Punk’s not Dead. It’s Just Under Police Surveillance.
By Sean at 18 July, 2009, 10:08 am
Russian authorities just keep stretching and stretching the meaning of extremism. Now the list of extremists will include a variety of youth subcultures extending from skinheads to fans of the iconic Soviet rock band Kino. This is according to a report released by the St. Petersburg Prosecutor’s Office which places music fans under police surveillance. Reports the St. Petersburg Times:
According to the report, the district’s criminal police have identified and included on a register “88 people who attribute themselves to informal entities such as ‘Skinheads,’ ‘Aggressive Football Fans,’ ‘Punks,’ ‘Emos,’ ‘Black Metallers,’ ‘Fans of [the band] Kino,’ ‘Alternative Rock Fans,’ ‘Anarchists’ and others.”
Kino was a local 1980s pop-rock band influenced by The Cure and Duran Duran, and is still popular with young people in Russia, though it split up when its frontman and sole songwriter Viktor Tsoi died in a car crash in 1991. Plans to erect an official monument to Tsoi are underway in the city.
The report said that apart from the criminal police, “this work” is also conducted by neighborhood police inspectors and juvenile police departments.
Once exposed and registered, the music fans and members of the other “informal entities” are the subject of “preventive work” conducted by the district’s police officers, the district’s administration officials and educational institution staff to “prevent crimes, including those of an extremist nature.”
Wonderful. But far from anything new. A list of “ideologically harmful” music was concocted by the Komsomol in the 1980s. It didn’t work then and it sure as hell isn’t going to work now. One would think the St. Petersburg police have better things to do with their time.
And they say punk is dead. Nah, it’s just under police surveillance.
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Kino was influenced by Duran Duran? NO!!!!
C’mon, not all Duran Duran is that bad.
I guess it’s not about ban of the music it’s more about political extremists. It has to be done before and not only in S.Petersburg.
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May be, they don’t keep in mind cultural aspects, but are just trying to control the young guys who bring violence to the streets?
The relatively little number hints that most likely it’s merely a list of local hooligans.
Who wreck violence to the streets, sounds better.
Sorry — who wreak violence to the streets.
persian iran:
Most people in your country supported Ahmadinejad. We respect the choice of both opponents and proponents of Ahmadinejad. As reported, Iranian elections were more democratic than those in Russia. Don’t ask us to blame you for what is the legitimate choice of your people.
Khabar:
“Ban of the music”? I agree that’s nonsense.
However, if anyone attempted to ban my beloved music band, “Orgy of the holy men”, I would take that QUITE seriously!
It just came to my head there is quite a lot of musics which pass for racist, classic Russian rock BTW.
So how is Kino violent, extremist, or racist in any way? How could “political extremists” use such music to wreak havoc? It like street gang that listens to U2. Who in their right mind would fear such a group?
I’ve looked for the whole report but it seems to not been put online or I just can’t find it. I assume that it will define how such music is extremist.
“Kino” is no way extremist.
Random thoughts:
Oh, po-zhaluista…
Kino? Isn’t that like going after kids these days for listening to the Doors, or something? Like, if the kids are listening to Kino, that’s cool, in the way that the students on campus these days are listening to The Smiths. The most die-hard fans of these bands have now settled into a life of worrying about their children and bank accounts and what to wear to their class re-unions. What’s next? Surveillance of pensioners’ homes for ideologically dangerous Vystotski fans?
What ever happened to the proposed “emo ban?” I read countless articles, entertaining and steeped in irony, about the legislation, but can’t find out if it was ever passed.
You’re not a real punk unless the police are after you, IMO. If you fancy yourself punk, but the police are not interested in you, basically your are just playing dress up. You are a poseur. For that you probably should be arrested. Ok, not really. But there should be repercussions.
The police in the bucolic small Midwestern American town where I grew up were always taking my brother and his friends to the station for questioning because they were … skaters. So, one way to frame this story is that it smacks of Soviet-style oppression. Another would be that when you’re a teenage no-goodnik, life smacks of Soviet-style oppression.
A story recently in the Chicago Tribune: FBI Arrests Alleged Founder of Hardcore Punk Street Gang on Extortion Charge.
Anyway, until someone is thrown in a labor camp for downloading a Viktor Tsoi song, I’m going to refrain from flipping out.
Hey, good comment, poemless.
Hey thanks Kolya.
Well, emo probably should be banned, just not for being extremist. The site’s proprietor probably remembers when emo meant bands like Still Life, Yaphet Kotto, Saetia, Red Scare, etc., then those damn kids from Kansas had to go ruin it all.
As for punk and the law, it all depends are what you were rebelling against. Being straight edge wouldn’t get you thrown in jail, but it would make you different than 95% of the kids at your school.