Kuban Cossack Performance and Identity Negotiation in the Russian-Ukrainian Borderlands by Sarah Christine Moncada A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Slavic Languages and Literatures) in the University of Michigan 2016 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Herbert Eagle, Chair Professor Michael Makin Lecturer Svitlana Rogovyk Assistant Professor Kira Thurman DEDICATION To Mom and Carlos ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to Polina Levchenko and Irina Shel’deshova for introducing me to Kuban culture and for hosting and advising me on my trips to the Kuban region. Many thanks to my dissertation committee members, Herb Eagle, Michael Makin, Svitlana Rogovyk, and Kira Thurman for their thoughtful and detailed feedback on this project. Thank you also to Meilu Ho for reading early versions of my work and suggesting useful secondary sources. I would also like to thank the members of my 2013 – 2015 Sweetland Writing Group, Bonnie Washick, Jenny Kwak, L E Hunter, and Elizabeth Keslacy for sharing their experiences and practical advice. This dissertation would not exist had it not been for Jodi Greig and Paulina Duda, who read and responded to countless drafts. I am grateful for the patience and sensitivity with which they offered their comments. They always kept me writing – even through my moments of self-doubt. I would be nowhere without the love and support of my family and friends. Thank you forever to Mom, Dave, Mary C, Eena, Tim, Benya, Mosh, Fr. McCarthy, Megan, Evan, Peter and many others who have sustained me in my academic and personal travails. A final thank you to my husband Carlos, whose kindness and encouragement have seen me through. Our long, meandering journeys through Michigan degree programs eventually brought us together, and for that I am so grateful. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF MAPS ix LIST OF APPENDICES x ABSTRACT xi INTRODUCTION 1 Materials and Methodology 7 Recordings of Kuban Stanitsa Performances 9 The Kuban Cossack Choir 12 Contemporary Controversy over Kuban Cossacks’ National Identity 16 Hypotheses and Structure of the Dissertation 26 Notes on Transliteration and Terminology 28 CHAPTER ONE - THE LANGUAGE PRACTICES OF RURAL KUBAN PERFORMERS 30 Introduction 30 Kuban Linguistic History and the Balachka Dialect 31 iv Theory on Language and Hybridity 39 Speech Sample 1: Learning Ukrainian Language in School 40 Speech Sample 2: Childhood Memories of Famine 42 Surzhyk and Ukrainian-Russian Mixed Language Forms 45 Theory on Language Use in Performance Contexts 51 Language Case Study 1 - Chelbasskaja Stanitsa 54 Interview Example 1 - Performers Discuss Heritage 55 Speech Sample 3: Lidija Jakovlevna Self-identifies as Russian 60 Speech Sample 4: Lidija Jakovlevna Comments on Kuban Dialect 65 Language Case Study 2 - Petrovskaja Stanitsa 67 Interview Example 2 - Heritage Distinctions 67 Speech Sample 5: Woman on Kuban Dialect versus Ukrainian 75 Conclusion 77 CHAPTER TWO - THE MUSICAL PRACTICES OF RURAL KUBAN PERFORMERS 78 Introduction 78 Music and Kuban Cossack Identity 82 Theory on (Folk) Music and Identity 89 Music Case Study 1 - Chelbasskaja Performance of “Come Out, Hryts’ko” 96 Interview Example 3 - “Young people gathered” 98 Musical Example 1: Chelbasskaja Version of “Come Out, Hryts’ko” 103 Musical Example 2: Melody Comparison for “Come Out, Hryts’ko” 105 Music Case Study 2: Chelbasskaja Performance of Chastushki 111 Interview Example 4 - “We switched to Russian” 111 Music Case Study 3: Petrovskaja Introductory Verses and First Song 117 Musical Example 3: “We are from Petrovskaja” 118 Musical Example 4: Melody Comparison for “In the City there is Thistle” 121 Conclusion 123 CHAPTER THREE - THE KUBAN COSSACK CHOIR 125 Introduction 125 Theoretical Frameworks 127 v The Kuban Cossack Choir: 1811 – Present? 140 Viktor Zakharchenko’s Writings & Interviews 145 The Kuban Cossack Choir’s Promotional Materials & Performances 155 Official Website 155 Albums 160 Performances 165 Gendering Kuban Cossack Music 174 Reactions and Interactions 175 Conclusion 179 CONCLUSION 181 APPENDIX A - MAP OF THE KRASNODAR REGION 184 APPENDIX B - MAP OF UKRAINE 185 APPENDIX C - LIST OF RECORDINGS 186 BIBLIOGRAPHY 187 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 - Transcription of Speech Sample 1: Learning Ukrainian Language in School 41 Table 1.2 - Transcription of Speech Sample 2: Childhood Memories of Famine 43 Table 1.3 - Transcription of Interview Example 1: Performers Discuss Heritage 55 Table 1.4 - Transcription of Speech Sample 3: Lidija Jakovlevna Self-Identifies as 61 Russian Table 1.5 - Transcription of Speech Sample 4: Lidija Jakovlevna Comments on Kuban 65 Dialect Table 1.6 - Transcription of Interview Example 2: Heritage Distinctions 68 Table 1.7 - Transcription of Speech Sample 5: Woman on Kuban Dialect versus 75 Ukrainian Table 2.1 - Transcription of Interview Example 3: “Young People Gathered” 98 Table 2.2 - Transcription and Translation of Song Lyrics from Chelbasskaja Version 101 of “Come Out, Hryts’ko” Table 2.3 - Musical Transcription of Chelbasskaja Version of “Come Out, Hryts’ko” 103 (First Two Verses) Table 2.4 - Musical Transcriptions of Different Versions of “Come Out, Hryts’ko” 106 (Main Melodies) Table 2.5 - Transcription of Interview Example 4: “We switched to Russian” 112 Table 2.6 - Transcription of Introductory Verses and Lyrics of First Song 118 Table 2.7 - Transcription of Contrasting Melodies for “In the City” (Bigdaj and 122 Petrovskaja) vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: A Greater Ukraine that Includes the Kuban Region 4 Figure 2: The Kuban Cossack Choir on Stage 14 Figure 3: "Famous People are Saying" 156 Figure 4: Front Page Pop-Up Ad for Concert at Bolshoi Theater 159 Figure 5: Thank You Letter from Russian Minister of Culture 160 Figure 6: Disc 2 of "A Musical Offering for Ukraine" 161 Figure 7: Backdrop Screens for "Great History" Tour 168 viii LIST OF MAPS MAP 1 (Figure 1): A Greater Ukraine that Includes the Kuban Region 4 MAP 2 (APPENDIX A): Map of the Krasnodar Region 184 MAP 3 (APPENDIX B): Map of Ukraine 185 ix LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Map of the Krasnodar Region 184 APPENDIX B: Map of Ukraine 185 APPENDIX C: List of Recordings 186 x ABSTRACT My dissertation analyzes vocal performance practices and identity politics in the Kuban region of southwestern Russia. Rural Kuban music and language is characterized by a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian features. This frustrates post-Soviet nation-building agendas, which actively attempt to push Kuban culture into one national category or the other. I examine mechanisms by which Russian and Ukrainian agents claim Kuban culture, namely through academic discourse and state-funded professional ensembles. Distinctive elements of local self-identification are distorted or lost in the efforts to pigeon-hole the regional culture into a national belonging, however, contemporary local Kuban performances continue to function as sites where residents counteract these processes and carve out a nuanced regional identity – one that embraces hybridity and avoids strict national categorization. Through close readings of rehearsals, concerts and interviews with local performers, I reveal ways in which Kubanians resist Russian and Ukrainian essentialism through their speech and song. Rural performers deploy and discuss linguistic and musical hybridity in ways that play upon the opposition between Ukrainian-ness and Russian-ness. I apply theoretical frameworks from the fields of ethnomusicology and linguistic anthropology to interpret musical and linguistic practices as social actions in which residents construct and negotiate their identities. This dissertation also examines the role of the Kuban Cossack Choir, a prestigious, state-funded Russian national ensemble that is arguably the most influential agent in Russia’s claims of Kuban culture. The image of Kuban Cossacks that the Choir presents in its performances and promotional materials is one of a Russian sub-culture, not a Ukrainian one. I identify ways in which the Choir strategically alters or erases elements of rural folk music practices in order to foster an institutional xi identity that is aligned with prevailing Russian national(ist) political ideology. The Choir’s dominant role in professional folk music culture affects contemporary regional identity construction in opposition to the local hybrid orientation. xii INTRODUCTION I first became interested in Kuban Cossack music and language when I visited Krasnodar, Russia in 2006. As an American undergraduate, I served as a guest speaker and conversation partner for courses on American English and culture at Kuban State University (Kubanskij gosudarstvennyj universitet). Part of the arrangement was that I would also sit in on Kuban regional history and folk music classes. During these classes, old women from a nearby stanitsa1 called Pavlovskaja2 came to perform folk songs and offer interviews. I remember being totally mesmerized by the sounds of their music and the unique qualities of their voices. (I also remember my Russian peers appearing bored and unimpressed.) While in Krasnodar, I was living with a professor in the Department of Russian Studies and Comparative Cultural Studies, Irina Viktorovna Shel’deshova. Irina Viktorovna was also hosting the Pavlovskaja performers in her home. After dinner in the evenings, the old women entertained us with more songs and stories. As an intermediate Russian language student at the