Reflections of War in Music: An Analysis of Russian Popular Music's Responses to the Invasion of Ukraine

This diploma thesis aims to analyse the impact of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Russian popular music. The core of the thesis consists of an analysis of song lyrics produced across various genres after 24 February 2022, with the goal of identifying and classifying several types of attitudes towards the war. The thesis examines both songs that adopt a critical stance towards the war and its individual aspects-such as works by artists living in exile- and musical production that directly or indirectly supports the state-led conflict, including compositions by patriotic stars performing at official state events as well as by artists associated with the radically nationalist scene. One of the aims of the thesis is to offer an overview of the narrative approaches employed by Russian popular music in relation to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and to show how individual authors vary these approaches and which ideological and conceptual frameworks they draw upon. In the concluding section, the identified narratives are compared. In addition to the analysis of song lyrics, the thesis also incorporates the broader context of musical production and societal reactions to the war, examining public statements by actors within the Russian music scene, accompanying music videos, the reinterpretation...