Russian musicians who sang anti-Kremlin songs on the street given additional prison terms

Young Russian street musicians who gained viral attention for performing banned anti-Kremlin songs have received additional prison sentences.

The decision comes as authorities step up a crackdown on bus drivers demonstrating in solidarity across Russia.

Members of the band Stoptime were arrested in St. Petersburg earlier this month.

their performance Swan Lake CooperativeA popular track by exiled Russian rapper Noise MC – known for his outspoken criticism of the Kremlin – led to his initial detention.

“the power of music is important, and what’s happening now proves it,” the group’s 18-year-old singer, Diana Loginova, told reporters before Wednesday’s court hearing.

of stoptime The show on the central Nevsky Prospekt has spawned several solidarity demonstrations of other anti-Kremlin songs by young buskers in several Russian cities, including Yekaterinburg, Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Many musicians have been arrested for minor crimes.

Swan Lake Cooperative It was banned in Russia in May on the grounds that it had a “hostile, hateful attitude towards the people” and promoted “violent changes in the foundations of the constitutional order”.

The song makes no explicit reference to the Russian president. Vladimir Putin Or the conflict in Ukraine.

‘willingness to resist’

Public expression of dissent is rare in Russia, which imposes long prison sentences on any opposition to the Kremlin’s policies.

stopping timeSinger Loginova received a 13-day sentence for minor hooliganism on Wednesday. She has already served a separate 13-day sentence in connection with the Noise MC demonstration and was fined 30,000 rubles ($369) on Tuesday for singing another song by a different anti-Kremlin artist.

The group’s guitarist Alexander Orlov was jailed for 13 days on Wednesday on charges of illegally organizing a rally, while drummer Vladislav Leontiev faces a new administrative charge. Both have already been in jail for some time this month.

Maxim Reznik, a former opposition politician from the local government in St. Petersburg, said he thought authorities would struggle to suppress street demonstrations.

“We are dealing with a whole generation of people who are not willing to tolerate what is happening,” he told the independent television channel Dozd (TV Ren), which is banned in Russia and operates from Amsterdam.

“No matter how much repression the authorities use, they will not be able to suppress the will to protest.”