Politics in Russian Music

Russia is often associated with wonderful works of art, ballet, and music. However, compared to other countries, Russia’s tradition of classical music is much shorter. The church and the government have always had large influence on the arts in Russia, especially with music.

Archaeologists working in Russia have found musical instruments dating to the 11th century. Folk songs were a traditional and beloved form of entertainment, especially for a largely illiterate population. Songs featuring the stories of epic heroes, sometimes accompanied by instruments, were very popular. People also would have heard music at church. Much of the traditional service of the Russian Orthodox church is sung. The chants and hymns sung by the priests and the choir would have been very familiar to all Russian people. The church also had a tradition of bell ringing, with churches often having many bells in a bell tower which were used to call people to worship and were used at important points during the service. The bells were also used to share messages, both good and bad, in the times before easy access to news. The church affected secular music beginning in 1648. At that time, music performed by skomorokhs, performers similar to jesters or minstrels, was banned in Russia. Their instruments were burned and performers who continued were physically punished and sometimes banished. Although the church tried very hard to outlaw the tradition, some performers continued, keeping the tradition alive even today. 

Russia’s classical music tradition did not begin until the late 1500s, when Ivan IV (also know as Ivan the Terrible) invited western composers and musicians to the Imperial court. When Peter the Great became tsar in 1682, western musicians were a regular part of court life. Peter didn’t really care for music, but thought having music and art was an important part of establishing Russia as a place of culture and civility. Although music was widely accepted at this point in Russia’s history, the tsar was the ultimate authority on what was appropriate within the country. Since western music, especially Italian opera, was favored, Russian composers were expected to write in that style if their works were going to be performed.

Two groups of musicians helped develop Russian music into its own style. One group, known as “The Mighty Five,” featured musicians who wanted to popularize Russian music and create a Russian style of classical music, featuring Russian lyrics, folk songs, and stories. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote numerous operas, many based on Russian fairy tales. Alexander Borodin wrote an opera featuring a tale from Russian history sung in Russian. These works helped combine western classical music traditions with Russian elements. The other group was the Russian Musical Society led by composer-pianists Anton and Nikolai Rubinstein. Often these groups are viewed as rivals, with “The Five” seen as more progressive while the Russian Musical Society was more conservative, however there was not much friction between the groups, since they both wanted to further Russian music. One of the Russian Musical Society’s major contributions was the establishment of the first music conservatories in Russia, one in Saint Petersburg and one in Moscow. These music schools taught the next generation of great Russian composers, including Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and others.

Some of the most famous Russian composers began working in the early 1900s. These composers had the most influence of politics on their compositions due to the Russian Revolution in 1918. Immediately after the revolution, composers were given an unprecedented amount of freedom. Inspired by a “revolutionary spirit” composers experimented with avant-garde ideas, including dissonant harmonies and electronic instruments.

When Joseph Stalin took power in the 1930s, the boundaries and rules surrounding music changed drastically. Under Stalin’s rule, classical styles of music were favored, while experimentation was discouraged. Western music and culture were viewed with suspicion since they didn’t agree with the policies of the communist party. All music was supposed to be for the people and to espouse and encourage government and social ideals. In 1932, the government founded a Union of Soviet Composers. Any musician who wanted financial support had to join the union and have their compositions approved by the group before publication. Music of the time was supposed to portray “socialist realism,” which would show the struggle and triumphs of everyday Russians. Rather than write using progressive melodies and harmonies, Soviet composers were to use simple, traditional melodies. Peter and the Wolf is a perfect example of socialist realism in music. Throughout this period, music was used as propaganda for the government, extolling the virtues of the Soviet regime, the Russian people, and of Stalin, as the leader of the country.

It was very difficult to be a composer at this time in the Soviet Union. Many composers wrote successful pieces that were often performed numerous times, before they were suddenly banned. Dmitri Shostakovich wrote a popular opera, which was labeled as inappropriate a year later. Shostakovich was criticized in newspapers and most of his other works were not performed for several years. Composers often wouldn’t know if their works would be acceptable by the government and for how long. It was hard to know what to write and composers couldn’t really express themselves as they wanted to, because of the strict, and sometimes arbitrary, rules of the government.

During World War II, composers had a bit more artistic freedom. Since the Soviet Union had western allies, there was less anti-western rhetoric and composers could express themselves a little more freely. Many of the works written during the war were patriotic, trying to boost morale. Prokofiev and Shostakovich both wrote symphonies about the war.

After the war, the rules changed back. Composers were once again expected to write music with the ideals of socialist realism and without western influences. Music based on the Russian Revolution and nationalist tunes were especially encouraged. The head of the composers union, Andrei Zhadnov, enforced strict rules. In 1948, he called a three-day conference in Moscow with more than seventy composers and musicians in attendance. All of the attendees, including Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and nearly every other major Soviet composer, were criticized for writing music that wasn’t following the rules and had too much western influence. Most of the composers had to apologize for their music and write new pieces, deemed more appropriate by the government, before their works were performed in public again. Composers had to deal with a constantly changing landscape of rules while living and working in the Soviet Union. A piece that may be wildly popular one day, could suddenly be inappropriate, with no real reason or explanation. Composers, musicians, and other artists were regularly arrested and sentenced to jail time or death if they didn’t abide by the expectations of the government. Given the tense and uncertain atmosphere that these composers lived under everyday, the music they created is even more special.