Vilified, Venerated, Forbidden
Jazz in the Stalinist Era
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Five years after jazz premiered in Western Europe, it also debuted in the Soviet Union and, within a short period, developed into a popular form of music. The Stalinist regime’s attitude toward jazz, a musical style with strong connotations of freedom, moved from censorship and restrictions to state sponsorship. Domestic, foreign, economic, and ideological factors were responsible for this shift. However, throughout the entire Stalinist era, jazz remained an element of Soviet cultural life.
(Osteuropa 11/2005, pp. 67–78)