Soviet Union Archives - Ex-Plain

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Pasts
Sounds

The Eccentric Soviet Composer Who Conducted a City: Arseny Avraamov and the Sound of a Future That Never Arrived

Ex-Plain
February 19, 2026

In September 1922, amid the fifth anniversary commemorations of the October Revolution in the capital of Azerbaijan, a little-known Russian…

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The Bulldozer Exhibition: When the Soviets Tried (and Failed) to Literally Crush an Art Show

Ex-Plain
January 29, 2026

In 1974, Soviet authorities used bulldozers, arrests, and violence to destroy an unsanctioned outdoor art exhibition, only to ignite an…

27 min read 1

Pasts
Sounds

X‑Rays You Can Hear: Soviet Bootleg Music’s Non-Clinical Birth, Death, and Rebirth

Ex-Plain
July 15, 2025

During the Cold War, access to music in the Soviet Union was tightly restricted by state censorship. Despite the risks,…

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Visions

Estonian Animation Is the Weird Trip You Didn’t Know You Needed

Ex-Plain
February 8, 2025

Forget Japan—This small Baltic country is possibly the true master of surreal and weird animation, here are the films that…