My ship is the Moon, the Moon,
And I know that I’m flying to nowhere on it,
Through walls and nightmares,
Through crazed nights and empty daydreams.

I step out from the entryway and open my umbrella / I step out under a stream of atmospheric precipitation…

A few songs from the relatively obscure band Выход (Exit).

This is nothing but our dances on the cusp of spring…

Frost covers the earth; / Everything you touch is ice; / Only in my sleep do I hear the dripping ice singing.

We stood on a geometric plane / With an oscillating angle of reflection, / Observing the law / That sets landscapes into motion…

If I had such hands, / Hands like a giant’s, / I’d fold them in my lap, / And sit quietly, quieter than a sigh, quieter than a stone.

We’ll hide beneath the ice / And they’ll never find us — / Those vested with power, / Those laden with evil.

And again the night is coming; / I’m drunk, but I can hear the rain —Rain for us…

Here’s a sample of a band I should have introduced a long time ago - TequilaJazzz. Give them a listen and be sure to check out more of their consistently good work.

In our eyes — shouts of “Onward!” / In our eyes — calls to “Stop!” / In our eyes — the birth of day / And the death of fire

The band Мать Тереза (Mother Teresa) is yet another in a long line of Russian post-punk acts. Here are selections from their 2002 Иллюзия (Illusion).

Stop the plane, I’m getting off. / Stop the plane, I’m getting off.

The band Сектор Газа (The Gaza Strip), led by Юрий Клинских, generally known by the nickname Хой, was known as much for their abrasive lyrics as for their heavy, hard-rock sound…

Drop by my Petersburg kitchen circa 2000 for a lesser-known classic from Viktor Tsoi, called “Guest.”

One might say that Auktyon led the “avant-garde” wing of classic (late-Soviet) Russian rock music. Here are some highlights from their 1989 album В Багдаде всё спокойно (All Quiet in Baghdad).

And, it would seem, you’re alive and well, / And, it would seem, you should live without sorrow — / So where did this sadness come from?

This 2018 album by a Belarussian band — whose name might be translated “Noose of Bias” — is probably one of my favorites from recent years.

This song — by Nautilus Pompilius (Наутилус Помпилиус) is probably one of the most well-known “protest” songs of late-Soviet rock music.

I’m walking behind you; you quicken your pace / I’m walking behind you; the wind is pushing me forward / Do you see the gate into the garden?