Tsyganshchina (цыганщина) and Romani Musicians in Tsarist, Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia: Change and Continuity

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to recognize and explain the specificity of the public presence of Romani musicians in Russia, predominantly in the long nineteenth century as well as in the new (Soviet and post-Soviet) political situation of the twentieth century. The article offers a historically oriented outline of the Romani musical traditions deeply embedded into the cultural, political and economic situation of the country. A special focus is placed on the phenomenon of the so-called ‘Gypsy choirs’ and their reception in Russia both by Russians and by foreigners, the latter being often surprised that while in Central and Western Europe Romani musicians were known for instrumental music, in Russia their vocal music (particularly so-called ‘Gypsy romances’) gained considerable popularity. The paper argues that Romani musicians from ‘Gypsy choirs’ identified and learnt to address the Russian aesthetics and thus managed to secure and sustain their unique position within the Russian culture.