Marco Biasioli’s Independent Music in Russia: Escapism, Patriotism and Protest (2008–2022) traces the development of Russian independent popular music, or nezavisimaia muzyka, during the roughly decade and a half from the start of Dmitrii Medvedev’s presidency to the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As is evident at the outset, the state of the Russian government heavily influenced popular culture and thus the character of nezavisimaia muzyka. As a result, Biasioli divides his history into three sections: the Anglophone Wave (2008–2012), the New Russian Wave (2012–2018), and Patrioprotest (2018–2022). The first corresponds to Medvedev’s administration which, in comparison to Vladimir Putin’s before and after, was interested in open ties with western Europe, modernization of its urban spaces, and a more cosmopolitan outlook. The second, resulting from Putin’s third term, was a retrenchment to a hostile, more isolationist stance towards Europe and its values, marked by the trial of Pussy Riot and the annexation of Crimea. The third began with the Putin’s “special military operation” that resulted in increased state intervention in the arts and the emigration of many musicians associated with nezavisimaia muzyka.

The following themes permeate Biasioli’s volume: the relationship between Russia and the United States and western Europe, and the one between musicians and the State. Both of these topics are mainstays within Russian cultural history reaching back to the Slavophiles and Westernizers of imperial Russia, and Biasioli is clearly knowledgeable of this literature; the first chapter of this volume is an extensive literature review and an account of the historical context of the post-Soviet period before 2008. Biasioli also drew from interviews with, and later the social media of, musicians, critics, and audience members associated with nezavisimaia muzyka.

The national question often manifested in the decision whether to set music to English, the hegemonic language of popular music prevalent in the Anglophone Wave, or Russian, the tongue of personal experience that dominated in the New Russian Wave and Patrioprotest. In his discussion of music and the State, Biasioli smartly avoids the pitfalls of the reductionist assumption that musicians were inherently political activists who explicitly, or subtly, resisted their governments. Drawing from post-irony and meta-modernism, he argues for a more nuanced position that recognizes the intentional ambiguity in artists’ music and public engagement, which can be interpreted as compliance, ambivalence, or opposition by different interpreters, whether they are fans, state officials, or other musicians. In addition, musicians often included aspects that were both critical of the government and patriotic, which further muddied the waters. This ambiguity can serve as a defense mechanism in an increasingly authoritarian environment. Moreover, Biasioli recognizes the inconsistency of these actions: Andrei Makarevich of Mashina vremeni attended a concert with Putin in 2003, drank with Medvedev in 2010, and then participated in a pro-Ukrainian rally in 2014 (156); and, Dmitry Kuznetsov (Khaski) criticized the government, was arrested in 2018, and shot a pro-Russian documentary in Luhansk in 2022 (175–78).

In discussing the Russian government and its involvement in cultural matters, Biasioli pressed that it cannot be viewed as a monolith; that it, like its Soviet predecessor, was comprised of central and local authorities, and that the former often reigned in the latter. This “reigning in” was prevalent when state involvement was relatively more selective, or even haphazard, as officials were more interested in still maintaining the façade of a democratic government. An interesting example of the State using Russian music for its purposes was apparent in Manizha’s 2021 Eurovision entry that espoused the artist’s support for ethnic diversity, feminism, and LGBT+ rights. This performance provided the government with an opportunity to broadcast its support for these causes on the international stage, without actually supporting them in any real sense (184–95).

Biasioli’s Independent Music in Russia is an indispensable volume for the study of Russian popular music since 2008, it has a strong foundation in the secondary literature of post-Soviet Russia, as well as the tsarist and Soviet periods, and this base was well supported by oral history and social media research. The work could have benefited from more careful copyediting as there were a few typographical errors throughout the monograph. That said, Biasioli clearly explains his conceptual framework, connects the historical context to the subject at hand, and applies them to the works and careers of the musicians discussed. Thus, this monograph would be an excellent addition to a course on post-socialist music as well as a helpful source in musicological studies of contemporary Russian popular music.