The Oxford Dictionary's definition of the word "subbotnik" is "in the USSR, voluntary unpaid work on days-off," but the All-Russian Student Dance Subbotnik promises to be something entirely different. Organized by The Indie Music Center and Zorro Club, the night will be the sixth of now-regular Studebaker Parties started in November 1994.
The events are intended primarily for students -- "studebaker" was students' slang for a student card -- and tickets are distributed in advance through universities and institutes, but they will be sold at the door as well. April used to be considered "Lenin's month," as the father of Russian communism was born on April 22. The night, which will start with one of Lenin's recorded speeches, will feature all kinds of revolutionary attractions, which should please any hardened bolshevik.
The public will be welcomed by a Lenin impersonator and revolutionary songs will be played in the foyer. Clssic Soviet movies like "Lenin in October" and "Lenin in 1918," as well as old newsreels will be shown.
Lenin Memorial, which will be opened on the Palace's first floor, will feature Lenin busts of all sizes, borrowed from a private collection. A booklet will include some apocryphal stories such as an anecdote about a meeting between Comrade Lenin and Mr Studebaker which supposedly took place during a socialist congress in Stuttgart in 1907.
One will be free to satisfy his or her class hatred by taking pot shots at a bourgeois with a toy gun. Live music will be provided by pop-funk band Ulitsy and grunge-style band Tokyo.