I have so many ideas and thoughts buzzing around in my head, and it’s honestly not easy to put them into words. I have this sense that I can think without always having to frame my thoughts into language. That’s precisely the freedom I take here in my 1000 Thoughts space: to make imperfect or unconventional comparisons, simply because that’s how my mind works.
Right now, I’m reflecting on Edmund Szklarski (Эдмунд Шклярский), the frontman of the rock band Piknik (Пикник). I’ve known the band since the mid-80s, when I went to Moscow for the first time as a teenager and bought their album Ieroglif (Иероглиф) at the GUM (ГУМ) department store. In a way, Szklarski reminds me of Leni Riefenstahl—even if the comparison is flawed. Unfortunately, he stands behind the war criminal in the Kremlin (Кремль), failing to realize he’s on the wrong side of history.
He could have taken a clear stand like other Russian-speaking artists—such as Bi-2 (Би-2) or Splean (Сплин). They had to leave the country and sacrifice immense popularity, but they preserved their humanity and self-respect. My wife and I saw both bands live in Leipzig, and in early '27, we’re going to the next Bi-2 show. They stood up against the war of aggression—just as many artists had to leave Germany during the Nazi era, the same tragic story is happening in Russia today.
