We all live in a yellow submarine for free#

This was expressed even in the commune’s interior decor, including yellow walls with wild strawberries drawn on them and homemade ironic posters that played off Soviet and western symbols. The commune was created not simply as vehicle for internal emigration and distancing from Soviet reality, but also as an alternative cultural and ideological space based on establishing certain shared values of freedom and mocking certain existing official norms. “It was a way of dropping out of society,” Skobov said in a 1991 interview. One of the motives for founding an “island of liberty” like the commune on Primorsky was the desire to live an independent life and leave home. Then the commune gradually became a refuge for Leningrad hippies and various acquaintances who were looking for temporary housing or simply а “crash pad.”Īlexander Skobov and Felix Vinogradov outside the Leningrad University history department, circa 1976–1977. Later, Andrei Reznikov, one of the founders of the so-called Leningrad School, and Alexei Khavin, who was involved in creating the dissident magazine Perspektiva, joined the commune.

The first people to join them in the commune were Skobov’s university crowd and several acquaintances from their school days. The commune was located in a private, two-story wooden house (something rare for Leningrad) on Primorsky Prospect that Felix and Marina Vinogradov had rented not long before their son was born. First and foremost, who are We? Let’s identify ourselves in full: students Marina Nikitina (Vinogradova), Felix Vinogradov, Tatiana Komarova, Alexander Skobov, Igor Malsky, Andrei Antonenko, and Alexander Volkov (aka Lupus).

What the heck is that, and what has brought us here? For nearly a year, several of us had been building magnificent castles in the air, which unexpectedly acquired an extremely firm earthly foundation. However, as Skobov notes, there were no concrete prototypes, meaning that its inner workings were shaped by the intuition of the people involved in it.Īnd so, a commune.

We all live in a yellow submarine for free#

The history of the commune’s emergence as a nonconformist association and, simultaneously, a haven for free thinkers originates in western culture. Its organizers were university classmates Alexander Skobov and Felix Vinogradov, who had dreamed about a place where everyone could experience personal freedom, where everyone could distance themselves from the current regime and express themselves freely. Image courtesy of Felix and Marina Vinogradovīearing the proud name Yellow Submarine, the commune at 28 Primorsky Prospect arose in August 1977 and lasted for just one year.