[1] (Novgorod republic had deep traditions in music; its most popular folk hero and the chief character of several epics was Sadko, a gusli player).

The sacred music draws its tradition from the Byzantine Empire, with key elements being used in Russian Orthodox bell ringing, as well as choral singing.

During the reactionary period of the Great Russian Schism in the 17th century, skomorokhs along with their form of secular music were banned from plying their trade numerous times, their instruments were burned and those who disagree with Alexis of Russia's 1648 law "About the correction of morals and the destruction of superstitions" (Об исправлении нравов и уничтожении суеверий) were punished physically first and then were to be deported to Malorossia (modern Ukraine), but despite these restrictions, some of their traditions survived to the present day.

[8] A craze for Italian opera at Court during the reigns of Empresses Elisabeth and Catherine also helped spread interest in Western music among the aristocracy.

A group that called itself "The Mighty Five", headed by Balakirev (1837–1910) and including Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908), Mussorgsky (1839–81), Borodin (1833–87) and César Cui (1835–1918), proclaimed its purpose to compose and popularize Russian national traditions in classical music.

Among the Mighty Five's most notable compositions were the operas The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka), Sadko, Boris Godunov, Prince Igor, Khovanshchina, and symphonic suite Scheherazade.

Many of the works by Glinka and the Mighty Five were based on Russian history, folk tales and literature, and are regarded as masterpieces of romantic nationalism in music.

However the RMS founded Russia's first Conservatories in St Petersburg and in Moscow: the former trained the great Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–93), best known for ballets like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker.

The late 19th and early 20th century saw the third wave of Russian classics: Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915), Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975).

[13] (A notable example: Shostakovich's veristic opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District was denounced in Pravda newspaper as "formalism" and soon removed from theatres for years).

The 1930s saw Prokofiev's scores for Sergei Eisenstein's epic movies, and also soundtracks by Isaak Dunayevsky that ranged from classical pieces to popular jazz.

Notable film composers from the late Soviet era included Vladimir Dashkevich, Tikhon Khrennikov, Alexander Zatsepin, and Gennady Gladkov, among others.

This wave begun with Pojuschie Gitary and Pesnyary; popular VIA bands also included Tcvety, Zemlyane and Verasy.

That period of music also saw individual pop stars such as Iosif Kobzon, Sofia Rotaru, Alla Pugacheva, Valery Leontiev, Yuri Antonov.

Among the best known are violinists David Oistrakh and Gidon Kremer,[16][17] cellist Mstislav Rostropovich,[18] pianists Vladimir Horowitz,[19] Sviatoslav Richter,[20] and Emil Gilels,[21] and vocalist Galina Vishnevskaya.

Right after the fall of the Iron Wall, artists, like Christian Ray, took an active political stance, supporting the first president Boris Yeltsin.

Other popular artists include the Eurovision 2008 winner Dima Bilan, as well as Valery Meladze, Grigory Leps, VIA Gra, Nyusha, Vintage, Philipp Kirkorov, Vitas and Alsou.

On the other side, some independent acts such as Neoclubber use new-era promo tools[24] to avoid these old-fashioned Soviet ways of reaching their fans.

Other types of music include folk rock (Melnitsa), trip hop (Linda) and reggae (Jah Division).

An experimental rapcore scene is headlined by Dolphin and Kirpichi, while Moscow Death Brigade is a relevant techno /rap/punk band, well known for its stance against racism, sexism and homophobia.

With lyrics about daily life and society, and frequent romanticisation of the criminal underworld, chanson is especially popular among adult males of the lower social class.

[33] There are some independent underground acts performing IDM, downtempo, house, trance and dark psytrance (including tracker music scene), and broadcasting their work via internet radio.

They include Parasense, Fungus Funk, Kindzadza, Lesnikov-16, Yolochnye Igrushki, Messer Für Frau Müller and Zedd (Russian-German artist).

Of the few artists that have broken through to the mainstream media, there are PPK[34] and DJ Groove,[35] that exploit Soviet movie soundtracks for their dance remixes.

In the 2000s the Darkwave and Industrial scene, closely related to Goth subculture, has become prevalent, with such artists as Dvar, Otto Dix, Stillife, Theodor Bastard, Roman Rain, Shmeli and Biopsyhoz.

Notre-Dame de Paris, Nord-Ost, Roméo et Juliette, and We Will Rock You were constantly performed in Moscow theatres at the time.

Tatar folk music has rhythmic peculiarities and pentatonic intonation in common with nations of the Volga area, who are ethnically Finno-Ugric and Turkic.

These include borbannadir (which is compared to the sound of a flowing river), sygyt (similar to whistling), xoomii, chylandyk (likened to chirping crickets) and ezengileer (like a horse's trotting).

hardbass, IPA: [xɐrdˈbas]) is a subgenre of electronic music which originated from Russia during the late 1990s, drawing inspiration from UK hard house, bouncy techno and hardstyle.

Hardbass is characterized by its fast tempo (usually 150–175 BPM), donks, distinctive basslines (commonly known as "hard bounce"), distorted sounds, heavy kicks and occasional rapping.