Summer 2001 – the Third Fort

Dmitry Ashman:
«The idea of turning the Forts into a full-fledged festival came about on its own, practically out of thin air. Back in 2000 we realised that we were here seriously and for the long haul. And that if we wanted to grow this story, we had to start earning from it somehow - selling tickets, putting money into advertising and into bringing over foreign artists. In short, making the Forts into a brand.
And so, in 2001 we ended up with the first properly meaningful Forts. We invested in the production; there was plenty of light, there was decent sound, there were proper dressing rooms. These were the first Forts at which we took the risk of bringing in foreign DJs. The pioneers of the Russian open air were Public Domain and Phak&Small, fairly popular artists at the time. It had already come to look like a proper festival, in the form in which it ought to exist.
That was also when we placed a serious bet on Muscovites. Here we rolled out a real promo campaign: we released funny T-shirts with a carton of milk on the chest, got the press involved, threw a pre party. And it really worked. People from Moscow started flocking to the Forts, and that did a great job of knocking down the Petersburg hysteria».
Zhora Petrushin:
«In 2001 the Forts stopped being insider get-togethers. I don't believe in events that are put on «for oneself». That should be sized for a hundred people, and it should be a homely picnic. When you throw an event for five thousand, that's already a different ideology. From the very start we were aiming for a quality, big story, for a full-fledged festival».