| Alexander Bashlachev | |
|---|---|
Bashlachev in Moscow (1987) |
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| Background information | |
| Born | May 27, 1960 Cherepovets, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | February 17, 1988 (aged 27) Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Genres | Rock |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1983 – 1988 |
Alexander Nickolaevich Bashlachev (Russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Башлачёв; May 27, 1960 – February 17, 1988) was a Russian poet, musician, guitarist, and singer-songwriter.
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Bashlachev was born in Cherepovets, Soviet Union, the son of Nikolai Bashlachev and Nellie Bashlacheva.
In 1977, Bashlachev graduated from Cherepovets High School in Cherepovets, and worked as a painter at the Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant with his father. In 1978, he resigned from the plant to enroll at the Ural State University in Sverdlovsk Oblast as a journalism major.[1] Bashlachev graduated in 1983.
In early 1983, Bashlachev wrote a song entitled "Griboyedov Waltz", which would be the first song he had written. Throughout the 1980s, Bashlachev wrote and composed music. After he graduated at the Ural State University, Bashlachev left Sverdlovsk Oblast and returned to Cherepovets, where he worked for a year with the newspaper The Communist. There, he wrote articles about the power plant, and, later, about cafés.[2]
In May 1984, Bashlachev attended the Leningrad Rock Festival in Leningrad. There, he bought an acoustic guitar which he had taught himself to play. In September, he played some of his songs at his friend Leonid Parfyonov's apartment in Leningrad. Over the years, he would play several flat concerts. It is worth noting that rock music was under extreme censorship in Russia during the 1970s and the 1980s. To get around this, musicians played for small audiences at their homes or at the homes of their friends. These gatherings were called "kvartirniks". In October, Bashlachev met music journalist Artem Troitsky, who invited Bashlachev to Moscow to write and compose music.[3] In December 1984, Bashlachev settled in Leningrad.
In March 1985, Bashlachev along with Yuri Shevchuk played at the Leningrad Rock Festival. The two performed before an audience of six hundred concertgoers at the Leningrad Veterinary Institute in Leningrad. A recording of this concert was released under the title of "Kochegarka". It was there that Bashlachev played at the Leningrad Rock Club and also played at the Kamchatka boiler. In June 1987, Bashlachev also played at the Leningrad Rock Festival for the second and final time.
Shortly before his death, Bashlachev had difficulties with writer's block, rarely writing new songs and tending to avoid performing old ones. His last song, entitled "Cherry", was written in August 1987.[4] Also, he had become more isolated as his depression and alcoholism grew more severe.
On February 17, 1988, Bashlachev died after falling from the window of the ninth floor of his apartment on Kuznetsova Avenue in Leningrad. The most likely cause of his death was suicide, however there is uncertainty in that claim. He was buried at the Kovalevskoye Cemetery in Leningrad.[5]
Bashlachev's son, Yegor, was born to his girlfriend a few months after his death.[6]