Moscow, Russia
Russia has a complicated history and rich cultural traditions. The colorful fairy-tale-like architecture of St. Basil’s Cathedral, Ivan the Terrible, Vodka, the KGB, The Red Square, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Matryoshka Dolls and exquisite ballet are only a few of the significant icons of Russian society. Russia’s street performance history dates back to the eleventh century when skomorokhi, a group of masked actors, wrote and performed their own productions in town squares. In more recent centuries performers could be seen dancing to folk music or singing and playing musical instruments in the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Shanson, which is sometimes referred to as the music of the Russian underground, has become a popular form of musical expression. It’s also not uncommon to see bands with electrical amps and microphones performing Russian pop songs on city-center sidewalks.
