Kvartirniki (Russia)

Kvartirniki 🇷🇺
Location: Russia
Definition: Unofficial musical or literary concerts held in residential apartments.
Keywords: FSU – Art – Community – Concealment - Network – Russia
Clusters: Non-conformity – Resistance
Author: Billy Franklin
Affiliation: Alumnus, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, UK

By Billy Franklin, Alumnus, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, UK

The word kvartirnik derives from the Russian word for apartment (kvartira) and can be defined as an unofficial musical or literary concert held in residential apartments. The art performed is usually seen as contradicting the values of the state, therefore it is difficult for these artists to perform in public and the practice is strongly associated with dissident culture. Following the USSR’s collapse in 1991, kvartirniki initially lost their political connotations and embraced a kind of nostalgia for Soviet ways of human cooperation. However, following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, increases in censorship once again sufficiently narrowed public forums for dissent and thus such practices began to reclaim their Soviet-era meanings. The re-emergence of dissident kvartirniki was alluded to in a 2023 CNN article, which highlighted the concerns of a Russian citizen that her daughter had begun attending them frequently (Hodge 2023). Kvartirniki are a particularly mobile concept, regularly being organised outside Russia’s borders by liberal-minded Russian expats in cities with significant Russian diasporas (such as London, Paris and Tbilisi).

Kvartirniki emerged following the Second World War in response to the USSR’s strict ideological censorship of the arts and the increased dissatisfaction of those returning from war with the Soviet regime. Although no statistics are available, it is reasonable to assume that their popularity peaked in the 1980s, as this decade is often referenced by Russian media sources comparing modern kvartirniki with those of the past. Public displays of discontent were scarce and thus Soviet citizens explored informal methods of expressing themselves in private. Figes highlights this attitude in his work The Whisperers, noting that ‘the art of wearing masks was perfected’ during this post-war period (Figes 2007: 139). The practice benefitted greatly from the construction of individual housing, the Khrushchevka flats, in response to the Soviet housing crisis of the 1960s. These low-cost apartment buildings marked a departure from Soviet communal living, giving a large proportion of the population their own private living space and therefore more freedom to discuss politics without fear of being reported. As a result, a new platform for dissent had emerged. The kitchen became a hotbed of dissident activity, providing an ideal location for sharing samizdat and magnitizdat and for hosting informal political discussion groups, known as ‘dissident kitchens’.

Kvartirnik at Krayeva, Leningrad, 1982. Source: https://www.yahha.com/myegallery.php?&do=showpic&pid=6251&orderby=dateD.

The USSR’s collapse and sharp reductions in state censorship led to an increase in apolitical kvartirniki, which nonetheless remained popular. Numerous regional Russian newspaper articles addressed this topic in the early 2000s and 2010s. A 2012 Riazanskie Vedomosti article compared modern kvartirniki in Ryazan with those of the 1980s, arguing that they maintained their popularity due to their intimacy, exclusivity and close contact with the artists (Shelyakina 2012). This view is corroborated by a 2010 Molodoi Kommunar article that examined kvartirniki in Tula. Although the article pointed out that there had ‘been no persecution of musicians for a long time, therefore there is no need to hide in apartments’, people were still drawn to the practice because of the connection formed between the artist and the viewer (‘Kvartirniki’ 2010). Despite losing their political connotations, kvartirniki evidently retained their popularity, with one Nezavisimaya Gazeta article arguing in 2004 that modern kvartirniki were almost as popular as they had been pre-perestroika (Okulova 2004). Their resurgence is often attributed to the rise of the internet, with the article pointing out the ease of spreading information online and the subsequent reduced reliance on word of mouth. New websites and forums dedicated to the practice often even had booking systems. As a result, the cultural significance of the practice had begun to alter. Furthermore, state responses to apolitical kvartirniki demonstrate that the practice is only tolerated by the authorities when they are not considered to represent dissent.

Kvartirniki experienced another resurgence during the coronavirus pandemic as a means of socialising in compliance with COVID restrictions, particularly among Russian expats. In 2020, New Zealand Herald reported on the kvartirniki held by Russian-Kiwi singer Marina Bloom. These proved popular, hosting a maximum of 20 guests but reportedly had long waiting lists (Tan 2020). Whilst the prevalence of the practice within Russia during this period cannot be precisely determined without a large survey, it can be assumed that such practices were popular because the lack of adherence shown by the Russian population towards coronavirus restrictions, especially those relating to nightlife. A Moskovich article pointed out that, during the ‘non-working days’ of November 2021, many Moscow bars and nightclubs ‘did not care at all about the rules and continued to work’ (Barysheva 2021). Kvartirniki have proven themselves as an effective form of covert social interaction, therefore the authorities would have struggled to stop them.

However, technological advances have improved the government’s ability to prevent kvartirniki, and Russian authorities have been known to shut down events through both formal and informal means. One such incident was reported in 2012, when a restaurant owner in Tomsk received a phone call ‘from the other side’ advising him to cancel a planned concert in support of Pussy Riot (Tayga.info 2012). The power of informal warnings to prevent such anti-government music events is demonstrated well here. In addition, the article implies that Russian authorities viewed such events as a genuine threat. Another incident is mentioned, where a restaurant owner unexpectedly cancelled a street concert also in support of Pussy Riot. One organiser vented their frustrations to the website, stating, ‘Today, even if you decide to host a kvartirnik, and information about this reaches Moscow, things will go very badly wrong.’ The threat of prosecution and the authorities’ power to prevent such events were significant factors in keeping kvartirniki largely apolitical between the collapse of the USSR and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The state has also attempted to formalise the practice, most notably through a popular TV series called ‘Kvartirnik u Margulisa’. The show has been broadcast on the state-run channel NTV since July 2017, with its highest-viewed episode on YouTube amassing over 3 million views (Mashina Vremeni 2017). The premise of the series is that each week a new band or artist performs for a small audience on a set in the style of an apartment living room. Before 2022, the show was not particularly associated with pro-government politics and often hosted artists who have since expressed discontent towards the Russian government, such as Boris Grebenshchikov (Kvartirnik u Margulisa 2017). The musician was later labelled as a ‘foreign agent’ by the Russian Ministry of Justice for discrediting the armed forces. However, just by broadcasting such a program on state-controlled television, the Russian authorities reclaim the practice and use nostalgia to present kvartirniki as merely part of Russian cultural heritage, rather than anti-government activity. Post-2022, the series has often been used as a propaganda tool. The most blatant example of this was their 2023 New Year’s special, in which the singer Shaman, a well-known performer of propaganda music, delivered several songs, including his notorious ‘Ya Russki’ [I am Russian] (Kvartirnik u Margulisa 2023). The use of the show as a propaganda platform represents an attempt to remove the practice’s dissident connotations.

Kvartirniki were likely also held in other parts of the former USSR, however there are comparatively few mentions of the practice within their media, suggesting that kvartirniki have played a much larger role in Russian society. The alignment of the Soviet transition to apartment privatisation with the rise of dissident music culture created an informal practice that came to epitomise Soviet-Russian non-conformity. This practice is just one part of the vast Russian underground dissident culture that emerged after Stalin’s death and demonstrated the importance of private living spaces as a forum for non-conformist debate.

Simply by existing, kvartirniki have offered a form of escapism within Soviet and Russian society, representing a rejection of constraints placed on citizens’ cultural and social lives. As Putin’s government continues to narrow the space for public debate, such dissident practices are likely to become more popular. Despite the best efforts of the state, kvartirniki have proven themselves capable of remaining relatively undetected.

References

Barysheva, A. 2021. ‘“Lokdauna vrode net, a yest' 'unikal'nye' nerabochie dni" — kak Moskva perezhivayet ogranicheniya’, Moskvich, 2 November. Available at: https://moskvichmag.ru/gorod/lokdauna-vrode-net-a-est-unikalnye-nerabochie-dni-kak-moskva-perezhivaet-ogranicheniya/ (Accessed: 15 January 2023)

Figes, O. 2007. The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin’s Russia. London: Allen Lane

Hodge, N. 2023. ‘Faint cracks emerge in the facade of Putin’s rule, one year after Ukraine invasion’, CNN, 19 February. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/19/europe/russia-ukraine-war-anniversary-intl-cmd/index.html (Accessed: 30 November 2023)

Molodoi Kommunar. 2010. ‘Kvartirniki’, No. 76, 15 October: 14

Kvartirnik U Marguilisa. 2017. NTV, 24 September. Available at: https://www.ntv.ru/peredacha/Kvartirnik/m63761/o467696/ (Accessed: 3 January 2024)

Kvartirnik U Marguilisa. 2023. NTV, 1 January. Available at: https://www.ntv.ru/peredacha/Kvartirnik/m96061/v2171953 (Accessed: 10 January 2024)

Mashina Vremeni. 2017. Kvartirnik U Marguilisa: Mashina Vremeni. [Online Video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRc5Q6Cn6S4&t=719s (Accessed: 5 January 2024)

Okulova, G. 2004. ‘Kvartirnik dvadtsat’ let spustya. Konserty na chastnoy zhilploshchadi snova voshli modu’, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 27 April: 25

Shelyakina, V. 2012. ‘Kvartirnik sovremennogo tipa’, Riazanskie Vedomosti, 17 February: 6

Tan, L. 2020. ‘Kvartirnik: Russian community revives home concert tradition in Covid-times’, New Zealand Herald, 16 October. Available at: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kvartirnik-russian-community-revives-home-concert-tradition-in-covid-times/MKAIBVEVNJNYDNAYZDTV5HZMMU/ (Accessed: 15 November 2023)