The Rave That Brought Down The Soviet Union

[@Bandsplaining]

Hey friends, if you want to support the channel, check out our patreon which has a lot more stuff! www.patreon.com/bandsplaining Or, if you want a free way to support the channel, go stream Engine Summer and put some pennies in our pocket

[@moskva-kassiopeya]

What was possible in the '90s Russia now seems like absolute surrealism. Renting an abandoned building on Fontanka and organizing raves there? And then doing the same thing in a space pavilion at VDNH? Where, dancing under mushrooms at 4 a.m., you could run into cosmonaut Grechko? What kind of parallel reality is this? :D Thank you for this episode!

[@stevengill1736]

Yes - people forget the incredible hardships that most citizens of the former USSR went through after the collapse...

[@NorthernCoelacanth]

It was actually squatted, not even rented (I mean Fontanka).

[@py_a_thon]

There is a slightly parallel event as well. When the wall was removed from East/West Germany...Pink Floyd minus David Gilmour showed up for an absurdly massive concert produced by Roger Waters and many others. They took foam bricks and built a wall, then knocked it down during the show. Normally, I am a bit reticent to see moments like that as anything other than money grabbing pretensciousness...yet I still cant really hate on that live show. So many amazing musicians, engineers, technicians and artists were involved.

[@ForestFairyBonya]

thank you for this video! as a russian i am very grateful that these grand events such as gagarin party appear on an english field of internet. 80s and 90s were a huge decades for a young generations in russia - giving them and people who were doing a history at that moment a hope for a really bright future. but as you said, and as it is, there is no actual bright future. or even no future at all, i dare say. and is seems almost impossible to believe - organizing these raves, first clubs, doing great music and art.. launching mtv russia and seeing rhcp going wild on a stage near the kremlin. it was a total freedom, with gangsters, endless queues for food supplies and etc. but so damn many things were made - and it was naive and honest. peace to you all

[@MatthewNolan101]

As a raver from the heyday of Detroit in the 90s, this sounds all very nostalgic & relatable. A wonderful well told story my friend!

[@MikeNmurdoc]

As a detroit raver from the 20's, thank you for your service friend 🤗

[@paperclip9558]

"Soviet doesnt end with a bang, but it ends with sick ass rave beats" -Gorbachev, 1991-

[@deerinfear7484]

The final quote about raves being a spiritual enlightened is something you feel when I was younger during the early 90s. It is nice to hear that is the way people felt halfway around the world. I just wish it would have transcended in to all of humankind.

[@StevieZala]

Hey, some of us still have hope. It's was my Old Man's funeral the other day & maybe I shouldn't have put all those middle class sensible sorts thru the KLF, Praga Khan & DJ's Tim & Missah tunes at 7 minutes a piece. But we were ravers, it's what he would have wanted. He spent the last year of his life buying up different mixes of those tunes on vinyl. So, it seemed apt. It made me laugh & stopped me bawling, at least😊

[@acovenofmany333]

Rave to the Grave 😎🪩❤

[@maybeiwasthepilot]

Personally, I hate Russian 90's, it brought alot of grief and deaths, and Gagarin Party was like a spark, a sign of possible bright future, same as Russian 20's Avant-Garde that was subsequently demolished by Stalin. Russia is a story of a beautiful flowers showing us the creative potential of it's people, but constantly torn out by evil power. However, we adapted and know how to survive.

[@theothertonydutch]

Russia seems like a country that deals with continuous PTSD but is unwilling to face therapy.

[@maybeiwasthepilot]

@@theothertonydutch the situation is very close to where you are a hostage to a maniac who raped you, your family and now trying to kill neighbour. It's traumatize a lot :(

[@Marc-lb6xv]

You deserve more attention my man! Great stuff, keep it up!

[@waterunderthefridge6058]

A long time follower of the channel, I can't get enough of your content. Music, history, politics, stories from far away lands and obscure genres and artists, my favourite YT channel!

[@drewburns4745]

Been watching your videos since the Zamrock episode and they've only been getting better and better; keep up the great work! Btw, in your intro, right before you mentioned it, I found myself thinking "hmm, this reminds me of that Adam Curtis documentary". Now I know more about the post-Soviet rave scene.

[@Deeponaut]

I Started crying during this video... music really is awesome! Thx!

[@Duartexis]

Amazing ass video. 10/10 Amazing research, journalism and story telling. I never heard of this and I'm really not into raves, but you made me feel like I was there and I loved it

[@linusgoblin]

Thank you, your channel is one of the most precious to me. It is a temple of music history and what its all about. This one documentary was especially touching and an important one to tell.

[@Octopada]

Это было и есть незабываемо! Как полет в космос, как фантастический сон, мне было 18 ...)

[@KronosMonkeyKing]

Brilliant doco! Keep up the fantastic work!

[@2ero2nin3]

beautiful, had tears in my eyes but then i cried because of the sheer sadness..

[@murraybell5441]

This was a great video man

[@DeFiSiYT]

I was a 17-year-old exchange student in St Petersburg in 1994 and 95. It was an amazing and slightly scary time to be in Russia. So much turmoil and uncertainty. A very hard time for the average Russian to live through. But as foreign students insulated with US Dollars we had a blast! I visited clubs in squatted buildings like Fish Fabrique and live concerts in Klub TamTam as well as the John Lennon Rock n Roll Temple. I wish the promise of a new Russia had been fulfilled. Perhaps there will be another revolution of the wheel and things will change. We live in hope!

[@setharnold9764]

Awesome stuff. Thanks.

[@gnardawgyt]

Phenomenal video, thanks for posting

[@BestFriendOfJesus]

Great videos bro, been watching a long time

[@Artur_M.]

Very interesting video. I would love to see you cover the Jarocin rock festival in Poland, in the 80's. Stuff was wild.

[@Bandsplaining]

Good idea. I've read a little about it, and I know there's some amazing Polish post punk bands from that era. The "safety-valve" interpretation is also really fascinating; that communist officials believed letting kids blow off some steam for a day would help maintain order, and that's the only reason they approved the festival.

[@musiclover01ization]

This was a great video. You always bring up some great topics.

[@jomorken4853]

Killed by rival promotors... Djeez...

[@pusto00]

Would you be able to add Russian subtitles for non English speakers? Thanks so much for your work, love the channel!

[@Яча-к2з]

Such an incredible an fascinating watch! Thank you so much

[@jdre1976]

This is an amazing story.. Someone needs to make a movie out of it.

[@prototypelq8574]

I just wanted to say a big, big Thank You to this channel for covering the history of Soviet rock music with respect, which is currently hard to muster for anything russia-related (and with good reason). The second reason for this thank you is that... this is kind of recent history for most russians. Most of our mothers and grandmothers literally lived through these historic events, so you don't really hear them being discussed, and learning all of this about the music that sprung up in the 'unique' circumstances of post-soviet times was fascinating (big shoutout to the two-parter about soviet punk&rock movement). I will be sharing these videos with all of my music-interested friends, hopefully the autosubtitles&translation will do its magic to introduce the non-english-speaking audience to this video. p.s. the additional animation done for this video makes it so much goofier p.p.s. did a quick search to make sure this it wasn't just my ignorance or lack of history interest, and yeah, there is pretty much No coverage of the Gagarin party on the internet.

[@mcanderson0]

Thank you for shedding a positive light on rave culture, you spoke of it well. Also for highlighting the slice of russian society that was lucky enough to be present at such a momentous event!

[@jelledevries1201]

17:50 What do you mean the tsarism (instead of kingdom) soon after never arrived "back" .?? 😄.

[@happyjessus]

Awesome work my friend!! That was super interesting to watch :)

[@aperinich]

What a story! Amazing stuff. Thanks, deeply.

[@joachimgarraud]

Waouhhhhhh, what a great pleasure to watch this report. I have so many memories about this night. I have also some footages and pictures if you need extra details about this crazy night. Fun fact : in 2019, i've received an official private invitation to visit the new Gagarin Pavillon in Moscow before opening to the public. i was back in the exact place after 28 years : kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnLadZSLaah6r8U Regarding my playlist, you can listen to my set here : part 1 = kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaHGpoevgbaUntk part 2 = kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5KniaaIedqcraM

[@Bandsplaining]

Joachim! What a great honor to have you in the comment section. Thank you for watching! I would love to see the additional pictures and footage you have. Could you send me an email to [e-mail] ?

[@joachimgarraud]

yes, for sure, i have a cool selection of pictures, sending now..... Congrats for your great report..... @@Bandsplaining

[@tomb9625]

massive respect Joachim

[@dddafi5273]

I can already tell this is going to be a banger even before I watch as soon as I read that title.

[@stevengill1736]

"Don't turn around, the commissar's in town!" Very cool that a cosmonaut showed up at the gig... Hey, what happened to Pussy Riot anyway?

[@zarathustrasserpent1850]

Again, as we lament what happened to Russia and nineties dreams, we should remember that this period meant that Russia did not interfere with other eastern European countries as they successfully made the switch to democracy and became free and prosperous. So it wasn't all for nothing.

[@Ekam-Sat]

20:30 Love the video, really well created but wish there was more footage with music from the actual event. Small correction; you say "It didn't last for long, no pioneering music scene does". In reality house, techno, trance, acid and all other forms of edm are more popular than ever before". Rave on brothers and sisters! PLUR. 😎❤✌

[@Bandsplaining]

Thank you! I also wish there was more footage, but there’s simply so little available. There were 2 news channels filming that night, and their footage is available on KZbin at about 240p. 😭 Also definitely agree that house/new beat/rave music thrived, but the small community that made up Tanzpol (the group that organized the rave) did not last long. At least, the period of them being a tight-knight, underground, artistic community did not last long.

[@Ekam-Sat]

Thank you and I appreciate the reply. Very best wishes for the New Year. Blessings. @@Bandsplaining

[@kymanihall3174]

What's the song that starts the video? or is that just some licensed "use for video background" music

[@Bandsplaining]

It's something I personally created as background music; doesn't have a name or anything.

[@kymanihall3174]

@@Bandsplaining Huh, well even though it was just a few seconds long, that track sounded really cool - and the overall video like much of your work was entertaining, informative and refreshing. Keep doing what you're doing.

[@Deeponaut]

@@kymanihall3174 Agreed! SOUNDS WICKED!

[@Bandsplaining]

@@kymanihall3174 ​ @ristosihvonen7617 I appreciate the kind words! Perhaps I will export a full mix of this and throw up on soundcloud

[@electronicmusicartcollective]

WOW Thank you for this work...join us. Merry X-Mas

[@waldzz]

Чудово

[@Truckngirl]

Excellent.

[@josephbutler8772]

I love this video! The Gagarin Party now has a legendary status in my mind.

[@karmatraining]

Imagine going from Gorbachev to the KLF in a single lifetime, nay, in a handful of years

[@Henrynerdcore]

I always wondered why it was a sort of rave holiday twenty odd years ago..

[@Sarke2]

Great interesting conent.

[@xenoneuronics6765]

Upvoted for Adam Curtis

[@TheDeedeeFiles]

Nice

[@cheekym8init]

Bro really thought he had something with this comment

[@paulmed42069]

​@@cheekym8init💀

[@cheekym8init]

@@paulmed42069 watch your mouth punk I can beat you up in the real world because I’m stronger than you

[@internetiscool]

excellent vid

[@NCC-1031-A]

At 10:57 you quote from/cite "Happiness Corporation: The History of Russian Raves" by Andrei Haase which sounds like a very interesting book. I can't find a single thing about it on the internet! Where did you locate it while researching this video?

[@Bandsplaining]

You can find it by googling these words: Хаас, Андрей Владимирович - Корпорация счастья -- But I have to warn you that it isn't available in the English language

[@berlincitymec]

Used to follow Joachim Garraud at his prime in the mid-2000s - crazy to see him open such a rave 15 years prior already 😮

[@joachimgarraud]

yeahhhhhhhhhh

[@berlincitymec]

@@joachimgarraud Hehe, les space invaders sont partout!😎🙌🏼

[@DJAUDIO1]

This ia amazing.

[@Georginho-io2ng]

This and Monsters of Rock are 2 monumental surreal moskvian legends

[@DunderMifflinTbaum]

Never wanted to go to a rave, but I would have liked to have gone to this one I guess

[@HenryKlausEsq.]

Excellent episode, but also saddening for what could have been. I hope the young people of Russia eventually find it.

[@AlexanderGreensmith]

Fascinating.

[@LamontStigler]

Could someone post the complete tracklist of this documentary? Much appreciated.

[@Bandsplaining]

It’s in the description and there’s also a link to a Spotify playlist!

[@ness550]

8:00 man I know i've heard this tune before, what is that? anyone with a track ID? Much appreciated, n happy Xmas

[@Bandsplaining]

It’s something I recorded specifically as background music for these videos. You might have heard it in a different bandsplaining video. Also, happy Xmas to you too! Thanks for watching!

[@christheghostwriter]

What an amazing story

[@waldzz]

When does the Chris Gaines video drop?

[@erikkrauss8481]

19:09 song?

[@Bandsplaining]

Are you asking about the fast-paced Bittersweeet Symphony rave remix? Or the slow background music beat?

[@erikkrauss8481]

@Bandsplaining the fast paced one

[@erikkrauss8481]

Like the one playing in the video clip from the club 7-6-98

[@Bandsplaining]

@@erikkrauss8481 It's some type of remix of Bittersweet Symphony. I'm not sure which one specifically, or by who. You can listen to more at 1:55 in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5yXin-spqedh8ksi=jS1-QEAir6QFOVou&t=115

[@erikkrauss8481]

@@Bandsplaining thanks!

[@Skimeric]

I think many people wish that 1991 just never ended...

[@ruthbarr3159]

I am one of those people 😢

[@Ekam-Sat]

John 13:35 NIV: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." 💗 Вiд Iвана 13:35 UBIO: "По тому пізнають усі, що ви учні Мої, як будете мати любов між собою." 💗 От Иоанна 13:35: "По тому узнают все, что вы Мои ученики, если будете иметь любовь между собою."

[@izzzzzz6]

Imagine being one of those 3000 people!

[@1ajs]

damn that woulda been amazing

[@TehAwesomer]

Any idea where one could find a copy of "Happiness Corporation. History of the Russian rave." ? It seems very out of print and not available.

[@Bandsplaining]

It was never printed in English -- I don't think it was printed in any language besides Russian. I managed to find a Russian ebook copy and translated a few chapters via Google. If you want to send an email to the address listed on the about page, I can show you where I found the ebook. But not sure how much use that will be 😂

[@vladimirdzaganiya1120]

Охххх начало начал.)

[@Atom-fn3gv]

"East Bam" lmao

[@ruthbarr3159]

For a little while our life was perfect, revolutionary and wonderful.

[@janickgoudeau6126]

"..Rythmic, systemic and world control Magnetic, genetic, dement your soul Rythmic, systemic and world control Magnetic, genetic, dement your soul....."

[@KelleyGreenEcstasy]

bump

[@AntonAdelson]

Бляяя. Если честно я ничего не знаю о истории рейва в России! Я из Израиля сам. Тут эта музыка пришла из Индии (Гоа транс)

[@0therun1t21]

Is there a word for feeling nostalgic for something you weren't part of but wish you were? Retro fomo?

[@theothertonydutch]

If I'm correct that is called Anemoia.

[@TheSchullern]

Alledged: the first Batch of x i Denmarks rave scene came from russ

[@mrluwin5054]

Feel sorry for Russians, they’ve come full circle and now they’re right at where they started 😢

[@dungeon_masster.]

не согласен, у нас есть свобода, капитализм и товары в магазине

[@sergey_baykow]

[@dave8323]

Americans don't know what a rave is, or how to pronounce Moscow. Or very much at all

[@Bandsplaining]

Edgy!

[@meandkitty8387]

Do you actually believe, with your whole chest, that no one ever held wild illegal raves before that day? That it just sprung up from nowhere? 😭 Raves? The one kind of party thats usually super underground? Tell me you're never talked to someone involved with the actual underground scene anywhere in the world....

[@Bandsplaining]

The video covers the rave scene in Russia prior to the Gagarin Party. There were smaller events like the ones at the Leningrad Planetarium set up by Tanzpol. But Russia in the late 80s was nothing like Western Europe. Prior to perestroika you couldn’t even set up a dance party without oversight from the communist youth party… at least not in a large public space like a dance hall. Did people get together in their apartments and play music and dance? I’m sure. But does that count as a “rave”? As the promoters of the Gagarin party said themselves, when they were passing out fliers, nobody understood what they were being invited to.

[@modulblok-e3168]

Operation mk. Ultra viktims and politikal missused young open minds 😂👎

[@StanislavYudin874]

What a country was lost! Damn imperialists!

[@БогданШабалин-д8х]

Гроша не стоит эта страна, если её развалили рейвы и зарубежные рок-группы

[@StanislavYudin874]

@@БогданШабалин-д8х i am taking about _THIS_ nice and raving country. Not THAT one.

[@pavlopaavo6144]

Heh, opportunities to be free in the 90s didn’t help them much. They wanted capitalism and to fill their bellies with eatable food, not freedom. Now, their country and leader can be literally one of the leading evil makers on Earth, and they don’t do any significant protest against it. They would instead visit some stupid rave or exhibition opening as nothing strange is going on with their country, while thousands of their mates from the villages and underdeveloped areas are dying in pointless fascist war. Americans behaved horribly in the 20th century, but at least they had a strong anti-war movement during the Vietnam War era; now Russia has its own pointless Vietnam, and what? Nothing. I always felt that Russian rock or electronic music is rather cringey and fake, pretending to be something without being it. It’s very sad and pathetic for such a big country and nation.

[@dungeon_masster.]

тебе промыли мози