Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Bard genre refers to singer-songwriters operating outside state control who wrote and performed their own material without professional orchestras or commercial record labels. This label entered common usage during the early 1960s to distinguish these artists from mainstream pop performers.
Bard tunes circulated primarily through amateur recordings known as magnitizdat rather than official distribution channels because state authorities rarely permitted bards to record their music officially. Fans copied these recordings at concerts where small groups gathered to listen to new compositions, creating an informal network that connected listeners across vast distances despite strict censorship laws.
Vladimir Vysotsky was perceived as a political songwriter even though he remained part of mainstream culture while Alexander Galich faced severe consequences for his work since owning a tape with his songs could mean imprisonment. The KGB actively persecuted Galich and another bard named Yuliy Kim before forcing them to leave the country.
Outlaw songs originated long before the Bard movement appeared in Soviet Union during the first decade of the 20th century when New versions emerged from Gulag labor camps starting in the 1930s. During the Khrushchev Thaw years many prisoners were released along with their songs which gained symbolic meaning as struggle against oppression.
Performers typically played alone with no backing singers or instrumentalists accompanying them using straightforward guitar accompaniment rather than complex musical arrangements. Many bards held modest concerts for small audiences using Russian guitars while avoiding professional recording studios entirely.