Guno צְבִי
We fight, We win
One of the biggest names in Russian rock music — perhaps the biggest of all — is now listed as a “foreign agent” in his homeland, a designation that taints Boris Grebenshikov as an anti-patriot, even a traitor. The charge meets with an amused shrug. “Ah, I’m always on a list!” he says, laughing. “In the ’70s I was on a list of forbidden people. In the ’80s I was there. It’s all right.”
Grebenshikov, 69, is famous throughout the Russian-speaking world as the leader of the band Aquarium. They pioneered the rock scene that emerged in the USSR in the 1970s. Initially a semi-clandestine version of western hippy music, especially prog and folk-rock, acts such as Aquarium captured popular imagination in the 1980s as harbingers of a new Russia. They were like the pied pipers of perestroika. But Grebenshikov has fallen foul of officialdom once again with the return of authoritarianism.
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https://www.ft.com/content/ef51acbd-cbbc-45eb-80b6-f5794d7486be
“At the moment, the country that I was born in and the country that I love is” — he pauses — “in a very sad, tragic position. Millions and millions of people are afraid to think, afraid to speak out. We all know that silence is like cancer. It eats you from within and kills you. And that’s what’s happening. So I’m thinking not only of ways to help Ukrainians but Russians as well, because they are in a terrible position.”
https://www.ft.com/content/ef51acbd-cbbc-45eb-80b6-f5794d7486be
Grebenshikov, 69, is famous throughout the Russian-speaking world as the leader of the band Aquarium. They pioneered the rock scene that emerged in the USSR in the 1970s. Initially a semi-clandestine version of western hippy music, especially prog and folk-rock, acts such as Aquarium captured popular imagination in the 1980s as harbingers of a new Russia. They were like the pied pipers of perestroika. But Grebenshikov has fallen foul of officialdom once again with the return of authoritarianism.
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
https://www.ft.com/content/ef51acbd-cbbc-45eb-80b6-f5794d7486be
“At the moment, the country that I was born in and the country that I love is” — he pauses — “in a very sad, tragic position. Millions and millions of people are afraid to think, afraid to speak out. We all know that silence is like cancer. It eats you from within and kills you. And that’s what’s happening. So I’m thinking not only of ways to help Ukrainians but Russians as well, because they are in a terrible position.”
https://www.ft.com/content/ef51acbd-cbbc-45eb-80b6-f5794d7486be