Top 25 Russian Human Rights Songs
Russian
Pro-democracy Russians have powerful songs in the fight for freedom against the authoritative Russian government. Their anti-war songs speak of peace, and the musicians’ statements are enough to become targets for the Russian authorities. Their songs have been blacklisted, their concerts canceled, and they have been forced to flee their homeland to escape persecution for criticizing the government.
Link to Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2NjWgLtP0LkaZABnRJHgg9?si=lX4OTR7XTu6EYhmiIy3R-Q
- “Bezvremene” (Безвременье) [Timelessness] Vladi
- Theme: Toll the Russian/Ukrainian war on the Russians
- The Ukrainian war has taken a heavy toll on the entire country of Ukraine, and border towns in Russia have not been spared. Vladi places the blame for pain and destruction on the Russian government. Timelessness is one of many songs from the artist Vladi and his group Kasta that is banned in Russia.
- Lyrics:
| Зачем учить детей на всеобщем примере? Люди — злейшие звери Эстетика, культура и куча подобной хери Чё с этим делать терь, а? Когда ракета в дом прилетела прямым курсом Как быть с актёрским мастерством и с искусством? Как с медициной быть, с рейтингом ВУЗов? Когда людей взрывают и грузят, как мусор, в кузов? Мы перешли порог, пересмотреть надо И то, что жизнь — игра, и то, что ты — игрок Что такое «народ»? Что такое «мы»? Кто такие «наши»? Это всё теперь старо | Aesthetics, culture and a bunch of other crap What should we do with it now, huh? When a rocket flew into the house on a direct course What to do with acting and art? What to do with medicine, with the rating of universities? When people are blown up and loaded like garbage into a truck? We have crossed the threshold, we need to reconsider Both the fact that life is a game, and the fact that you are a player What is “the people”? What is “we”? Who are “ours”? It’s all old now |
2. “Marsh” (Марш) [March] IC3PEAK
a. Theme: Protests control propaganda can have over a population.
b. Now banned in Russia, IC3PEAK protests the never-ending state propaganda and the effect it has on a population. It can tear families apart and result in political prosecution.
c. Lyrics:
| Твоё лицо совершенно такое же А это здание есть в каждом городе Вместо гирлянды, колючая проволока А за заборами нет горизонта Окна забиты, я в двух капюшонах Кто там на улице помимо холода? Танк, припаркованный прям за воротами Он не стреляет, стоит тут для понта | Your face is exactly the same And there is this same building in every city Instead of garlands, there are barbed wires And there is no horizon behind the fences The windows are clogged, and I’m in two hoodies Who is it |
3. “Мясо” [The Meat] Zemfira
a. Theme: Anti-war
b. A Russian musician who left fearing persecution, The Meat illustrates the violence, desperation, and dehumanization of war and how civilian casualties are sometimes seen as “meat.” The lyrics convey intense imagery such as lungs full of nails, newspapers, and tar, roads lined with corpses and arterial tubes, and freezing nights with rationed food. Zemfia now lives in Pairs and is listed as a foreign agent by the Russian government.
c. Lyrics:
| Смотри на меня, сдавайся Или оставайся человеком и сдохни Жена ждёт ребёнка Ждёт меня и кроссовки Весна в календаре, а в реальности Окопы и ракеты высокоточные большой дальности В Мариуполе полночь | Look at me, give up Or stay human and die My wife is expecting a child My sneakers are waiting for me Spring is on the calendar, but in reality Trenches and long-range precision missiles It’s midnight in Mariupol |
d. Земфира — Мясо / Zemfira — The Meat (2022)
4. “Vorozhba” [Divination] Boris Grebenshchikov
a. Theme: Anti-war
b. Boris Grebenshchikov has been a vocal pacifist since the 1980s, writing a number of anti-war songs. At the time of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Grenenshchikov canceled his concerts in Russia, and Russia canceled his educational radio program. “Vorozhba,” which was written after the invasion, describes the war as black magic and a thief of the future while criticizing the justifications for the invasion.
c. Lyrics:
| Меж воронок жгут огни Всё это не мы, всё это они Гой еси, ядрёна вошь Против самого себя не попрёшь | Fires burn between the craters All this isn’t us, all this is them Be well, god damn it, You have to face yourself |
d. Ворожба | Аквариум I AI Music Video
5. “Pokhorony voyny” [Funeral of War], Yuri Shevchuk and Dmitry Emelyanov
a. Theme: Anti-war
b. Yuri Shevchuk is another musician known for his pacifist songs from the Soviet era. In August 2022, he was fined for “discrediting the Russian armed forces on stage and has been banned ever since. Funeral of War is an unexpectedly upbeat song meant to be sung in unison by big crowds in a stadium, but uses death symbolism for the war.
c. Lyrics:
| Льются дождями сны, Музыкой тишины Снятся нам эти сны Вместе устроим мы Все вместе устроим мы Похороны войны | Dreams rain down, As a music of silence See we these dreams. Together we’ll make, Together we’ll all make A burial of the war. |
d. Юрий Шевчук, Дмитрий Емельянов — Похороны войны
6. “Nazad, Rossiya!” (‘Back off, Russia!’), Nogu Svelo
a. Theme: Anti-war
b. “Back off, Russia!” is written like a football chant (even using the ever-popular Olé chant throughout), but it’s a call to Russians to stop the slaughter following the Ukraine invasion. Songs by Nogu Svelo include satire and direct accusations against the Kremlin.
c. Lyrics:
| Оле-оле-оле-оле Ждут дома мамы солдат. Оле-оле-оле-оле Назад, Россия! Назад! | Ole-ole-ole-ole At home the mothers are waiting for the soldiers. Ole-ole-ole-ole Turn back, Russia! Back! |
d. Ногу Свело! – Назад, Россия!
English Version: Russia, Go Home!
7. “Вуду” (Voodoo), Noize MC
a. Theme: Anti-war
b. Russian rapper Noize MC has been known to criticize the ruling United Russia party and has consistently performed anti-war songs his entire career. After the 2022 invasion, Noize became an outspoken supporter of Ukraine and enraged Russians by performing Voodoo on stage.
c. Lyrics:
| Семь раз отмерь — один раз отрежь. Одна задница, два стула — не садись между. Выбери, в какой висок разрядить патрон, Или станцуй на минном поле — покажи нутро. Каждое слово — как в мозгу патогенный тромб. Ты, что ли, в цирке, что так манит голову зевом зверь? Тоже мне канатоходец — мы тут все за мир! И будем за него аж до ядерной зимы. | Measure seven times, cut once. One ass, two chairs – don’t sit between them. Choose how high the cartridge will discharge, Or dance on a minefield – show your insides. Every word is like a pathogenic thrombus in the brain. Are you in the circus, beckoning your head with the jaws of a beast? I am also a tightrope walker – we are here for peace! And we will be for him until the nuclear winter. |
8. “Peremen” [Change], Kino
a. Theme: Political, social, and economic change for the people
b. “Peremen” has become an anthem for political movements and protest in post-Soviet Russia and throughout Eastern Europe due to its broad lyrics of change. It was used during the 1991 Soviet coup d’etat attempt, the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, in 2011 in Moscow and in Belarus to protest Vladamir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, respectively, and in 2013 during the Euromaiden protests in Ukraine.
c. Lyrics:
| Peremen! — trebuyut nashi serdtsa. Peremen! — trebuyut nashi glaza. V nashem smekhe i v nashikh slezakh, I v pul’satsii ven — Peremen! My zhdom peremen! | Change! – our hearts need. Change! – our eyes need. In our smile and in our tears, and in our veins – Change! My heart changes! |
d. (Kino) Viktor Tsoi – Change (Peremen) English subtitles
9. “Мама, не смотри телевизор”[Mama, Don’t Watch TV], Pussy Riot
a. Theme: Anti-war, Russian censorship
b. Ten months after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pussy Riot released a new song centered around Russian disinformation. The chorus of the song is based on words from a captured conscripted Russian soldier who told his mother, “Mum, there are no Nazis here [in Ukraine], don’t watch tv.” In a statement that accompanied the song’s release, the band said, “Russian propaganda daily poisons the hearts of people with hatred. The law on foreign agents is used to silence opposition activists and journalists, to stop the activities of the last independent human rights organisations.”
c. Lyrics:
| мама, я в плену, не смотри телевизор Мама, здесь нет никаких нацистов Мама, почему войну называют “операцией специалистов”? специалистов – я не пойму | Mama, I’ve been taken prisoner Don’t watch TV Mama, there are no Nazis here Mama, why is the war Called a “special operation”? Special – I don’t get it |
d. Pussy Riot — MAMA, DON’T WATCH TV / МАМА, НЕ СМОТРИ ТЕЛЕВИЗОР (ANTI – WAR SONG)
10. “OYDA”[Oh, Yes], Oxxxymiron
a. Theme: Anti-war
b. After the Russian invasion in Ukraine, rapper Oxxxymiron left Russia and starting touring under the banner, “Russians Against War.” With his song, “Oyda,” which detests the normalization of war and the exile of activists, Oxxxymiron was immediately put on Russia’s banned list, labled as an extremist by the Russian government, and even was officially designated a foreign agent for his songs.
c. Lyrics:
| Я убил в себе Империю Хозяин багровеет Нас не выселить никак На нашем флаге Белый снег и синяя река (И всё) | I killed the Empire in me The owner turns purple We can’t be evicted On our flag White snow and blue river (And that’s it). |
