Russian Woodstock: Amazing Photographs From the Two Day Moscow Music Peace Festival in 1989 ~ Vintage Everyday

If any single event encapsulated the massiveness of hard rock and heavy metal at the end of the 1980s, it was the Moscow Music Peace Festival, which put six megawatt bands – Skid Row, Cinderella, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions and Bon Jovi (along with Russian rockers like Gorky Park and Brigada-S) onstage for two days at Moscow.

Moscow Music Peace Festival cover.

The Moscow Music Peace Festival was a rock concert that took place in the USSR on 12 and August 13, 1989 at Central Lenin Stadium (now called Luzhniki Stadium) in Moscow. Occurring during the glasnost era, it marked the first time hard rock and heavy metal acts from abroad were granted permission to perform in the capital city.

Modeled as a “Russian Woodstock” the concert was a joint production by Russian musician Stas Namin and American music manager Doc McGhee. Over 100,000 people attended and it was broadcast live to 59 nations including MTV in the United States. The event promoted understanding between the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War and also raised money to help those addicted to drugs and alcohol. The concert featured six bands from abroad and three Russian bands. The concert ended with the various band members participating in jam session. An album and documentary were released.

In an interview taken from Rolling Stone magazine, Ernie Hudson (then a guitar tech for American band Cinderella) remembered being completely taken aback by people standing in lines for products that were so commonplace in the US:

“We see people queueing, we’d say, ‘What are people queueing for?’ They’d say, ‘Oh, this is a queue to get toilet paper.’ Two blocks down, a mile, ‘What are these people queueing for?’ ‘Oh, they’re queueing to get milk.’ It was just really backwards, compared to anything we were used to, going to the grocery store and getting toilet paper and milk.”

Yet perhaps what drew the most incredulity from the guests, were the people themselves. Through perpetuated stereotypes and political tensions, the United States have long viewed the USSR as enemy territory, a hive of KGB agents ready to congregate and take over American soil. However, as they quickly came to realize, this was pure political hyperbole. Yes, the military and the KGB were present, and they were diligent in keeping an eye on the westerners during their stay, but they also seemed very thankful for their presence, as it was mentioned by then Skid Row drummer Rob Affuso:

“Later in the evening, I went up to watch Bon Jovi from the stands, way up in the back. I was sitting there, and this group of soldiers approached me. Obviously, I got really nervous. I didn’t know what was about to happen. And they came up to me and put their guns down. They sat next to me and they said, “We want to thank you so much for coming to our country to bring us rock & roll. We don’t have rock & roll in our country. Thank you, thank you.” And they were crying. It was a really incredibly emotional moment.”

It inspired the 1990 song “Wind of Change” by Scorpions, one of the bands that performed at the concert. The song became one of the best selling singles of all time.

The Moscow Music Peace Festival held on August 12-13, 1989.

The Moscow Music Peace Festival - rock festival held in the USSR, August 12-13, 1989 at the stadium Luzhniki.

Fans at the Moscow Music Peace Festival.

Fireworks after the closing concert of the Moscow Music Peace Festival in Luzhniki.

Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil works a crowd of 70,000 Soviet rock fans into a frenzy during the Moscow Music Peace Festival.

Jam session at the Moscow Music Peace Festival in Luzhniki.

Sebastian Bach, frontman of the group Skid Row.

Richie Sambora, Jon Bon Jovi, Tommy Lee of Motley Crue, Scorpions, and Gorky Park.

The Moscow Music Peace Festival in Luzhniki.

Scorpions perform at the Moscow Music Peace Festival in Luzhniki.

Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora hit the Moscow streets for an afternoon busk.

Vince Neil takes it to the top during Mötley’s set.

Skid Row’s Rachel Bolan and Dave “Snake” Sabo join a bored-looking Ozzy at the Moscow Music Peace Festival press conference, while Sebastian Bach and Cinderella’s Fred Coury have a laugh behind them.

Tom Keifer takes a breather during Cinderella’s pre-show soundcheck.

Richie Sambora, Tom Keifer, Klaus Meine and Gorky Park’s Nikolai Noskov share an onstage moment during the end-of-show all-star jam.

Sebastian Bach caught mid-croon onstage at Lenin Stadium.

Cinderella's Tom Keifer, Gorky Park’s Alexei Belov, Scorpions’ Klaus Meine, Ozzy Osbourne and Bon Jovi’s Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora touch down in Moscow.