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Crime-themed songs are heard today from every second car, and the annual Radio Chanson concerts are sold out, despite the fact that ticket prices are very high. The paradox is that the vast majority of fans of the thieves’ song have no criminal experience and are not ready to directly relate themselves to its heroes. So what makes law-abiding citizens listen to this music? We asked experts to comment on this phenomenon.
“The archetype of romance is embedded in criminal culture”
“The passion for thieves is, first of all, evidence of a craving for liberty, for going beyond the limits of norms and stereotypes. Interest in criminal culture has existed at all times, since it is in it that the archetype of romance is traced in its purest form: an escape from conventions, a breakthrough to freedom, which a person needs regardless of the historical, economic and cultural context. And therefore, in a functional sense, there is no difference between, say, Cossack folklore, the song «Brigantine» and the melodies that sound today on Radio Chanson.
«Chanson is a product of the past»
“The passion for chanson should be considered in a historical context. In the days of Stalinism, some intellectuals, like Varlam Shalamov, took the position of rejection of the world of thieves. Others, like Solzhenitsyn, regarded the criminals almost as allies: if they are in prison, then they are also enemies of Bolshevism. Continuing this line in the 60s, many thought: we sing «Kurochek» — and, as it were, bold, as if condemning the regime. Today’s fashion for «blatnyak» is an echo of that tradition, so today «Chanson» is popular with people over 30. And young people prefer other music — «blatnyak» is no longer close to them.
“We are driven by the desire to be like people who have experienced a lot”
“Firstly, the popularity of the thieves’ song stems from the increased desire for individualization: listening to music associated with the image of offenders, a person declares his otherness. In this capacity, the criminal topic has always existed, but earlier it was mostly teenagers who showed interest in it. Today, when the social regulators of our behavior have weakened, the age limit is rising, and even those who have long passed the transitional age continue to listen to the “Russian chanson”. Secondly, everyone is pleased to feel like a person who has taken place and has experienced a lot in life. And therefore, listening to the chanson, we kind of appropriate someone else’s experience, we become like people who have successfully passed the test of life.