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Western music was banned in the Soviet Union from the early 1930s. Jazz and rock 'n' roll records were therefore traded underground. Since there were no blank records, bootleggers liked to use radiographs from hospitals as sound film. These phonograms are called "Roentgenizdat"—an artificial word made from "Röntgen," the German (and Russian) word for X-ray and "Samizdat," Russian for "self-publishing." The "publishers" were considered oppositionists who, if caught, faced long sentences in prison camps.

Details

  • Title: "Louis Armstrong" Roentgenizdat (rock on bones) record
  • Date Created: 1950s
  • Location Created: Sowjetunion
  • Rights: © Museumsstiftung Post und Telekommunikation
  • Material: Polyester (Röntgenfilm)

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