All is not quiet on the Eastern Front
"On September 18, Moscow's veteran punk rockers Tarakany will go into the studio to record their new album "The Freedom Street". They are planning to record the album with three separate versions: Russian lyrics, English lyrics, and German lyrics. The release date is November 29.
Also on November 29, Tarakany will be releasing the Russian version of the greatest hits package "Independent since 95" from the Japanese band SOBUT. [I have the Japanese version of this CD, and it is excellent. -Tim]
The festival organized by members of Tarakany at the Moscow Palace of Youth was crashed by police. Click READ MORE for an account of the events, translated rather poorly from Russian by one of those online translators."
"On Friday, 15 August, in the hall MDM Moscow administration proved that the country in which we live is a country of lawlessness, a country of police regime, a country of totalitarian approach to everything, which although a little differs from the conventional or imposed standards.
At the middle of the festival, cops shut bar and begin to derive people from the hall for no apparent reasons. The people they brought out were absolutely sober, by no means breaking the prison rules of the Palace of Youth. They ceased to admit into the hall.Through the transparent door to me were visible girls, who held in the hands tickets to the concert, who could not enter the hall, because cops closed the doors. They cried.. It was really heavily, disgusting feelings to me.
And entirely already disgusting is the fact that against the innocent children (namely teenagers) is caused OMON. (OMON is a most strongest part of Russian police, special part for fight with mafia, always with machine guns,gas, and stuff like that). They nevertheless broke the festival and we practically do not have possibility to fight with them. When you see the things like this, hands descend, a feeling of its own helplessness suffocates and is derived from itself. I can with the complete confidence say that there no incidents among fans, which could provoke the aggressive behavior of cops. But the operational actions of soldiers shows us, that the cops unlimited operation was thoroughly rehearsed and prepared. After carrying out the song "Reason for the Hatred" (this time reason it was), "TARAKANY" attempted to begin the fourth song, the ancient "Hymn of Democratic Young People", but suddenly it turned out that stage monitors someone de-energized, and musicians did not hear themselves. Nevertheless sound in the hall still worked, and "TARAKANY" nevertheless continued to play: "this song begin to sing young people, this song you will not suffocate, you will not kill!" But they nevertheless suffocated and killed the song, electricity was cut. There was a feeling of very bitter desperation. Ok, we have not the best punk rock scene in the world , but what exists; however, even the little that we have, it is necessary to defend."