The Russian Music System

Russian Folklore and Cultural Music

Russian people are primarily eastern even though there are a number of them who have the Turkish, Finnish or even Siberian heritage. Due to the presence of ethnic mixing, several cultural practices have evolved in Russia (Howell 26). The cultural diversity has therefore been evident even in the music system of the Russian people.

The Influence of Western Culture on Russian Music

The culture and traditions of a country are best displayed or represented in the music system of a nation. However, some states have employed the use of music in contrast with western traditions and culture. Russian folklore is rooted in the pagan views of ancient Slavs and currently is embodied in the Russian fairy tales. The old Russian fairy fictions are probably having a gloomy culmination as well as a joyful one. In the old Russian folklore, the heroes were usually the prince, or in some cases, they were the simpleton (Howell 28). The folklores most of the times had evil characters such as Baba Yaga, who was known to have lived in a house which had chicken legs as the poles. Another famous evil character in the traditional Russian folklore was Koshchey. Koshchey was a dragon whose death depended on the availability of the egg which had the essence of its demise (Howell 29).

The Integration of Western Music into Russian Culture

The interaction between the Russian people and the western traditions began back in the early 20th century. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Russian youths took to western music, and the music of the west became part and parcel of their lives (Howell 32). The teenagers did not forget their own music culture but instead implemented creative methods of domesticating the music of the West into their own. As a result of continuous access to western music and globalization, the youths managed to create a link between their authenticity and the West. Consequently, they came up with other music categories such as Soviet, Russian pop and Russian rock (Howell 34). The new inventions in the music industry displayed how western culture took root in Russia.

Work cited

Howell, Dana Prescott. “The Development of Soviet Folkloristics (RLE Folklore).” Routledge, 2015.