page_title: Rock music and the fall of communism
section_title: The underground and the black market
hierarchical_section_title: Rock music and the fall of communism / Rock's social and political effects / The underground and the black market
caption_attribution_description: English: "Rock on bones" Gramophone record (USSR, 1950-s). Gallery "Vinzavod", Moscow
context_page_description: Rock music played a role in subverting the political order of the Soviet Union and its satellites. The attraction of the unique form of music served to undermine Soviet authority by humanizing the West, helped alienate a generation from the political system, and sparked a youth revolution. This contribution was achieved not only through the use of words or images, but through the structure of the music itself. Furthermore, the music was spread as part of a broad public diplomacy effort, commercial ventures, and through the efforts of the populace in the Eastern Bloc.
  In the 1960s, The Beatles sparked the love of rock in the Soviet youth and its popularity spread. In May 1979, Elton John became the first Western rock act to play behind the Iron Curtain, playing eight concerts in the Soviet Union; four dates in Leningrad and four in Moscow. Throughout the 1980s a number of Western acts performed behind the Iron Curtain, including Queen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Ozzy Osbourne.
context_section_description: Magnitizdat were DIY recordings that were the audio counterpart to the written Samizdat.  Many of the early DIY recordings were made from plastic  X-ray plates   Rock fans and black marketeers would smuggle records in from the west and would steal discarded X-Ray emulsion plates from dumpsters and garbage cans at hospitals.  They would then bring their X-Ray plates and records into small recording studios, which were designed so that Soviet soldiers could record audio messages for family back home.  Because the X-ray plates were flexible, they could be rolled and hidden in a sleeve which aided in the concealment and transport of the record.  The recordings would still bear images of human skeletons, so they were referred to as "bones," "ribs," or roentgenizdat.  This practice began in the 50s, but proliferated in the 60s especially as Beatlemania spread.
  It didn't take long before Soviet youth wanted to form bands to emulate the Fab Four, but the lack of instruments was a serious impediment to the formation of rock bands. Soviet youths had to improvise.  They did so by creating their own guitars by sawing old tables into the shape of a guitar. Creating pickups and amps was a problem until an inspired young electrical engineer discovered that they could be created from phone receivers and loudspeakers, respectively. The only readily available sources for these items were public telephone booths and speakers used for propaganda broadcasts, so young rockers would vandalize both for parts.
  From the early to mid sixties, the subculture was mostly ignored by the authorities.  That is not to stay that fans could display their love for rock openly, but it wasn't actively persecuted until later.  Most of these new bands would imitate the Beatles as best they could with their improvised instruments, and even clothing fashioned after Beatles stage costumes.  They would play anywhere they could; cafes, front stoops, basements, dormitories; anywhere they could convince someone to let them.  As the bands became more sophisticated and popular, rock scenes began to develop.  How the authorities would react depended greatly upon the area and the time period.  From the late 60s on, long haired men often would have their offending manes cut and bands would be denied official status, financial support, press coverage, and permission to play in bigger venues. In their place VIA's (the Russian acronym for vocal/instrumental ensemble), officially sanctioned bands were established to play state approved music and lyrics with less "teeth." VIA's would avoid controversial topics in their lyrics, musical styles, or anything deemed "degenerate".
caption: "Rock on the bones"
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