Stilyagi
Encyclopedia
Stilyagi was a derogatory appellation for the members of a youth subculture
that existed from the late 1940s until the early 1960s in the Soviet Union
. Stilyagi were primarily distinguished by their snappy or fashionable clothing, considered politically incorrect and contrary to the communist-socialist realities of the time, and fascination with modern music and fashions. English writings on Soviet culture variously translated the term as "dandy
," "fashionista
s", beatnik
s, hipsters
, zoot suit
ers, etc.
Their apolitical
views, neutral or negative attitudes toward Soviet morality
, and their open admiration of modern, especially American, lifestyles were key characteristics that slowly developed during the 1950s. In the mid 1950s, many people were arrested for making musical recordings on "bones" (developed X-ray
films). Those found guilty of manufacturing and distributing such recordings received from three to five years of imprisonment in labour camps for profiteering. Today, the stilyagi are regarded as part of Russian historical social trends which further developed during the late Soviet era (notably the Stagnation Period
) and allowed "informal" views on life, such as hippie
s, punk
s and rappers
.
and war
, leaving them emotionally perturbed about the future of their lives. Many of the young men returning from the army were heavily influenced by the contact with the foreign countries and modern trends at the time. As a result, many of them wore clothes based on images from abroad (early 1940s romance film
s, daily newspapers and photographs) and young women later adopted styles from modern female stereotypes too.
The main cause of this phenomenon was the struggle between capitalism
and communism
-led societies. The enforced uniformity of the Soviet thought and the heavy weight of its dictatorship
were the only politically correct form of view, lifestyle and self-expression
permitted during Stalinism
. Therefore, the stilyagi sought to follow the modern ideology and morality in order to avoid Soviet pressure and its influence on society.
The stilyagi were largely repressed until Stalin
's death in 1953, which let the style grow in underground mainstream
way. By 1955, the stilyagi had acquired both respect and contempt from many layers of society (especially the then emerging Soviet upper-middle class, known as "intelligentsia
") and were frowned upon in political instances, but had grown too many in number to be repressed. Thus, instead of trying to get rid of them, the media and politics, including journalism, eagerly mocked their style by portraying them ridiculous as opposed to "normal" parts of Soviet society.
In the late 1950s, the catchphrase "Today he dances jazz, but tomorrow [he] will sell [his] homeland" (Сегодня он танцует джаз, а завтра Родину продаст), became the stilyagi's signature and the key idea underlying their social protest. Stilyagi were recognized as an official musical, artistic and pop culture movement that later took on further modern influences, notably rockabilly
, rock-n-roll and pop rock
musical genres.
Following the international festival of 1957
, however, the USSR became more open to modern culture. The official ban on jazz music was removed, and many records became available in stores from the 1960s. Admiration of modern music, especially the rock-n-roll wave of the sixties, met more tolerance from official ideology and little active resistance. All this contributed to the decline of the movement in the early sixties, as former stilyagi entered their thirties and abandoned the lifestyles of their youth, while the next generation felt no need to follow such a lifestyle in order to enjoy modern culture or a nonpolitical way of life.
, the stilyagi look was rather a caricature, inspired by movies from abroad of recent years. It resembled the zoot suit
but combined different bright colors. By the late fifties, the look had evolved into something more elegant and stylish. Typical stilyagi wear included narrow pants, long jackets, narrow tie, bright color shirts and thick soled shoes.
, especially the music of Glenn Miller
, Benny Goodman
and the soundtrack from the film Sun Valley Serenade
. The "serenade" instantly became a cult among stilyagi, and one of its songs, the famous "Chattanooga Choo Choo
", served as their unofficial anthem. Stilyagi developed their own styles of dance originated from boogie-woogie
and later also adopted rock-n-roll.
The novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
by Robert Heinlein describes a similar fictional subculture on the Moon
which call themselves "Stilyagi Air and Pressure Corps" or shortened to "Stilyagi Air Corps".
There is a 2008 Russian comedy musical film, Stilyagi, about this subculture.
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
that existed from the late 1940s until the early 1960s in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Stilyagi were primarily distinguished by their snappy or fashionable clothing, considered politically incorrect and contrary to the communist-socialist realities of the time, and fascination with modern music and fashions. English writings on Soviet culture variously translated the term as "dandy
Dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self...
," "fashionista
Fashionista
Fashionista or fashionistas may refer to*Fashionista , an Australian TV series*Fashionistas, an American pornographic film*The Fashionistas, minor villains in the Kim Possible series*Fashion victim, an avid follower of fashion...
s", beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
s, hipsters
Hipster (1940s subculture)
Hipster, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, in particular bebop, which became popular in the early 1940s. The hipster adopted the lifestyle of the jazz musician, including some or all of the following: dress, slang, use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic...
, zoot suit
Zoot suit
A zoot suit is a suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing was popularized by African Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Italian Americans during the late 1930s and the 1940s...
ers, etc.
Their apolitical
Apolitical
The state or quality of being apolitical can be the apathy and/or the antipathy towards all political affiliations. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased position in regard to political matters.-References:...
views, neutral or negative attitudes toward Soviet morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
, and their open admiration of modern, especially American, lifestyles were key characteristics that slowly developed during the 1950s. In the mid 1950s, many people were arrested for making musical recordings on "bones" (developed X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
films). Those found guilty of manufacturing and distributing such recordings received from three to five years of imprisonment in labour camps for profiteering. Today, the stilyagi are regarded as part of Russian historical social trends which further developed during the late Soviet era (notably the Stagnation Period
Brezhnev stagnation
The Era of Stagnation, also known as Brezhnev stagnation or the Stagnation Period, refers to a period of economic stagnation under the rules of Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko in the history of the Soviet Union which started in the mid-1970s.-Terminology:Various authors...
) and allowed "informal" views on life, such as hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
s, punk
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
s and rappers
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
.
Historical appearance
The first stilyagi were from the generation of young adults in their early twenties who had lived through the hard times of economical crisisGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, leaving them emotionally perturbed about the future of their lives. Many of the young men returning from the army were heavily influenced by the contact with the foreign countries and modern trends at the time. As a result, many of them wore clothes based on images from abroad (early 1940s romance film
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
s, daily newspapers and photographs) and young women later adopted styles from modern female stereotypes too.
The main cause of this phenomenon was the struggle between capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
-led societies. The enforced uniformity of the Soviet thought and the heavy weight of its dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
were the only politically correct form of view, lifestyle and self-expression
Emotional expression
In psychology, emotional expression is observable verbal and nonverbal behaviour that communicates emotion. Emotional expression can occur with or without self-awareness...
permitted during Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
. Therefore, the stilyagi sought to follow the modern ideology and morality in order to avoid Soviet pressure and its influence on society.
The stilyagi were largely repressed until Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's death in 1953, which let the style grow in underground mainstream
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
way. By 1955, the stilyagi had acquired both respect and contempt from many layers of society (especially the then emerging Soviet upper-middle class, known as "intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
") and were frowned upon in political instances, but had grown too many in number to be repressed. Thus, instead of trying to get rid of them, the media and politics, including journalism, eagerly mocked their style by portraying them ridiculous as opposed to "normal" parts of Soviet society.
In the late 1950s, the catchphrase "Today he dances jazz, but tomorrow [he] will sell [his] homeland" (Сегодня он танцует джаз, а завтра Родину продаст), became the stilyagi's signature and the key idea underlying their social protest. Stilyagi were recognized as an official musical, artistic and pop culture movement that later took on further modern influences, notably rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, rock-n-roll and pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
musical genres.
Following the international festival of 1957
6th World Festival of Youth and Students
The 6th World Festival of Youth and Students was opened on 28 July 1957, in Moscow, Soviet Union. The festival attracted 34,000 people from 130 countries. This became possible after the bold political changes initiated by Nikita Khrushchev...
, however, the USSR became more open to modern culture. The official ban on jazz music was removed, and many records became available in stores from the 1960s. Admiration of modern music, especially the rock-n-roll wave of the sixties, met more tolerance from official ideology and little active resistance. All this contributed to the decline of the movement in the early sixties, as former stilyagi entered their thirties and abandoned the lifestyles of their youth, while the next generation felt no need to follow such a lifestyle in order to enjoy modern culture or a nonpolitical way of life.
Fashion
At the dawn of the phenomenonPhenomenon
A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...
, the stilyagi look was rather a caricature, inspired by movies from abroad of recent years. It resembled the zoot suit
Zoot suit
A zoot suit is a suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing was popularized by African Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Italian Americans during the late 1930s and the 1940s...
but combined different bright colors. By the late fifties, the look had evolved into something more elegant and stylish. Typical stilyagi wear included narrow pants, long jackets, narrow tie, bright color shirts and thick soled shoes.
Music and dance
Usually stilyagi enjoyed popular American music of 1940s, especially swing and boogie-woogieBoogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
, especially the music of Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
, Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
and the soundtrack from the film Sun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 musical film starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features The Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by The Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge, performing "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which was nominated for an Academy...
. The "serenade" instantly became a cult among stilyagi, and one of its songs, the famous "Chattanooga Choo Choo
Chattanooga Choo Choo
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a song by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon . It was recorded in a big-band/swing manner by Glenn Miller and his orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle...
", served as their unofficial anthem. Stilyagi developed their own styles of dance originated from boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie (dance)
Boogie-woogie is a form of swing dance and a form of blues piano playing.-Terminology:The name boogie-woogie is used mostly in Europe; the closest thing in the US is probably East Coast Swing. What today is called boogie-woogie would during the 1950s have been called rock'n'roll...
and later also adopted rock-n-roll.
Legacy
While being a very short-lived and minor phenomenon at the time, the influence of the stilyagi movement on Soviet-Russian culture is tremendous. Many of today's most respected Russian musicians, writers, film editors and other cultural personalities belonged to the movement, or shared its free, bohemian lifestyle.The novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is a 1966 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, about a lunar colony's revolt against rule from Earth....
by Robert Heinlein describes a similar fictional subculture on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
which call themselves "Stilyagi Air and Pressure Corps" or shortened to "Stilyagi Air Corps".
There is a 2008 Russian comedy musical film, Stilyagi, about this subculture.
Further reading
- Georgy Litvinov, Стиляги, как это было. Документальный роман, a documentary book about the subculture based on recollection of famous stilyagas, such as jazzman Aleksei Kozlov (:ru:Козлов, Алексей Семёнович).
- Чуваки на хатах, Rodina Magazine, no. 7, 2005