Hello!

I'm Maxim Polyakov, a correspondent for the online magazine ‘7x7’.

Since the full-blown invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s music scene has changed drastically. Some singers and bands condemned the war and left Russia, while others immediately expressed their support for Putin’s actions. There were also those who preferred to remain silent. Now, two years after the war began, they are being forced to speak up about the events in Ukraine. In this newsletter, I will tell you how Russian authorities exert pressure on the best-known pop stars and how soon this wave of repression will reach bands from small towns.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Context

After the onset of the full-blown invasion of Ukraine, Russian musicians split into three large groups:

• The first group is composed of war supporters. Those artists started embracing the Kremlin’s actions and the attack on Ukraine from the first days of the war. They performed at patriotic concerts, traveled to occupied territories, and sang for wounded soldiers in hospitals.
• The second group, consisting of pop- and rock- stars who left the country, can be described as war opponents. Their best-known representative is Alla Pugacheva, one of the biggest Soviet and Russian stars, who condemned the war and moved to Israel. Many musicians wrote anti-war songs and were eventually labeled as ‘foreign agents’ by the Russian government. Nowadays, they only perform abroad; however, Russian authorities are still trying to disrupt their concerts, exerting pressure on tour organizers through diplomatic channels.
• The third group are people who decided to simply ignore the war. They stayed in Russia and continued singing about love and relationships, touring around the country, and even performing on state TV channels. This has lasted for almost two years, but everything changed in December 2023. In the next chapter, I will explain why and how it happened.

Evolution of the Game Rules

In late 2022 and early 2023, the ‘game rules’ for Russian musicians were different. Some of the artists, who did not support the war, still hoped to give concerts in Russia and preferred to postpone them indefinitely instead of canceling.

At the same time, the wave of repression against musicians reached Russian regions. Local officials seemed to have caught on to the ‘trend’ of targeting war-opposed artists and began prohibiting their performances. Here are a few examples:

• March 2023, Pskov. Officials invited the singer Yolka, who is of Ukrainian descent, to perform at the city’s birthday celebration, but publicly urged her to ‘refrain from discussing politics and discrediting the Russian army’ for four months preceding the concert.
• In the same city of Pskov, local authorities compiled a list of musicians whose compositions ‘were not recommended for use in performances’ at a students’ singing contest. The list contained 66 names of singers and bands who opposed the war, as well as Ukrainian musicians.
• March 2023, Voronezh. State Duma Deputy from Voronezh, Sergey Chizhov, suggested creating a register of prohibited artists, including those who expressed support towards Ukraine or donated money earned at concerts to the Ukrainian Military Forces. Chizhov cited ‘massive citizens’ requests,’ though it is not actually clear if there were any.
• May 2023, Surgut. Employees of the cultural center, frequently used for concerts, composed a list of prohibited artists. Though it was not the first such occasion, it was the first time when officials openly justified their decision. The reasoning, however, was quite bizarre: for example, singing The Beatles’ songs was not allowed because ‘Sir Paul McCartney supported Ukraine,’ and Michael Jackson’s songs could be performed because ‘he is, in fact, dead.’ Performing anything by Maroon 5 was not recommended because ‘the band supported LGBT.’
• June 2023, Perm. Perm officials went the furthest in their attempts to restore Soviet censorship. They suggested reestablishing artistic councils to control ongoing stage performances, concerts, and exhibitions. Their statement started with the words ‘If we lose our soul, we lose the state, people, and generation as well.’

Personally, I was very surprised by the events in the small northern town of Vorkuta. The advisor to the mayor (basically the second person in command in the whole town) found out that visitors of a cafe were singing songs by Verka Serduchka (stage name of Ukrainian singer and female impersonator Andrei Danilko) in karaoke. This performer was very popular in Russia in the 2000s, until he presented a song titled ‘Dancing Lasha Tumbai’ at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Many considered the song title as an allusion to the words ‘Russia Goodbye.’ Danilko was eventually denied entry to Russia, and his compositions were removed from radio and TV broadcasts. The official from Vorkuta wrote: “Verka Serduchka, who is on the list of artists prohibited in Russia, gathers sympathizers singing and dancing to her songs. I would like to remind you that it happens at the same time as our boys are fighting Ukrainian Nazis on the frontlines…” This politician basically anticipated the events that would unfold six months later.

Almost Naked Party and Its Consequences

In December 2023, one of Moscow's nightclubs hosted an 'Almost Naked Party.' Many performers attended the event in revealing outfits, and their photos were published by almost all major Russian media outlets.

The Kremlin did not appreciate it. According to insider information, neither law enforcement nor officials were quite pleased with celebrities having fun while Russian soldiers perish in Ukraine.

Concerts and tours of the attendees of the 'Almost Naked Party' started being massively canceled. Musicians themselves began recording videos with apologies, traveling to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, performing for soldiers, and promising to rebuild churches in the occupied territories.

The outcome of this situation is very straightforward. Until the end of 2023, musicians could remain silent about the war in Ukraine and continue touring around the country. However, this is no longer enough in 2024. Nowadays, authorities compel singers to clearly express their position, support the military, and perform at the frontlines in order to maintain their careers.

So far, artists from Russian regions are relatively safe and free from expressing support for the war. However, this status quo is unlikely to remain. After law enforcement deals with big stars in Moscow, they will come for less popular regional musicians, as has already happened in the past. There are only several months left.

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