Anacondaz concerts were canceled due to criticism of the government and the war. “Paper”

The prosecutor’s office of the Sverdlovsk region admitted that they sent the police to disrupt the concert of the Anacondaz group in Yekaterinburg because of the criticism of the authorities and the war by the musicians. About it told human rights activist Pavel Chikov.

The deputy prosecutor of the region sent objections to the lawsuit of the musicians due to the disruption of the concert in Yekaterinburg on July 22 to the court. The prosecutor’s office, while “supervising the implementation of legislation in the field of countering extremism,” found that Anacondaz soloists had previously “supported A.A. Navalny, criticized the activities of state authorities, and condemned the conduct of a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine.”

The letter says that the prosecutor’s office informed the police about the planned speech and suggested “to take measures aimed at preventing provocative political statements, as well as statements aimed at discrediting the RF Armed Forces.” Subsequently, the performance, according to the prosecutor’s office, was canceled.

As Chikov notes, the plaintiffs indicated that they had all the agreements with the authorities, and the police exceeded their authority and reacted “inappropriately to the situation.” In addition, Chikov writes, the organizers of the concert presented official letters of guarantee that no slogans or appeals would be heard during the concerts.

What you need to know. Members of the Anacondaz band are suing with the authorities due to the cancellation and disruption of concerts in Yekaterinburg and Perm. In the Moscow “Glavclub” in June directly saidthat canceled the performances of Anacondaz, the group “Accident” and Manizhi under “pressure from government agencies.”

In St. Petersburg and other Russian cities during the spring and summer, concerts by artists who spoke out against the war in Ukraine were canceled. At the same time, the media published blacklists of musicians with whom promoters supposedly could not work.

“Paper” spoke with experts from the music industry and toldwho and how puts pressure on concert organizers, which is why promoters are afraid to deal with politically active musicians and how they try to protect themselves even at the contract stage.

Cover photo: @shaavshi / Anacondaz