Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the interaction between the popular music scene and the military front has been both intense and multifaceted. This lecture will explore several dimensions of this interaction, including the role of songs and pop singers in the political context of the war and the interests of the states involved. It will examine how Russia's state-centralized music scene influences the war, while also looking at how society shapes Ukraine’s decentralized grassroots music scene within the wartime context. The lecture will demonstrate how music plays a crucial role in this complex process, significantly contributing to the dynamics of this relationship.
Olga Zaitseva-Herz is a postdoctoral fellow at the Kule Centre for Ukrainian and Canadian Folklore at the University of Alberta. She is an ethnomusicologist, composer, and performer whose research explores the intersection of music, identity, and displacement. Her current work focuses on the role of music during Russia’s war on Ukraine, examining how songs function as tools of cultural diplomacy, resistance, and national identity reinforcement and how these impact the military front. Her artistic work integrates war documentaries into contemporary performances, with her recent contemporary piece Bakhmut Rhapsody performed at the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival in New York City.