Authors

Discussion

Since the tsarist period Russia benefited from the migration of artists from the peripheral countries of the Empire. These artists were not acknowledged as from their country of origin but projected as ‘Russians’. For advancement it was necessary to move to the Imperial centre and Ukrainians became builders of Russian ideology and State institutions. Music developed through Berezovsky and Bortniansky, both Ukrainians. As music academies became established in Russia artists from the periphery moved north to advance their careers. In the Soviet period the best artistic sources were just taken. On the international stage Ukrainian and Georgian artists were designated as Russian. After gaining independence, and due to the hard political, social and economic conditions, Russia was still the largest market for Georgian and Ukrainian pop singers. After the Rose Revolution some of them returned home but those who stayed openly started supporting Kremlin narratives. In 2019 one of them founded GERA “to protect interests of Georgian authors, performers, record manufacturers and other holders of copyright and related rights in accordance with up-to-date international standards." But the Georgian copyright association’s view was that GERA was a subsidiary of a Russian organization and would be controlled by Russia. Today Ukrainian and Georgian music is considered internationally unique. Russia continues to benefit by this artistically and uses it politically.