Rockin' the Kremlin: My Incredible True Story of Gangsters, Oligarchs, and Pop Stars in Putin's Russia

by David Junk, Fred Bronson (Primary Contributor)

Rockin’ the Kremlin is the wild true story of the first CEO of Universal Music Russia and his quest to bring Western popular music to post-Soviet Russia. With many twists—from political chaos and gang violence to the launch of Russian’s most successful pop act of all time—it shows how an American built cultural bridges with long-lasting impacts.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music

294 pages, Hardcover

Published July 2, 2024

Reviews

[Dmitry · Rating 2 out of 5]

(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)

Я включил телевизор посмотреть рок-н-ролл, а там - фонограмщик!
Я зашёл в туалет, а над горшком прикол - фонограмщик!
Мне приснился страшный сон, что наш президент - фонограмщик!
Что наш главный герой, кормилец и мент - фонограмщик!
А знаменитый продюсер - столичный бандит -
Шипит: "Ты не качаешь, нужен новый хит.
Ты спел про Сашу, бананы, любовь, Анастасию,
Америку, Машу, Олю, Надю, Наташу,
А теперь давай про эту, ну как её, ну эту...
А! Вспомнил: про Россию!"

Фонограмщик!

В целом, неплохая зарисовка о том, как один американец (автор книги) жил и работал в постсоветской России около 15 лет в компании занимающейся продвижением музыкантов. Эта вот история чем-то напомнила мне книгу «Вопреки абсурду: Как я покорял Россию, а она — меня. Воспоминания бывшего генерального директора ИКЕА в России» (IKEA Alskar Ryssland), с тем условием, что в книге про ИКЕА больше политики, а в книге Rockin' the Kremlin больше персональных историй (т.е. историй различных музыкантов) и общества как такового. Конечно, отображение российского общества в этой книге получилось очень поверхностным или даже еле заметным, а в некоторых случаях, даже искажённым. Поэтому, по сути, читать эту книгу стоит лишь в том случаи, если интересно как американский музыкальный лэйбл (record label) продвигал российские музыкальные группы на международной арене. К примеру, в книге имеется огромная история о том, как автор работал с Алсу (включая историю с Евровидением и олигархами – родителями Алсу). Ещё одна большая тема – группа t.A.T.u, которая стала самой известной российской группой за пределами бывшего советского пространства. Пожалуй, это единственная история автора, которая меня заинтересовала. Хотя я не слушал песни всех тех музыкантов, с которыми работал автор, но мне было любопытно наблюдать за международным туром t.A.T.u в США, к примеру. Пожалуй, это две главные и самые большие и подробные истории, т.к. дальше (в книге) пойдут более короткие история связанные, к примеру, с группой «Smash», организации концерта для Rammstein и взаимодействие с самым известным джазовым путинистом – Игорем Бутманом (кстати, в книге мельком будет ещё Валерий Гергиев, ещё один преданный путиноид). Разумеется, книга не ограничивается описанием того как автор продвигал российских музыкантов, но это – основная тема книги. Помимо оной в книге автор коротко и поверхностно рассказывает про пиратский рынок музыки в РФ и как автор пытался с ним бороться (описание получилось не очень интересным и в разы слабее, чем в книге про ИКЕА, т.е. о том, как ИКЕА взаимодействовала с российской бюрократией). Так же автор, по понятным причинам, затронул свою работу в Украине, но данная тема описана также довольно поверхностно и как я понял, никакого отношения к самой известной украинской группе - THE HARDKISS – он не имеет. В общем, книга скорее на любителя, т.е. для читателя кто увлекается музыкой, в особенности поп-музыкой. Хотя автор и упоминает таких музыкантов как Noize MC, но только в контексте российского вторжения в Украину.

Вообще, нужно понимать, что автор не разбирается в российской политике и судит о России по заголовкам западных газет (логично же, разве нет?). Проблема в том, что это видно, что человек включил в книгу Украину не потому, что ему есть что сказать, а потому, что обстоятельства этого требуют (да, тема ЛГБТ также, множество раз, поднимается в книге, как будто это главная проблема в России, но именно это хотят услышать американские читатели-демократы). Но это не самое плохое, это даже не минус книги. Автор достаточно хорошо понял, как устроена внутренняя верховная политика, т.е. кто такой Путин и его окружение, ибо автор даёт очень точную формулировку путинскому режиму, что редко когда можно встретить у иностранного автора.

“Why did Putin invade Ukraine?” everyone asks me. After living and working in Russia for fifteen years, including my time as a student in Putin’s hometown of Leningrad, I wasn’t buying the Kremlin’s propaganda that Putin was afraid of NATO expansion and willing to start a war with Ukraine to protect Russian sovereignty. I always knew he invaded Ukraine so his cronies—greedy oligarchs—could steal more resources from the Donbas region in the east of the country. Putin is a former KGB agent, but he also is someone who is very familiar with Russia’s criminal underworld. He gained that knowledge by working for Leningrad mayor Anatoly Sobchak, managing relations with the city’s mafia gangs. I’ve watched how Putin often employs the characteristics of a mob boss in his decision making, and since he runs Russia like a mafia state, no one has been able to stop him.

Однако «Эпилог» в своей книге он полностью посвящает нынешнему военному конфликту между Россией и Украиной и всё бы ничего, если бы он описал бы не только неадекватных русских, которые радовались возвращению Крыма, но и антивоенный марш и людей, которые вышли в диктаторской стране чтобы публично заявить своё несогласие с агрессивной политикой Путина. Но об этом автор почему-то «забыл» упомянуть. Или он не видел этот марш? Может автору не стоило смотреть российское телевидение? В конце автор создаёт ложную картину того, что вся Россия радовалась возвращению Крыма, однако как независимый наблюдатель он должен был описать людей, кто был против этого решения, но он этого почему-то не сделал. За такой однобокий взгляд я даже думал поставить этой книге самую низшую оценку, но потом решил, что Эпилог мало кто читает, и в целом он не задаёт тон всей остальной книге. Возможно, автор слишком много времени проводил с богатыми россиянами, с российскими олигархами (те же родители Алсу), а богатые россияне часто поддерживают Путина именно потому, что они стали богатыми при этом путинском режиме. Сегодня в России средний класс составляют чиновники и силовики, и вот они благодарны Путину за это. Для таких людей Путин равен мафиозному крёстному отцу и возможно именно с такими русскими автор и проводил большую часть времени.

They invited me to a hard-drinking BBQ party at a friend’s dacha in a forest an hour outside Moscow. It was a dude party, with just me, the Russians, copious amounts of vodka, grilled beef and pork kabobs, a Russian banya (sauna), and more vodka.
<…>
I asked the guys what the big deal was about Crimea.

“Imagine a map of the world,” I told them. “Now visualize Russia on the map—the largest country in the world by territory. Damn, it’s nine time zones!” I said, slurring my words.

One of the dudes interrupted, “Eleven time zones, my friend. You forgot Kaliningrad.”

He was right. His buddies nodded in agreement, and he raised his vodka glass and said, “Hell, yeah!”

Странно, что автор не упомянул «традиционных» медведей, что ходят по улицам российских городов. В общем, в таком случаи, что он понял о России?

All in all, not a bad sketch about how an American (the author of the book) lived and worked in post-Soviet Russia for about 15 years in a company that promotes musicians. This story reminded me of the book “Contrary to Absurdity: How I Conquered Russia and She Conquered Me. Memories of the former CEO of IKEA in Russia” (IKEA Alskar Ryssland), with the condition that the book about IKEA is more political, and the book Rockin' the Kremlin is more personal stories (i.e., stories of different musicians) and society as such. Of course, the portrayal of Russian society (in this book) is very superficial or even barely visible and, in some cases, even distorted. So, one should read this book only if one is interested in how the American record label promoted Russian bands on the international scene. For example, there is a huge story about how the author worked with Alsu (including the story of Eurovision and the oligarchs - Alsu's parents). Another big topic is the band t.A.T.u, which has become the most famous Russian band outside the former Soviet Union. This is probably the only story of the author that interested me. Although I didn't listen to the songs of all those musicians with whom the author worked, I was curious to watch the international tour of t.A.T.u in the USA, for example. Perhaps these are the two main and the biggest and most detailed stories because further (in the book) will go shorter stories related, for example, with the band “Smash”, organizing a concert for Rammstein and interaction with the most famous jazz Putinist - Igor Butman (by the way, in the book there will be a glimpse of Valery Gergiev, another devoted Putinist). Of course, the book is not limited to the description of how the author promoted Russian musicians, but this is the main topic of the book. In addition to this, the author briefly and superficially talks about the pirate music market in Russia and how the author tried to fight it (the description is not very interesting and is much weaker than in the book about IKEA, i.e., how IKEA interacted with the Russian bureaucracy). Also, the author, for obvious reasons, touched upon his work in Ukraine but this topic is also described superficially, and, as I realized, he has no relation to the most famous Ukrainian band - THE HARDKISS. In general, the book is more for the fans, i.e., for the reader who is fond of music, especially pop music. Although the author mentions such musicians as Noize MC but did it in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In general, it should be understood that the author has no knowledge of Russian politics and judges Russia by the headlines of Western newspapers (logical, isn't it?). The problem is that it is obvious that the man included Ukraine in the book not because he has something to say but because the circumstances require it (yes, the topic of LGBT is also, many times, brought up in the book, as if it is the main problem in Russia, but that is what American Democratic readers want to hear). But this is not the worst thing; it is not even a disadvantage of the book. The author understood quite well how the internal supreme policy is organized, i.e., who Putin and his entourage are, because the author gives a very precise formulation of Putin's regime, which is rare to find in a foreign author.

“Why did Putin invade Ukraine?” everyone asks me. After living and working in Russia for fifteen years, including my time as a student in Putin’s hometown of Leningrad, I wasn’t buying the Kremlin’s propaganda that Putin was afraid of NATO expansion and willing to start a war with Ukraine to protect Russian sovereignty. I always knew he invaded Ukraine so his cronies—greedy oligarchs—could steal more resources from the Donbas region in the east of the country. Putin is a former KGB agent, but he also is someone who is very familiar with Russia’s criminal underworld. He gained that knowledge by working for Leningrad mayor Anatoly Sobchak, managing relations with the city’s mafia gangs. I’ve watched how Putin often employs the characteristics of a mob boss in his decision making, and since he runs Russia like a mafia state, no one has been able to stop him.

However, he devotes the “Epilogue” in his book entirely to the current military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and it would have been all right if he had described not only the inadequate Russians who rejoiced at the return of Crimea but also the anti-war march and the people who marched in a dictatorial country to publicly declare their disagreement with Putin's aggressive policies. But for some reason, the author “forgot” to mention this. Or did he not see this march? Maybe the author should not have watched Russian television. In the end, the author creates a false picture that all of Russia was happy about the return of Crimea but, as an independent observer, he should have described the people who were against this decision (for some reason, he did not do it). For this one-sided view, I even considered giving this book the lowest rating, but then I decided that few people read the Epilogue, and in general, it doesn't set the tone for the rest of the book. Perhaps the author has spent too much time with rich Russians, with Russian oligarchs (the same parents of Alsu), whereas rich Russians often support Putin precisely because they became rich under this Putin regime. Today, in Russia, the middle class is made up of officials and law enforcers, and they are grateful to Putin for that. For such people, Putin is equal to a mafia godfather, and it is probably with such Russians that the author spent most of his time.

They invited me to a hard-drinking BBQ party at a friend’s dacha in a forest an hour outside Moscow. It was a dude party, with just me, the Russians, copious amounts of vodka, grilled beef and pork kabobs, a Russian banya (sauna), and more vodka.
<…>
I asked the guys what the big deal was about Crimea.

“Imagine a map of the world,” I told them. “Now visualize Russia on the map—the largest country in the world by territory. Damn, it’s nine time zones!” I said, slurring my words.

One of the dudes interrupted, “Eleven time zones, my friend. You forgot Kaliningrad.”

He was right. His buddies nodded in agreement, and he raised his vodka glass and said, “Hell, yeah!”

Strangely, the author did not mention the “traditional” bears that walk the streets of Russian cities. In general, in such a case, what did he understand about Russia?

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down! I was hooked from start to finish! The chaos and glamour of the post-Soviet Russian music industry was captured perfectly.

I had added incentive to read this as a fan of Sergey Lazarev, and got to hear the stories around events I’d heard whispers about. I’m also interested in Trevor Horn’s work, so reading about All The Things She Said and t.A.T.u. in general was fascinating.

What a crazy time! This book is really worth a read whether you’ve heard of the artists involved or not.

[Christopher Dalla Riva · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells of the trials and tribulations of David Junk trying to open and run a record label in Russia in the late-1990s and early-2000s. As somebody who knows nothing about Russia and even less about Russian music, I didn’t know what to expect, but Junk — and his collaborator, Fred Bronson — make things very clear whether you have background knowledge or not. I particularly like how Junk took a close look at his life’s work given Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating memoir by David Junk of his time spent in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and his efforts to introduce western popular music and music practices to a country unfamiliar with both. He became a key figure in the establishment of a Russian home-grown music industry and discovered and nurtured much local talent, as well as bringing western stars to perform in Russia. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy his account of the trials and tribulations of being a music entrepreneur but also discovered a wealth of Russian singers I’d never heard of and many hours were fruitfully spent on YouTube listening to them. It’s an enjoyable, entertaining and informative book, a must-read for all music lovers and enthusiasts but also stands as an insightful and often eye-opening account of how things work in Russia and how business is done there, and is thus of interest to all Russia watchers and history lovers. A fantastic read.

[Cynthia Sprout]

DNF interesting