Chervona Ruta (Ukrainian: Червона рута) is a permanent biennial all-Ukrainian youth festival of contemporary song and popular music,[1] which has been held every two years since 1989.
[1] There was saying that today you play the jazz (implying any music of the capitalist West created by negroes, according to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia[4]) and tomorrow you will sell your Homeland (Russian: Сегодня ты играешь джаз, а завтра Родину продашь).
While the festival was conducted under close supervision of the republican KDB (the Ukrainian branch of Soviet KGB), militsiya, and Communist Party of Ukraine, the Ukrainian anthem "Shche ne vmerla" was performed at the festival, and blue and yellow flags were unfurled.
[6] Famous bands «Vopli Vidoplyasova», «Braty Hadyukiny», «Kvartyra № 50», «Zymovyy sad», Vika Vradiy, Marichka Burmaka, Tryzuby Stas, and many others participated in rock competitions.
[6] The festival organizers and jury members were overwhelmed by the sheer number of contestants and the quality of their performances.
[6] It was Kuban native Zhdankin who spontaneously started to sing the Ukrainian anthem at the festival's closing.
[6] At the final concert, which took place at the central stadium of Chernivtsi, local police cracked down on any manifestations of "nationalism", detaining young girls (many from the popular "Lion Society") who were dressed in yellow blouses and blue skirts.
[8] The second edition of the festival took place in 1991 in Zaporizhzhia and brought accolades to a number of new participants, including Andriy Kill (later known as Skryabin), Plach Yeremiyi, The Telnyuk Sisters, Mertvy Piven.
[9] The third festival was held in 1993 in Donetsk and saw the rise of future stars like Oleksandr Ponomariov, Iryna Shynkaruk, Viktor Pavlik, Pikkardiyska Tertsiya and Viy.
That year the contest included young Ukrainian performers like EL Kravchuk, Natalia Mohylevska, Ani Lorak, The VYO, Katia Buzhynska, Motor'rolla and others.
[15] Ruta Fest made a real "revolution" in Ukrainian culture, which impacted wider society.
Previously, Ukrainian youth, without domestic idols, had to settle for variety shows from Moscow, or listen to Western pop stars.