Cult F: Examining Russian Musical Exile
Dinara Yangeldina (University of Bergen)
The seminar will critically approach the phenomenon of Russian musical exile in the wake of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Much hope is currently invested in Russian popular music in exile. It is compared to the role Soviet rock played in the dissolution of the USSR and to the US musical opposition to the war in Vietnam (Bathon 2023; Pertsev 2023). Associated with resistance and social change, Russian musical exile is perceived as fueling anti-war opposition, imagined as having the potential to affect the war’s outcomes. The seminar will critically interrogate Western imaginaries of Russian popular music in exile. It will also examine the politics of protest of select artists in exile by exploring their cultural productions and interrogating emergent power relations and hegemonies.