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St. Petersburg Court Fines 18-Year-Old Street Musician for 'Discrediting' Army Over Anti-War Song

The case highlights Russia’s use of “foreign agent” labels to police culture through broad “discrediting” rules.

Overview

  • Leninsky District Court fined Diana Loginova 30,000 rubles for performing Monetochka’s “You’re a Soldier,” which describes war’s trauma without naming Russia or the Ukraine conflict.
  • Loginova told the court her performance had no political goals, and her lawyer said police never identified which lyrics were unlawful.
  • She had just served 12–13 days for organizing an unauthorized gathering, supporters filled the courtroom, and police drove her away after the ruling with her release status reported as unclear.
  • Guitarist Alexander Orlov was detained again the same day after completing his sentence and was issued a new administrative charge tied to unlawful assembly.
  • Supporters fear the case could be escalated to criminal charges, and both Monetochka and Noize MC are designated as “foreign agents,” with Noize MC’s song previously banned.