Post-Soviet Music and Depression: Welcome to the World of Doomers from Russia

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“I have always gravitated toward ruins. [...] Abandoned buildings, used and, for some reason, abandoned by men. [...] People also use each other, then give up and forget each other when their goal is achieved. [...] I envy their reason, which is so absorbed in consumption that it does not notice the emptiness, this madness of their own aspirations and their empty hopes. Their optimism strikes me as abnormal. They dance like crazy under the Sun, whose rays radiate their lowest aspirations.

This is how Alexander Kolessov, a 27-year-old plumber from Moscow, reveals the philosophical foundations of his fascination with abandoned buildings. In these places, he listens to sad songs and engages in deep reflection.

Alexander and other like-minded Russians call themselves "doomers". Russian doomers are distinguished from those of other countries by their love for a unique post-Soviet aesthetic. This love is surprisingly shared by foreigners: videos with the hashtag #Russiandoomers in foreign TikTok accounts have garnered 13 million views and people around the world are shooting videos with late Soviet-era rock as soundtracks .

“I would have hanged myself, but my mother made a cake”

Eternal dark circles under the eyes, a sad expression, a black beanie, an imposing musical helmet and a cigarette hanging from his lips – this is what the caricature of the Russian doomer looks like depicted in a meme that has become popular on the Russian segment of the Internet in 2019.

The Russian doomer is nothing but a derivative of the Western doomer, which saw the light of day in 2018 on the 4chan site. The western doomer is between 20 and 30 years old, has had time to be disappointed in life, suffers from depression. The Russian doomer is a little younger – he is no older than 25, he suffers from failures in his studies and personal life, is constantly nostalgic for a carefree childhood spent in the Russian hinterland in the middle dark snow-covered streets and dilapidated panel buildings. More than anything, he loves night walks and listening to his favorite songs over and over.

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In their communities, Russian doomers share their life woes and gain support from their peers. As a rule, these are stories of unrequited love or relationship incidents. Many simply express their melancholic mood by describing the landscape they observe every day.

" 7 am. You go out, your face immediately starts to sting from the frost, you walk through the half-empty streets in the light of a street lamp. [...] The snow crunches under your feet, you can see the dark paneled buildings, and the halls of residence, and the private houses, and the crowded trolleybuses and minibuses. And you arrive, and only then it begins to get light, and there is no Sun above the city, but just a point of light behind the clouds, illuminating the streets and hitting the windows – only then you wake up to this view,” wrote one of the doomers.

Doomers also have their own music – most often Soviet rock at the crossroads of the 80s and 90s, as well as post-punk and synth-pop inspired by Depeche Mode and other bands of the genre.

Fans of post-Soviet aesthetics often post Russian Doomer music playlists on YouTube. The videos are actively commented on by a nostalgic audience, and it's sometimes hard to tell if this is a fine irony or a "shelter" for depressed people.

Netizens made the following comments under one of the Russian doomer songs:

“I would have hanged myself, but my mother made a cake”.

“I remember how with my mother we went to Omsk [a Siberian city]. The highway, dotted with streetlights, at night, and this song. My mother tells me to go to sleep, but I look out the window, I listen to the music [...]. I would give anything to be there a while longer and listen to this song for the first time”.

“I listened to the original song on cassette before starting my Lada by -30° in Siberia. It's the same thing ! ".

"I'm just thinking about how I'm going to walk out in 5 years in my seedy but painfully beloved neighborhood, drive past the garages, remember all my childhood, realize that nothing is forever, and all that will be left is you and your sadness”.

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A depression source of strength

According to Alexander Kolessov, whose thoughts on abandoned buildings were described at the beginning of the text, real doomers are not at all sad out of nostalgia.

“A doomer is someone who has figured out how everything works and how to be to be successful in [life], but has realized that it's already too late. Often a doomer is a rather intelligent person who doesn't flaunt their understanding nature to produce a momentary impression. I constantly have the feeling of being superfluous, of feeling the emptiness of life. But I wasn't talking about outsiders or losers, although there is a certain percentage of those people [among the doomers],” he said.

Vlad Nesterov, a high school student, says a doomer can be anyone of any age who has problems at some point in their life.

“I think everyone has had some difficulties in life. At the same time, listening precisely to Russian post-punk, you smoke or drink, you are imbued with sadness and the spirit of old Soviet buildings. But it's wrong, it's an escape from reality, and you have to be able to solve your problems, ”he nuances.

Bogdan Gavrilin, manager of the "Russian Doomer Music" community on the Russian social network VKontakte, disagrees with Nesterov. According to his group, most doomers in Russia are men between the ages of 16 and 21, and doomer communities themselves help combat life's hardships.

“Not everyone can call themselves a doomer, it's putting labels on themselves. For me, and probably for the other participants, it's more of a state of mind. People love the aesthetics of buildings built years ago. You look at them and hope that maybe things will get better after a while. It gives you strength for tomorrow,” he sums up.

According to psychologist Olga Propoubertat, participating in the doomer community gives people the opportunity to be themselves more often.

“In the world, it's usually good to enjoy life and not bother anyone with your problems. But here it is possible to share your thoughts and not be judged in return. A doomer does not have to radiate happiness and success, he can be depressed, he is entitled to negative emotions like any other person. Allowing sadness is an important process in society, which we should aspire to,” she says.

Read also: What happened to goths, emos and other children of subcultures in Russia?

The real doomers come from Russia

Russian doomers have become popular among residents of Europe and the United States thanks to their favorite music: rock from the late 80s and post-punk tracks from modern bands. The track Soudno by the Russian-Belarusian group Molchat doma, published on YouTube in January 2019, has garnered 18.4 million views and most of the comments belong to foreign users. In May 2020, this track reached number two on the Global Viral 50 chart on Spotify.

The song also became popular on TikTok, with people around the world devoting 163,000 videos to it. Among the most popular are videos parodying Russians, others where users try on all their clothes in a hurry, or even... armpit hair dye tutorials. This is despite the song's mournful lyrics: "It's hard and uncomfortable to live, but it's comfortable to die."

“Hence the double sentiment towards this TikTok trend, because you see people don't understand what the lyrical part [of the song] as a whole is about. Even if from the outside it all looks a bit wild, it's very nice that people choose precisely your composition,” Molchat doma bassist Pavel Kozlov said in an interview with Aficha Daily in August 2020.

Guitarist Roman Komogortsev added that it's normal to enjoy the vibe of a foreign track without knowing its meaning, especially if the track lends itself well to TikTok trends.

Nevertheless, foreign listeners themselves do not quite understand why they are so addicted to the music of Russian doomers, and themselves ask this question in the comments of the corresponding playlists on YouTube. Other users actually judge that only this culture can convey everyone's feelings.

"It's like the feeling you get when you reach the dream of a lifetime and realize that it doesn't make you feel better about your life at all," says Simon McGough.

Another user, named Roger King, thinks it lies in the peculiarities of Russian culture.

“Because Russia and Russians have a nice vibe that matches what Western men feel in the post-industrial phase of capitalism. We are slowly breaking down and screaming in silence,” he wrote.

Others, however, blame YouTube's algorithms.

“Because even YouTube understands that the only real doomers are the Russians,” summarizes Dominus Ursus.

In this other article, we introduced you to the idols of today's Russian youth.

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