Russia detains teen singer critical of Putin and war on Ukraine — again

Police in St. Petersburg have detained Diana Loginova, a teenage street musician already jailed twice for short stints after performing anti-Kremlin songs, as she left prison, state media and her supporters said on Monday.

Loginova, 18, a vocalist in the Stoptime group, was first arrested with other band members last month and jailed for 13 days for a public order offence after her performance of a banned track, the ‘Swan Lake Cooperative’, by exiled anti-Kremlin Russian rapper Noize MC, went viral on social media.

The Swan Lake track got her into trouble because the famous ballet by Piotr Tchaikovsky is seen as a symbol of political change by some in Russia who remember it was shown on state TV after the death of Soviet leaders and during a 1991 coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet president.

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Fined for discrediting army, jailed for petty hooliganism

Her performance of another track disliked by the authorities —‘You Are a Soldier’ by singer Monetochka, who like Noize MC, has left the country and is designated a ‘foreign agent’— got her into further trouble and saw her fined 30,000 roubles ($369) for discrediting the army.

A court then handed her another 13-day jail sentence for petty hooliganism related to her performance near a metro station in central St. Petersburg last month.

Authorities in Russia have heavily clamped down on critical voices since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, arguing that society must be as united as possible at a time when they say it is locked in a proxy war with the West.

Loginova was due to be released on Monday, but was instead taken to a police station in central St. Petersburg where the state RIA news agency cited a law enforcement source as saying she was expected to be charged with another public order offence that could see her jailed again for another short stint.

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Separately, court records show Loginova faces more charges for discrediting the army.

Loginova —a music student who performs under the name ‘Naoko’— told reporters last month that the power of music is important as proven by what was happening to her, but has not made any explicit political statements.

A court in May banned the Swan Lake-related track that Loginova performed, ruling that it included statements that could be seen as “promoting violent changes to the foundations of the constitutional order”.

(This is an agency story. Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)