Russia’s war protesting artists denied concerts by authorities

Moscow’s GlavClub music venue has cancelled the concerts of Anacondaz, Neschastny Sluchai and Manizha “under pressure from the state authorities,” the venue’s social media says.

“We made this decision under pressure from the state authorities. Various authorities have been calling us for two weeks, and, on 24 June, we received notifications of two unscheduled inspections from Rospotrebnadzor and the Ministry of Emergency Situations,” the statement reads.

An Anacondaz concert was scheduled for 26 June as part of the PunkRupor festival. Neschastny Sluchai was to play on 3 July, while Manizha had her gig scheduled for 8 July. Anacondaz will be replaced by a different artist, the other two events will be entirely cancelled and tickets refunded.

Both bands, as well as Manizha, made anti-war statements before. Anacondaz wrote on their Instagram on 24 February: “You can’t ignore it. You can’t remain silent. We are against the war #notowar. Alexey Kortnev, the leader of Neschastny Sluchai, addressed his followers on 28 February, saying that he and his band “condemn Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.” 

Manizha wrote on Instagram that she “wants nothing but peace."

Boris Grebenshchikov radio programme was taken off the air in early July because of his anti-war stance. Grebenshchikov, the leader of Aquarium, Russia’s cult rock band, condemned the Ukraine War several times. “The war between Russia and Ukraine is an insanity. Those who started this war are a disgrace to Russia,” he said earlier. He also posted a similar text on Aquarium’s social media on the first day of the war.