IGNORED OBSCURED RESTORED

Vladimir Putin and Russia have been in the news quite a bit lately. The annexation of Crimea, bombing of Syrian rebels and civilians in support of the Assad regime and cyber hacking interference in our 2016 presidential election have left US-Russian relations in worse shape since the end of the Cold War.

This reminded me of the song “Mother Russia” by the 70s prog rock band, Renaissance.

“Mother Russia” was inspired by the Soviet treatment of writer/political activist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who was sent to a labor camp for 8 years for criticizing Joseph Stalin (in private letters).

Punished for his written thoughts
Starving for his fame
Working blindly, building blocks
Number for a name, his blood flows frozen to the snow

Red blood, white snow
He knows frozen rivers won’t flow
So cold, so true
Mother Russia-he cries for you

This is a heavy song, musically and lyrically, written about a weighty subject at a time when artists did such things.

Enjoy… until next week.