Punks-Back in the USSR

August 28, 2012 11:08 PM

“The music and lyrics of punk rock provoke among the young fits of aimless rage, vandalism, and the urge to destroy everything they get their hands on. No matter how carefully they try to clean it up, it will remain the most reactionary offspring of the bourgeoisie mass culture.” Pravda Photographs and video of pre-Perestroika/Glasnost punks in the Soviet Union. [Some site images possibly NSFW]
posted by Isadorady (21 comments total)

Holy crap. Great find!
posted by gwint at 11:20 PM on August 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Not many women in the Soviet punk scene, it seems...

Also, what's with the 80s and sunglasses like these? Do those have a name? They're hardly very practical, but I've always liked them.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 11:27 PM on August 28, 2012

Those are called shutter shades...
posted by Isadorady at 11:37 PM on August 28, 2012

Oh. This is beyond awesome.

(Not the shutter shades.... they are the Kenye West shades of their time...)

But Sasha Surgeon is a weird link between Wild Ones and Sex Pistols.

It's so interesting how looks snuck behind the iron curtain.

I lament I have but the one favourite to give.
posted by Mezentian at 11:55 PM on August 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

And they still found time to release illegal recordings; apparently known as “Bones” – homemade bootlegs often made from discarded medical x-rays.

Really. It's true.
posted by three blind mice at 1:40 AM on August 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Dressing like this is the true spirit of Punk before it became a mohican/leather jacket/bondage trousers/bullet belt/etc uniform
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:15 AM on August 29, 2012

Protesting the trial of Pussy Riot. NSFW
This took some guts.
posted by quazichimp at 2:34 AM on August 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

related: (it would be embarrassing if I found out about this here and just forgot but) The Wrong Reasons To Back Pussy Riot
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 2:44 AM on August 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

This took some guts.

Well Kiev is in Ukraine and not Russia, but I am not so sure that anyone should be cheering the destruction and desecration of religious objects. This would be considered a hate crime across Europe, but I guess if you do it with your tits out it's all good.
posted by three blind mice at 3:03 AM on August 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

IIRC Pussy Riot are not about being all mindlessly Church-burny either.
posted by Mezentian at 4:08 AM on August 29, 2012

Three blind mice, I think the idea behind that -- much like Pussy Riot's own protest being in a church -- is that when the church is corruptedly supporting and supported by the current government leader, involving the church becomes a political act, not a religious one.
posted by Pwoink at 4:58 AM on August 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

The guy in the overalls is so cute.

That is not a line I thought I would ever say.
posted by ifjuly at 5:44 AM on August 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Protesting the trial of Pussy Riot. NSFW

That hurt to watch. Couldn't she have practiced with the chainsaw first? And all that loose hair right next to the blade... There's no way to tell for sure from the video, but it looks like they edited out someone else taking over and making the big cut after she flailed around for a while.

Anyway, neat photos in the FPP, thanks.
posted by Forktine at 6:18 AM on August 29, 2012

I made an FPP about pre-Soviet punk a while back.

Also, here's some live footage of Grazhdanskaya Oborona/GrOb ("Civil Defense"/"Grave")
posted by griphus at 6:24 AM on August 29, 2012

And here is my weak-ass attempt at translating the lyrics (of the album version, so it won't match the song exactly):

Everything that isn't anarchy is fascism (x4)

But you want to be the fuhrer.
He wants to be the fuhrer.
I want to be the fuhrer.
We all want to be the fuhrer.

I don't beleive in anarchy (x4)

Everything that isn't anarchy is fascism (x4)

I don't beleive in anarchy (x4)

Who doesn't love the new order?
Who doesn't believe in the new order?
Who doesn't long for the new order?
Who doesn't build the new order?

I don't beleive in anarchy...
posted by griphus at 6:36 AM on August 29, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the pictures---I'm amazed at the balls it took for these kids to dress like this knowing that they could actually go to labor camp for it. For anyone interested, I highly, highly recommend G.O.'s masterpiece, "Сто Лет Одиночество" ("One Hundred Years of Solitude"),
posted by ThatFuzzyBastard at 8:54 AM on August 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

IIRC Pussy Riot are not about being all mindlessly Church-burny either.

Pussy Riot Does Not Approve of Cutting Down Orthodox Crosses Bare-Chested
posted by homunculus at 12:05 PM on August 29, 2012

I've officially reached middle-age when I watch a video of a beautiful young bare-chested Ukrainian woman with a chain-saw and the first thing I think of is "Good gravy, she's really going to hurt herself with that thing. Tie your hair up, young lady. Don't hold the cutting edge so close to your chest. Brace yourself against the kick-back."
posted by ga$money at 4:50 PM on August 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

Любовь это все, что вам нужно.
posted by Twang at 5:32 PM on August 29, 2012 [2 favorites]

What's Next for Pussy Riot?
posted by homunculus at 5:59 PM on August 29, 2012

Isadorady: "Those are called shutter shades.."

Those aren't shutter shades, shutter shades are what Kanye West used to wear for a while.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 2:44 AM on August 30, 2012