A couple of years ago Gene did a big interview with journalist Norma Schneider, which along with conversations with other artists built the body of her new book that we proudly present. Many thanks to Norma! Here’s the English translation of book’s description.
Punk instead of Putin
Counterculture in Russia
Portrait of the Russian counterculture by Norma Schneider
At least since Pussy Riot and their punk prayer in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, we know that not everyone in Russia is behind Putin. There are courageous people who, despite the threat of repression, oppose the nationalist, patriarchal and homophobic mainstream with their music, art and literature.
»Punk instead of Putin« shows two different worlds: on the one hand, an authoritarian state that is becoming increasingly repressive, on the other hand, oppositional artists and activists who are looking for niches, using leeway and dealing creatively with their desperate situation. Norma Schneider describes the diverse forms and content of Russian counterculture in Putin’s Russia – before and after the beginning of the war of aggression against Ukraine. Although the regime now only gives its critics the choice between exile, self-censorship and prison, her book does not focus on repression, but on what is possible despite everything.
Norma Schneider introduces the ideology of the Putin regime, presents the political and cultural mainstream and official cultural policy, describes how the state deals with counterculture between repression and attempts at appropriation. On the other hand there is a lively portrait of the Russian counterculture, in which the underground scene, anti-war songs and queer literature find their place just as much as feminist self-organisation, Putin memes and artistic protest in public space.
The numerous interviews that Schneider conducted with artists in Russia and in exile tell of hope and a lack of prospects, of courageous protest, safe spaces and the will to continue fighting for a free Russia.
Norma Schneider, born in 1988, studied philosophy, sociology and German. She lives as a freelance journalist, author and editor in Frankfurt am Main. When Pussy Riot went on trial in 2012, she became interested in punk and protest in Russia. Since then, she has worked intensively on various forms of Russian counterculture – and on the ideology of the Putin regime. She writes literary reviews and articles about culture, protest and the LGBTQ community in Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet space, e.g. for taz, nd.Aktuell, FAZ and Jungle World.
