In Soviet Russia… Well, in Soviet Russia the state tried to control everything and such things like music people were listening or the cloths people were wearing was under strict regulation. School children in every Soviet school had to wear uniforms and were obliged to buy it each year. There were no single school where kids were dressed in color nice cloths – everyone was wearing the one and only styled form in Russia at that time.
Same story was on the streets. If the police have spotted someone looking weird he could be easily taken to psychiatric clinic and treated there with severe mind altering stuff.
Still, some, especially closer to the times when the Soviet Union ceased to exist started breaking this barrier and their extraordinary looks shocked people. Here are some of the photos from that times.
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FIRST!!111
Viktor Tsoy in 3rd pic
They are not punks, they just Russian drunks.
Last picture looks cool, bit nazi, but cool
That’s what I thought – guy on the right is more Kraftwerk than err.. Krafwerk
Even in Russia, Oi is pronounced Oi. Most of these guys look pretty lame though… but I guess they didn’t know any better.
heh, mods and punks.
Did anybody recognize Viktor Tsoy in 3rd pic?
now I did
Tsoy is not a punk though, he was tooo koool for these other westernized Mummies’s Trolls hahah ZING!
I think it’s cute, they thought they were so wild! And who is Viktor Tsoy?
He was the lead singer of the group KINO. He is often referred to as the Russian Jim Morrison. If I remember correctly he was killed in an auto accident. Some believe that it wasn’t an accident at all, but a hit carried out by the KGB in order to silence him.
He is buried in St. Petersburg where even today people hang around his grave and play his music or leave cigarettes by the headstone.
thanks! Good to know.
Now that is funny
quite amazing to see that. some of them are even wearing american clture clothes (as the Rambo t-shirt). Cery noce to know that people was fighting against the system.
That man on the left on the last photo, is that the Gauleiter of Sankt Peterburg?
Obersturmgruppenführer Ivanov
Wrong, it’s living proof that Russian physicists have not only discovered the secret of time travel, but also the fact that Russian Neo -Nazi’s have commandeered their time machine and sprung Varg Vikernes of Burzum from jail and transported him to Russia.
I think I weed myself a little from laughing!
))
on 5th photo guy with Rambo t-shirt not punk,he is Luber.
Not many people dressed as punks – the punk style was created in London in the 1970s, where I was growing up, so I’m quite familiar with what proper punks looked like (the punk scene only lasted a short time before it mutated into something completely different).
The last picture shows three young men dressed as new romantics (post punk – Duran Duran and similar).
I can’t imagine how anyone could describe that style as having anything to do with Nazis – I feel sure Hitler’s lot would have thought the whole new romantic music scene every bit as decadent and worthless as they considered jazz. After all, the men mostly wore makeup…
There was a chap from another British new romantic band who was notable for the lop-sided hairstyle on display in quite a lot of the pics, but I can’t recall his name.
Fourth from last – I don’t see anything unusual there at all, except for the woman in what I assume is fancy traditional dress. The photo /before/ that is a shot of a genuine looking punk – as is the shot of the woman in photo number three.
Photo six, three chaps in Red Square; I see (L-R): one normal young man, one `greasy biker’ type who’s had a wash even if he is wearing the usual filthy jeans, and one rockabilly.
Picture number seven – they could be 1950s Americans, decades before punk.
Isn’t that a very young Konstantin Kinchev from Alisa in photo 9?
Say what you want. Thoose guys risked a lot. That’s more than you can say about sub culture kids in the west.
Shawn, it definitely not Kinchev, it is Garkusha (Гаркуша) from the band Auktyon (Аукцион)
yeah, agree
looks pretty much like him
The barrier started to come down in 1989 when Gorbachev allowed the Moscow Music Peace Festival to happen at Lenin stadium.
Motley Crue,Skid Row,Cinderella,Bon Jovi,Scorpions,Ozzy Osbourne,and Russia’s Gorkey Park performed for 2 days in Moscow.I saw it on MTV when I was 16.
Before that time Russian’s would smuggle recorded tapes of Scorpions into Russia.
I notice that mostly no europeans rise the bait laid out by these loudmouth yanks. Nice!
And when they are, they’re very succinct (ie. Finnish Alcoholics Online)
Great pictures BTW
OMG Russian soviets are trying to look more western nowadays
‘Merica is all about being yourself and doing your own thing. Twenty years later these styles may seem a little funny, but hats off to these young people. These people were not just rebelling against their parents, they were rebelling against a whole society. It probably took real guts to be seen in public dressed like this in Soviet times.
And I must point out the American things: Harley-Davidson Motorcycle patches, Levis Jeans and Rambo t-shirts etc. The gay hair styles were inspired by the British of course.
I like the Rambo shirt. Do the Russians know what Rambo 3 was really all about?
(try #2): ‘Merica is all about being yourself and doing your own thing. Twenty years later these styles may seem a little funny, but hats off to these young people. These people were not just rebelling against their parents, they were rebelling against a whole society. It probably took real guts to be seen in public dressed like this in Soviet times.
And I must point out the American things: Harley-Davidson Motorcycle patches, Levis Jeans and Rambo t-shirts etc. The gay hair styles were inspired by the British of course.
(try #3): ‘Merica is all about being yourself and doing your own thing. Twenty years later these styles may seem a little funny, but hats off to these young people. These people were not just rebelling against their parents, they were rebelling against a whole society. It probably took real guts to be seen in public dressed like this in Soviet times.
And I must point out the American things: Harley-Davidson Motorcycle patches, Levis Jeans and Rambo t-shirts etc. The gay hair styles were inspired by the British of course.
Sorry about the multiple posts – I have horrible problems posting to this site. Sometimes my posts take right away, sometimes they take days or weeks and more often than not, they never make it at all.
Number 10 is Oleg Garkusha, front man of Auktsion, a Russian indi band.
as older generation of former soviets – have to admit – that pictures are quite nostalgic…. it is Victor Tzoy from KINO and Oleg Garkusha from Auktzion… i lived then and there. and yes, you could be arrested for being dressed like that. not to mention for the attending some concerts these guys were given underground.
Tsoi zhiv! Thank you Viktor, for introducing me to this wonderful thing called Russia… The real Russia, not the one you see in the movies.
Heh… i like the guys in the last picture, they look a bit like Joy Division. Well, maybe not the guy in the middle. He looks more suited for Spandau Ballet.
There is something poetic and beautiful about Soviet Russians buying Scorpions music on the black market, a German band singing in English. The Scorpions did not know what they were singing. Russians did not know the words, It’s the music that brings us all together. If only Ozzy Osbourne was the leader of the world we would have no war. well, that may be taking it too far…. but it would be better than what we’ve got.
there are actually no punks at this photos. Tsoy, Garkusha…etc – all that people was “non-formals” and soviet rock-n-roll stars.
It was a hard time for the neformals in censored sovietic state. when a spoke with some rock veterans a understand that they had very bad times. All peoples looked at them like a nation enemies.
Calm down Pat,so you have a mohawk and pierced ears and nose and maybe tattoos of atomic bomd mushroom clouds and you listen to Sub Humans,Dead Kennedy/DK,SOD,DRI,Crass,Blag Flag,and so on!
Relax!even heavy metal gets confused with rock!
The true meaning of punk…
Awesome!
SSSR…no mohawk here,just a lack of a hairstyle but yes i do listen to…so on and whatnot,was thinking you would search my name and find out who i am and become more confused…DAS VIDALIA ONIONS!
ROIL NOISE RUBBISH!
These pictures are really great. Thx for making them available!
To: Russia. From: USA.
Your welcome!
I think the last picture is where headly got his look from,lol!
Whoa, nice story. I just now came across your blog and I am already a fan.
Badass
does anyone have stories about what it was like going to underground shows then?
I really enjoy my blogs and yours recieves an A+ from me.
Carpet stains
rambo LOL !
this is unbelievable, hahaha
I think the man at the right in the last photo has a George Clooneyesque face.
I have no doubt that what these people were doing and how they were dressing at the time made them stick out a great deal. To hell with the labels judging what was/wasn’t punk… what a waste of energy. It’s the spirit these guys had that’s admirable.
Never heard of Kino before but I’m now listening to a podcast about them:
http://russmus.net/band.jsp?band=Kino
Is it Victor Tsoy on the 8′th pic, bearing black MUZIMA guitar?