке Единой России в школах Удмуртии проходят уроки, посвящённые 185-летию Петра Ильича Чайковского], United Russia [Единая Россия], April 1, 2025, URL: https://er.ru/activity/news/pri-podderzhke-edinoj-rossii-v-shkolah-udmurtii-prohodyat-uroki-posvyashyonnye-185-letiyu-petra-ilicha-chajkovskogo, accessed April 1, 2025.
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Notes
Horwart Robert, Putin’s Fascists. Russkii Obraz and the Politics of Managed Nationalism in Russia, London and New York, Routledge, 2021, p. 76-81.
“Government Decree of the Russian Federation of August 15, 2014 no. 1618-r ‘On the Approval of the Concept of the National Policy on the Family in the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2025,’” Legislative Assembly of the Russian Federation, September 1, 2014, no. 35, article 4811, p. 13241-13255.
In order to “protect and strengthen Russia’s sovereignty,” “traditional values” include “the moral benchmarks that shape the worldview of Russian citizens, passed down from generation to generation, which underpin Russian civic identity and the country’s unified cultural space, strengthen civic unity, and have found their unique and original expression in the spiritual, historical, and cultural development of the multi-ethnic people of Russia” (“Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 9, 2022, no. 809 ‘On the Approval of the Foundations of State Policy for the Preservation and Strengthening of Traditional Russian Spiritual and Moral Values,’” The President of Russia, November 9, 2022, art. 4 and 7, URL: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/48502, accessed October 1 2024).
Loftus Suzanne, Insecurity & the Rise of Nationalism in Putin’s Russia. Keeper of Traditional Values, London, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, p. 168.
“The state policy for the preservation and strengthening of traditional values is implemented in the areas of education and training, youth work, culture, science, interethnic and interreligious relations, media and mass communications, and international cooperation” (“Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 9, 2022,” Art. 10, para. 5). Recent initiatives also include the introduction of “Conversations About What Matters” (a patriotic subject) and a course on “Family Science” (introduced in September 2024) into school curricula, as well as fertility testing for women.
Loftus Suzanne, Insecurity & the Rise of Nationalism in Putin’s Russia, op. cit., p. 22, 48-49, 112, 140-142; Mandraud Isabelle and Julien Théron, Poutine, la stratégie du désordre jusqu’à la guerre, Paris, Tallandier, 2022, p. 36.
“Draft Decree of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation ‘On the Approval of the Professional Standard for “Writers”’” (prepared by the Ministry of Labor of Russia on September 17, 2024), Garant.ru, September 25, 2024, https://www.garant.ru/products/ipo/prime/doc/56901937/, accessed March 31, 2025. Aleksandrova Olga, “‘On stupidity and idiocy’: Russia invents standards for writers,” Radio Free Europe, September 20, 2024, URL: https://www.svoboda.org/a/durj-i-idiotizm-v-rossii-pridumali-standarty-dlya-pisateley/33127602.html, accessed September 28, 2024.
Lesnyak Marina, “The tactic of ‘creating a better future’ in political communication,” Politicheskaya lingvistika, 2013, vol. 46, no. 4, p. 111-113.
See, for example: Baunov Aleksandr, “The aesthetic ideal of the people in the service of the state,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, September 22, 2015, URL: https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2015/09/esteticheskij-ideal-naroda-na-sluzhbe-u-gosudarstva?lang=ru, accessed March 10, 2025; “Putin signs law banning foreign words,” RBK, February 28, 2023, URL: https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/63fe4c789a7947188c29e726, accessed March 10, 2025; Troitsky Artemy, “Kringe Rock. Artemy Troitsky on the failure of Putin’s musical agitprop,” The Insider, November 11, 2022, URL: https://theins.ru/opinions/troitskiy/256860, accessed March 8, 2025.
Meaux Lorraine de, La Russie et la tentation de l’Orient, Paris, Fayard, 2010, p. 95.
https://vk.com/evgeny_composer?from=search; https://rutube.ru/video/8aae05753720d1de28a21a3bb1e9078b/?r=wd; https://vk.com/id87077331?from=search (accessed May 15, 2025).
For information on painting, see, for example, the official websites containing press reviews, articles, and exhibition announcements: https://www.blokhinart.ru; https://www.lupanov.info/index.php?str=Exhibitions; https://ivan-glazunov.ru/news.html; http://artrussia.ru/dmitri_annenkov/works; https://alex-chernigin.ru/gallery/portret/ (accessed May 15, 2025). For sculpture, see, for example, the inauguration of the statue of Stalin in the city of Velikiye Luki: “The first full-length monument to Stalin in Russia,” YouTube, URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RBngmQbrdU, accessed September 12, 2024. As for architecture, see these two examples: “A vacation home in the ‘Stalinist Empire’ style will appear in the Dmitrov Municipal District,” April 11, 2024, RIAMO, URL: https://riamo.ru/news/nedvizhimost/dom-otdyha-v-stile-stalinskij-ampir-pojavitsja-v-dmitrovskom-gorodskom-okruge/, accessed September 10, 2024; “In Volgograd, a restored Stalinist Empire-style complex is being saved in Gagarin Park,” Vysota 102, August 30, 2024, URL: https://v102.ru/news/133837.html, accessed September 10, 2024. Cinemas show all kinds of historical and patriotic films (examples include the television series Catherine, launched in 2014, the films Catherine the Great, 2024, Ivan the Terrible, 2023, and military dramas such as Blindage, 2024).
Troitsky Artemy, “Kringe Rock. Artemy Troitsky on the failure of Putin’s musical agitprop,” op. cit.
The similarity between Shaman’s song “Stand Up” and Oleg Gazmanov’s “Officers,” and between Shaman’s “I Am Russian” and Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” is particularly striking. See: “The Führer and his Shaman. How the Kremlin is recreating the aesthetics of Nazism in music for war propaganda,” The Insider, July 21, 2023, URL: https://theins.ru/obshestvo/263308, accessed March 1, 2025.
Shaman is nicknamed “the voice of the special operation” (Shenkman Yan, “Instead of ‘Yes, Death!’ – ‘Yes, Laughter!,’” Novaya Gazeta. Evropa, September 12, 2022, URL: https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2022/09/12/vmesto-da-smert-da-smekh, accessed March 10, 2025).
According to statistics compiled by the author based on data from the social network VKontakte, of the 909,642 subscribers to the singer's official page, approximately 27% of the audience is aged 50 and over, and approximately 10% is in the 30-50 age group, while the rest is made up of young people. See: https://vk.com/shaman_me (accessed June 16, 2025). Given that the singer’s official YouTube channel is currently blocked in the European Union (at the request of the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission) and that on Rutube, only statistics on the number of views of the videos are available, so it is difficult at this stage to supplement these data with statistics from this platform.
Kenez Peter, The Birth of the Propaganda State: Soviet Methods of Mass Mobilization, 1917-1929, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1985, p. 5-7, 29-32, 51-53, 74-48, 342; Rusnock Andrea K., “Agitprop,” in James Millar (ed.), Encyclopedia of Russian History, New York, Macmillan Reference USA, 2004, p. 15-16.
Vlasova Ekaterina, 1948 in Soviet Music, Moscow, Klassika-XXI, 2010; Raku Marina, Music Classics in Soviet Mythology, Moscow, Novoye Literaturnoye obozreniye, 2014.
Medvedev Sergey, “Artemy Troitsky: ‘There will be no culture in Russia,’” Radio Svoboda, February 18, 2024, URL: https://www.svoboda.org/a/artemiy-troitskiy-kuljtury-v-rossii-ne-budet-/32823097.html, accessed March 7, 2025. Critic Artemy Troitsky, comparing Putin’s environment to that of Hitler, asserts that “Putin’s aesthetic has absolutely no one to build on,” citing a wealth of evidence, both sociocultural and intrinsically artistic.
Raku Marina, “The Myth of Tchaikovsky and Power, Part 1,” Muzykalnaya akademiya, 2001, vol. 674, no. 1, p. 79-80.
Peter invited the French and Italians to draw up plans for the northern capital, and this tradition was continued by his daughter Elizabeth I (Empress of Russia in 1762) and then by Catherine the Great (Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796). Russian painters, starting with Anton Losenko (1737-1773) and Vasily Bazhenov (1737 or 1738-1799) – the first residents of the Academy of Fine Arts – went to study in France and Italy, while Vasily Trediakovsky (1703-1768) developed his poetic style based on Nicolas Boileau.
Lemaire C. Frans, La Musique du xxe siècle en Russie et dans les anciennes Républiques soviétiques, Paris, Fayard, coll. “Les chemins de la musique,” 1994.
Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai, Chronique de ma vie musicale, trans. André Lischké, Paris, Fayard, 2008, p. 39, 50-51, 81.
Lockspeiser, Edward, Debussy: Volume 1, 1862-1902: His Life and Mind, Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne, Cambridge University Press, 1979, p. 48-49.
Kilpatrick Emily, The Operas of Maurice Ravel, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2015, p. 95.
Frolov S. V., “On the concept of the finale of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony,” in E. G. Sorokina et al. (eds) Pyotr Tchaikovsky. On the 100th anniversary of his death. Proceedings of the scientific conference, Moscow, Moskovskaya gosudarstvennaya konservatoriya, 1995, p. 68-71.
Viljanen Elina, “Educating the New Listener: Classical Music and Russian Modernisation,” in Katja Lehtisaari and Arto Mustajoki (eds), Philosophical and Cultural Interpretations of Russian Modernisation, New York, Routledge, 2017, p. 119-120.
The video recording of the opera can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDUTlfv1zwY (accessed June 15, 2025). The main role is played by Shaman. According to ethnomusicologist Ekaterina Romanova, the singer also constantly uses “many signs of musical narodnost’ and romances that are part of national identity” (“The Führer and his Shaman. How the Kremlin recreates the aesthetics of Nazism in music for war propaganda,” op. cit.).
This issue is addressed, for example, in the study: Schwarz Boris, Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, 1917-1981, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1983, expanded edition, particularly in chapters 15, 19, and 20. See also: Baunov Aleksandr, “The aesthetic ideal of the people in the service of the state”; see also: Viljanen Elina, “Educating the New Listener: Classical Music and Russian Modernisation,” p. 126-130.
Bonds Evan, Absolute Music. The History of an Idea, New York, Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 7-9, 14, 58-69.
See posters and announcements published on the official websites of philharmonic halls, concert halls, and theaters, both in the capital and in the regions, for example: https://www.philharmonia.spb.ru/afisha/grand/; https://meloman.ru/calendar/. Opinion polls and statistics are presented here: Saykina Ekaterina, “Who listens to classical music and why it is not losing popularity,” Sirius, December 14, 2024, URL: https://siriusmag.ru/articles/2850-kto-slusaet-klassiku-i-pocemu-ona-ne-teraet-popularnost/ (accessed June 21, 2025); Sharikov Aleksandr, “The audience of the classical music radio station ‘Orfey’: Results of empirical research (2005-2015),” Television Science, vol. 13, no. 2, 2017, p. 139-142, URL: https://tv-science.online/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NT13.2.pdf, (accessed July 25, 2025).
Examples: Mikheeva V. Operational Curriculum for the MF.03 “Musical Heritage” Subject of the Supplementary Pre-Vocational General Education Program in the Field of Musical Art: Piano, String Instruments, Wind and Percussion Instruments, Folk Instruments, Saratov, 2019, URL: http://www.xn--14-jlc6ayd.xn--p1ai/teoriya?layout=edit&id=125, accessed March 10, 2025; Vlasenko Irina, Kanaeva Anastasia, Korol Alyona and Melnik Olga, Supplementary General Education Program with an Artistic Focus in the Subject of Musical Heritage, Tomsk, 2022, URL: https://artschool4.tomsk.ru/upload/muzykalnaya_literatura(2).pdf, accessed March 8, 2025.
On the origin of this sentence, see: Sedova Galina, “Why Pushkin is ‘our everything,’” Culture.rf, n.d., URL: https://www.culture.ru/s/vopros/pushkin-nashe-vse/, accessed September 7, 2024.
Aynbinder Ada, “Is Tchaikovsky our everything?,” Muzykalnaya zhizn, 29/05/2020, URL: https://muzlifemagazine.ru/chaykovskiy-nashe-vse/, accessed March 10, 2024; “‘Muzykalnoe obozrenie’ and Tchaikovsky,” Muzykalnoe obozrenie, vol. 465, no. 8, 2000, URL: https://muzobozrenie.ru/nash-chajkovskij/, accessed March 10, 2025.
Letter to Aleksey Suvorin, April 15/27, 1889 (two dates are given according to the Julian and Gregorian calendars), Tchaikovsky Pyotr, “Letter 3838 [Addressed to Aleksey Suvorin, April 15/27, 1889].” Tchaikovsky Research, URL: https://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/Letter_3838, accessed March 10, 2025. See also: Alschwang Arnold, P. I. Tchaikovsky, Moscow, Muzgiz, 1959, p. 515.
Studneva Elena, “Tchaikovsky, the most popular Russian composer abroad,” International Life, February 6, 2021, URL: https://interaffairs.ru/news/show/28986, accessed September 8, 2024. See also: Kudryashov Konstantin, “The Other Tchaikovsky. Every six minutes, one of the composer’s works is performed somewhere in the world,” Argumenty i Fakty, no. 19, May 7, 2020, URL: https://aif.ru/culture/person/drugoy_chaykovskiy_kazhdye_6_minut_v_mire_ispolnyayut_proizvedenie_kompozitora, accessed March 10, 2025.
Raku Marina, “The Myth of Tchaikovsky and Power, Part 1,” p. 79-80, and Part 2, Muzykalnaya akademiya, 2001, vol. 675, no. 3, p. 128.
On this concept, see: Suslov Mikhail, Putinism – Post-Soviet Russian Regime Ideology, Abington, New York, Routledge, 2024, p. 4-5, 87, 157.
Among the most recent sources, see an article published on the website of the Russkiy Mir Foundation (The Russian World) information portal: Vinogradov Sergey, “Savoring Russianness. The Return of Chekhov and Tchaikovsky to Europe,” Russkiy Mir-Publications, April 17, 2025, URL: https://russkiymir.ru/publications/335156/, accessed June 16, 2025. Tchaikovsky was presented as a “musical cosmopolitan” in the special issue of the magazine The Sun of Russia (October 1913), dedicated to the 20th anniversary of his death (The Sun of Russia, 1913, no. 44, October. Special issue – in memory of P. I. Tchaikovsky, 1893-1913, Saint Petersburg, 2nd ed., 1913, 24 p.).
Mendras Marie, “Le mythe du nationalisme russe,” in Pierre Birnbaum (ed.), Sociologie des nationalismes, Paris, PUF, 1998, p. 85-102.
Raku Marina, “The Myth of Tchaikovsky and Power, Part 2,” p. 134-135.
Asafyev Boris, On Ballet, Leningrad, Muzyka, 1974, p. 78.
Lischke André, Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovski, Paris, Fayard, 1993, p. 350.
Ibid., p. 350-351.
Quoted by: Kunin Iosif, Tchaikovsky, Moscow, Yurayt, 2019, p. 21.
This is a particular type of monodic singing or singing accompanied by counterpoint, in which the main means of expression lies in a constantly developing melody. This usually consists of small cells of a few notes forming a motif, which is then repeated with melodic and rhythmic variations. Another form of “extended” singing is based on the varied repetition of long phrases comprising several dissimilar motifs. These songs are most often imbued with an elegiac atmosphere, due to their Aeolian or Dorian mode.
Letter to Nadezhda von Meck, March 5/17, 1878. Tchaikovsky Pyotr, “Letter 778 [Addressed to Nadezhda von Meck, March 5/17, 1878].” Tchaikovsky Research, URL: https://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/Letter_778, accessed March 10, 2025. See also: Tumanina Nadezhda, Tchaikovsky: The Path to Mastery, 1840-1877, Moscow, USSR Academy of Sciences Publishing House, 1962, p. 40.
For example: Tumanina Nadezhda, Tchaikovsky: The Path to Mastery, 1840-1877, p. 23, 135-136, 200-201, 211, 219, 258, 277, 326, 330, 371, 416, and 554.
Raku Marina, “The Myth of Tchaikovsky and Power, Part 2,” p. 128.
Ibid., p. 134. In the finale of the symphony, the theme “In the Field stood a birch tree” is developed in counterpoint, taking into account Beethoven’s principles of motif fragmentation, i.e., once again, in the European style.
Baïbourine Albert, “Folklore et mémoire populaire,” in Georges Nivat (ed.), Les sites de la mémoire russe, Volume II, Histoire et mythes de la mémoire russe, Paris, Fayard, 2019, p. 259 (quoted material translated here from the original French).
See, for example, the survey entitled “Why is Tchaikovsky’s music so popular?,” conducted by the Union of Russian Composers: URL: https://vk.com/wall-200443728_24021, accessed June 20, 2025.
Raku Marina, “The Myth of Tchaikovsky and Power, Part 2,” p. 128-129.
Aynbinder Ada, “Is Tchaikovsky our everything?”
“With the support of United Russia, schools in Udmurtia are organizing classes dedicated to the 185th anniversary of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky,” Yedinaya Rossiya, April 1, 2025, URL: https://er.ru/activity/news/pri-podderzhke-edinoj-rossii-v-shkolah-udmurtii-prohodyat-uroki-posvyashyonnye-185-letiyu-petra-ilicha-chajkovskogo, accessed April 1, 2025.
Lobova Svetlana, “185 years since the birth of Pyotr Tchaikovsky: What will be discussed during the ‘Conversations on What Matters’ on March 31,” Uchitelskaya Gazeta, March 28, 2025, URL: https://ug.ru/185-let-so-dnya-rozhdeniya-petra-chajkovskogo-o-chem-pojdet-rech-na-razgovorah-o-vazhnom-31-marta/, accessed March 28, 2025.
Aynbinder Ada, “Is Tchaikovsky our everything?”
Asafyev Boris, On Tchaikovsky’s Music. Selected Articles, Leningrad, Muzyka, 1972, p. 19.
Raku Marina, Music Classics in Soviet Mythology, p. 566-574.
Tchaikovsky Pyotr, On the Folk and National Elements in Music: Selected Excerpts from Letters and Articles, Moscow, Muzgiz, 1952, p. 3.
Asafyev Boris, On Tchaikovsky’s Music. Selected Articles, p. 20.
Ibid., p. 22.
Ibid., p. 20.
Letter to von Meck, January 23/February 4, 1888: Tchaikovsky Pyotr, “Letter 3482 [Addressed to Nadezhda von Meck, January 23/February 4, 1888],” Tchaikovsky Research, URL: https://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/Letter_3482, accessed September 10, 2024.
In 2013, Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky publicly stated that there was no conclusive evidence to confirm Tchaikovsky’s homosexuality. See: Barabash Ekaterina, “Interview with Medinsky: ‘There is no evidence of Tchaikovsky’s homosexuality,’” Interfax, September 17, 2013, URL: https://www.interfax.ru/interview/329409, accessed June 21, 2025.
Gavrilova Lyudmila, Karlova Olga, and Moskalyuk Marina, “The Constant of the Russian Soul: Tchaikovsky, Levitan, Bunin,” Den i noch, 2010, no. 6, URL: https://magazines.gorky.media/din/2010/6/konstanta-russkoj-dushi-chajkovskij-levitan-bunin.html, accessed March 13, 2025.
Genova Anna, “Tchaikovsky. A Russian Genius,” Russkiy mir, May 7, 2015, URL: https://russkiymir.ru/publications/189740/, accessed March 13, 2025.
Belinski Vissarion, “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls: Poem by N. Gogol,” Otechestvennyye zapiski, 1842, vol. 23, no. 7, pt. VI, p. 1-12.
“… torture knows no satiation”: this reflection by Nikolai Berdyaev, attributed to the “prophetic” and “mystical” essence of the Russian mentality and formulated as early as 1915, has carried over to the modern era within the sphere of emotions (quoted by: Aksyuchits Viktor, Russian Thought, Moscow, Direkt-Media, 2024, p. 191). However, both Berdyaev’s line and Lev Gumilev’s doctrine of “passionarity” are highly influential in contemporary society, as they articulate the special status of the Russian people, resonating with pro-government discourse.
Belinsky Vissarion, “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls: A Poem by N. Gogol,” p. 7-8.
Raku Marina, “The Myth of Tchaikovsky and Power, Part 2,” p. 128-130.
See, for example, one of the public opinion polls: https://www.reddit.com/r/classicalmusic/comments/r8w74q/what_is_your_favorite_tchaikovsky_work_and_why/?tl=ru (accessed June 20, 2025) and Gavrilova Lyudmila, Karlova Olga, and Moskalyuk Marina, “The Constant of the Russian Soul: Tchaikovsky, Levitan, Bunin.”
“The Music of the Russian Soul: P. I. Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Seasons.’ Creative meeting with Svetlana Tolstenok (Moscow), Bryansk Regional Universal Scientific Library named after F. I. Tyutchev, 18/09/2024, https://libryansk.ru/library-news/view/31808/, accessed March 10, 2025.
Letter to von Meck, February 17/March 1, 1878. Tchaikovsky Pyotr, “Letter 763 [Addressed to Nadezhda von Meck, February 17/March 1, 1878],” Tchaikovsky Research, URL: https://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/Letter_763, accessed March 10, 2025.
Quoted by: Ageeva Zinaida, Tchaikovsky. Genius and Suffering, Moscow, Litres, 2022, p. 125.
Sirota Anna, “Hans-Joachim Frye ‘Tchaikovsky is a Russian soul,’” Metro – Saint Petersburg, October 10, 2024, URL: https://www.metronews.ru/novosti/peterbourg/reviews/hans-yoahim-fray-chaykovskiy-eto-russkaya-dusha-2173305/, accessed October 12, 2024.
See: Raku Marina, “The Myth of Tchaikovsky and Power, Part 1,” p. 77-79, and part 2, p. 130-132, 136.
For example, this position is promoted by representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF): Bondarenko N. F., “Tchaikovsky as a patriot,” Communist Party of the Russian Federation – Stavropol, official website, August 8, 2019, URL: https://kprf26.ru/17787 (accessed June 22, 2025).
Belova Daria, “The Nutcracker: How a Fairy Tale Became a Favorite Ballet,” ‘Petersburg Culture’ Portal, December 3, 2024, URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20250421201009/https://www.spbcult.ru/articles/iskusstvo/shchelkunchik-kak-skazka-stala-lyubimym-baletom/ (accessed June 23, 2025).
Raku Marina, “The Myth of Tchaikovsky and Power, Part 1,” p. 77-79, and Part 2, p. 129.
Sirota Anna, “Hans-Joachim Frye: ‘Tchaikovsky is a Russian soul.’”
“Putin named Tchaikovsky and Mozart as his favorite classical composers,” Krasnaya Vesna, June 18, 2024, URL: https://rossaprimavera.ru/news/fd03feb7, accessed March 10, 2025.
For example, Botstein Leon, “Music as the Language of Psychological Realism: Tchaikovsky and Russian Art,” in Leslie Kearney (ed.), Tchaikovsky and His Word, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1998, p. 100-102, 104-109.
On the formation of cultural memory, see: Bennett Andy, and Janssen Susanne (eds), “Popular Music, Cultural Memory, and Heritage,” Popular Music, Cultural Memory, and Heritage, Abingdon, New York, Routledge, 2019, p. 5-8.
A brief history of the productions and interpretations of the plot can be found here: Lachendro Zuzanna, “How Swan Lake Became a Cultural Phenomenon,” The New Statesman, March 26, 2024, URL: https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/theatre/2024/03/how-swan-lake-became-cultural-phenomenon, accessed September 10, 2024. See the score: Tchaikovsky, Pyotr, Swan Lake, Moscow: P. Jurgenson, n.d. [1895], reprinted, New York, Broude Brothers, 1951, p. 211-222.
See on this subject: Gansburg G., “The Fate Chord in the Music of Tchaikovsky and His Predecessors,” in Marina Kosmovskaya (ed.), The Music of a Changing Russia, Kursk, Kursk State University, 2007, p. 106-107.
This apparently led to the use of this music in horror films. See more: Smolkin Kirill, “Swan Lake Horror,”19th Century Music, vol. 48, no. 1-2, p. 69.
Lischke André, Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovski, op. cit., p. 645.
Bukker Igor, “Swan Lake – A Long-Playing Commemorative Melody?,” Pravda, 01/03/2007, URL: https://www.pravda.ru/culture/214937-swanlake/, accessed September 10, 2024.
“The Bolshoi Theatre launched its ‘coronavirus project’ with a broadcast of Swan Lake. Social media users weighed in on the symbolism (video, photo),” Fontanka.ru, March 27, 2020, URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20200328175137/https://www.fontanka.ru/2020/03/27/69056371/, accessed July 31, 2025.
However, “the appearance on television of the play starring Natalia Bessmertnova and Aleksandr Bogatyryov in the leading roles was scheduled for August 19, two weeks before the coup, and the coincidence of the broadcast with its first day turned out to be accidental”; the ballet became a “paradoxical hostage” of the political situation (Svistunova Olga, “‘For some reason, Swan Lake had to be shown.’ Ballet outside politics,” TASS, August 19, 2021, URL: https://tass.ru/obschestvo/12158521, accessed September 10, 2024). On the concept of historical memory in relation to Tchaikovsky’s music and the coup, see: Raku Marina, “The Myth of Tchaikovsky and Power, Part 1,” p. 76.
Honcharenko Oleksiy, “Swan Lake for Putin,” Ukrainska Pravda, April 30, 2014, URL: https://blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/goncharenko/5360db40b189c/page_4/, accessed September 10, 2024.
“Scene from Swan Lake at Putin’s inauguration, the Yav art collective paints new graffiti in Saint Petersburg,” The Village, May 7, 2018, URL: https://www.the-village.ru/city/news/311389-black-black-swan, accessed September 10, 2024.
“Rumors about Putin’s death: Swan Lake will not (yet) be performed,” DW, October 27, 2023, URL: https://www.dw.com/ru/sluhi-o-smerti-putina-lebedinogo-ozera-poka-ne-budet/a-67232567, accessed September 10, 2024.
Aronson Vika, Mielke Brad, and Deliso Meredith, “How ‘Swan Lake’ became a symbol of protest in Russia,” ABC News, April 29, 2022, URL: https://abcnews.go.com/International/swan-lake-symbol-protest-russia/story?id=84401801, accessed September 10, 2024.
Pussy Riot – SWAN LAKE (by Masha, Diana, Olga, Lucy), URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfPyPB5rBiA, accessed September 5, 2024. In the finale, the performers imitate the ritual of burning the effigy of Maslenitsa, and this reference to popular culture in the light of traditional values seems particularly sinister.
See: Tumanina Nadezhda, Tchaikovsky: The Path to Mastery, 1840-1877, op. cit., p. 413-415.
“During the Great Patriotic War, Swan Lake was performed more often at the Bolshoi Theatre than in the 70 years since its premiere” (Bukker Igor, “Swan Lake: A Long-Playing Commemorative Melody?”). In 1958, Marius Petipa’s canonical production at the Mikhailovsky Theater was revived and a stamp dedicated to the ballet was issued (another stamp was published in 1962). The ballet was so popular that it became the subject of a parody: in the 15th episode (1985) of a children’s cartoon (“Wait and See!”), dedicated to the Wolf’s pursuit of the Hare, the Wolf enters the House of Culture and performs the “Dance of the Little Swans” in the role of the prima ballerina with the Hens, followed by the “Introduction and Pas de Deux” with the Hare (music by Tchaikovsky in an arrangement by Viktor Babushkin).
Judging by the testimony of the ballet troupe itself, the authorities achieved the opposite effect (Svistunova Olga, “‘For some reason, Swan Lake had to be shown.’ Ballet outside politics”).
Ibid.
Melnik Yan, “Tatiana Navka: Putin likes Swan Lake, and my wife doesn’t like it at all. But I always go against the grain: ‘No, I'll prove to you that it will be a cool performance,’” Sports.ru, December 22, 2021, URL: https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1104609204-tatyana-navka-putinu-nravitsya-lebedinoe-ozero-a-moemu-suprugu-kategor.html, accessed September 10, 2024.
See the presentation on the official website: https://navka.show/shows/lebedinoe-ozero-peterburg, accessed October 6, 2024.
Lotsik Polina, “Tatiana Navka’s show Swan Lake will take place in Saint Petersburg from December 26 to January 7,” Sports.ru, October 1, 2024, URL: https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1116428396-shou-tatyany-navki-lebedinoe-ozero-projdet-v-sankt-peterburge-s-26-dek.html, accessed September 12, 2024.
See: “Swan Lake,” Navka.show, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqC2YOL6HqU, accessed September 6, 2024.
“Premiere 2024: Swan Lake: Premiere in Petersburg”, Navka.show: poster, URL: https://navka.show/shows/lebedinoe-ozero-peterburg, accessed March 30, 2025.
See: Keldysh Yu., Degene A. and Stupnikov I., “Tchaikovsky. Ballet Swan Lake,” Belcanto.ru, URL: https://www.belcanto.ru/ballet_swanlake.html, accessed September 10, 2024. This is the finale of the Navka show. In 1953, Vladimir Burmeister completed the ballet by transforming the swans into young girls.
For example, Lopukhov interpreted the image of the ball as an act of witchcraft: the dancers and guests appeared at the behest of Rothbart (Keldysh I., Degene A., and Stupnikov I., “Tchaikovsky. Ballet Swan Lake”).
Pilyasov Anton, “Navka on the new show Swan Lake – it is my lifelong dream, which could not be realized in sports,” Sports.ru, April 12, 2020, URL: https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1084864092.html, accessed September 10, 2024.
On the strategies of this economy, see, for example: Aggestam Maria, “Art-entrepreneurship in the Scandinavian Music Industry,” in Colette Henry (ed.), Entrepreneurship in the Creative Industries: An International Perspective, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007, p. 30-35.
“Premiere 2024: Swan Lake: Premiere in Petersburg”, Navka.show, poster, URL: https://navka.show/shows/lebedinoe-ozero-peterburg, accessed March 30, 2025.
See: Bagdasaryan N., “From Classic to Show,” in E. V. Dukov (ed.), Entertainment and Art: Collection of Articles, Saint Petersburg, Aletheia, 2008, p. 178-185.
Koshechkina Varvara, “Putin spoke to a 13-year-old girl after her wish was granted,” Lenta.ru, December 15, 2012, URL: https://lenta.ru/news/2021/12/15/pogovoril/, accessed September 8, 2024.
Swan Lake will be performed during the same months in 2024. As for shows, Tatiana Navka has already successfully presented Sleeping Beauty in 2023 and is currently working on The Nutcracker. See the official website: https://navka.show/shows, accessed July 23, 2025. See also: Zhurkova Darya, Classical Music in Contemporary Mass Culture in Russia, doctoral thesis in culturology, specialty 24.00.01 – Theory and History of Culture, Moscow, State Research Institute of Art, 2012, in particular chapters 3 and 4.
“Muscovites queue for days for tickets to ‘The Nutcracker’ ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre,” Meduza, November 9, 2023, URL: https://meduza.io/feature/2023/11/09/moskvichi-sutkami-stoyat-v-ocheredyah-za-biletami-na-balet-schelkunchik-v-bolshom-teatre, accessed September 10, 2024. On the public subsidies received by such shows, see: “Navka asked the state for 29.5 million rubles for her ice show,” RBK, September 12, 2024, URL: https://www.rbc.ru/sport/12/09/2024/66e2f6ee9a7947b58e5e079f, accessed March 11, 2025; “The Plushenko Academy has requested a subsidy of 19.5 million rubles for the ice show,” Forbes Sport, February 6, 2025; URL: https://www.forbes.ru/sport/530378-akademia-plusenko-zaprosila-grant-v-razmere-19-5-mln-rublej-dla-ledovogo-sou, accessed March 11, 2025.
According to the title of the newspaper of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia, 1929-1930.
“Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 9, 2022,” art. 5.
Ibid. These are two sides of the same coin, whose unity is best expressed in the aforementioned clip by Pussy Riot: “War is a celebration and everything is fine.”
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av7qJYO1zI4, accessed October 2, 2024.
The opera Ivan Susanin, URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VIgEnIm7ow, accessed October 2, 2024.
Osborne Charles, The Opera Lover’s Companion, Yale, Yale University Press, 2007, p. 143.
Matusevich Aleksandr, “Patriotic premiere: Ivan Susanin near the Kremlin in Astrakhan,” Astrakhan State Opera and Ballet Theater, official website, “News” section, September 8, 2023. URL: https://www.astoperahouse.ru/news/7155-patrioticheskaya-premera-ivan-susanin-u-sten-astrakhanskogo-kremlya, accessed June 20, 2025.
Dolgacheva Larisa, “The entrance of ‘Prince Igor’ on a white horse,” Da capo al fine, September 20, 2024, URL: https://gazetaigraem.ru/article/44073, accessed June 20, 2025.
As in Soviet times: Raku Marina, Music Classics in Soviet Mythology, p. 594-595.
Yarustovskiy Boris, Tchaikovsky’s Opera Dramaturgy, Moscow, Leningrad, Muzgiz, 1947, p. 6.
Aminova Galima, The National Origins of S. I. Taneyev’s Creativity, Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk University [Krasgu], 2006.
Gromyko Andrei, Memorable, vol. 1, Moscow, Politizdat, 1990, URL: http://publ.lib.ru/ARCHIVES/G/GROMYKO_Andrey_Andreevich/_Gromyko_A.A..html, accessed October 12, 2024.
Kharpaleva Natalia, “Serge Rachmaninoff: Gone But Not Betrayed,” Foma, 01/04/2023, URL: https://foma.ru/rahmaninov-chto-jetot-znamenityj-jemigrant-dumal-o-rossii-gde-ego-objavili-materym-vragom.html, accessed September 10, 2024.
Even today, the foundations of classical and romantic musical form are taught according to Bernhard Marx and Ludwig Bussler; French musical form theory is the subject of specific study, and approaches such as neo-Schenkerianism and neo-Riemannianism are commonly used in the study of harmony. For example: Kholopov Yuri, Theoretical Systems of Music. Manual for History, Theory, and Composition Departments in Higher Education Institutions, Moscow, Kompozitor, 2006.
See: Vlasova Ekaterina S., “From the history of ASM-I: ‘Contemporaneity,’” La Revue de la Société russe de théorie musicale, vol. 45, no. 1, 2024, p. 17-25. However, following the emigration of Vladimir Tarnopolsky, the Association’s main inspiration, in March 2022, its objectives have become unclear and now mainly consist of studying and applying existing compositional techniques.
For a more in-depth analysis, see: Mattos Caitano Joevan de, “Russian Music in Darmstadt (Based on Archival Materials),” Muzykalnaya akademiya [Музыкальная академия], vol. 778, no. 2, 2022, URL: https://mus.academy/en/articles/russian-music-in-darmstadt-based-on-archival-materials (accessed June 20, 2025).
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