This research considers the key actors and principles constituting the DIY scene in St. Petersburg. It traces the importance of independent music production, anti-commercialisation, anticonsumerism and creative self-realisation to the scene. It pays particular attention to the exploration of the diversity of young people involved in DIY scenes in the city and the evidence of differing narratives of DIY culture between musicians and activists within it.

In Russian academic literature, drug use is generally approached as a “social problem” that can be “resolved” through the curbing of the supply of drugs and the punishment of drug users and traders. This approach is rooted in understandings drug use as an “escape” from harsh social reality (often linked to economic transformation and moral confusion following the collapse of the Soviet Union). The research from this case study in Sochi – a city in which young people have relatively good economic and cultural opportunities – undermines a key argument underpinning this problematising discourse. The material suggests, on the contrary, that drugs – especially “recreational drugs” – are becoming an increasingly routine (“normal”) part of the youth cultural environment.