Russian Association of Proletarian Music (RAPM)

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, rather than being an essentially creative force, the primary objectives of the Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians (RAPM), who were of the intelligentsia rather than the working-class, were to secure the hegemony of the proletariat in music, to bring culture to the aesthetically backward and to provide an ideological framework for the musical aspect of the Cultural Revolution. The author points out that RAPM differed with Stalin's regime and could not co-exist peacefully because they wanted to define musical policy themselves. The paper relates that, when Stalin's government attempted to co-opt the arts and force them into a propagandist role, which was essentially separate from and counter to the interests of the people, the RAPM was eliminated.

From the Paper:

"It is crucial to remember that the RAPM was founded in 1923, a year before Lenin's death and Stalin's rise to power. Thus, Stalinism had not yet taken shape, much less become apparent in society at large. Marxism-Leninism, then, was the primary ideology behind the rise of the RAPM and similar cultural organizations. The focus on the proletariat in the RAPM is no surprise. The dominance of the proletariat in all realms of life is required by Marxist theory and groups like the RAPM sought to actualize this ideal in their specific areas of expertise."

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