The Sweet Word, Freedom. Alexander Bashlachev
This article is based on information obtained from the websites “Cultinfo.ru” and “sashbash.ucoz.ru”, translated with the invaluable help of Rachel Povolotsky. It was previously published in the April 2011 issue of the Queensborough Community College Communique.
You are sitting across from a man who is considered one of the finest song-writers of the day in a small, dingy apartment, with only his guitar and the occasional tapping of the foot to accompany him. It is only you and a handful of others. The musician’s expressive songs are almost deafening in such a small space, the words going directly from his mouth into your ears. He strums so furiously that it seems everything will soon implode, his hand moving like it must surely be defying the laws of physics. He sings with fervor, producing a sight and sound that you cannot look away from. Yet, it was not only a lack of support that led this musician to play to such a small crowd in such a tiny space--it was the law, and this was both a form of entertainment and a means of undermining the law. This was the life of Alexander Bashlachev, a Russian rock musician from the 1980’s who has become something of a forgotten gem. The life of Alexander Bashlachev, like many talented musicians, was brief and tragic.
With the constant struggle for human rights occurring around the world, examples can help serve as a guiding light. Bashlachev is only one of many examples of the struggle against the authorities of the USSR during the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s. As protestors attempt to fight for these rights in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere around the world, Bashlachev and others fought in their own way—through rock and roll.
Alexander Bashlachev, known as Sasha to friends, was born on the 27th of May in 1960, to Nikolai and Nellie Bashlachev in Cherepovets, Russia. Nikolai was in charge of a division of the Cherepovets power plant, while Nellie worked as a chemistry teacher. After graduating from high school in 1977, Bashlachev worked in the Cherepovets Steel Mill as a painter before returning to school, studying journalism at Ural State University.
Bashlachev's first-known song appeared in 1983, titled "Griboyedov Waltz." Throughout this period, Bashlachev continued to write and create music. Later in 1983, Bashlachev graduated from the university. He returned to Cherepovets, where he worked for a year with a local youth newspaper called "The Communist," writing articles on rock and roll.
Shortly after, Bashlachev began performing at kvartirniks or house parties. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, music was held under strict censorship in the USSR, rock music especially. Musicians were routinely imprisoned or sent to work camps. Rock and roll music from the west was supposed to be kept repressed. To get around this censorship, and to lie low under government radar, these defiant musicians would perform at friend's apartments. These small performances, or kvartirniks often with the audience not exceeding ten, were the key method of how rock survived and spread in the censored USSR. The parties were not elaborate. The musician would sit on one side of the room, the audience on the other. They might have tea or wine, and the musician would play. In some instances, the musician might circulate cassette tapes of recordings as a means of gaining attention or support. It was not a rewarding system. If caught, many faced prison or, in some cases, even death.
By the mid-1980’s, restrictions on music began to lessen significantly. Despite this, rock and roll was still something that was not considered mainstream, and as previously noted, it was these house parties that kept rock and roll alive. In March of 1985, Bashlachev played at his first public appearance at the hall of a medical college. This performance was later released on an album titled "Kochegarka." It was there that Bashlachev joined the Leningrad Rock Club and also performed at the legendary Kamatchka boiler. For a period of time, he also worked at the boiler.
Bashlachev's performance at the 1987 Leningrad Rock Festival drew much attention and praise. Shortly prior to this performance, Bashlachev suffered from writer's block. Because of this, new songs were rare, and he attempted to avoid performing old ones. One of his last-known songs, called "Cherry", was written in 1986. This writer’s block was accompanied by a period of depression. Supposedly, Bashlachev attempted suicide several times, but he finally succeeded on February 17, 1988, falling from the 9th floor balcony of a building on Kuznetsova Avenue in Leningrad, where he lived. Like most great musicians who pass before their time, some disputed the suicide claim. His position as an underground rock musician only added fuel to this fire. He was buried in Leningrad at the Kovalevskoye Cemetery, and his son, Yegor, was born after his death.
Bashlachev is something of a rock legend in Russia. On internet radio station Last.FM, several thousand listen to his music, and the number grows on a daily basis. Aside from one album, titled Kochegarka, very little of his music is easily obtainable. Bashlachev's discography consists of several live performances and recordings done at the homes of friends.
His guitar playing was far from virtuosic, and his growling voice, almost a snarl at times, carried much emotion. His rapid vocal delivery added a frantic feel to his songs. This, coupled with the rough strums of his 12-string guitar, seems to borrow as much from punk as it does from the bards that played prior to Bashlachev's time. In a rare, taped kvartirnik from 1985, Bashlachev stated that he felt his music and passion would transcend any language barrier. When asked, Bashlachev replied, through a translator, “He believes that they will understand. Even [though] he doesn’t know the language, English, he understands the best of English poetry.”
Bashlachev was mostly known as a poet, and his lyrics have garnered him fame. Unfortunately, very little of his lyrics have received a proper translation to English. Bashlachev often wrote of Russia, of the people and images around him, almost a sort of nationalism, portraying the times in both beauty and grit. In the taped kvartnik, he was asked about the contents of his songs; he answered, without hesitation, “Russian soul.” He is not unlike those who attempt to better their country through protest, fighting a strict government who seeks to suppress them through force and policy, as was the case in Egpyt, and is the case in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. Let us never take for granted the freedoms we enjoy, while others struggle for the same rights.
