Hi comrades,

Earlier, Ilya informed me that on September 2nd there will be the second
joint rally in Moscow of the Movement for a Workers Party and the Movement
for Civil Rights - against the Chechen war and for workers rights. He said
that this time he expects it to be quite large and hopefully with a number of
Moscow punk/HardCore bands playing at the rally.

Then just a few minutes ago, my inbox received a post from Heli (of Finland -
see below) regarding a Vyborg punk band, called PTVP, in the Finnish news. It
reported them as antiPutin, anti-FSB and also anti-Chechen war in their
music. As there are some red-brown stalinists who say, in words these exact
things, I did a google.com search and found a few other bits of info on this
band (see below too). The PTVP are genuinely left/anarchist and progressive.

Ilya, or anyone else in the know - are there any articles in English about
the left/anarchist punk scene, as it seems bigger and quite separate from the
smaller but growing nazi punk - heavy metal scene, which is so admired in the
publications of the RKRP? ISWoR will get a report out of yet another very
ugly side of the RKRP shortly.

If any comrades are willing to do any research on this scene- it would be
great if we could get involved in linking up with western progressive
punk-hardcore bands with Russian ones on a progressive pro-worker,
anti-Chechen war basis. The possibilities are tremendous as the
anti-capitalist movement grows amongst youth in general, including exchange
tours that have a political aspect to them. The English language website of
Russian Hardcore is > http://www.markt-for-livet.com/RussHC.html < If some
comrades are interested I would be happy to collaborate with a team of people
in this work - having collaborated with political bands in London in the
past. Contact me!

Also - if anyone wants to help with costs for publicity, transport, etc, for
the important September 2nd rally in Mosocw, contact Ilya Budraitsis NOW! on >
budrabm@... < Please, if you can, do this, as a few dollars,
deutchmarks, francs or pounds go a long way in Russia.

In solidarity

Steve

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from Heli on another list

Dear list,
the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat writes:
"A Punk band wants to be the meter of freedom in Russia"
"Putin, Putin, Putin, F S Blad" They sing.
FSB is the heir of the former KGB. Blad means hore.

"This period as a president is like sticking ice, trying it.
When Putin is elected in 2004, it will be a start for
a genocide." sais the singer of the punk band.
The bands name is PTVP. Singer: Aleksei Nikonov.
When they sang the song about Putin, even army officers
joined in the song, writes Helsingin Sanomat.
The journalist asks: Who did the bombings in Moscow,
in the autumn 1999. Nikonovs answer:
"F S Blad".
This band is from Vyborg.
Putin visits Finland, and we will demonstrate.
Against genocide.

Heli.

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Russia Hardcore website
http://www.markt-for-livet.com/RussHC.html

ST PETERSBURG / VYBORG

The DIY scene here in the North-West is rather disorganized, although some
things are moving. St Petersburg is big, Vyborg is small.
POSLEDNIE TANKI V PARIZHE (last tanks in paris)
Ljoha Nikonov - voice, Sergej 'Velmita' - drums, remixes, Egor Nedviga -
bass, Max - guitar
- Vyborg band, originates from the TaMtAm scene (which was formed around the
punk / alternative club of this name in St Petersburg, 1991-1996). Started
with BUTTHOLE SURFERS type sound, now they play very melodic and at the same
time raging hardcore punk. Quite influenced by HIMERA (St Pete HC legends,
leader Redt played drums in PTVP before suicide in 1997). Some recordings,
punk stuff, acoustic, remixes. They work on their, like, fourth album now.
Singer Ljoha is putting together his poetry book soon. This June he was
arrested on stage! for 'shitting on our authorities'.
(Alexej Nikonov, +7(81278)14084 - only speaks Russian)

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St Petersburg Times
23 June 2000

ARTS + FEATURES

Russian and foreign jazzmen are preparing to blow into their golden trumpets
and shining saxophones during two major festivals in the city's beautiful
gardens and at various jazz venues over the next two weekends.

But there exists a gloomy underworld - the rock 'n' roll underground - where
one band's leader recently got arrested before he had time to finish the
second song in the set. That's what happened to the leader of Vyborg's
Poslyedniye Tanki v Parizhe (Last Tanks in Paris), also known as P.T.V.P.
"Russia's Jim Morrison," Alexei Nikonov, got in hot soup when he interpreted
his band's Russian abbreviation as "Pozhaluista, Trakhite Vladimira Putina"
(Please, F*** Vladimir Putin), called the president "Pinochet" and admitted
that "it smells of police near the stage."

The odor become real as the police duly detained him on stage, took him down
the station and beat him up. Nikonov, known for his strong anti-Putin stance,
also distributed flyers depicting the current president with a Hitler-style
moustache and the word "hexagene," a.k.a. TNT, even before the presidential
elections. This brave man and his band will perform at the decrepit VMC club
on Saturday.

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Antiwar Actions in St. Petersburg

NGO activists of St. Petersburg report that on February 26-27, 2000 the
antifascist, anarchist and trozkist activists of St. Petersburg are going to
hold a series of protest actions against the war in Chechnya. A
hardcore-punk-sca festival against the war in Chechnya is to be held on
February 26 in Krasky Vyborzhets club (12 Sverdlovskaya Naberezhnaya) at
17:30. Groups Spitfire (St. Petersburg), Stand (Finland), Unconform (Moscow),
P.T.V.P (Vyborg) and others are to participate. Contact phone:
(+7-812)-248-1152. On February 27 at 15:00 an antiwar picket will begin at
the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Malaya Sadovaya street. Contact phone:
(+7-812)-557-8324, Elena, contact e-mail: cyr@....




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