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55m ago

St. Petersburg Police Arrest Teen Street Musician After Viral Anti-War Singalong

The detention underscores Russia’s post-invasion crackdown on dissent over a song a court labeled extremist.

This picture taken on March 31, 2020 shows a view of a deserted Palace Square in downtown Saint Petersburg, due to restrictions on public gatherings to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). - Moscow, with its more than 12 million people, went into lockdown on March 30, 2020 and more than a dozen regions moved to introduce similar steps to curb the coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by OLGA MALTSEVA / AFP) (Photo by OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Local media identified the detainee as 18-year-old Diana Loginova, who performs as Naoko, after she led hundreds in singing Noize MC’s “Swan Lake Cooperative” in central St. Petersburg.
  • Fontanka reported that police are weighing administrative cases for allegedly discrediting the military and organizing an unauthorized gathering, with potential detention of up to 15 days.
  • A St. Petersburg court banned the song in May 2025 as extremist, ruling it promoted violent government overthrow and threatened the moral development of minors.
  • Noize MC, whose real name is Ivan Alexeyev, was designated a foreign agent in 2022 and now lives in Lithuania after criticizing the Kremlin and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
  • The video drew condemnation on pro-Kremlin Telegram channels and was shared by nationalist Igor Girkin, while Loginova’s band Stoptime canceled a performance and asked followers not to repost clips.