Authors

Discussion

The Revolution in Kyiv, the annexation of Crimea and the War in Donbas are events that have shaken Eastern Europe to its core. From 2014, countries and peoples in the region have had to relate to the new reality of a Russo-Ukrainian military conflict in their immediate neighbourhood and decide how to react. For Belarusians, this has been particularly difficult as they have close cultural and political ties with both Russia and Ukraine, stretching back for more than a millennium. At the same time, Belarus is in a somewhat similar position as Ukraine, squeezed between the EU and NATO on one hand, and an increasingly assertive Russia on the other.
One dimension of these relations is music. How is geopolitics dealt with in Belarusian contemporary music, and how—if at all—has Belarus’s perception of its two neighbours changed since 2014?
Based on an analysis of contemporary Belarusian metal, rap and world music, as well as qualitative interviews with musicians, this research project aims to answer these questions. Preliminary results indicate that Belarusian music is divided in its view of the Ukrainian conflict. There is also a tendency to move away from the so-called Russian world (russkii mir). However, the move has not been towards Western culture, as much as Belarusians have tried to reconnect with their own traditional and common Slavic roots.