Rockin’ the Kremlin: My Incredible True Story of Gangsters, Oligarchs, and Pop Stars in Putin’s Russia

Music industry veteran Junk debuts with an energetic chronicle of his crusade to bring popular Western music to post-Soviet Russia. Inspired by the end of the Cold War, the author moved to Moscow in the early 1990s aiming to topple “the old Soviet music industry” in favor of one befitting the “new Russia.” At Polygram Records and then Universal Music Russia (where he eventually became CEO), Junk dealt with “gangster capitalism”; rampant music piracy; powerful oligarchs; and the Russian Orthodox Church’s antagonism toward pro-LGBTQ musical acts, most notably the Russian girl group t.A.T.u. Along the way, he scoured the radio, music competitions, and MTV Russia to discover top-selling talent including Alsou and Smash!! (Russia’s boy band answer to Wham!). Despite overselling things a bit when he implies that hip-hop’s rise in the aughts ushered in the “sounding defeat of communism by free market principles and business know-how,” Junk draws sharp insights into the musical traditions that coincided with the development of Russian rap, including the country’s electronic dance scene. It’s an exciting and colorful look at a dynamic period in Russia’s cultural history. (July)