Music from the Peoples of the Soviet Union
odd: label: Introduction
content: The 1988 Festival program, Musics of the Soviet Union, represented glasnost and perestroika in the cultural arena and started a lively discussion with Soviet scholars and officials over the relationship between grassroots people's culture and the State. The Soviet Ministry of Culture typically supported local, regional, and national folkloric ensembles. Based on historical research, the folklore that was publicly presented was largely theatrical - staged, choreographed entertainment. The Festival sought instead to represent ethnic, linguistic, and religious traditions that later defined the lines of post-Soviet republics. Performers ranged from practiced urban amateurs to an ensemble of peasant women from Podseredne. Visitors to the Festival heard Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Ukrainian, Georgian, and other musics from nine Soviet Republics, conveying the message of an incredibly culturally diverse nation.

Research in Russia and Ukraine grew from the Festival, as did five Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and another program in 1995 on Russian-American connections. Performers on the Festival Music Stage at the 1988 Festival later went to perform in the Soviet Union.

Margarita Mazo was Curator of the program, and Stuart Detmer was Program Coordinator.

Music from the Peoples of the Soviet Union was made possible with cooperation from the Ministry of Culture of the Soviet Union.
label: Presenters
content: Walter Feldman, Theodore Levin, Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, Margarita Mazo
label: Participants
content: Music

Ivan Egorovich Alexeev, Yakut ASSR

Gennadii Tiuliushevich Chash, Tuvan ASSR

Uliana Petrovna Kot, Rovenskii Province, Ukrainian SSR

Veronika Povilioniene, Lithuanian SSR

Elesa Men's Choir, Makharadze, Georgian SSR  -- Elesa Men's Choir, Makharadze, Georgian SSRValerian Vasilievich BereshviliAmiran Victorovich ChkhartishviliAnzor Davidovich ErkomaishviliKote Isidorovich GelekvaChichiko Victorovich KechakmadzeAlexander Alexandrovich MikadzeIvan Victorovich MkumalidzeGuri Ipolitovich SikharulidzeAmiran Lukich ToidzeRemiko Serapionovich Vashalomidze

Estonian Duo, Estonian SSR  -- Estonian Duo, Estonian SSRAnts TaulJohannes Taul

Mugam Trio, Baku, Azerbaijan SSR  -- Mugam Trio, Baku, Azerbaijan SSRShafiga Alkhas EyvazovaAlim Gamza KasumovRamiz Eyiub Kuliev

Southern Russian Ensemble, Podserednee, Belgorod Province, RSFSR  -- Southern Russian Ensemble, Podserednee, Belgorod Province, RSFSRVera Vasilievna ManasievaEvdokiia Gerasimovna BarykinaNikolai Mitrofanovich BashkatovPelageia Kuzminichna HodykinaValentina Ivanovna HodykinaVarvara Dmitrievna HodykinaPelageia Kuzminichna IartsevaAlexander Ivanovich KoliadinMaria Mitrofanovna KoliadinOlga Ivanovna ManichkinaEkaterina Dmitrievna PaninaEvdokiia Timofeevna Popova

Uzbek Trio, Fergana Province, Uzbek SSR  -- Uzbek Trio, Fergana Province, Uzbek SSRMusozhon ArifdzhanovOinakhon Burkhanovalbragim Isakov
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1988 Festival of American Folklife
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.1988, Series 6
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials